By Song Xiao, China

My grandmother preached Almighty God’s gospel of the last days to me when I was 18. Through reading the words of Almighty God, I understood that in the last days, God expresses the truth and carries out the work of judgment in order to cleanse and save people, classify them according to their kind, and ultimately bring this age to an end. I had never believed in the Lord Jesus and was fortunate enough to catch up with God’s final stage of work. This was God’s grace to me. I must earnestly believe in God and do my duty to repay God’s love. From then on, I pursued passionately and frequently read God’s words and gathered with my parents and grandmother. I was also active in doing my duties. After six months, I left home to do my duty because of the need of the work. Occasionally, I would find some time to return home when I was passing my hometown.

In 2019, I was 25. One time, when I returned home, my father said to me, “Son, you’ve reached marriageable age, and you should form a family of your own. Look at your cousin and his wife. After they got married, they were still able to do duties in the church, and it worked out well.” He gave another couple of examples of young brothers and sisters who got married, trying to persuade me to do the same. I said, “I’m busy doing my duty. I don’t really feel like getting married and living a family life. In this life, I just want to devote all my time to believing in God and doing my duty. Only by pursuing the truth and doing our duties well can our lives have meaning. God says: ‘Some people’s families oppress them so that they are unable to believe in God unless they get married. In this way, marriage, conversely, is helpful for them. For others, marriage brings no benefits, but costs them what they once had’ (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (7)). Nobody in our family is persecuting me, so I want to devote all my time to doing my duty. This will be beneficial to my pursuit of life.” As I spoke, I saw my father lying on the bed, looking disappointed. In a low voice, he murmured, “Using all your time to do your duty is walking the right path. If you choose not to marry, that is your freedom and I will not get in your way. But when I think of our family, which has been sustained through an only son for three generations, and how if you don’t get married, our family lineage will end with you, I feel sad at heart. That’s why I thought about discussing with you whether you might choose to get married, just like your cousin.” After that, my dad never tried to persuade me like this again.

After the Spring Festival in 2024, some brothers and sisters were arrested in the area where I was doing my duty. I was left without a suitable host house to live in for a time, and so I suggested to the leaders that I return home temporarily. While I was at home, my mother would talk to me about getting married from time to time. One time, she introduced the daughters of a couple of sisters. She thought that one of them was pretty nice, and asked me what I thought about this. As soon as I heard this, I thought, “The matter of my marriage has been constantly weighing on the minds of my parents, and now they have taken action. If I refuse directly, that’ll be too hurtful to my mother.” So I moved the conversation onto another topic, consciously trying to avoid it. One evening, I was chatting to my mother. My mother said solemnly, “Son, do you know why I saved all this money? One reason is to pay for your grandmother’s medical care; the other is for you to marry someone. Now, your grandmother has passed away, and the one major matter remaining in our family is your marriage. If you meet someone suitable, you should get married! It won’t get in the way of you believing in God. You’re already thirty years old, and you won’t get any younger. If you don’t marry someone, you’ll have nobody to keep you company and you’ll end up lonely. Your father and I aren’t getting any younger either, and we won’t be able to keep you company your whole life.” Hearing these words of my mother, I felt a slight ache in my heart. Over the years, my standpoint on marriage had always been very firm, but now I was really wavering. I remembered when my grandmother passed away last year. I felt that with one fewer relative in the world, there was one fewer person who could keep me company, and I felt a kind of chill in my heart, “If I don’t get married, then once my parents pass away, I will live out my old age in loneliness.” Plus, my parents had never made any demands on me ever since I was a child. They had supported me all these years while I was away from home doing my duty. I had not managed to satisfy this, the only tiny expectation they had placed on me in this life. I felt like I had let my parents down. But then I had another thought, “If I marry and have children, then I’ll have more entanglements in my life, and I will have less time and energy for my duty. I might even be unable to do my duty. This is the case with one brother, whose life forced him back into the world to earn money after he got married. He couldn’t even attend gatherings regularly. I received God’s grace to come to the house of God to do my duty, and over these years, I have received so much from God. If I didn’t do my duty, and instead went to lead a married life, I would be letting God down!” So I said to my mom, “I don’t want to start a family. Once I start a family, I’ll have too many entanglements, and my duty will be affected. I am fine on my own. You just have a good life and don’t need to worry about me.” When my mother heard me say this, she was so sad that she lowered her head and didn’t say anything more. This made me think of my father’s disappointed and sad appearance a few years before, and my heart softened all of a sudden. I thought, “If I can’t even satisfy my parents on this requirement, and also leave them to be embarrassed in front of our relatives and their friends and be mocked and judged by others, would that not be too selfish of me? I am the only child my parents bore and raised, so if I don’t marry and have children, my family will have no descendants. I will have let down my parents and ancestors. Is this not being unfilial? My relatives and friends all ask me when I will get married. Some of them say my parents aren’t taking proper responsibility. They say that even though I’m more than old enough, I don’t even have a wife, let alone children, and that I’m breaking the family lineage. If still I’m not in a hurry to start a family and build a career, who knows what else they’ll say behind my back!” Throughout that time, I was disturbed by this matter, and sometimes couldn’t get to sleep even after midnight. I thought to myself, “I’ve been doing my duty away from home all these years, and I’ve seen a few brothers and sisters of my age who have gotten married and had kids. Although they have a lot of entanglements, they can still do some duties. What if I just find someone suitable, get married, and believe in God at the same time as living that life? I should not let my relatives and friends say that I am breaking the family lineage, as it would embarrass my parents in front of them. But getting married and having children will bring me heavy entanglements, and will place great limitations on me doing my duty, without being of the slightest benefit to my belief in God or my pursuit of the truth …” I was in a dilemma. Later, the leaders found me a suitable host family and sent a letter asking me to go and do my duty. My mother cried when she saw me off. I felt extremely sad, and I forced my tears back so my mother wouldn’t see them. I felt like I had let my parents down in this life. Never mind that as their son, I had been unable to keep them company, I had also made them worry about me and made them the subject of gossip behind their backs. Living in this state, I felt tormented, and the performance of my duty was also affected. I knew that my state was wrong so I consciously read God’s words to resolve the problem.

One afternoon, I suddenly remembered a hymn of God’s words that I had heard before “What the Young Should Pursue.” I then looked up this passage of God’s words and read it. Almighty God says: “Young people should not be without aspirations, drive, and an enthusiastic desire to better themselves; they should not be disheartened about their prospects, and nor should they lose hope in life or confidence in the future; they should have the perseverance to continue along the way of truth that they have now chosen—to realize their wish to expend their entire lives for Me. They should not be without the truth, nor should they harbor hypocrisy and unrighteousness—they should stand firm in the proper stance. They should not just drift along, but should have the spirit to dare to make sacrifices and to struggle for justice and truth. Young people should have the bravery to not succumb to oppression by the forces of darkness and to transform the significance of their existence. Young people should not resign themselves to adversity, but should be open and frank, with a spirit of forgiveness for their brothers and sisters. Of course, these are My requirements of everyone, and My advice to everyone. But even more, these are My soothing words for all young people. You should practice according to My words. In particular, young people should not be without the resolve to exercise discernment in issues and to seek justice and the truth. You should pursue all things beautiful and good, and you should obtain the reality of all positive things. You should be responsible toward your life, and you must not take it lightly. People come to the earth and it is rare to encounter Me, and it is also rare to have the opportunity to seek and to gain the truth. Why would you not prize this beautiful time as the right path to pursue in this life? And why are you always so dismissive toward the truth and justice? Why are you always trampling on and ruining yourselves for that unrighteousness and filth that toys with people?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Words for the Young and the Old). Reading God’s words, I felt as if God were guiding me face-to-face. I felt extremely encouraged. I saw that God places great expectations on young people to pursue the truth. As a young person, believing in God does not just require me to have the ideals and aims of pursuing to gain the truth, but also requires me to have a stance: I cannot go with the flow, but must be able to exercise discernment in issues. I thought of Peter. He started to believe in God when he was young. He longed for justice and was thirsty for the truth. His parents demanded that he attend school so that he could get some kind of an official position when he was older, but Peter knew that that was contrary to the pursuit of the right path, that it was an empty life. He was not constrained by his parents, and still chose to walk the path of belief in God. Peter could distinguish between right and wrong and took a firm stance. He was able to detest, reject, and refuse to follow that which came from man, and was able to bear humiliation and even give his life in order to follow that which came from God. In the end, he was perfected by God and lived out the most meaningful life. Compared to Peter’s experience, I felt thoroughly ashamed. When I was subjected to the condemnation of nonbelievers on the matter of marriage, and bore some humiliation and pain, I lost my stance. I regarded marrying and having children to fulfill my filial duties to my parents as being of the same importance as doing the duties of a created being. I was standing on two boats at once, one foot on each: Both sides were unsteady because I hadn’t chosen either. Now is the critical period when God works to save people. If I got married and had children at this time, I would have to work hard to support them, and I wouldn’t have so much time and energy to do my duty or pursue the truth. If I were to lose the favorable conditions I have now, that would be a lifelong regret. When I understood this, I saw that my desire to start a family while properly believing in God and doing my duty at the same time was simply not realistic. Once I got married, it might not be up to me anymore. I could not be influenced by my parents. I must persist in my pursuit. Realizing this, I didn’t feel so conflicted and tormented in my heart anymore. However, afterward, whenever a suitable environment came upon me, I would still have the idea of wanting to get married and lead that kind of life. Once, I prayed earnestly to God, “Dear God, on the day that I returned to You, I determined that I would follow You my whole life, expend myself for You, and do the duties of a created being. But recently, I have constantly been thinking about finding a partner, starting a family, and leading a family life while believing in God. I am not willing to fall like this, but I do not have the strength to strengthen my resolve. Please lead me out of this incorrect state.”

One day, I read a passage of God’s words and gained some understanding of my own problem. Almighty God says: “Some people can’t stand their parents’ nagging. At first, they think it’s great that they are single and only have themselves to take care of. Especially after believing in God, they are very busy performing their duties every day and don’t have time to think about these things, so they don’t date and won’t get married in the future. However, they can’t get past their parents’ scrutiny. Their parents disagree, always urging and pressuring them. Whenever they see their children, they start nagging: ‘Are you dating someone? Is there anyone you’ve taken a fancy to? Hurry up and bring them home so we can check them out for you. If they’re suitable, just go and tie the knot already; you’re not getting any younger! Women don’t get married after they’re thirty and men don’t search for a partner after they’re thirty-five. What are you trying to do, turn the world upside down? Who will take care of you when you get old if you don’t get married?’ Parents always worry and busy themselves with this, wanting you to seek out this or that kind of person, pushing you to get married and find a partner. And after you do get married, your parents keep pestering you: ‘Hurry up and have a child while I’m still young. I’ll take care of them for you.’ You say, ‘I don’t need you to take care of my children. Don’t worry.’ They respond, ‘What do you mean, “Don’t worry”? Hurry up and have a kid! After they’re born, I’ll look after them for you. Once they’re a bit older, then you can take over.’ Whatever expectations parents have for their children—regardless of the parents’ attitudes or whether these expectations are correct—it always feels like a burden for the children. If they do listen to their parents, they’ll feel uncomfortable and unhappy. If they don’t listen to their parents, they’ll have a guilty conscience: ‘My parents aren’t wrong. They’re so old and don’t get to see me getting married or having kids. They feel sad, so they urge me to get married and have kids. This is also their responsibility.’ So, when it comes to handling parents’ expectations in this regard, deep down people always have the vague sense that it’s a burden. Whether they listen or not, it seems wrong, and either way they feel like disobeying their parents’ demands or desires is so disgraceful and immoral. It’s a matter that weighs on their conscience. Some parents even interfere with their children’s lives: ‘Hurry up and get married and have kids. Give me a big, healthy grandson first.’ In this way they even try to interfere with the baby’s gender. Some parents also say, ‘You already have a daughter, hurry up and give me a grandson, I want both a grandson and a granddaughter. You and your spouse are busy believing in God and performing your duties all day long. You’re not doing your proper job; having children is a big deal. Don’t you know, “Of the three filial impieties, having no heir is the worst”? Do you think just having a daughter is enough? You better hurry up and give me a grandson too! You’re the only child in our family; if you don’t give me a grandson, won’t our family line come to an end?’ You contemplate, ‘That’s right, if the family line ends with me, wouldn’t I be letting down my ancestors?’ So, not getting married is wrong, and getting married but not having children is also wrong; but then it’s also not good enough to have a daughter, you must have a son. Some people have a son first, but their parents say, ‘One is not enough. What if something happens? Have another one so they can keep each other company.’ When it comes to their children, parents’ word is law and they can be utterly unreasonable, capable of articulating the most skewed logic—their children are simply at a loss as to how to deal with them. Parents interfere and criticize their children’s lives, work, marriage, and attitudes toward various things. Children can only swallow their anger. They cannot hide from their parents or shake them off. They cannot scold or educate their own parents—so what can they do? They endure it, try to see them as seldom as possible, and they avoid bringing these issues up if they absolutely must meet. And if the matters do get raised, they will instantly cut them off and go hide somewhere. However, there are some people who, in order to meet their parents’ expectations and not disappoint them, agree to their parents’ demands. You might reluctantly rush into dating, marriage, and having kids. But it is not enough to have one child; you must have several. You do this to satisfy your parents’ demands and make them happy and joyful. Regardless of whether you can satisfy your parents’ wishes, their demands would be troublesome for any child. Your parents aren’t doing anything against the law, and you can’t criticize them, talk to anyone else about it, or reason with them. As you go back and forth like this, the matter becomes your burden. You always feel that so long as you can’t meet your parents’ demands for marriage and children, you will be unable to face your parents and ancestors with a clear conscience. If you haven’t met your parents’ demands—that is, you haven’t dated, haven’t entered into marriage, and haven’t had kids and continued the family lineage like they asked—you will feel pressure inside. You can only relax a little if your parents say they won’t interfere in these matters, giving you freedom to take things as they come. However, if the social feedback coming from your extended relatives, friends, classmates, colleagues, and everyone else is to condemn you and talk about you behind your back, then it is also a burden for you. When you are 25 and unmarried, you don’t think it matters much, but when you reach 30, you start feeling like it’s not so good, so you avoid these relatives and family members, and don’t bring it up. And if you’re still unmarried at 35, people will say, ‘Why aren’t you married? Is there something wrong with you? You’re kind of a weirdo, aren’t you?’ If you are married but do not want children, they will say, ‘Why haven’t you had kids after getting married? Other people get married and have a daughter and then a son, or they have a son and then a daughter. Why don’t you want children? What’s the matter with you? Don’t you have any human feelings? Are you even a normal person?’ Whether it comes from parents or society, these issues become a burden for you in different environments and backgrounds. You feel you are in the wrong, especially at your particular age. For example, if you are between thirty and fifty and are still unmarried, you don’t dare meet people. They say, ‘That woman has never been married her entire life, she’s an old spinster, no one wants her, no one will marry her.’ ‘That guy, he has never had a wife his whole life.’ ‘Why didn’t they get married?’ ‘Who knows, maybe something is wrong with them.’ You ponder, ‘There isn’t anything wrong with me. So why haven’t I gotten married then? I didn’t listen to my parents and I’m letting them down.’ People say, ‘That guy isn’t married, that girl isn’t married. Look how pitiful their parents are now. Other parents have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but they are still single. Their ancestors must have done something terrible, huh? Isn’t this leaving the family without an heir? They won’t have any descendants to continue the family line. What’s the matter with that family?’ No matter how adamant your current attitude is, as long as you are a mortal, ordinary person, and you do not have enough truth to understand this matter, sooner or later you will be troubled and disturbed by it” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (16)). What God’s word exposed was exactly my state. I knew that getting married was a major entanglement and of no benefit to pursuing the truth or doing my duty, so I didn’t want to get married. But when I still hadn’t gotten married or had children by the time I was thirty, I was mocked and criticized by my relatives and friends. Neither I nor my parents felt like we could hold our heads high. This resulted in my parents repeatedly urging me to get married so as not to break the family lineage. They even actively introduced potential partners to me. All this was the result of being bound by the traditional notions of “Of the three filial impieties, having no heir is the worst,” and “When men are of age, they should marry; when women are of age, they should wed.” We had treated these fallacious ideas, infused into us by Satan, as principles to guide our conduct and actions. We believed that parents must worry about their children getting married and building a career so that there would be children to carry on the family lineage, while children must submit to this and bear children of their own to ensure plentiful descendants, so their parents could enjoy the pleasures of a house full of children and grandchildren. If children did not accomplish this, this was gravely rebellious and unfilial. I couldn’t meet my parents’ expectations, caused them worry and sadness on my account, and gave them a bad name. I felt that, as a son, I was too selfish and unfilial. I couldn’t bear the condemnation of relatives and friends, and thought about getting married in order to repay my indebtedness to my parents. However, I didn’t want to lose my favorable conditions for pursuing the truth and doing my duty. I could not eat or sleep well as a result, and lived in distress. God has given people the right to decide whether they reproduce or not, and however people choose, it is justified. But Satan uses traditional notions such as “Of the three filial impieties, having no heir is the worst,” and “When men are of age, they should marry; when women are of age, they should wed” to bind people so that whether someone has humanity or whether they are filial is assessed based on their marital status and whether they have children, and not based on their character, much less on God’s words. This way, not only will people be unable to impartially assess someone, but everyone is forced to live for the sake of getting married and carrying on the family lineage for fear of being condemned and spurned by others. In truth, not getting married does not mean being unfilial to one’s parents. Some people don’t want to consider serious relationships because they are busy with their careers. Some don’t get married because of the pressures of life. I chose not to get married so I could do the duties of a created being well. This is my freedom and the most correct choice. However, I didn’t have the truth and couldn’t see through things, so I was bound by traditional notions and couldn’t gain liberation. I could only helplessly endure the pressure from my family and the condemnation of social opinion. My dad and I had believed in God for many years, yet we still viewed things in reliance on these fallacious outlooks, and were still bound and fettered by these traditional notions. We were really too foolish!

One day, I read the words of God: “What does it matter if the family lineage is broken? Isn’t it just a matter of surnames of the flesh? Souls have no relations to each other; there’s no inheritance or continuation among them to speak of. Humankind shares one ancestor; everyone is a descendant of that ancestor, so there’s no question of the lineage of humankind ending. Carrying on a lineage is not your responsibility. Walking the right path in life, living a free and liberated life, and being a true created being are what people should pursue. Being a machine for propagating humankind is not a burden you should carry. It is also not your responsibility to reproduce or continue a family lineage for the sake of some family. God has not given you this responsibility. Whoever wants to procreate can go ahead and procreate; whoever wants to continue their lineage can do so; whoever is willing to take on that responsibility can take it on; it has nothing to do with you. If you are not willing to take on that responsibility and you are unwilling to fulfill this obligation, that is fine, it is your right. Isn’t this appropriate? (Yes.)” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (16)). God’s words brought great clarity and enlightenment to my heart, as if a heavy weight had been lifted. I understood that people do not have any responsibility to carry on the family lineage. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, the ancestors of mankind, and through continuous reproduction, mankind created clans and families, but a person’s soul does not belong exclusively to any one clan or family. God is sovereign over and arranges who goes to what family. In this life, you might be born into the Li family; in the next life, you might be born into the Zhao family, and the life after that, God may arrange for you to be born in a foreign country. A surname is an identifier for a person, and no matter what surname a person has, in the final analysis, we are all created humanity, and the source of our lives is God. Previously, I hadn’t seen this matter clearly. I had always believed that as three generations of my family had been continued through only sons, then if I, in my generation, didn’t marry and have children, then I would cut off the family lineage and let my parents and ancestors down. I condemned myself in my heart as a result. God’s words made me understand that people’s souls have no relationship to each other. If I choose not to get married or have children, that is of no bearing on whether I am filial or not. My parents and I came into this world with our own missions. God graced me by letting me come to God’s house to do my duty, and I chose to let go of worldly entanglements to concentrate on doing my duty. This is walking the correct path and attending to the proper duties. It is approved of by God.

Later, I read more of God’s words: “As far as marriage goes, let’s first put aside the fact that marriage is ordained by God. God’s attitude toward this matter is to grant people themselves the right to choose. You can choose to be single, or you can choose to enter into marriage; you can choose to live life as a couple, or you can choose to have a whole big family. This is your freedom. No matter what your basis for making these choices is or what purpose or result you want to achieve, in short, this right is given to you by God; you have the right to choose. … Although God has granted you such a right, when you exercise this right, you need to carefully consider what choice you are about to make and what consequences this choice may bring. Regardless of the consequences that may arise, you should not blame others, nor should you blame God. You should take responsibility for the consequences of your own choices. … On one hand, choosing to enter into marriage does not mean you have thus repaid your parents’ kindness or fulfilled your filial duty; of course, choosing to be single does not mean you are defying your parents either. On the other hand, choosing to enter into marriage or have many children is not rebelling against God, nor is it defying Him. You will not be condemned for it. Choosing to be single will also not be the reason God ultimately grants you salvation. In short, whether you are single, married, or have many children, God will not determine whether you can ultimately be saved based on these factors. God does not look at your marital background or marital status; He looks only at whether you are pursuing the truth, your attitude toward performing your duties, how much of the truth you have accepted and submitted to, and whether you act according to the truth principles. Ultimately, God will also set aside your marital status to examine the path in life, the principles by which you live, and the rules by which you survive that you have chosen to determine whether you will be saved. Of course, there is one fact we must mention. For those who are single or divorced, as in those who have not entered or who left marriage, have one thing going for them, which is that there is no need for them to be responsible for anyone or anything within the framework of marriage. They do not have to shoulder these responsibilities and obligations, so they are relatively more free. They have more freedom in terms of time, more abundance in terms of energy, and more personal freedom to some extent. For example, as an adult, when you go out to perform your duties, no one can restrict you—not even your parents have this right. You pray to God yourself, He will make arrangements for you, and you can pack your bags and leave. But if you are married and have a family, you are not as free. You have to be responsible for them. First of all, in terms of living conditions and financial resources, you have to at least provide food and clothing for them, and when your children are young you must bring them to school. You must bear these responsibilities. In these situations, married people are not free because they have social and family obligations they must fulfill. It is simpler for those who are unmarried and have no children. When performing their duties in God’s house they will not go hungry or cold; they will have both food and shelter. They do not need to run around earning money and working because of the needs of family life. That’s the difference. In the end, when it comes to marriage, the point remains the same: You should not carry any burdens. Whether it’s your parents’ expectations, traditional views from society, or your own extravagant desires, you should not bear any burdens” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (16)). From God’s words I understood that people should not carry any burden in their choice of whether to step into marriage or not. God has given us the right to choose freely. God will not condemn me if I choose marriage, nor will He determine that I can be saved just because I don’t choose marriage. God does not determine people’s outcomes based on their marital status. He looks at whether people have entered into the truth in their belief in God and whether they have done their duties well. Everyone is equal in the pursuit of the truth. Actually, I also realized that single brothers and sisters have a few advantages in pursuing the truth and doing their duties. Without the entanglements of a family, they have more time and energy to devote to doing their duties and pondering the words of God. This is beneficial for people to enter into the truth. When I saw that many new believers in God across the world had begun to preach the gospel to bear testimony to God, I thought of what God said: “Proof of the great red dragon’s progressive collapse can be seen in the continued maturation of God’s people; this is obvious and visible to anyone. The maturation of God’s people is a sign of the enemy’s demise” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Interpretations of the Mysteries of “God’s Words to the Entire Universe,” Chapter 10). God’s work is almost at an end, and now, disasters are getting more and more serious. If we don’t put more time and energy into our duties now, there might be no chance to properly pursue the truth or do our duties later even if we have the desire to. Now, brothers and sisters from all over the world are actively doing their duties, and propagating and testifying to God’s work. These are good deeds, remembered by God. Today, I choose not to marry. I must do my duty properly, regularly ponder God’s words to resolve my own corrupt dispositions, and use my time to pursue the truth. Only if I can testify to God and do my duty well will this life not have been lived in vain. After understanding this, I prayed to God, “Dear God, I have let go of marriage and chosen to use all of my time to do my duties of my own free will. May You guide me to walk onto the path of pursuing the truth, and practice and experience God’s words to resolve my corrupt dispositions.”

Later, I read more of God’s words: “In dealing with your parents, you should first rationally step outside of this blood relationship and discern your parents using the truths you have already accepted and understood. Discern your parents based on their thoughts, views, and motives regarding conduct, and on their principles and methods of conduct, which will confirm that they too are people corrupted by Satan. View them and discern them from the perspective of truth, rather than always thinking that your parents are lofty, selfless, and kind to you, and if you look at them that way, you will never discover what issues they have. Don’t view your parents from the perspective of your family ties, or your role as a son or daughter. Step outside of this sphere and look at how they deal with the world, with the truth, and with people, matters, and things. Also, more specifically, look at the ideas and views that your parents have conditioned into you as regards how you should view people and things, and how you should comport yourself and act—this is how you should recognize and discern them. In this way, their human qualities and the fact that they have been corrupted by Satan will become clear little by little. What kind of people are they? If they aren’t believers, what is their attitude toward people who do believe in God? If they are believers, what is their attitude toward the truth? Are they people who pursue the truth? Do they love the truth? Do they like positive things? What is their outlook on life and the world? And so on. If you can discern your parents based on these things, you will have a clear idea. Once these matters are clear, the lofty, noble, and unshakable status of your parents in your mind will change. And when it changes, the motherly and fatherly love shown by your parents—along with their specific words and actions, and those lofty images you hold of them—will no longer be so deeply imprinted in your mind. The selflessness and greatness of your parents’ love for you, as well as their devotion in taking care of you, protecting you, and even doting on you, will imperceptibly cease to occupy an important position in your mind” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (13)). The words of God sparked an awakening in me. I remembered how my parents had urged me to get married, time after time. On the surface, my parents were thinking of me and worried that I would be lonely, but in essence, they were living in reliance on traditional notions, which would cause me to be trapped in a family life of the flesh, so I would lose the favorable conditions for pursuing the truth. This originates from Satan’s disturbances. Previously, I had always viewed things from the perspective of the flesh and familial affection; I had not discerned things according to the truth. I had always thought that my parents were urging me to get married because they thought it would be good for me, and I felt guilty for rejecting them. If it hadn’t been for God’s words leading me, time after time, I would not have been able to discern these traditional cultural values at all. Now, I must follow God’s words on the matter of belief in God and choosing my path. I cannot be affected by my parents. If what they say is in accordance with the words of God, I can obey it; but if it is contrary to the truth and isn’t beneficial to my life, then I must reject it. When I understood this, I didn’t feel any pressure in my heart about deciding not to get married.

After that, I found time to write to my father to fellowship about my experiential understanding, so that he too would understand the truth from God’s words and leave the harm of traditional notions behind. Later, my father wrote a letter in reply, “Your experience is very well written. Back then, I wanted to ask you to find a partner due to traditional thoughts. After I read your letter, I really admired your choice. After reading the words of God you found for me, I was also able to alter this view. In the past, I disturbed you by relying on fleshly affection, but now I understand that you are willing to give up marriage in order to devote all your time to doing your duty, which is the most meaningful thing!” Seeing my dad’s reply, I was very gratified. God’s words are the truth. They changed our mistaken thoughts and views. They delivered us from the constraints of traditional notions so that we can do our duties in freedom and liberation. I vividly experienced God’s salvation and God’s love. Thanks and praise be to Almighty God!