God asks people to treat Him as God because mankind has been too deeply corrupted, and people don’t treat Him as God, but rather as a person. What is the problem with people always making demands of God? And what is the problem with them always having notions about God? What is contained within man’s nature? I’ve discovered that, regardless of what happens to them, or what they’re dealing with, people always protect their own interests and worry about their own flesh, and they always look for reasons or excuses that serve them. They don’t seek or accept the truth in the slightest, and everything they do is in order to defend their own flesh and plotting for the sake of their own prospects. They all solicit grace from God, wanting to gain whatever advantages they can. Why do people make so many demands of God? This proves that people are greedy by nature, and that before God, they are not possessed of any reason at all. In everything people do—whether they are praying or fellowshipping or preaching—their pursuits, thoughts, and aspirations, these things are all demands of God and attempts to solicit things from Him, they are all done by people in the hope of gaining something from God. Some people say that “this is human nature,” which is correct! In addition, people making too many demands of God and having too many extravagant desires proves that people are truly lacking in conscience and reason. They are all demanding and soliciting things for their own sakes, or trying to argue and find excuses for themselves—they do all of this for themselves. In many things, it can be seen that what people do is totally devoid of reason, which is full proof that the satanic logic of “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost” has already become man’s nature. What problem is illustrated by people making too many demands of God? It illustrates that people have been corrupted by Satan to a certain point, and that in their belief in God, they don’t treat Him as God at all. Some people say: “If we didn’t treat God like God, then why would we still believe in Him? If we didn’t treat Him like God, could we have kept following Him until now? Could we have endured all this suffering?” On the surface, you believe in God, and you are able to follow Him, yet in your attitude toward Him, and in your views on many things, you don’t treat God like the Creator at all. If you treat God like God, if you treat God as the Creator, then you should stand in your position as a created being, and it would be impossible for you to make any demands of God, or have any extravagant desires. Instead, in your heart, you would be capable of true submission, and you would be fully capable of believing in God in accordance with His requirements, and of submitting to all of His work.

When the incarnation began to be witnessed, people all complained: “God, You didn’t enlighten us before You became flesh so that we could mentally prepare ourselves. If we had been mentally prepared, then we would be able to accept You instead of rebelling and resisting. Aren’t You almighty? We rebel against and resist You because we’ve been corrupted by Satan and can’t help but do so. Can’t You do something to stop us resisting, and allow us smooth passage?” Isn’t this what people thought? Many people also set conditions, saying: “There’s nothing we can do about our rebelliousness and resistance. God’s incarnation is too incompatible with our notions. If God’s incarnation were a little taller, or had an outstanding appearance, or were rich in knowledge and spoke eloquently, or could materialize at will and perform signs and wonders, or if God appeared and worked incarnate in accordance with more of people’s imaginings, then we wouldn’t resist God.” Many people made these demands at that time, but God didn’t act in accordance with man’s imaginings or notions. On the contrary, He struck back against and acted completely contrary to human notions. What did this prove? It proved that human notions and demands are unreasonably troublesome. Some people became church leaders but didn’t do any real work, and only busied themselves with some external affairs. When I pruned these people, saying only a few words of reproach, they felt sad inside, they wept bitterly and became negative. They said to themselves: “Isn’t God merciful and loving? I’m suffering so much, why doesn’t He say a few nice words to comfort me? Why doesn’t He bestow even a single word of blessing on me?” People made demands of God in this way, and they were full of their own justifications. Some people felt they had capital because they had spread the gospel successfully to many other people, so after doing something wrong and being pruned, they argued: “I spread the gospel successfully to so many people without any reward, and now I’ve been pruned like this. I’ve suffered so much, and in the end, I was still pruned. Why doesn’t God care about my feelings?” Do people who think like this have the truth in their hearts? Are these demands reasonable? If I comforted someone after pruning them, they’d think, “God is so good, I never thought He’d comfort me.” But then, if I pruned someone else, and that person was particularly upset, and I didn’t comfort them, that person would think, “Why does God comfort others after pruning them, but doesn’t comfort me? God’s not being fair to me,” and there’d be notions in their heart. People harbor many unreasonable demands, imaginings, and desires in their hearts which, at a certain time, and given the right environment, will come bursting out. For none of the thoughts, ideas, or demands revealed by man are compatible with God, and man’s nature is full of satanic things: Everything he does is for himself, he is selfish and greedy, he has too many extravagant desires, and he is too filthy and too profoundly corrupt.

People always make demands of God, no matter what the situation. What is the problem with this? Some people will pray to God when they are enjoying comfort, saying, “Oh God, protect me, let me live in this state all the time.” People also have demands when they’re unhappy or in low-spirits: “God, why won’t You show me kindness? Why won’t You enlighten me? Why are things so good for other people, but so bad for me?” When met with adversity, people strongly demand that God change their environment; when things are going well, people’s demands become even more excessive. When people obtain something, they covet more, and when they don’t, they desperately want to obtain it. What do people want to obtain? They want to obtain the things they like, and what their fleshly interests require. Therefore, none of man’s demands are justified or deserved. When I gave some clothes or things to use to a few poor families, some people were unhappy to see this. They thought, “Why does God always look after them but not me? God’s not fair!” Others didn’t take it to heart at the time, and they thought, “It is already by God’s grace that I am able to walk the path of believing in Him, and follow it safely until now. I shouldn’t pursue those material things.” But after pondering on it afterward, they felt upset. When they felt unable to overcome that feeling they prayed, and temporarily stopped ruminating, but those things were still in their hearts—however they weighed them, their hearts still felt out of sorts, and they thought to themselves: “Where’s God’s righteousness? Why can’t I see it? God doesn’t handle any of these external affairs fairly or reasonably, so where is His righteousness manifested?” Then they changed their minds and thought, “Righteousness isn’t the same as fairness or reasonableness, and they shouldn’t be conflated,” but they were still upset and unable to let the matter go. People are so concerned about a bit of material interest, it would be great if they could be equally concerned about the truth. Regardless, always making demands of God in one’s heart is a part of their nature, and people who don’t love the truth all love material benefits. In sum, all of people’s demands and plots—demanding this and that from God, plotting here and there—are incompatible with the truth, and at odds with God’s requirements and intentions. God loves none of them, they are all loathed and hated by Him. The demands people make of God, all they pursue, and the paths they walk all have nothing to do with the truth. Some people think, “I’ve been working for the church for so many years—if I’m sick, God should heal and bless me.” In particular, those who have believed in God for a long time demand even more from Him; those who have only believed for a short time feel unworthy, but after a while, they’ll begin to feel entitled. This is just how people are; this is man’s nature, and no person is an exception to this. Some people say, “I’ve never made excessive demands of God because I am a created being, and I am not worthy of asking anything of Him.” Do not rush to say that, time will reveal everything. People’s nature and intentions will be eventually exposed and burst forth one day. People don’t make demands of God because they don’t think it’s necessary, or the right time, or because they’ve already made so many demands of God, yet they just don’t realize that it’s a demand. In short, people have this kind of nature, so it is impossible for them not to reveal it. With the right circumstances or opportunity, it will naturally be revealed. Why fellowship on this today? It’s to make people understand what is in their own nature. Don’t think that believing in God for a few years, or doing a few days’ work for the church, means that you’ve expended, devoted, or suffered a lot for Him and deserve to obtain a few things, like the enjoyment of material things, bodily nourishment, or to be more respected and valued by others, or for God to speak gently to you, or to care about you more, and to ask often whether you’re eating and dressing well, how you’re doing physically, and so on. These things arise unconsciously in people when they have expended a long time for God, and they come to think that they deserve to demand anything from Him. When they have only been expending for God for a short amount of time, they think that they don’t have the right, and they don’t dare to make demands of God. But over time, they’ll think that they have capital and their demands will start coming out, and these aspects of their nature will be exposed. Aren’t people like this? Why don’t people contemplate on whether it’s right to make demands like this of God? Do you deserve these things? Did God promise them to you? If something doesn’t belong to you, yet you stubbornly demand it, this is at odds with the truth, and entirely born from your satanic nature. How did the archangel behave in the beginning? It was given too high a position, given too much, so it thought that it deserved whatever it desired and whatever it obtained, finally reaching the point where it said, “I want to be on equal footing with god!” That is why people believe in God with too many demands, too grand desires. If they don’t examine themselves, and fail to realize the seriousness of the problem, then one day they’ll say, “Step down, god. I could more or less be god myself,” or, “God, I’ll wear whatever you wear, eat whatever you eat.” People who have reached this level are already treating God as a human. Though people verbally recognize that God incarnate is God Himself, these are all just superficial words. In reality, their hearts do not have the slightest bit of submission to or fear of God. Some people even want to be God, and there will be trouble if their ambitions and desires swell to this degree. It is likely that a calamity will befall them, and even if they’re expelled from the church, they will still be punished by God.

Believers in God should treat God as God, and only by doing so are they truly believing in God. They shouldn’t just acknowledge God’s status, they should have true understanding and fear of God’s essence and disposition, and be absolutely submissive. Here are a couple of ways to practice this: First, maintain piety and an honest attitude within when interacting with God, without any notions or imaginings, and possess a submissive heart. Second, bring the intentions behind everything you say, every question you ask, and everything you do before God to examine them and pray. Only by knowing how to practice in accordance with the truth principles, and with a basis in God’s word, will you be able to enter the truth reality. If you do not seek the truth, you will not only be unable to enter the truth reality, but you’ll accumulate more and more notions, and that spells trouble. When you regard God as a person, then the god you believe in is the vague god in heaven; you will have completely denied the incarnation, and you will no longer acknowledge the practical God in your heart. At this time, you will become an antichrist and fall into darkness. The more justifications you have, the more demands you will make of God, and the more notions you will have about Him, which will put you in increasing danger. The more demands you make of God, the more it proves that you simply don’t treat God as God. If you always harbor demands of God in your heart, then, over time, you will likely treat yourself as God, and bear testimony for yourself when working in the church, even saying, “Doesn’t god bear testimony for himself? Why can’t I?” Because you don’t understand God’s work, you will have notions about Him, and you will not have a God-fearing heart. Your tone of voice will change, your disposition will become arrogant, and in the end, you will gradually come to exalt and bear testimony for yourself. This is the process of man’s decline, and it is completely brought about by them not pursuing the truth. Everyone who walks the path of antichrists exalts and bears testimony for themselves, promotes themselves and shows themselves off at every turn, and doesn’t care about God at all. Have you experienced these things that I’m talking about? Many people persistently testify for themselves, talking about how they suffer this and that, how they work, how God values them, and entrusts to them some such work, and what they are like, deliberately using particular tones while speaking, and affecting certain manners, until eventually some people will probably begin to think that they are God. The Holy Spirit has long since abandoned those who reach this degree, and while they have not yet been cleared out or expelled, and are left instead to render service, their fate is already sealed and they are just awaiting their punishment. This has already happened in some places. A new believer saw that a certain sister spoke and appeared quite dignified, and mistook her for God. When it was time to leave, this new believer clung to her thigh and cried, “Oh god! Don’t go! Oh god! I’ll miss you!” She clearly knew that she was not God, but didn’t deny this or set the record straight. Does such a person have reason? (They do not.) She has no reason at all, and she is definitely no good! Some people are confused and ignorant, and treat somebody like that as God—this truly is a terrible thing! And to cling, crying, to her thigh is simply so ignorant as to be irredeemable! If you can treat a corrupt human who is of Satan as God, then in what way are you believing in God? Is that not believing in Satan? How confused must someone be to treat a person like God? If you believe in God, but you are unable to accept or pursue the truth, it is likely that you will be misled by others, and you will be liable to do foolish things and to go astray. Foolish and ignorant people are truly in danger, they are capable of doing all kinds of stupid things.

People always make demands of God, asking Him to do this or that according to their own notions. You ask God to save you, to have mercy on you, to love you, to show you grace—all according to your ideas. In doing so, you are using your own ideas and your own methods to make demands of God, and to make God obey you. What’s the problem with this? Is this believing in God? What you believe in is simply yourself. God is not in your heart, nor are any truths to speak of. Someone bought Me a pair of shoes out of kindness, but they didn’t fit, so I wanted to return them. But then I thought if I returned them, he might misunderstand, so I gave them to another person to wear. He couldn’t accept this when he found out, and said: “Do You know how much effort and money I spent, and how far I traveled to buy them? You gave them away so easily, do You think it was that easy for me to earn that money? Give them back if You don’t want to wear them—how could You give them to others?” I said: “I didn’t commission you to buy Me shoes. You bought and gave them to Me, but they didn’t fit so I gave them to others to wear. Is that a problem? If I gave them back to you, would you not become negative and weak, and misunderstand Me? Can’t I make reasonable arrangements?” Is it appropriate for people to treat Me like this? It seems that people still have intentions and demands even when they offer something to God. Is this someone who understands the truth? When you offer something to God, it is no longer yours, it belongs to Him. God can do whatever He wants with it, and however He handles it is His business. People should have a bit of reason, learn to submit, and not always interfere with God’s affairs. Is there any reason in constantly arguing with God? When people buy things for Me, they seem full of great kindness and love for God, but afterward they demand that I must like them, and complain if I do not. What’s more, it’s not okay if I don’t use them, people make restrictions about whom I can give them to, and don’t permit Me to do this or that. People scrutinize and ponder on God all day long like this, thinking, “Why can’t God satisfy man’s desires?” People are completely lacking in reason, they are so unreasonable! I’ve found that people all say, “I must love God well, and repay His love,” but they don’t have the slightest understanding in their hearts of what it means to love God. People’s hearts are full of their corrupt dispositions, so how can there be love? Isn’t talk of loving and submitting to God nothing but empty words, if people are so corrupt that they don’t even have the reason of a normal person? The only things that are within people are notions and imaginings, resentment, extravagant desires, and their unreasonable demands. There is simply no love or submission within them. For people, love is just a goal to pursue, just a requirement from God. How many of them achieve it? How many have real experiential testimony?

Now that you are all willing to pursue the truth and to strive to change your dispositions, how should you reflect on yourself when you make demands of God? Are your demands in line with the truth? What should your attitude be toward God? Have you ever contemplated these questions? Some people become arrogant after leading a few churches, thinking that God’s house can’t do without them, and that they deserve special treatment. People have a satanic nature, and the higher someone’s position, the greater their demands of God become; the more someone understands doctrines, the more hidden and treacherous their demands become. They may not say them out loud, but they’re concealed in their hearts. They are not easily discovered by other people, but who knows when the complaints and resistance inside a person might burst forth? That would mean even more trouble, and it would be likely to offend God’s disposition. Why is it that the more a person is a leader or a celebrity in the religious world, the more likely they are to be an antichrist who is in danger? The higher someone’s position, the greater their ambitions become; the more someone understands doctrines, the more arrogant their disposition becomes. It is dangerous, therefore, to believe in God but to pursue status rather than the truth. God has expressed so many truths, and revealed and eliminated from His house all those who do not love the truth, let alone those in religious circles. Do you see the necessity of God judging and chastising people? When people really understand the truth and have life entry, they will see the reality of their own corruption, and feel that it would be dangerous for them to not pursue the truth. Right now, people don’t understand their own nature at all, and even if they do have a little superficial understanding, it’s just of doctrines, and they haven’t gained the truth. Therefore, they don’t think they’re in danger, nor do they know to be afraid, or to worry about themselves. Some new believers dare to say and do anything, but those who have experienced judgment and chastisement are different. They have somewhat of a God-fearing heart, and even if they harbor some notions, they don’t dare speak them out, and they know to quickly pray: “Oh God, I’ve offended You….” Some new believers dare to blurt out words of blasphemy without even thinking, saying “God suffers? Suffers what? Eating and dressing well, being hosted by people everywhere—that’s not suffering! But I don’t care about those things. I believe in the spirit of god, not a person.” They dare to deny the incarnation. These people have such audacity. They have no God-fearing heart at all, they aren’t afraid of anything, they dare to say anything, and they all harbor demonic and beastly natures. If the Above has a somewhat good impression or opinion about someone, some people say, “This is a popular and favored person in the church, who is well received in god’s house.” Does this sort of person understand the truth? Not in the slightest. The way they view things has completely exposed that everything in their heart is still of the world. It is a totally secular viewpoint and vibe. Can believing in God and reading His words have any effect on these people? They do not accept the truth at all, and their way of viewing things is the same as nonbelievers’. They are actually disbelievers.

Always making demands of God is a part of man’s nature, and you must dissect this nature according to God’s word. How should you dissect it? The first step is to be clear about which unreasonable demands, and which extravagant desires people have with regard to God, and you should dissect each and every one of them: Why do people make that demand? What is their motive? What is their aim? The more you conscientiously dissect it in this way, the more understanding you’ll have of your own nature, and the more detailed that understanding will become. If you do not dissect it in detail, but just know that people shouldn’t make demands of God, only understanding that making demands of God is unreasonable, and that’s it, then ultimately you will make no progress, and you will not change. Some people say: “We have so many demands of God because we’re too selfish. What should we do?” Naturally, people must understand the truth and know the essence of selfishness. When you truly understand the essence of human selfishness, you will know what you lack; what is frightening is if people cannot understand this. It is easy to recognize obvious extravagant or unreasonable demands through dissection, and possible to hate yourself. Sometimes you might think that your demands are reasonable and fair, and because you deem them reasonable and think that’s the way things should be, and because others make similar demands, it may seem to you that your demands aren’t excessive, but are justifiable and natural. This shows that you still don’t have the truth, which is why you cannot clearly understand them. Here’s an example: Suppose that there was a man who followed God for many years, and suffered a lot through many storms and challenges. He always appeared to behave well, and seemed okay in terms of his humanity, his suffering, and his loyalty to God. He was even rather possessed of conscience, willing to repay God’s love, and usually knew to step carefully while carrying out his work. Later, I discovered that this man spoke clearly and nicely, but wasn’t submissive in the slightest, so I replaced him and commanded that he not be used again in the future. He had worked for the church for several years, and suffered a lot, and yet he was ultimately replaced. What’s more, I hadn’t resolved some of his practical difficulties. What would people think of this kind of situation? First, many people would come to his defense and say, “That’s not okay. In these circumstances God should show him great mercy and grace, because he loves God, and expends for Him. If someone like him, who has believed in God for many years, can be eliminated, what hope do new believers like us have?” Here come people’s demands once more, always hoping that God will bless that person, and let him remain, while still thinking: “That guy has done right by God, God shouldn’t let him down!” So many of the demands that people make of God arise from human notions and imaginings. People are measuring what God should give to people, and how He should treat them according to the standards of conscience for what is fair and reasonable among men, but how can this be in line with the truth? Why do I say that mankind’s demands are all unreasonable? Because they are the standards that people demand from other people. Do people have the truth? Are they able to see through to man’s essence? Some people demand that God treat people according to the standard of conscience, holding God to the standard demanded of humans. This isn’t in line with the truth, and it is unreasonable. People are able to endure when it comes to some small matters, but may not be able to bear it when their outcome is ultimately determined. Their demands will come out, and words of complaint and condemnation will flow from their mouths without restraint, and they will start to show their true colors. At that time, they will know their own nature. People are always making demands of God according to human notions and their own will, and they make many demands of this sort. You may not normally notice, and think that occasionally praying to God for something doesn’t count as a demand, but actually, careful dissection shows that many human demands are unreasonable, lacking in reason, and even ridiculous. You didn’t recognize the seriousness of this matter before, but you will gradually come to know it in the future, and then you will have a true understanding of your own nature. Little by little, experience will bring you knowledge and discernment of your nature, and, in combination with fellowshipping on the truth, you will come to know it clearly—then you will have entered into the truth in this respect. When you truly understand man’s nature essence clearly, your disposition will change, and then you will have the truth.

Nothing is more difficult to handle than people constantly making demands of God. As soon as God’s actions do not correspond with your thinking, or haven’t been carried out in accordance with your thinking, then you are likely to resist—which is sufficient to show that, in nature, you are resistant to God. Recognition of this problem can only be achieved by frequently reflecting on yourself and thus reaching an understanding of the truth, and it can only be fully resolved by pursuing the truth. When people do not understand the truth, they make many demands of God, whereas when they truly understand the truth, they make none; they feel only that they have not satisfied God enough, that they do not submit to God enough. That people always make demands of God reflects their corrupt nature. If you cannot know yourself and truly repent concerning this matter, then you will face hidden dangers and peril on your path of belief in God. You are able to overcome ordinary things, but when important matters such as your fate, prospects, and destination are involved, you will perhaps be unable to overcome them. At that time, if you still lack the truth, you may well fall back upon your old ways, and will thus become one of those who are destroyed. Many people have always followed and believed in this way; they’ve behaved well during the time that they’ve followed God, but this does not determine what will happen in the future. This is because you are never aware of man’s Achilles’ heel, or the things that are within man’s nature that can come to oppose God, and before they lead you to disaster, you remain ignorant of these things. Because the issue of your nature opposing God goes unresolved, it sets you up for disaster, and it is possible that when your journey ends and God’s work finishes, you will do that which most opposes God and say that which is blasphemous against Him, and thus you will be condemned and eliminated. At the final moment, at the most perilous of times, Peter tried to escape. At the time, he did not understand God’s intention, and planned to survive and do the work of the churches. Later, Jesus appeared to him and said: “Would you have Me crucified for you once more?” Peter then understood God’s intention, and was quick to submit. Suppose that, at that moment, he had his own demands and said, “I don’t want to die now, I fear pain. Were You not crucified for our sake? Why do You ask that I be crucified? Can I be spared from crucifixion?” If he had made such demands, then the path he had walked would have been in vain. But Peter had always been a person who submitted to God and sought His intention, and, in the end, he understood God’s intention and submitted completely. If Peter had not sought God’s intention and had acted according to his own thinking, then he would have taken the wrong path. People lack the faculties to understand God’s intentions directly, but if they do not submit after understanding the truth, then they are betraying God. That is to say, people always making demands of God relates to their nature: The more demands they have, the more rebellious and resistant they are, and the more notions they have. The more demands someone makes of God, the more likely it is that they will rebel against, resist, and even oppose Him. Perhaps one day they could betray and leave God. If you want to solve this problem, you need to understand several aspects of the truth, and also have some practical experience in order to understand it thoroughly and completely resolve it.

In measuring whether or not people can submit to God, the key is whether or not they have any extravagant desires or ulterior motives toward Him. If people are always making demands of God, it proves that they are not submissive to Him. No matter what happens to you, if you do not accept it from God, and you do not seek the truth, and you are always arguing for yourself and always feeling that only you are right, and if you are even capable of doubting that God is the truth and righteousness, then you will be in trouble. Such people are the most arrogant and rebellious to God. People who always make demands of God cannot truly submit to Him. If you make demands of God, this proves that you are trying to make a deal with God, that you are choosing your own will, and acting according to it. In this, you are betraying God, and you lack submission. To make demands of God is in and of itself lacking in reason; if you truly believe that He is God, then you will not dare to make demands of Him, nor will you feel qualified to make demands of Him, whether you think them reasonable or not. If you have true belief in God, and believe that He is God, then you will only worship and submit to Him, there is no other choice. People today not only make their own choices, they even ask God to act according to their own will. Not only do they not choose to submit to God, they even ask God to submit to them. Isn’t this so lacking in reason? Therefore, if there is no true faith within a person, and no substantial belief, they can never obtain God’s approval. When people are able to make fewer demands of God, they have more true faith and submission, and their reason is comparatively normal. It is often the case that the more inclined to argue people are, and the more justifications they have, the harder they are to deal with. Not only do they have many demands, but if you give them an inch, they’ll want a mile. When they are satisfied in one respect, they’ll then make demands in another. They have to be satisfied in all respects, and if they are not, they start complaining, and write things off as hopeless and act recklessly. Afterward, they feel indebted and remorseful, and they weep bitter tears, and want to die. What is the use in that? Are they not being unreasonable and relentlessly vexatious? This series of problems has to be resolved from the root. If you have a corrupt disposition and don’t resolve it, if you wait until you get into trouble or cause a disaster to resolve it, how can you make up for this loss? Won’t this be a bit like locking the barn door after the horse has already bolted? Therefore, to completely resolve the problem of your corrupt disposition, you must seek the truth to resolve it when it first arises. You must solve the corrupt disposition in its budding state, thereby ensuring that you will not do anything wrong and preventing future troubles. If a corrupt disposition takes root and becomes a person’s thoughts or viewpoint, it will be able to direct a person to do evil. Therefore, self-reflection and self-knowledge is mainly about discovering one’s corrupt dispositions, and quickly seeking the truth to resolve them. You must know what things are in your nature, what you like, what you pursue, and what you want to obtain. You must dissect these things according to God’s words to see if they are in line with God’s intentions, and in what way they are fallacious. Once you understand these things, you must resolve the problem of your abnormal reason, which is to say, the problem of your unreasonable and relentless vexatiousness. This is not only the problem of your corrupt disposition, it also touches on your lack of reason. Especially in matters where their interests are concerned, people who get carried away by self-interest do not possess normal reason. This is a psychological problem, and this is also people’s Achilles’ heel. Some people feel that they have a certain caliber and some gifts, and they always want to be leaders and to stand out, so they ask God to use them. If God doesn’t use them, they say, “How can God not favor me? God, if You use me to do something important, I promise I’ll expend for You!” Is this kind of intention correct? It is a good thing to expend for God, but there are motivations behind their willingness to expend for God. What they love is status, and this is what they focus on. When people are capable of true submission, following God wholeheartedly regardless of whether God uses them or not, and expending for God regardless of whether they have status or not, only then can they be considered to possess reason and to be submissive to God. It is good when people are willing to expend for God, and God is willing to use such people, but if they aren’t equipped with the truth, God has no way to use them. If people are willing to strive toward the truth and cooperate, there must be a preparatory stage. Only after people understand the truth and can genuinely submit to God will God be able to formally use them. This training stage is essential. Leaders and workers today are all in this training stage. After they have life experience and can handle matters with principles, they will be fit to be used by God.

The things in man’s nature are not like some outward behaviors, practices, or thoughts and ideas that can just be pruned and that’s it; they must be unearthed bit by bit. Moreover, they are not easy for people to identify, and even if identified, they are not easy to change—doing so requires an adequately profound understanding. Why do we always dissect man’s nature? Don’t you understand what that means? Where do the revelations of people’s corrupt dispositions come from? They all come from within their nature, and they are all governed by their nature. Every one of man’s corrupt dispositions, every thought and idea, every intention, are all related to man’s nature. Therefore, by directly unearthing man’s nature, their corrupt dispositions can be easily resolved. Though it is not easy to change people’s nature, if they can discern and see through to the corrupt dispositions they reveal, and if they can seek the truth to resolve them, then they can gradually change their dispositions. Once a person has achieved a change in their life disposition, then there will be fewer and fewer things in them that resist God. The purpose of dissecting man’s nature is to change their dispositions. You haven’t grasped this aim, and think that just by dissecting and understanding your nature you can submit to God and restore your reason. All you do is just blindly apply regulations! Why is it that I do not simply expose people’s arrogance and self-righteousness? Why must I also dissect their corrupt nature? It won’t solve the problem if I only expose their self-righteousness and arrogance. But if I dissect their nature, the aspects that this covers are very broad, and it includes all corrupt dispositions. It is more than just the narrow range of self-righteousness, self-importance, and arrogance. Nature includes much more than this. So, it would be good if people could recognize just how many corrupt dispositions they are revealing in all their various demands of God, that is, in their extravagant desires. Once people understand their own nature essence, they can then hate and deny themselves; it will be easy for them to resolve their corrupt dispositions, and they will have a path. Otherwise, you will never dig out the root cause, and will only say that this is self-righteousness, arrogance, or pride, or having no loyalty at all. Can only talking about such superficial things solve your problem? Is there any need to discuss man’s nature? In the beginning, what was the nature of Adam and Eve? There was no intentional resistance within them, much less open betrayal. They didn’t know what it meant to resist God, much less what it meant to submit to Him. Whatever Satan disseminated, they accepted into their hearts. Now Satan has corrupted mankind to such an extent that people can rebel against and resist God in all things, and can think up all sorts of ways to oppose Him. It’s evident that man’s nature is the same as Satan’s. Why do I say that man’s nature is the nature of Satan? Satan is that which resists God, and because people have satanic natures, they are of Satan. While people may not intentionally do things to resist God, because of their satanic nature, all of their thoughts are resistant toward God. Even if people do nothing at all, they are still resisting God, because man’s internal essence has changed into something which resists God. Present man, therefore, is different from newly created man. There was no resistance or betrayal within people before, they were full of life, and not governed by any satanic nature. If there is no domination or disturbance of a satanic nature within people, then no matter what they do, it cannot be considered resisting God.

What is nature? Nature is man’s essence. Dispositions are things that are revealed from one’s nature, and a change in disposition means that one’s corrupt disposition has been purified and replaced with the truth. What is therefore revealed is then not a corrupt disposition, but a manifestation of normal humanity. After Satan corrupted man, man became an embodiment of Satan, and the sort of satanic thing that resists God and is entirely capable of betraying Him. Why does God require people to change their dispositions? Because God wants to perfect and gain people, and people who are finally made complete possess a lot of added realities of knowing God, and the realities of all aspects of the truth. People like this are completely in accordance with God’s intentions. In the past, people had corrupt dispositions, and would make a mistake or show resistance whenever they did something, but now people understand some truths, and can do many things that are in line with God’s intentions. However, this doesn’t mean that people don’t betray God. People still can do this. A part of what is revealed from their nature can be changed, and the part that can change is the part where people are able to practice in accordance with the truth. But just because you can now put the truth into practice doesn’t mean that your nature has changed. It is like how people used to always have notions about and demands of God, and now in many respects they don’t—but they might still have notions or demands in some matters, and are still able to betray God. You might say, “I can submit to whatever God does, and submit in many matters without complaint and without demands,” but you can still betray God in some matters. Although you don’t resist God on purpose, when you don’t understand His intentions you can still go against His desires. So, what is meant by the part that can change? It’s that when you understand God’s intentions, you can submit, and when you understand the truth, you can put it into practice. If you don’t understand the truth or God’s intentions in some matters, then there is still a possibility that you could reveal corruption. If you understand the truth, but do not put it into practice because you are constrained by certain things, then this is betrayal, and this is something in your nature. Of course, there is no limit to how much your disposition can change. The more truths you gain, that is, the deeper your knowledge of God becomes, the less you will resist and betray Him. Seeking to change one’s disposition is mainly achieved by pursuing the truth, and understanding one’s own nature essence is achieved through understanding the truth. When one truly gains the truth, all of their problems will be resolved.

Winter, 1999