By Gavin, USA

In August 2021, the leaders assigned me to supervise the video work. Usually, besides making videos myself, I also had to check the videos made by my brothers and sisters, solve any problems or difficulties they encountered in their duties, and fellowship and help resolve any states they were having. At first, I was able to give my all in my duty, but after a while, I started to find it troublesome and tiring. I thought to myself, “There’s so much work to do every day, and if I try to handle and resolve everything one by one, it’s just too exhausting! It’d be better to just be a team member and make my own videos without all this worry and exhaustion.” I also saw that my brothers and sisters were usually quite serious in their duties, so I thought there was no need to constantly check in; after all, why should I tire myself out so much? After that, apart from making videos according to the schedule, I stopped paying much attention to other matters in the team. I rarely summarized the deviations or problems in our duties with my brothers and sisters, and I barely ever resolved their incorrect states. Sometimes my brothers and sisters would remind me to finish certain tasks on time, and I would find their reminders annoying, and if they urged me a few more times, I’d begin to feel resistant, “Aren’t I doing it already? At my speed, no matter how much you urge me, I can’t go any faster!” Living in this state, I became increasingly lacking in my sense of burden toward my duty, and after a while, I found my duty utterly tedious, and I felt a sense of emptiness in my heart. However, at the time, I was utterly numb and never reflected on myself.

One time, the leaders noticed that Sister Paula’s video production hadn’t progressed for several days, and they reminded me to follow up on and look into the situation, to see what difficulties Sister Paula was facing, and to help resolve them. So I quickly asked about her state, and I found out that recently, she had been quite passive in her duties, and that she rarely sought fellowship or discussed problems in her work. I thought I should look into the situation in detail, but then I thought, “If I find any problems, I’ll have to fellowship and solve them, which will be a real hassle. The work progress isn’t too slow, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.” So I didn’t earnestly look into these things any further, and this matter was left at this. Until one day, the leaders noticed that the number of videos we’d made that month had decreased by nearly half compared to the month prior, directly delaying the progress of the video work. So they prompted us to find the cause, and they pruned and exposed us for doing our duties in a perfunctory manner and lacking a sense of responsibility, and they said that doing our duties in such a way was not loyal. They said if we didn’t repent, we would be detested by God. I felt really uncomfortable, and especially when I heard the leaders mention the words “slow progress,” “not loyal,” and “detested by God,” I felt even more distressed and couldn’t even lift my head. Later, during the work summary, my brothers and sisters opened up about their states. They said that recently, in their duties, they had been living in states of indulging in fleshly comfort, doing their duties without urgency, not striving for efficiency, and that tasks that could be completed in half a day were taking a whole day or longer, directly affecting the progress of video production. After hearing about my brothers’ and sisters’ states and their attitudes toward their duties, I felt really remorseful, and I kept asking myself, “I was clearly able to notice some issues, so why didn’t I look into and solve them in time?”

During one of my devotionals, I read God’s words: “What kind of manifestations and characteristics do those who are excessively lazy display? Firstly, in whatever they are doing, they act perfunctorily, dawdle about, go at a leisurely pace, and rest and procrastinate whenever possible. Secondly, they pay no mind to the church’s work. To them, whoever likes worrying about such things may do so. They will not. When they do worry about something, it’s for the sake of their own fame, gain, and status—all that matters for them is that they are able to enjoy the benefits of status. Thirdly, they shy away from hardship in their work; they cannot accept their work being even slightly tiring, becoming very resentful if it is, and they are unable to bear hardship or pay a price. Fourthly, they are unable to persevere in whatever work they do, always giving up halfway and unable to see things through. If they’re temporarily in a good mood, they might do some work for fun, but if something requires long-term commitment, and it keeps them busy, requires a lot of thought, and fatigues their flesh, over time they will begin to grumble. For instance, some leaders are in charge of church work, and they find it new and fresh at first. They are very motivated in their fellowship of the truth and when they see brothers and sisters have problems, they are able to help and resolve them. But, after persisting for a while, they start to find leadership work too exhausting, and they become negative—they wish to switch to an easier job, and are not willing to bear hardship. Such people lack perseverance. Fifthly, another characteristic that distinguishes lazy people is their unwillingness to do real work. As soon as their flesh suffers, they come up with excuses to evade and shirk their work, or pass it off to someone else. And when that person finishes the work, they shamelessly reap the rewards themselves. These are the five major characteristics of lazy people. You should check to see if there are such lazy people among the leaders and workers in the churches. If you find one, they should be dismissed immediately. Can lazy people do good work as leaders? No matter what kind of caliber they have or the quality of their humanity, if they are lazy, they will be unable to do their work well, and they will delay the work and important matters. The church’s work is multifaceted; each aspect of it entails many detailed tasks and requires fellowshipping about the truth to resolve problems in order to be done well. Therefore, leaders and workers must be diligent—they have to do a lot of talking and a lot of work every day to ensure the work’s effectiveness. If they speak or do too little, there will be no results. So, if a leader or worker is a lazy person, they are certainly a false leader and are incapable of doing real work. Lazy people do not do real work, much less go themselves to work sites, and they are not willing to resolve problems or involve themselves in any specific work. They do not have the slightest understanding or grasp of the problems in any work. They only have a superficial, vague idea in their heads from listening to what others have said, and they muddle through by just preaching a bit of doctrine. Are you able to discern this kind of leader? Are you able to tell that they are false leaders? (To a degree.) Lazy people are perfunctory in whatever duty they do. No matter the duty, they lack perseverance, work in fits and starts, and complain whenever they suffer some hardships, pouring out unending grievances. They hurl abuse at whoever criticizes or prunes them, like a shrew insulting people in the streets, always wanting to vent their anger at others, and not wanting to do their duty. What does it show that they do not want to do their duty? It shows that they do not bear a burden, are unwilling to take on responsibility, and are lazy people. They do not want to suffer hardships or pay the price. This especially applies to leaders and workers: If they do not bear a burden, can they fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers? Absolutely not” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (4)). “Lazy people can’t do anything. To summarize it in two words, they are useless people; they have a second-class disability. No matter how good the caliber of lazy people is, it is nothing more than window dressing; even though they have good caliber, it is of no use. They are too lazy—they know what they are supposed to do, but they don’t do it, and even if they know something is a problem, they do not seek the truth to resolve it, and though they know what hardships they should suffer in order for the work to be effective, they are unwilling to endure these worthwhile hardships—so they cannot gain any truths, and they cannot do any real work. They do not wish to endure the hardships people are supposed to; they only know to indulge in comfort, enjoy times of joy and leisure, and enjoy a free and relaxed life. Are they not useless? People who cannot endure hardship don’t deserve to live. Those who always wish to live the life of a parasite are people without conscience or reason; they are beasts, and such people are unfit even to perform labor. Because they cannot endure hardship, even when they do perform labor, they are not able to do it well, and if they wish to gain the truth, there is even less hope of that. Someone who cannot suffer and does not love the truth is a useless person; they are unqualified even to perform labor. They are a beast, without a shred of humanity. Such people must be eliminated; only this accords with God’s intentions” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (8)). From God’s words, I understood that when a very lazy person does their duty, they always want to take it easy and to indulge in fleshly comfort. They are unable to feel a sense of burden or responsibility when doing their duty, and even if they have good caliber or work capabilities, they are not trustworthy and cannot do actual work. I reflected on myself. I hadn’t managed the team’s work well, leading to a significant decline in the results of the video work, and I saw that the main reasons behind this were that I was really lazy, indulged in fleshly comfort, and that I was unwilling to suffer and pay a price. Looking back, I saw that shortly after I began supervising the video work, I started to feel that there were too many things to worry about, and that if I did each task meticulously, I would have to suffer and exhaust myself, so I always wanted to just make my own videos and avoid worrying about these things. I was also too lazy to look into or inquire about my brothers’ and sisters’ states or difficulties in their duties, and I always found doing so too troublesome. When others urged me about my work progress, it annoyed me, and I felt they were being too hard on me and not being understanding of my difficulties. Particularly when the leaders asked me to look into how Paula was doing in her duties, although I realized there was a problem, I didn’t want to look into it in detail, as I was afraid that if I discovered a problem, I would have to worry about it and solve it. Reflecting on my attitude toward my duty, I saw that whenever I faced physical suffering or tasks that required concern, I always wanted to be slippery and slack off and avoid paying a price. This is exactly what God exposes about lazy and useless people! Due to my laziness, sluggishness, and lack of responsibility, I failed to supervise and follow up on my brothers’ and sisters’ work, leading to inefficiency in everyone’s duty, and to them all living in a state of indulging in comfort and not striving for progress, which seriously affected the video work. I carried the title of supervisor, yet I didn’t fulfill the responsibilities of a supervisor at all. I was really harming both myself and others! It was at this point that I saw that lazy people have poor character, can’t do any work well, and that they are not trustworthy! If I didn’t solve my problem of laziness, I would never be able to fulfill my duty, and in the end, I would just end up being detested and eliminated by God!

In response to this state, I ate and drank relevant words from God. Almighty God says: “If people cannot express what they ought to express during service or achieve what is inherently possible for them, and instead go through the motions, they have lost the function that a created being should have. Such people are what are known as ‘mediocrities’; they are useless refuse. How can such people properly be called created beings? Are they not corrupt beings that shine on the outside but are rotten within? … When people fail to fulfill their duty, they should feel guilt and indebtedness; they ought to hate their weakness and uselessness, their rebelliousness and corruption, and moreover, ought to give their life to God. Only then are they created beings who truly love God, and only such people are worthy of enjoying the blessings and promise of God, and of being made perfect by Him. And what of the majority of you? How do you treat the God who lives among you? How have you performed your duty before Him? Have you done all you were called upon to do, even at the expense of your own life? What have you sacrificed? Have you not received much from Me? Can you discern? How loyal are you to Me? How have you served Me? And what of all that I have bestowed upon you and have done for you? Have you taken measure of it all? Have you all judged and compared this with what little conscience you have within you? Who could your words and actions be worthy of? Could it be that such minuscule sacrifice of yours is worthy of all I have bestowed upon you? I have no other choice and have been wholeheartedly devoted to you, yet you harbor wicked intentions and are half-hearted toward Me. That is the extent of your duty, your only function. Is this not so? Do you not know that you have utterly failed to perform the duty of a created being? How can you be considered a created being? Is it not clear to you what it is you are expressing and living out? You have failed to fulfill your duty, but you seek to gain the tolerance and bountiful grace of God. Such grace has not been prepared for ones as worthless and base as you, but for those who ask for nothing and gladly sacrifice. People such as you, such mediocrities, are utterly unworthy of enjoying the grace of heaven. Only hardship and interminable punishment shall accompany your days! If you cannot be faithful to Me, your fate shall be one of suffering. If you cannot be accountable to My words and My work, your outcome will be one of punishment. All grace, blessings, and the wonderful life of the kingdom shall have nothing to do with you. This is the end you deserve to meet and a consequence of your own making!” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Difference Between the Ministry of God Incarnate and the Duty of Man). Facing God’s words of judgment, I felt utterly ashamed. In the past, I always thought that being a little lazy and paying less of a price in my duties wasn’t such a big problem, but after reading God’s words, I realized the seriousness of this problem. In God’s eyes, fulfilling one’s duty to the best of one’s ability, and having true submission and loyalty to God, are the meaning and value of a created being’s life. If one’s duty is often done in a perfunctory way, and one cannot even fulfill the responsibilities they should, then such a person is unworthy of being called a human or a created being. Reflecting on God’s words, I felt a deep sense of distress and fear. Upon consideration, I saw that though outwardly I was doing my duties, in my heart, I had no sense of burden or responsibility, and I always felt that these things were troublesome and exhausting. I was constantly indifferent toward the work that should be followed up on and the problems that should be resolved, and even when I inquired about them, I was just going through the motions, afraid that if I looked more deeply and found problems, I would have to put thought into solving them. In order to take it easy and indulge in fleshly comfort, I knowingly ignored issues in the work and turned a blind eye, seriously impacting the effectiveness of the work. I saw that in everything I’d been doing, I’d been cutting corners, dodging work, and acting in a perfunctory manner. In what way did I have any sincerity toward God? In what way was I doing my duty? I was clearly the kind of good-for-nothing that God exposes when He says, “Shine on the outside but are rotten within”! I thought about how God, in order to save corrupt humanity, has endured tremendous humiliation and suffering, incarnating in the flesh to appear and work. Although He has been frantically persecuted and hunted by the evil CCP, as well as resisted and condemned by the religious world, God has never stopped His work, continuously expressing truths to water, nourish, and provide for people. God, fearing that we might not understand, always speaks patiently and in detail, using metaphors, examples, and various perspectives so that we can quickly understand the truth and attain dispositional change. God is wholeheartedly dedicated to His work of saving humanity, and He has paid the whole price, but I, having received God’s salvation, didn’t have any sincerity to repay God’s love, and I couldn’t even fulfill the duty of a created being. How could I claim to have any humanity? I then thought about Noah, who, after accepting God’s commission, worked tirelessly to build the ark. Regardless of how arduous the project was or how many difficulties or obstacles there were, he persisted continually for 120 years until the ark was completed. I looked at Noah’s character, his loyalty and submission to God, and I saw that he was a person with humanity and reason, a true created being, and a person worthy of God’s trust. In comparison, I saw that I lacked even the most basic level of normal humanity. I couldn’t even do what my conscience was telling me to do, and was truly unworthy of being called a human! If my attitude toward my duties remained unrepentant, then would I not come to be revealed and eliminated by God? Thinking about this made me feel a bit scared, as well as a bit regretful and guilty, and so I silently prayed to God and made a resolution in my heart, that in doing my duties in the future, I would definitely rebel against the flesh and do my best to fulfill my duties.

After this experience, I did my duties better than I had before. Every day, besides making videos, I also often looked into how my brothers and sisters were doing in their duties, and any time they had difficulties or problems, I fellowshipped solutions with them. Although doing my duties this way required me to worry a little more, I felt at peace and secure knowing that I was doing my duties to the best of my abilities. However, due to not having much understanding of my nature essence, after a while, I fell back into the state of craving comfort.

Because the workload for making videos increased, there was a lot of work to handle almost every day, and some videos needed to be completed within a specified timeframe. Some videos had higher technical requirements and called for careful thought and consideration. At first, I was able to try my best to complete everything, but after a while, I started to complain inwardly, thinking, “There’s so much work every day; when will it decrease? If the workload would just go down a bit, I wouldn’t be so strained, and my flesh would be more at ease.” I remember one time, a sister sent me over ten videos at once, asking me to check them within two days. I felt a bit resistant, thinking, “Can I really check all these in two days? Won’t that call for overtime?” Although I wasn’t saying anything on the outside, I kept complaining to myself. Later, I realized that my state wasn’t right, and I knew this situation was something I needed to learn from. Over the next few days, I often reflected on myself, “Why do I always want to cater to my flesh as soon as the workload of my duty increases? What exactly is controlling me?” In my seeking, I read several passages of God’s words. Almighty God says: “So what is Satan’s poison? How can it be expressed? For example, if you ask, ‘How should people live? What should people live for?’ people will answer, ‘Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.’ This single phrase expresses the very root of the problem. Satan’s philosophy and logic have become people’s lives. No matter what people pursue, they do so for themselves—and so they live only for themselves. ‘Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost’—this is the life philosophy of man, and it also represents human nature. These words have already become the nature of corrupt mankind and they are the true portrait of corrupt mankind’s satanic nature. This satanic nature has already become the basis for corrupt mankind’s existence. For several thousand years, corrupt mankind has lived by this venom of Satan, right up to the present day” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Walk the Path of Peter). “With regard to the flesh, the better you are toward it, the greedier it will be. It is suited to enduring a little suffering. People who endure a little suffering will walk the correct path and engage in proper work. If the flesh does not endure suffering, craves comfort, and grows up in a nest of comfort, then people will not achieve anything and cannot possibly obtain the truth. If people encounter natural calamities and man-made disasters, they will be devoid of sense and will be unreasonable. As time goes on, they will only become more and more depraved. Are there many examples of this? You can see that among the nonbelievers, there are many singers and movie stars who were quite willing to endure hardship and dedicated themselves to their work before they became famous. But once they gain fame and start making big money, they don’t walk the correct path. Some of them take drugs, some of them commit suicide, and their lives are shortened. What causes this? Their material pleasures are too excessive, they are too comfortable, and they don’t know how to obtain greater enjoyment or greater excitement. Some of them turn to drugs in search of higher excitement and pleasure, and, as time goes by, they cannot give it up. Some die from excessive drug use, and others, not knowing how to free themselves of it, simply commit suicide in the end. There are so many examples like this. No matter how well you eat, how well you dress, how well you live, how much you enjoy yourself, or how comfortable your life is, and no matter how fully your desires are satisfied, in the end it is emptiness on top of emptiness, and the result is destruction. Is that happiness which the nonbelievers seek real happiness? Actually, that is not happiness. It is human imagining, it is a form of depravity, it is a path by which people become depraved. The so-called happiness that people pursue is false. It is actually suffering. That is not a goal that people should pursue, neither is it where the value of living is. Some of the ways and methods by which Satan corrupts people are making them seek satisfaction of the flesh and indulgence in lust as a goal. By this way, Satan numbs people, entices people, and corrupts people, making them feel as if that is happiness, and leading them to chase after that goal. People believe that obtaining those things is obtaining happiness, so people do all in their power to head in pursuit of that goal. Then, after they do obtain it, it is not happiness they feel but rather emptiness and pain. This proves that that is not the correct path; it is a road to death” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). Reflecting on God’s words, I understood that the pursuit of fleshly pleasure is Satan’s way of corrupting people. Satan uses various philosophies for worldly dealings and fallacies to mislead and corrupt people, such as “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” “Life is short, so enjoy it while you can,” and “Drink today’s wine today,” causing people to live by these ideas, and making them treat the pursuit of fleshly pleasure as the meaning and value of life, and as life’s goal. This makes people pursue comfort and fleshly pleasure and causes them to become more and more debauched and degenerate, and to lose their human likeness. I thought about how although I believed in God and did my duties in the church, and I wasn’t like nonbelievers, who pursue food, drink, and pleasure, and indulge their flesh, Satan’s poisons, philosophies, and laws were still deeply rooted in my heart, and my thoughts and views were the same as those of nonbelievers. I always thought that physical comfort and enjoyment were synonymous with happiness, and I didn’t want to suffer or pay a price in anything I did. Sometimes, when there was a lot to worry about in my duties or the work got busier, I wanted to find time to rest and not tire myself out so much. I even didn’t delve into or resolve the obvious issues in the work, putting my duties aside. As a result, I delayed the progress of work without realizing it. This was truly dangerous! Thinking back to when I was living in a state of indulging in comfort, I didn’t consider how to fulfill my duties or how to satisfy God, and when things came up, my first thought was always whether my body would suffer or face exhaustion. It was truly selfish and despicable, and I had no conscience or reason at all. Sometimes, even when I knew I should consider God’s intentions, I found myself constantly constrained by my flesh, and unwilling to suffer or pay a price. Deep down, I felt a strong resistance and aversion to the truth and positive things, and when it came to the tasks I needed to do, I always tried to make excuses to avoid them. By doing this, my body would find comfort and not suffer, but in the end, I wouldn’t gain any truth. Was I not bringing utter ruin upon myself? Thinking about this, I began to gain a little understanding of the dangerous consequences of indulging in comfort.

Later, I read more of God’s words: “People who truly believe in God perform their duties willingly, without calculating their own gains and losses. No matter whether you are someone who pursues the truth, you must rely on your conscience and reason and really make an effort when you perform your duty. What does it mean to really make an effort? If you are merely satisfied with making some token effort, and suffering a little physical hardship, but you do not take your duty seriously at all or seek the truth principles, then this is nothing more than being perfunctory—it is not really making an effort. The key to making an effort is putting your heart into it, fearing God in your heart, being considerate of God’s intentions, being terrified of rebelling against God and hurting God, and suffering any hardship in order to perform your duty well and satisfy God: If you have a God-loving heart in this way, you will be able to perform your duty properly. If there is no fear of God in your heart, you will have no burden when you perform your duty, will have no interest in it, and will inevitably be perfunctory, and go through the motions, without producing any real effect—which is not performing a duty. If you truly have a sense of burden, and feel like performing your duty is your personal responsibility, and that if you don’t, you are not fit to live, and are a beast, that only if you perform your duty properly are you worthy of being called a human being, and can face your own conscience—if you have this sense of burden when you perform your duty—then you will be able to do everything conscientiously, and will be able to seek the truth and do things according to the principles, and so will be able to do your duty properly and satisfy God. If you are worthy of the mission that God has given you, and of all that God has sacrificed for you and His expectations of you, then this is really making an effort. … At the very least, the people of God’s house are honest people. They are people who are trustworthy in their duty, who can accept God’s commission, and perform their duty loyally. If people do not have true faith, consciences, and reason, and if they do not have a heart of fear of and submission to God, then they are not suitable to perform duties. Even though they perform their duty, they are sloppy while doing so. They are laborers—people who have not truly repented. Laborers such as this will be eliminated sooner or later. Only loyal laborers will be spared. Although loyal laborers do not have the truth realities, they possess consciences and reason, they are able to perform their duties with sincerity, and God permits them to be spared. Those who possess the truth realities, and who can make resounding testimony of God are His people, and will also be spared and brought into His kingdom” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. To Perform One’s Duty Well, One Must at Least Be Possessed of a Conscience and Reason). From God’s words, I understood that in God’s eyes, only honest people who do their duties sincerely are truly the people of God’s house. Such people have a sense of responsibility for their work and are trustworthy. They are not satisfied with just putting in some visible effort or working by the numbers. Instead, they are willing to suffer and pay a price to fulfill their duties, doing so with diligence and to completion. This is the true performance of one’s duties. From God’s words, I found a path of practice. I had to treat my duties with a sincere heart. When I wanted to cut corners, dodge work, and indulge in comfort while doing my duties, I had to rebel against my flesh, put my heart into every matter related to my duties, be meticulous, and fulfill my responsibilities. Only by doing this could I do my duties in a way that aligns with God’s intentions. So I prayed to God, “God, in doing my duties, I have always catered to the flesh, failed to fulfill my duties, and I have failed to live up to Your intentions. I am now willing to repent to You and accept Your scrutiny. I will practice being earnest and responsible in my completion of every task and I will fulfill my duties as I should.”

After that, when doing my duties, I focused on practicing and entering in this way. I remember once, the brothers and sisters sent me two videos that needed to be checked urgently. One of the videos had a lot of issues and required a lot of time and effort to check, and I couldn’t help but complain again. But at this point, I realized that I was considering my flesh, so I quickly prayed to God and rebelled against myself. I recalled a passage of God’s words: “There are not many opportunities currently to perform a duty, so you must take hold of them when you can. It is precisely when faced with a duty that you must exert yourself; that is when you must offer yourself up, expend yourself for God, and when you are required to pay the price. Do not hold anything back, harbor any schemes, leave any leeway, or give yourself a way out. If you leave any leeway, are calculating, or are wily and treacherous, then you are bound to do a poor job” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Life Entry Begins With the Performance of Duty). An urgent task had come upon me, and this was exactly the time when I needed to rebel against my flesh and pay a price. I should accept God’s scrutiny, earnestly and responsibly complete this work, and fulfill my responsibilities, as only this would align with God’s intention. So, I quickly finished checking the videos, and afterward, I dealt with other matters. Later, when I encountered similar situations, just as before, I consciously quieted myself before God and put my duties first. By practicing this way, my heart felt at peace, and my duties felt much more fulfilling than before.

By experiencing these circumstances, I was finally able to see the dangers and consequences of indulging in comfort, and I also realized that, in doing one’s duties, only by having a true sense of burden and being willing to suffer and pay a price can one fulfill their responsibilities and duties.