By Yicao, China

I was doing text-based duties in the church, but at the beginning of 2022, I was reassigned to a different duty. Later on, I reflected on myself and realized that it was due to my serious corrupt disposition and constant adherence to my own views that had led to my duty not being done up to standard. A few months later, the leaders asked me to continue doing text-based duties. One day in August 2022, I accidentally happened to learn that I had been reassigned before because of my poor caliber and that it was only due to the increased quantity of text-based work and lack of text workers that the church arranged for me to come back. Hearing this, I felt very distressed, and thought, “I initially thought I was brought back again this time because I had some caliber and could handle this duty, but I didn’t expect that this was how the brothers and sisters had evaluated me. It seems that no matter how hard I try in this duty, it will all be in vain. The brothers and sisters who have just started to do text-based work have good caliber, and after some cultivating, they will surpass me. I’m just temporarily laboring in this duty. Brothers and sisters with good caliber can play an important role in their work, and their hope of being saved is greater. But my poor caliber means I can’t handle important work, and that I could be reassigned at any time, so how can I have any hope of salvation? Rather than doing this, I’d be better off preaching the gospel and watering newcomers. At least in the gospel work, I can prepare some good deeds, and have some hope of surviving.” Thinking of these things, I felt very despondent, and I even regretted coming back to do the text-based work.

Later, I realized my state was wrong, so I came before God to pray, “God, I heard the sisters say that I was previously reassigned in my duty because of my poor caliber. I feel so sad, but I know I shouldn’t be negative or misunderstanding. I ask You to enlighten me to understand Your intention, so that I may have the faith to strive upward.” At that moment, I thought of a passage of God’s words: “God’s wish is for every person to be made perfect, to be ultimately gained by Him, to be completely cleansed by Him, and to become people He loves. No matter whether I say you are backward or of poor caliber, this is all fact. My saying this does not prove that I intend to forsake you, that I have lost hope in you, much less that I am unwilling to save you. Today I have come to do the work of your salvation, which is to say that the work I do is a continuation of the work of salvation. Every person has the chance to be made perfect: Provided that you are willing, provided that you pursue, in the end you will be able to achieve this result, and not one of you will be forsaken. If you are of poor caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your poor caliber; if you are of high caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your high caliber; if you are ignorant and illiterate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your illiteracy; if you are literate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with the fact that you are literate; if you are elderly, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your age; if you are capable of providing hospitality, My requirements of you will be in accordance with this capability; if you say you cannot offer hospitality, and can only perform a certain function, whether it be spreading the gospel, or taking care of the church, or attending to other general affairs, My perfection of you will be in accordance with the function that you perform. Being loyal, submitting to the very end, and seeking to have supreme love for God—this is what you must accomplish, and there are no better practices than these three things” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination). God’s words really moved me. God has prepared the opportunity for salvation for everyone, and regardless of whether one’s caliber is poor or good, or whether one is old or young, God makes requirements of each person according to their actual stature and caliber, and arranges suitable duties for each person. No matter what duty a person does, as long as they pursue the truth and are loyal to God, God will give His salvation equally, without showing favoritism. I thought of the brother in the experiential testimony video The Elderly Can Still Bear Witness for God. Although he was very old and had illness, he did his best in his duty, in hosting, and practiced writing experiential articles to bear witness to God. He was able to understand some truths, and his life showed progress. This shows God’s fairness and righteousness. God makes demands of each person according to their background, stature, and caliber, and He doesn’t try to make things difficult for anyone. But I didn’t understand God’s intention, and I fallaciously thought that only those with good caliber could be saved, and that those with poor caliber could not be saved. So when I learned that the brothers and sisters evaluated me as having poor caliber, and that I was not up to the text-based work, I felt that I couldn’t play a big role in the church, that God didn’t like me, and that I had no hope of salvation. I even regretted coming back to do text-based work. I was living in my notions and imaginings, misunderstanding God, and I was truly foolish and lacking in reason! In truth, God knows what my caliber is like, and the brothers and sisters did too. Since the church arranged for me to do text-based work, I should submit, do my best to work using what I understand and can do, and act with a clear conscience. This was what I should do. I couldn’t continue to be despondent because of my poor caliber.

Afterward, I began to seek, asking myself, “Why, when I learned about my poor caliber, did I become so despondent and upset?” I read God’s words: “When some people hear an upper-level leader say that they have no spiritual understanding, they feel that they aren’t capable of understanding the truth, that God surely doesn’t want them, that they have no hope of being blessed; yet despite the fact that they feel sad, they’re still able to do their duty as normal—such people have a bit of reason. When some people hear someone say they have no spiritual understanding, they become negative, and they no longer wish to do their duty. They think, ‘You say I have no spiritual understanding—doesn’t that mean I have no hope of being blessed? Since I won’t get any blessings in the future, what am I still believing for? I won’t accept being made to render service. Who would toil for you if they got nothing in return for it? I’m not that stupid!’ Do such people possess conscience and reason? They enjoy so much grace from God and yet they don’t know to repay it, and they don’t even want to render service. People like this are finished. They can’t even render service till the end and they have no true faith in God; they are disbelievers. If they have a sincere heart for God and true faith in God, then no matter how they’re evaluated, this will only enable them to know themselves more truly and accurately—they should approach this matter correctly and not let it impact them following God or doing their duty. Even if they can’t receive blessings, they should still be willing to render service for God until the end, and be happy to do so, without complaints, and they should allow God to orchestrate them in all things—only then will they be someone with conscience and reason. Whether a person receives blessings or suffers catastrophe is in God’s hands, God is sovereign over this and arranges this, and it is not something that people can ask for or work toward. Instead, it depends on whether that person can obey God’s words, accept the truth, and do their duty well according to God’s requirements—God will repay each person according to their deeds. If someone has this bit of sincerity, and they devote all the strength that they can muster to the duty they should do, then that is enough, and they will earn God’s approval and blessing” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Twelve: They Want to Withdraw When They Have No Status or No Hope of Gaining Blessings). “Antichrists believe in God solely for the purpose of obtaining profit and blessings. Even if they endure some suffering or pay some prices, it’s all in order to make a deal with God. Their intention and desire to obtain blessings and rewards is immense, and they cling to it tightly. They don’t accept any of the many truths that God has expressed, in their hearts they always think that believing in God is all about obtaining blessings and securing a good destination, that this is the highest principle, and that nothing can surpass it. They think that people should not believe in God unless for the sake of gaining blessings, and that if it wasn’t for the sake of blessings, belief in God would have no meaning or value, that it would lose its meaning and value. Were these ideas instilled in antichrists by someone else? Do they derive from someone else’s education or influence? No, they are determined by the inherent nature essence of antichrists, which is something no one can change. Despite God incarnate speaking so many words today, antichrists don’t accept any of them, but instead resist and condemn them. The nature of their being averse to the truth and hating the truth can never change. If they can’t change, what does this indicate? It indicates that their nature is wicked. This is not an issue of pursuing or not pursuing the truth; this is a wicked disposition, it is brazenly clamoring against God and antagonizing God. This is the nature essence of antichrists; it is their true face” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part Two)). Thanks to the exposure of God’s words, I found the root of the problem. It turned out that behind my negativity and misunderstandings lay wrong views on what to pursue. I treated seeking blessings through believing in God as a legitimate goal of pursuit, and when my desire for blessings was not fulfilled, I became discouraged, disappointed, negative, and pained. When I was evaluated as having poor caliber and not suited for text-based work, I thought I was finished, and that no matter how much I pursued, it would be useless, and that sooner or later, I would be eliminated. As a result, I lived in a negative state, and I no longer had the motivation to do my duties. I saw that I was doing my duties just to gain blessings, and that I was living by the satanic philosophies of “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost” and “Never lift a finger without a reward.” Everything I did was driven by the word “profit.” If something was beneficial for my future or could bring blessings, I was willing to do it, and I’d find myself able to suffer and pay a price. But if something was not beneficial for me, I was unwilling to do it, and I’d even want to avoid or refuse it. I saw that I was truly selfish and profit-driven! Looking back to when I first believed in God, I saw that I forsook everything to follow God in order to obtain a good outcome and destination, and no matter what duties the church assigned for me, I was able to accept and submit to them, and I was able to suffer and pay a price. I thought I would be saved and survive, and so I had endless energy. But when the brothers and sisters evaluated me as having poor caliber, I felt that I had no opportunities to be promoted and cultivated, unable to do important work, and that I would eventually be eliminated. So I became negative, harbored misunderstanding, and was unwilling to continue doing text-based work. Although I seemed to believe in and follow God, my focus was still on my future and destiny. I wanted to trade my performance of my duties for a good outcome and destination, and in this, I was trying to bargain with and deceive God. I was walking the path of an antichrist! Realizing these things, I felt very guilty. I thought about how the church had arranged for me to do text-based work and given me the opportunity to train in my duties, and I saw that this was God’s grace! But I didn’t think to be grateful, nor to repay God’s love. Instead, I always just wanted to try and bargain with God. I didn’t even have the conscience and reason a person should have. I was truly lacking in humanity! I felt truly indebted to God, I hated myself for being so deeply corrupt, and I didn’t want to remain in this negativity anymore.

Later, I continued to reflect, thinking, “When the brothers and sisters said I had poor caliber, I became despondent and sad. There was another reason for this, namely that I haven’t been able to measure what good and bad caliber is, and I haven’t been able to treat myself correctly.” I read God’s words. “How should people’s caliber be measured? It should be measured based on the degree to which they comprehend God’s words and the truth. This is the most accurate way of doing it. Some people are silver-tongued, quick-witted, and especially skilled at handling other people—but when they listen to sermons, they are never able to understand anything, and when they read God’s words, they do not comprehend them. When they talk about their experiential testimony, they always speak words and doctrines, revealing themselves to be mere amateurs, and giving others the sense that they have no spiritual understanding. These are people of poor caliber” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. To Fulfill One’s Duty Well, Understanding the Truth Is Most Crucial). “Whether it is comprehending the truth or learning a profession or specialized skill, people of good caliber are able to grasp the principles they contain, to get to the root of things, and to identify their reality and essence. In this way, in everything they do, every job they are engaged in, they make the right judgments and determine the correct standards and principles. This is what good caliber is. People of good caliber are able to handle oversight of the various work of the house of God. Those of average or poor caliber are incapable of such work. This is by no means a case of the house of God favoring or looking down on some people, or treating people differently—it is just that many people cannot handle oversight because of their caliber. Why can’t they handle oversight? What is the root cause? It is that they do not understand the truth. And why don’t they understand the truth? It is because their caliber is average, or even very poor. This is why the truth is beyond them and they are unable to understand the truth when they hear it. Some people may not understand the truth because they do not listen attentively, or it could be that they are young and have as yet no conception of faith in God, and it is of no great interest to them. However, these are not the main reason. The main reason is that their caliber is insufficient. For people of inferior caliber, no matter what their duty is or how long they have been doing the work, no matter how many sermons they hear or how you fellowship on the truth with them, they still cannot get their head around it. They drag out the performance of their duty, make a complete mess of things, and achieve nothing. For some people who serve as team leaders and handle oversight of some of the work, when they first assume responsibility for the work, they do not grasp the principles. After several failures, they come to understand the truth and grasp the principles by seeking and asking questions. Then, based on these principles, they can handle oversight and shoulder the work on their own. This is what it means to have caliber. For other people, you can tell them all the principles and even describe in detail how to implement them, and they will seem to understand what you tell them, but they still can’t grasp the principles when they do things. Instead, they rely on their own ideas and imaginings, even believing this to be right. However, they cannot clearly say and don’t actually know whether they do things in accordance with the principles. If the Above asks them questions, they become flustered and do not know what to say. They only feel assured when the Above handles oversight and provides guidance. This indicates their caliber is very poor. With such poor caliber, they cannot satisfy the requirements of God or live up to the truth principles, let alone perform their duties in a satisfactory manner” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. To Fulfill One’s Duty Well, Understanding the Truth Is Most Crucial). From God’s words I understood that people with good caliber can grasp key points after hearing God’s words, and from these words, they can understand the truth, reflect on and know themselves, and find a path of practice and entry. In addition, people with good caliber have spiritual understanding and are perceptive. When encountering situations, they can draw inferences, and accurately practice according to God’s required principles. On the other hand, people with poor caliber are weaker in comprehending the truth and less perceptive, and no matter how many sermons they hear, their life growth is slow. They struggle to grasp principles in their duties, often just sticking to regulations, and the effectiveness of their duties is a little poorer. Pondering God’s words, I reflected on myself, “I’ve been doing text-based work for several years, and I’ve heard a lot of principles, but I haven’t made much progress. Especially when facing slightly complex issues, I get confused and tend to just stick to regulations. Every time I finish a task, it still needs checking and guidance from the leaders, and my work efficiency is pretty low.” Only then did I realize that my caliber was indeed poor. In the past, I thought I had good caliber, but this was not measured based on truth principles, just my own notions and imaginings. Although I could do some work, this didn’t mean I had good caliber, just that after doing this work for a long time, I’d gained some experience in the work. But compared to the brothers and sisters with truly good caliber, I was still really lacking. At this point, I gained a correct evaluation of my actual caliber, and in my heart, I became able to accept and acknowledge the brothers and sisters’ evaluation of me. Although my caliber wasn’t very good, the church had still given me the opportunity to do text-based work. This was God’s grace. I couldn’t be lacking in conscience, and I had to proactively work and do my duty to repay God’s love.

Afterward, I read another passage of God’s words and my wrong view of pursuing blessings was somewhat corrected. God says: “In what way is treating the pursuit of blessings as an objective wrong? It flies completely in the face of the truth, and is not congruent with God’s intention to save people. Since being blessed is not an appropriate objective for people to pursue, what is an appropriate objective? The pursuit of the truth, the pursuit of changes in disposition, and being able to submit to all of God’s orchestrations and arrangements: these are the objectives that people should pursue. Say, for example, being pruned causes you to have notions and misunderstandings, and you become incapable of submission. Why can’t you submit? Because you feel that your destination or your dream of being blessed has been challenged. You become negative and upset, and want to give up your duty. What is the reason for this? There is a problem with your pursuit. So how should this be solved? It is imperative that you immediately abandon these mistaken ideas, and that you immediately seek the truth to solve the problem of your corrupt disposition. You should say to yourself, ‘I must not quit, I must still do well the duty that a created being ought to, and put aside my desire to be blessed.’ When you relinquish the desire to be blessed and you walk the path of pursuing the truth, a weight is lifted off your shoulders. And will you still be capable of negativity? Even though there are still times when you are negative, you don’t let this constrain you, and in your heart, you keep praying and fighting, changing the objective of your pursuit from the pursuit of being blessed and having a destination, to the pursuit of the truth, and you think to yourself, ‘The pursuit of the truth is the duty of a created being. To understand certain truths today—there is no greater harvest, this is the greatest blessing of all. Even if God does not want me, and I do not have a good destination, and my hopes of being blessed are shattered, I shall still do my duty properly, I am obligated to. Whatever the reason, it will not impact my performance of my duty, it will not affect my accomplishment of God’s commission; this is the principle by which I conduct myself.’ And in this, have you not transcended the constraints of the flesh? Some may say, ‘Well, what if I’m still negative?’ Then seek the truth again to resolve it. However many times you fall into negativity, if you just keep on seeking the truth to resolve it, and keep on striving for the truth, you will slowly emerge from your negativity. And one day, you will feel that you do not have the desire to gain blessings and are not constrained by your destination and outcome, and that you are easier and freer living without these things” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only in the Practice of the Truth Is There Life Entry). From God’s words, I found the correct goal of pursuit. Faith should not be for the sake of blessings, but to pursue the truth, to pursue dispositional change, and to achieve submission to God. Regardless of whether I am to have a good outcome or destination, I am a created being, and as such, I should submit to and worship God and fulfill my duty. This is the sense of reason that a created being should have. I thought of the eleven criteria that God requires us to meet for our salvation, one of which says: “If you are truly a service-doer, can you render service to Me loyally, without any element of perfunctoriness or negativity?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)). On reflection, doing my duty really shouldn’t involve my own desires and demands, and no matter how God orchestrates things, I should submit, without trying to choose for myself. Even if God says I am a service-doer, I should still loyally render service to God and stand in my place as a created being. Hearing the brothers and sisters evaluate me as having poor caliber on this occasion had been allowed by God, and there was a lesson for me to learn. Through this situation, my despicable intentions of believing in God for blessings and trying to bargain with God were revealed, allowing me to promptly recognize, repent, and correct my previous wrong views on what to pursue. This was God’s love! Without this, I’d never have known myself and it would have been difficult for me to embark on the path of pursuing the truth and being saved. With this realization, I no longer felt resistant to this situation, and I no longer wanted to worry or fret about my future or destination.

Later, I read a passage of God’s words, which gave me a path of practice. Almighty God says: “‘Though my caliber is low, I have an honest heart.’ These words sound very real, and speak of a requirement God makes of people. What requirement? That if people are lacking in caliber, it is not the end of the world, but they must possess an honest heart, and if they do, they will be able to receive God’s approval. No matter your situation or background, you must be an honest person, speak honestly, act honestly, be able to perform your duty with all your heart and mind, be loyal to your duty, not look to cut corners, not be a slippery or deceitful person, not lie or deceive, and not talk in circles. You must act according to the truth and be someone who pursues the truth. Many people think they are of poor caliber, and that they never fulfill their duty well or up to standard. They give their very best in what they do, but they can never grasp the principles, and still cannot produce very good results. Ultimately, all they can do is complain that they are too poor in caliber, and they become negative. So, is there no way forward when a person is of poor caliber? Being of poor caliber is not a fatal disease, and God never said He does not save people who are of poor caliber. As God said before, He is grieved by those who are honest but ignorant. What does it mean to be ignorant? Ignorance in many cases comes from being of poor caliber. When people are of poor caliber they have a shallow understanding of the truth. It is not specific or practical enough, and is often limited to a surface-level or literal understanding—it is limited to doctrine and regulations. That is why they cannot make sense of many problems, and can never grasp the principles while performing their duty, or do their duty well. Does God not want people of poor caliber then? (He does.) What path and direction does God point people toward? (That of being an honest person.) Can you be an honest person just by saying so? (No, you must have the manifestations of an honest person.) What are the manifestations of an honest person? Firstly, having no doubts about God’s words. That is one of the manifestations of an honest person. Apart from this, the most important manifestation is seeking and practicing the truth in all matters—this is most crucial. You say that you are honest, but you always push God’s words to the back of your mind and just do whatever you want. Is that the manifestation of an honest person? You say, ‘Although my caliber is poor, I have an honest heart.’ And yet when a duty falls to you, you are afraid of suffering and bearing responsibility if you do not do it well, so you make excuses to shirk your duty or suggest that someone else do it. Is this the manifestation of an honest person? Clearly, it is not. How, then, should an honest person behave? They should submit to God’s arrangements, be loyal to the duty they are supposed to perform, and strive to satisfy God’s intentions. This manifests itself in several ways: One is accepting your duty with an honest heart, not considering your fleshly interests, not being half-hearted about it, and not plotting for your own benefit. Those are manifestations of honesty. Another is putting all your heart and strength into performing your duty well, doing things properly, and putting your heart and love into your duty to satisfy God. These are the manifestations an honest person should have while performing their duty” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). From God’s words, I understood that the caliber of a person is not the standard by which we measure whether they can be saved, and the key things are whether a person can understand and practice the truth, and whether their life disposition changes in the end. For some people, although their caliber is poor and they comprehend the truth slowly, they pursue the truth, practice being honest people, and put their heart and full effort into their duties. Such people can ultimately be saved. Thinking about myself, my caliber was poor, and I tended to stick to regulations, so I didn’t achieve good results. This was my reality. But God says that being of poor caliber is not a fatal disease. Since my caliber is poor and I comprehend the truth slowly, I should put more effort into God’s words. I should listen to the sermons and fellowship from the Above more, and I should seek, fellowship, and discuss more with brothers and sisters about any problems or difficulties. This way, I can make progress and do some actual work. I thought about the false leaders and antichrists revealed in the church. Some had good caliber and gifts, but because they didn’t pursue the truth at all, and did their duties only for the sake of their own reputation and status, in the end, they disrupted and disturbed the church’s work, and they were expelled and eliminated. While some brothers and sisters may not have good caliber, they practice what they understand from God’s words, do their duties wholeheartedly and are industrious, and they submit to whatever duty the church arranges for them. Because they are the right people, possess correct hearts, and have an honest attitude toward God and their duties, they are able to get some results in their duties. Of course, if a person’s caliber is really poor, to the point where they pretty much can’t understand God’s words or the truth, it becomes difficult for them to gain the truth, achieve a change in life disposition, and be saved by God. This is also a reality. So, whether a person can be saved depends on whether they can understand God’s words, whether they can understand and practice the truth, and whether their life disposition changes. These are the most critical things.

After that, I read another passage of God’s words and became clearer about the path of practice. God says: “Raising people’s caliber means requiring you to improve your comprehension ability, so that you can understand God’s words, and know how to act upon them. This is the most basic requirement of all. If you follow Me without understanding what I say, is your faith not muddled? No matter how many words I utter, if they are beyond your reach, if you cannot quite understand them no matter what I say, then this means you are of poor caliber. Without the comprehension ability, you understand nothing of what I say, which makes it very difficult to achieve the desired effect; there is much that I cannot say to you directly, and the intended effect cannot be achieved, thus necessitating additional work. Since your comprehension ability, your ability to see things, and the standards by which you live are too deficient, the work of ‘caliber raising’ must be carried out in you. This is inevitable, and there is no alternative. Only thus can some effect be achieved; if not, all of the words I say would be for nothing. And would you all not then go down in history as sinners? Would you not become the scum of the earth? Do you not know what work is being performed in you, and what is required of you? You ought to know your own caliber: It does not meet My requirements at all. And does this not delay My work? Based on your current caliber and the current state of your character, not one of you is fit to bear witness to Me, nor are any of you up to the task of shouldering the heavy responsibilities of My future work. Do you not feel deeply ashamed? If you go on like this, how can you satisfy My intentions? You should live your life to the fullest. Do not let time pass in vain—there is no value in doing so. You should know what you ought to be equipped with. Do not think yourself a jack of all trades—you still have a long way to go! What more is there to say if you do not even possess the minimum common sense of humanity? Is it not all in vain?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Raising Caliber Is for the Sake of Receiving God’s Salvation). From God’s words, I understood that though my caliber was poor, and I entered the truth slowly, and had lower work efficiency than others, I couldn’t give up on myself, become negative, or shrink back. I had to proactively strive for the truth, learn relevant principles, improve my caliber, and do my best to fulfill my duties. If it hadn’t been for this evaluation from the brothers and sisters, I wouldn’t have known myself. I’d always thought I had good caliber and was capable of doing some tasks, and I lived in a state of self-appreciation and self-satisfaction. If I’d continued this way, I’d never have made any progress. Understanding God’s intention, I was no longer constrained by my poor caliber, and no matter how long I could continue in this duty, I was willing to offer my strength and persist in my duty. Even if one day my caliber wasn’t sufficient, and I was reassigned yet again to another duty, I was willing to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. Later on, I began to focus on improving my caliber. I actively studied and researched in my duty, reflected on and summarized past mistakes and deviations in my duties, and focused on doing things according to principles. Without even realizing it, I began to make some progress in my duties, and as I strove upward, my efficiency in my duties also improved.

Through this experience, I felt God’s love and salvation for me, and I saw that God has different requirements for people with different calibers. No matter what caliber a person has, as long as they sincerely pursue the truth, and are faithful and submissive in their duties, then no matter who they are, they have a chance at salvation. This is God’s righteousness.