By Ziyan, China

In 2023, I was partnered with Ye Xun to do text-based duties. Ye Xun’s work capability is better than mine, and she is also more efficient. Normally, if I had any kind of state, she would fellowship God’s words to help me. We got along very well. In February 2024, during a gathering, Ye Xun incorporated the words of God to understand her own arrogant disposition, but the understanding was very general. Later, Lan Xin pointed out some of Ye Xun’s arrogant and constraining behavior when doing her duty. She said that normally when Ye Xun pointed out her problems, Ye Xun’s tone contained some disdain, which constrained her a lot. For a while, she felt that her caliber was poor and she wasn’t good enough for the duty. Ye Xun said disdainfully, “If you really can’t do it, you can just resign!” When she heard this, she felt very negative. While Lan Xin talked, Ye Xun’s face slowly sank. When Lan Xin finished her fellowship, Ye Xun cried, saying that she had constrained Lan Xin and done evil, and her mood was despondent. I thought that Ye Xun had not fully accepted the problems that Lan Xin had pointed out, but then I also thought that Ye Xun attached great weight to face, and so it was normal that she wouldn’t be able to accept it straight away when Lan Xin pointed out her problems. She should be a bit better after a while, and so I didn’t say anything more. While eating, Lan Xin sought out Ye Xun several times for a chat, but Ye Xun ignored her. The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Ye Xun and I worked in the same office together, and after lunch, Lan Xin came to our office to help me with the computer. Ye Xun then went outside, as if she was deliberately avoiding Lan Xin. Previously, she and Lan Xin had often chatted and laughed together, but now, it was as if she was a different person. I realized that Ye Xun was prejudiced toward Lan Xin. I wanted to ask about her state, and point out that her attitude was one of not accepting the truth and would make people feel constrained. But then I changed my mind, “Lan Xin pointed out her problems just then, but she hasn’t adjusted her state yet. If I go and criticize her now, will she just get even more negative? If she has a bad opinion of me later and ignores me, what will I do? We share an office and see each other every time we turn our heads. If our relationship gets plunged into a deep freeze, then it’s going to be so difficult to get along in the future. Later, if I have any state or encounter any problems in my work, what will I do if she won’t help me? Won’t I just be embarrassing myself?” When I thought this, I swallowed the words I had been about to say. However, I could clearly see that Ye Xun’s state was not good, and felt self-reproachful for not fellowshipping about it. I then plucked up the courage to ask, “It looks like your state is not so good. Is it because the problems that Lan Xin pointed out are hard to accept straight away? If you have any thoughts, you can open up and fellowship about them. Don’t keep them bottled up inside!” Ye Xun said in a low voice, “I’m fine. I’m digesting it,” and then said nothing more. Seeing that she didn’t want to open up and fellowship about it, I didn’t know what to say all of a sudden. I was worried that if I said anything more, it would provoke antipathy toward me, and she would have a bad opinion of me. Therefore, I just spoke a few words of encouragement and ended the conversation hastily.

Afterward, Ye Xun buried her head in eating and working for two days on end. She basically didn’t speak at all except when we asked her about something, and then she’d say a couple of words. Previously, whenever there were any problems I couldn’t see through in our work, Ye Xun would proactively express her opinions and provide a few suggestions. If there were any parts of my work letters where my fellowship was unclear, she would help me make them better. However, during these two days, Ye Xun wouldn’t even fellowship about the problems we encountered in our work. I wanted to bring them up and discuss them, but when I saw that Ye Xun wasn’t in a good mood, I thought that it would be hard to achieve any results by discussing the work and so I didn’t mention them. As a result, the work was affected. Afterward, I wanted to expose Ye Xun’s behavior so she could become aware of her problems. But then I thought that Lan Xin had only mentioned her arrogant disposition briefly, and Ye Xun’s state had become this bad as a result. If I mention again that she doesn’t accept the truth, then won’t she become prejudiced toward me, and do her duty with a barrier in her heart? How difficult would it be for us to get along then? Therefore, I said to Ye Xun tactfully, “If you have any thoughts, you can talk about them. If you carry on never saying anything like this, you will constrain people. God set up this kind of environment to allow us to reflect on our own corrupt dispositions. It is beneficial for our life entry.” She said in a low voice, “I’m slowly digesting it. I’m fine. It’s better this way. If I say less in the future, I won’t make people feel constrained.” When I saw that Ye Xun was talking like she was still in a huff, I hesitated again. “If I point out her problems and she doesn’t accept them, then will she ignore me as well? Forget it, let’s wait until she is willing to open up and fellowship at that time.” Later, when we discussed the work together, Ye Xun still didn’t say much. Lan Xin saw how Ye Xun was being, and didn’t know quite what to do. She felt that it was her fault, and felt very self-reproachful. Her state was also somewhat despondent. Those two days, all I could think about was this matter. I couldn’t even get my heart to calm down when doing my duty. I prayed to God to tell Him about my state that He may lead me to understand myself.

Later, I read these words of God: “Most people wish to pursue and practice the truth, but much of the time they merely have a resolution and the desire to do so; the truth has not become their life. As a result, when they come across evil forces or encounter evil people and bad people committing evil deeds, or false leaders and antichrists doing things in a way that violates principles—thus disturbing the work of the church and harming God’s chosen ones—they lose the courage to stand up and speak out. What does it mean when you have no courage? Does it mean that you are timid or inarticulate? Or is it that you do not understand thoroughly, and therefore do not have the confidence to speak up? Neither; this is primarily the consequence of being constrained by corrupt dispositions. One of the corrupt dispositions you reveal is a deceitful disposition; when something happens to you, the first thing you think of is your own interests, the first thing you consider is the consequences, whether this will be beneficial to you. This is a deceitful disposition, is it not? Another is a selfish and base disposition. You think, ‘What does a loss to the interests of God’s house have to do with me? I’m not a leader, so why should I care? It’s got nothing to do with me. It’s not my responsibility.’ Such thoughts and words are not something that you consciously think, but are produced by your subconscious—which is the corrupt disposition revealed when people encounter an issue. Corrupt dispositions such as this govern the way you think, they bind your hands and feet, and control what you say. In your heart, you want to stand up and speak, but you have misgivings, and even when you do speak out, you beat around the bush, and leave yourself wiggle room, or else you prevaricate and don’t tell the truth. People who are clear-eyed can see this; in truth, you know in your heart that you have not said all you should, that what you have said has had no effect, that you were merely going through the motions, and that the problem has not been solved. You have not fulfilled your responsibility, yet you say overtly that you have fulfilled your responsibility, or that what was happening was unclear to you. Is this true? And is it what you really think? Are you not then completely under the control of your satanic disposition? Even though some of what you say is in line with the facts, in key places and on crucial issues, you lie and deceive people, which proves that you are someone who lies, and who lives by their satanic disposition” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). God exposes that a lot of the time, people are willing to practice the truth, but being dominated by their selfish and deceitful corrupt dispositions, they consider their own interests too much, and even though they clearly see problems with their brothers and sisters, they do not dare to point them out or expose them. Even if they do point them out, they do so in a roundabout way, leaving half of it unsaid and not considering the interests of the house of God. I was in precisely this state. I’d seen that Ye Xun hadn’t accepted the guidance of Lan Xin, who had been ignored when she spoke to Ye Xun; this had constrained Lan Xin. I should have fellowshipped and helped in a timely manner. However, I had been worried that if, at that point in time, I pointed out that she didn’t accept the truth, then she wouldn’t accept it straight away and would have a bad opinion of me, and so later on she wouldn’t help me out if I had any difficulties. Therefore, I had just asked her tactfully about her state. When I’d seen that she wasn’t willing to open up, I had started to worry again that exposing her problems would make her feel antipathy toward me, and so I had swallowed the words I was going to say. Later, Ye Xun’s state still hadn’t turned around. For several days on end, she didn’t really talk to us much, and we couldn’t communicate about the work or discuss it normally. Neither could we achieve good results in implementing the work. I had clearly seen Ye Xun’s problems, but I hadn’t dared to expose them because I’d wanted to safeguard myself. I had stood by and watched as Lan Xin’s state and the work of the church was affected. The only thing in my heart had been my own interests. I hadn’t protected the work of the church at all. I had been too deceitful and selfish!

Later, I read the words of God, and came to understand something about the root cause of my inability to practice the truth. Almighty God says: “There is a tenet in philosophies for worldly dealings that says, ‘Keeping silent on the faults of good friends makes for a long and good friendship.’ It means that in order to preserve a friendly relationship, one must keep silent about their friend’s problems, even if they see them clearly—that they should abide by the principles of not striking people in the face or calling out their shortcomings. They are to deceive each other, hide from each other, engage in intrigue with each other; and though they know with crystal clarity what sort of person the other is, they do not say it outright, but employ cunning methods to preserve their friendly relationship. Why would one want to preserve such relationships? It is about not wanting to make enemies in this society, within one’s group, which would mean subjecting oneself often to dangerous situations. Knowing someone will become your enemy and harm you after you have called out their shortcomings or hurt them, and not wishing to put yourself in such a situation, you employ the tenet of philosophies for worldly dealings that runs, ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings.’ In light of this, if two people are in such a relationship, do they count as true friends? (No.) They are not true friends, much less each other’s confidant. So, what sort of relationship is this, exactly? Is it not a fundamental social relationship? (It is.) In such social relationships, people cannot offer their feelings, nor have deep exchanges, nor speak about whatever they wish. They cannot say out loud what is in their heart, or the problems they see in the other, or words that would benefit the other. Instead, they pick nice things to say, to keep the other’s favor. They dare not speak the truth or uphold the principles, lest it give rise to animosity toward them in others. When no one is threatening to someone, does that person not live in relative ease and peace? Is this not people’s goal in promoting the saying, ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings’? (It is.) Clearly, this is a cunning, deceptive way of existence with an element of defensiveness, whose goal is self-preservation. People who live like this have no confidants, no close friends with whom they can say whatever they like. They are defensive with each other, and calculating, and strategic, each taking what they need from the relationship. Is this not so? At its root, the goal of ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings’ is to keep from offending others and making enemies, to protect oneself by not causing hurt to anyone. It is a technique and method one adopts to keep themselves from being hurt. Looking at these several facets of its essence, is the demand of people’s moral conduct ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings’ a noble one? Is it a positive one? (No.) Then, what does it teach people? That you must not upset or hurt anyone, otherwise, you are the one who will end up getting hurt; and also, that you should not trust anyone. If you hurt any one of your good friends, the friendship will quietly start to change: They will go from being your good, close friend to a stranger or an enemy. What problems can it resolve, teaching people to act so? Even if, by acting in this way, you do not make enemies and even lose a few, will this make people admire and approve of you, and always keep you as a friend? Does this fully achieve the standard for moral conduct? At the very best, this is no more than a philosophy for worldly dealings. Can abiding by this statement and practice be considered good moral conduct? Not at all” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (8)). From God’s words, I saw that the reason I had not dared to directly point out Ye Xun’s problems was that I had been living by satanic philosophies for worldly dealings. I had adopted maxims such as “Keeping silent on the faults of good friends makes for a long and good friendship,” and “If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings” as my own approach toward worldly dealings. I had thought that to get along with people, you had to make allowances for them, speak in a way that is easy for them to accept, and not offend them, and that only in this way can you protect your relationships with people and find your footing in the crowd. When I didn’t believe in God, if someone did something wrong, I wouldn’t dare to point it out directly. Even if I mentioned something, I would do so very tactfully, and so I got on very well with my colleagues. After I started believing in God, I had carried on relying on these philosophies for worldly dealings to get along with my brothers and sisters. When I’d seen my brothers and sisters doing things in a way that contravened principles and was not beneficial to the work of the church, I hadn’t dared to point it out in case I harmed the harmonious atmosphere. In particular, when I had seen that Ye Xun didn’t accept the problems that Lan Xin had pointed out and was living in a corrupt disposition and hindering our duties, I should have fellowshipped, given her pointers, and helped her to understand the severe consequences of not accepting the truth. However, I had been afraid of it affecting our relationship, and so I had only asked about her state in a roundabout way, without pointing out her problems. As a result, she had been constantly in a huff and hadn’t done her duty properly, hindering the work. I realized that living by satanic philosophies for worldly dealings is not being sincere or helpful to people at all, and doesn’t protect the work of the church. It also makes me more and more deceitful and selfish: It really is harming others and yourself! When people who truly have humanity see that their brothers and sisters are living in a corrupt disposition, they will fellowship about God’s words based on love, and help their brothers and sisters to understand their own corrupt dispositions. However, I had only considered whether Ye Xun would have a bad opinion of me and whether we would find it harder to get on in the future after I had pointed out her problems. All I had thought about was how to safeguard myself. I hadn’t considered the life entry of my sister or the work of the church at all. I realized that though I had believed in God for many years, I hadn’t changed one bit. I didn’t have normal humanity, and I had truly incurred God’s loathing. When I understood this, my heart was filled with self-reproach and regret. I also prayed to God about my state that He may lead me to be able to practice the truth.

Afterward, I watched an experiential testimony video. Quoted in it were two passages of God’s words that were particularly helpful to me. Almighty God says: “At times, harmony means forbearance and tolerance, but it also means standing your ground and upholding principles. Harmony does not mean compromising on principles to smooth things over, or trying to be ‘a people pleaser,’ or sticking to the path of moderation—and it certainly does not mean ingratiating yourself to someone. These are principles. Once you have grasped these principles, you will, without realizing it, speak and act in accordance with God’s intentions, and live out the reality of the truth, and in this way it is easy to achieve unity. In the house of God, if people live by the philosophies for worldly dealings, and if they rely on their own notions, inclinations, desires, selfish motives, their own gifts, and cleverness in getting along with one another, then this is no way to live before God, and they are incapable of achieving unity. Why is this? This is because when people live by a satanic disposition, they cannot achieve unity” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. On Harmonious Cooperation). “If you have the motivations and perspective of a people pleaser, then, in all matters, you will be incapable of practicing the truth and abiding by principle, and you will always fail and fall down. If you do not awaken and do not ever seek the truth, then you are a disbeliever, and you will never gain the truth and life. What, then, should you do? When faced with such things, you must pray to God and call out to Him, begging for salvation and asking that He give you more faith and strength and enable you to abide by the principles, do what you should do, handle things according to the principles, stand firm in the position you should stand in, protect the interests of God’s house, and prevent any harm from coming to the work of God’s house. If you are able to rebel against your self-interests, your pride, and your standpoint of a people pleaser, and if you do what you should do with an honest, undivided heart, then you will have defeated Satan and gained this aspect of the truth. If you always persist in living by the philosophy of Satan, protecting your relationships with others, never practicing the truth, and not daring to abide by the principles, then will you be able to practice the truth in other matters? You will still have no faith or strength. If you are never able to seek or accept the truth, then will such faith in God allow you to obtain the truth? (No.) And if you cannot obtain the truth, can you be saved? You cannot. If you always live by the philosophy of Satan, utterly devoid of the truth reality, then you can never be saved. It should be clear to you that obtaining the truth is a necessary condition for salvation. How, then, can you obtain the truth? If you are able to practice the truth, if you can live by the truth, and the truth becomes the basis of your life, then you will gain the truth and have life, and so you will be one of those who are saved” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). God said that true harmony is not just forbearance and tolerance, and that you must also have principles and stand your ground. You cannot stick to the path of moderation or be a people pleaser. Only by treating people and working with them based on the truth principles can you be in accordance with God’s intention. If you constantly live by satanic philosophies for worldly dealings, protect your interpersonal relationships, cannot uphold the truth principles, and cannot practice God’s words, then ultimately, you will certainly not be able to obtain the truth, and you will be one of those who are eliminated by God. I had been living by the thoughts and views of a people pleaser. I had clearly known that I should point out Ye Xun’s problems and help her to understand herself and turn her state around, but I had constantly worried that if I pointed them out, this would damage the relationship between us. Therefore, I hadn’t practiced opening up and fellowshipping. On the surface, the two of us had apparently had a harmonious relationship, but she had never understood her problems and her state had gotten worse and worse. Everyone had been constrained, and the work had been affected. All of these things were the consequences of me not practicing the truth. I could not continue like this. I had to practice in accordance with God’s words and point out Ye Xun’s behavior in not accepting the truth and the nature of it. If she accepted the truth after fellowship and exposure, that would be good for her—it would be a genuine help. However, if she still didn’t accept it after fellowshipping and continued to feel resistant, then I would need to gain some discernment. That night, I prayed to God, begging Him to give me faith that I could point out Ye Xun’s problems. After praying, I took the initiative to ask about Ye Xun’s state, and pointed out her behaviors of not accepting the truth and being averse to the truth. After Ye Xun listened to me, she had some understanding of her state and was willing to turn it around. I saw that she was willing to accept the truth, but to start off with, she was living in a corrupt disposition and couldn’t turn it around straight away. I also experienced that when you practice in accordance with God’s words, your heart feels at ease and at peace.

At the gathering the next day, when Ye Xun was fellowshipping about her state, she said that she knew she was constraining people with her arrogant disposition, and didn’t accept the truth. However, she hadn’t understood the nature and consequences of acting in this way. I started to feel conflicted again, “Maybe I should point things out for her again, so that she gets more of an understanding of the details. If she only understands a general outline, this isn’t helpful for her turning things around and entering in the future. But if I point it out, will she think that I’m placing too many demands on her? What if she can’t accept it and becomes negative again? If she forms prejudices about me, how will we get along in the future? Maybe I should just let her slowly understand things on her own.” When I thought this, I shrank back a bit again. At this time, I realized that my hesitancy was still because I wanted to maintain my relationship with her. I silently prayed to God, begging Him to give me faith and treat my sister with an honest heart. I remembered these words of God: “On the proactive side, how is constructive speech expressed? It is mainly encouraging, orienting, guiding, exhorting, understanding, and comforting. Also, in some special instances, it becomes necessary to directly expose other people’s errors and prune them, so that they gain knowledge of the truth and desire to repent. Only then is the due effect achieved. This way of practicing is of great benefit to people. It is a real help to them, and it is constructive for them, is it not?” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (3)). God’s words made me understand that it is not only words of encouragement and exhortation that are helpful to people. Pruning in respect of people’s problems and pointing out their deficiencies and shortcomings is of greater edification. It can help people to better understand their state, seek the truth to resolve problems, and is also beneficial to their life entry. Now, Ye Xun did not understand the nature and consequences of her not accepting the truth. By pointing it out, I could help her understand herself better. This would be beneficial to both her own life entry and the work of the church. Whatever Ye Xun thinks of me isn’t important. The most important thing is that I must practice God’s words and give my sister genuine help. Therefore, I read several passages of God’s words in respect of Ye Xun’s state, and pointed out that her understanding was general and lacking in detail. Then, incorporating the words of God, I fellowshipped about the nature and consequences of acting in this way. Through fellowship, Ye Xun admitted that she currently didn’t have a very deep understanding, and was willing to turn things around and change. She also apologized to Lan Xin on the spot. Lan Xin also fellowshipped about her own state. Everyone opened up about themselves, and there were no more barriers between anyone. I truly experienced how practicing in accordance with God’s words brings people help and benefits. As long as people are willing to accept the truth, then pointing out issues, helping each other, fellowship, and exposure between brothers and sisters will not only not make people negative, but will actually help people understand themselves better, and everyone will make progress in their life entry. These are the gains of practicing the truth.