Why are we fellowshipping about the difference between performing duty and engaging in worldly work? Is this important? (Yes.) Where does the importance lie? It relates to the attitude people have toward performing their duty. Do not bring the attitudes and principles you have in your worldly work into the realm of performing duty. What are the consequences if you do so? (Acting according to one’s own wishes.) Acting according to one’s own wishes is a common issue; it means not wanting to confer with others when carrying out tasks, wanting to have the final say, and doing whatever one wants, feeling that acting this way brings comfort and contentment free of any sense of oppression or unhappiness. Additionally, it often leads to intrigue, jealousy, disputes, and the forming of cliques, as well as seeking rewards and recognition, showing off, acting perfunctorily, irresponsibility, deceiving those above and below oneself, and setting up one’s own kingdom. In short, performing duty is different from engaging in worldly work; performing duty is a requirement from God and an arrangement by God—this is the greatest difference between performing duty and engaging in worldly work. Performing duty must be done according to God’s requirements and based on the truth principles. It is not one’s personal management, nor their personal business, and it is certainly not anyone’s private affair. It has no relation to personal interests, pride, status, influence, or future prospects; it only relates to people’s life entry and dispositional change, and it relates to God’s management work. In contrast, when you are engaged in worldly work, you are entirely focused on personal management. Whether you are performing a job or operating a business, no matter how great of a cost you pay, no matter how much you can cast away or how much suffering you endure—be these emotional or physical aspects—or whether you’re bullied and humiliated or misunderstood, or even face tremendous public pressure, all that you do revolves around your personal will, aspirations, ambitions, and desires. It is of this nature alone. This nature is just engaging in personal management and running a personal enterprise. Among humankind, there is not a single person who steps forward to say, “I am doing a public service for the sake of humankind; I want to act according to the divine tenets and principles given by Heaven.” There is no such person. Even if someone does step forward to say, “I want to carry out the most altruistic and greatest endeavor for humankind, to create welfare and do good deeds for people,” their goal is not so pure; they are doing it for the sake of fame. Is this not engaging in personal management? It’s all for the sake of personal management. No matter how good their words sound, no matter how much suffering they’ve endured, how great the cost they’ve paid, how big a contribution they’ve made, or whether they’ve changed humankind, transformed an era, or inaugurated a new epoch, whatever they do, their purpose is not for others but for themselves. Corrupt human beings all do things in this way. Whether someone does something big or small, their intent is either for fame or for profit. What is the nature of their actions? It’s engaging in personal management. Does personal management have anything to do with God’s management? It has absolutely no relation. Some people say, “That’s not true. Some people come into this world and change an era; isn’t that also preordained by God? Doesn’t that also have to do with His management?” Are these things related? (No.) Why do you say there’s no connection? (Because it has nothing to do with God’s management work of saving humankind.) Well said; if it has nothing to do with God’s work of saving humankind, then it’s unrelated to God’s management. However, this statement is only half-true; there’s another precondition here, an issue of essence. If it’s unrelated to God’s management plan, then it is all just human management. That’s one aspect, but let Me add something for you: The nature of what they’re doing is for personal fame and benefit; the ultimate beneficiary is themselves. The nature, principles, and ultimate outcome of all they do are for the sake of whom? (Themselves.) It’s for themselves—and, in a more covert sense, for whom? (Satan.) Correct, it’s for Satan. What is the nature of doing things for Satan? (Being an enemy of God.) And what is the underlying essence behind being an enemy of God? Why do we say this is being an enemy of God? (The starting point, origin, and principles of their actions all go against God’s words.) This is one aspect, and it is a fundamental issue. The starting point, origin, and principles of what they’re doing are all of Satan and are wicked, so what is the ultimate result? Who are they bearing witness to? (Satan.) Correct, they’re bearing witness to Satan. Throughout human history, has there been any historian or writer who has attributed the accomplishments of what humans have done in each era to the Creator? (No.) They will only say that these are the legacies or great achievements left behind from humankind’s grand undertakings. Whom do these great people and famous figures who leave these things behind represent in the eyes of humankind? Any famous figure or great person, or those who have made significant contributions to humankind, are all worshiped by corrupt humans. The place they occupy in people’s hearts is the place that people consider as the position of God. Isn’t this the essence of the issue? (Yes.) We just discussed that the origins, motives, starting points, and principles behind people’s actions are all rooted in satanic logic and are not in line with the truth. People accomplish something through human means or through their gifts and become famous among others, and the ultimate consequence is that humankind attributes all of this to Satan; just the same way as many people now worship famous figures and great people from history like Confucius and Guan Yu. No matter how great the deeds these people have done, fundamentally speaking, it is actually God who arranged for these various characters to come into this world and perform specific deeds in different eras. However, in all recorded human history, whether ancient or modern, there is not a single instance that bears witness to the Creator’s deeds. Only the Bible records some elements of the two stages of God’s work in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, but even the words of God recorded there are quite limited. In actuality, God has spoken many words and performed numerous deeds, but what has been recorded by humans is extremely limited. In contrast, there are countless books that record, witness, or praise famous and great people. Doesn’t this clarify the essence of the issue we just discussed? We just mentioned that the famous and great people throughout history have acted for themselves; acting, in essence, for Satan. This shows that they were not performing their duties, but were rather conducting their own management or engaging in their own enterprises. What is the nature, the essence, of any work that people undertake in the world? (Engaging in personal management.) Why is it considered engaging in personal management? What is the root cause? Because it is Satan they bear witness to; their principles and motivations for acting all come from Satan, and have nothing to do with the truth or God’s requirements. But what is the nature of duty? It refers to work carried out according to God’s requirements, meaning that the work must be grounded in the truth, conducted according to the truth principles, and done in line with God’s demands. The result is that people can bear witness to God, and possess submission toward God and have knowledge of Him; they have a deeper understanding of and more genuine submission to the Creator, and even more so they can do what created beings should do. This is the biggest difference between the two. When people take up their duties according to God’s requirements, their relationship with God becomes increasingly normal. And can any work that people engage in in the world achieve this effect? Definitely not, the result is precisely the opposite. The more years one spends doing worldly work, the more they rebel against God and the farther they drift away from Him. The better one’s personal management goes, the farther away they get from God; the more successful one’s personal management becomes, the farther they stray from God’s requirements. Therefore, performing duty and engaging in worldly work have two entirely different natures.

Just now, the difference between a person’s duty and a person engaging in worldly work was discussed. What aspect of the truth is this discussion meant to help people understand? No matter what duty you receive, you should perform it as God asks. For example, when you are selected as leader of a church, your duty is to perform the work of a church leader. And what should you do once you have taken this work as your duty? Firstly, know that only the accomplishment of your work as a leader is the performance of your duty. You are not serving as some official in the outside world; if you become a leader and then think of yourself as an official, you’ve gone astray. But if you say, “Now that I have become a church leader, I must not be condescending, I must put myself below everyone else, I must make them higher and more important than me,” then this mentality is wrong, too; putting on any pretense is useless if you don’t understand the truth. Nothing but a correct understanding of your duty will do. First off, you must appreciate the importance of the work of a church leader: A church could have several dozens of members, and you must think how to lead these people before God, how to allow most of them to understand the truth and enter the truth reality. You must also spend more time watering and supporting those who are negative and weak, to stop them from being negative and weak and enable them to perform their duty. You must also guide all who are capable of performing their duty in understanding the truth and entering the reality, acting according to principles, and performing their duty properly and thus to greater effect. There are certain people who have believed in God for several years but are of quite evil humanity, who always disrupt and disturb the work of the church—these people should be pruned as required; those who stubbornly refuse to repent should be cleared out. They should be handled according to principle and arranged properly. There is also the most important thing of all: Some in the church possess relatively good humanity and a bit of caliber, and are capable of undertaking a certain aspect of work; all such people must be nurtured without delay, sooner rather than later; it will take training for them to become competent, and they won’t be able to do anything well if they never receive any training. Are these not the jobs that a leader or worker urgently needs to perform well? If you have become a leader and do not keep these matters in mind, and do not perform work in this way, can you fulfill your duty well? (No.) As a leader, it is essential to sort out each and every aspect of the church’s work: First, the most important matter is to cultivate talented people. Elevate those who are of good humanity and who possess caliber, and cultivate and train them. Second, lead the brothers and sisters to enter into the truth reality, and enable them to engage in self-reflection, know themselves, discern heresies and fallacies, discern people, and fulfill their duties well—this is a part of life entry. Third, enable the majority of those who can perform their duties to actually do so (excluding those of inferior humanity), and ensure that they achieve results in performing their duties rather than just acting perfunctorily. Fourth, promptly handle those who disrupt and disturb the work of the church. If they reject the truth upon fellowship, they must be pruned. And if they remain unrepentant all the while, they should be isolated for reflection, and even cleared out or expelled. Fifth, enable God’s chosen people to discern nonbelievers, false leaders, and antichrists, ensuring they are not misled and can enter onto the correct path of believing in God as soon as possible. All five of the above points are important and are the inherent tasks of leadership. Fulfilling these five aspects of work is what makes someone a qualified church leader. Additionally, special circumstances must also be handled properly. For example, some people’s negativity and weakness may be temporary, and you should treat them appropriately. You cannot make sweeping judgments; if someone is temporarily negative and you label them as a “negative Nancy” or “chronically negative” and say that God no longer wants them, then that is not appropriate. Moreover, everyone should fulfill their individual roles and contribute according to their abilities. Arrangements for performing duty should be made appropriately based on individuals’ gifts, talents, caliber, age, and the length of time they have believed in God. This approach must be tailored to fit different kinds of people, allowing them to perform their duties in God’s house and maximize their function. If you keep these considerations in mind, then you will develop a burden, and you’ll always have to be focused on observing. Observing what? Not who looks good so you can interact more with them; not who you think is ugly so you can exclude them; not who seems to have capability and status so you can ingratiate yourself with them; and certainly not who doesn’t bow down to you so you can try to punish them. Not any of these things. So what should you observe? You should discern people based on God’s words, on His attitudes and requirements toward various types of people, and treat them based on principles; this aligns with the truth. First, categorize all kinds of people in the church: those with good caliber and an ability to accept the truth as one category, those with poor caliber and an inability to accept the truth as another, those who can perform their duties as another, and those who cannot as yet another. Finally, those nonbelievers who always complain, spread notions, fall into negativity, and cause disturbances should also be placed in the same category. Once you have categorized everyone, and have thoroughly perceived the true state of each group according to God’s words, seeing clearly who can be saved and who cannot, then you will be able to see through all sorts of people; you will understand God’s intentions, and know whom God wants to save and whom He wants to eliminate. Does all this not arise because of your burden? Is this not the correct attitude to have toward duty? If you possess this correct attitude and a burden arises in you, then you can do your work well. If you do not treat your duties this way and instead view performing your duties as if you’re in an official position, always thinking, “Being a leader is like holding office; this is a blessing from God! Now that I have status, people have to listen to me, and that’s a good thing!”—if you think being a leader is the same as being an official, then you’re in trouble. You will definitely lead in the manner of an official and based on how officials operate; can you perform the church’s work properly then? With such a view, you will undoubtedly be revealed and eliminated. You’d always be picturing yourself as an official, where you’d be surrounded by people wherever you went, and people would comply with whatever you said. Also, you’d get first dibs on any benefits in the church. Whatever work the church had, you’d only need to give orders and not have to do anything yourself. What kind of mindset is this? Is this not indulging in the benefits of status? Is this not a corrupt disposition? All of those who do not pursue the truth perform their duties based on a satanic disposition. Many leaders and workers have been revealed and eliminated because they always performed their duties based on a satanic disposition, without accepting even a hint of the truth. Presently, some leaders still behave this way. After becoming a leader, they feel somewhat elated inside, and a bit self-satisfied. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but in any case, they think they’ve done quite well. However, they then ponder, “I can’t be cocky. Cockiness is a sign of arrogance, and arrogance is a precursor to failure. I should be low-key.” On the surface, they act low-key and tell everyone that this is an elevation and commission from God, that they have no choice but to do it. Inside, however, they secretly rejoice: “Finally, I’ve been chosen. Who says my caliber isn’t good? If my caliber were poor, how could I have been chosen? Why wasn’t someone else chosen? It looks like I do have advantages over others.” When this duty comes upon them, these are the things they first think about in their hearts. They do not ponder, “Now that this duty has come upon me, how should I perform it? Who has done good work in the past that I should learn from? What are God’s requirements for performing this duty? Are there any such requirements in the work arrangements of the church? I never used to worry about these aspects of the church’s work, but now that I’ve been chosen to be a leader, what should I do?” Actually, as long as you have the resolution and can seek the truth, there is a path. If you treat the work as your duty, it will be easy to do it well. Some people become leaders and say, “These people are now entrusted to me? How they gather and what work is arranged for them will be up to me? Oh my, I feel a heavy weight on my heart right now.” What do these words imply? It’s as if they can accomplish great things; it’s all empty talk and doctrines. Isn’t this kind of person a bit hypocritical? Have any of you ever said such things? (Yes.) Then you all are quite hypocritical too. However, such behavior is normal for people. Even those who become minor officials have to show off a bit. They suddenly feel their personal value has risen and, as soon as they get a taste of some status and fame and gain, their hearts are overturned like a surging sea, and they become like a different person. Their corrupt dispositions and extravagant desires all emerge. Everyone has these negative, passive behaviors. This is a commonality among corrupt humankind. Whoever is a corrupt human being has it. Some people, after becoming leaders, aren’t sure how they should walk anymore; some aren’t sure how they should talk to people. Of course, it is not because of timidity that they’re not sure how they should talk, but rather uncertainty about how a leader should conduct themselves. Others, after becoming leaders, are unsure what to eat or wear. There are all kinds of behaviors. Do any of you exhibit these behaviors? To varying degrees, you all certainly do. So how long will it take to move past these states and behaviors? One or two years, three or five years, or ten years? That depends on one’s resolve and the degree to which they pursue the truth.

In the process of pursuing the truth, some people’s understanding of the truth is directly proportional to their entry; the two are equivalent. They can enter into as much truth as they are able to understand; the depth of their understanding of the truth is also the depth of their entry, as well as the depth of their comprehension, feelings, and experiences. However, some people understand a lot of doctrines, but their practice and entry amount to zero. Therefore, no matter how many sermons they have listened to, they are never able to solve their inner difficulties. When faced with a small matter, their ugly side immediately comes out, and they cannot control it no matter how they try; no matter how they disguise it, their corruption is still revealed. They remain unable to accept the truth or seek the truth for solutions. They even learn to put on a facade, to deceive, and to pretend to be good. All along, their corrupt dispositions are not cast off and do not change; this is the outcome of not pursuing the truth. So, when all is said and done, it all comes back to that same phrase: Pursuing the truth is very important. The same applies to performing one’s duties. No matter what duty you receive, no matter what duty has come upon you, whether it is a duty that entails great responsibility or a simpler one, or even if it’s not very prominent, if you are able to seek the truth and treat the duty according to the truth principles, then you will be able to fulfill your duty well. Moreover, in the process of performing your duties, you will experience varying degrees of growth in both your life entry and dispositional change. However, if you do not pursue the truth and merely treat your duty as your own management, your own task, or treat it as your own preference or personal work, then you’ve got trouble. Treating your duty as your own business and treating it according to the truth principles are different. When you treat your duty as your own management, what are you pursuing? You are pursuing fame, gain, and status, expecting others to meet your demands. What will be the end result of performing your duty in this manner? In one respect, performing your duty in this manner will not meet the standard; it amounts to futile effort. Even if you have exerted great effort on the surface, you haven’t sought the truth, so the fruits of your duty will be poor, and God will not be pleased. In another respect, you will often commit transgressions, often disrupt and disturb, and often make mistakes that result in adverse consequences. Now many people fall far short in performing their duties. They act willfully and arbitrarily, achieving basically no results, and sometimes even causing losses to the work of the church. Performing your duty in such a way is truly disrupting and disturbing the work of the church; it’s the behavior of a downright evil person. Those who consistently take a perfunctory approach to performing their duties must be exposed, so they can reflect upon themselves. If they can truly reflect, recognize their mistakes, and hate themselves, they can stay and continue performing their duties. But if they never admit to their mistakes and still defend and justify themselves, claiming that there is no love in God’s house and that they are being treated unfairly, then this is a sign of being stubbornly unrepentant, and they should be cleared out from the church. What is the root cause of these people’s disruptions and disturbances? Is it because they intentionally planned to disrupt and disturb? No, the main reason is that they have no love for the truth at all, and their humanity is very bad. Some of these individuals have some caliber and can understand the truth, but they do not accept the truth in the slightest, let alone practice it. Their humanity is extremely vile. Regardless of what duty they perform, they are always causing disruptions and disturbances, wrecking the work of the church, and bringing about many evil outcomes with a terrible influence. There is no doubt that these people are nonbelievers, and that they are all evil people. This is primarily why they are eliminated. Now, most people can discern nonbelievers. When they see the various behaviors of these individuals, they feel angry. How could these people be considered believers in God? They are Satan’s lackeys, sent to disrupt and disturb the work of the church. Some are purely freeloaders, belonging to those who love ease and hate work; they don’t want to do any work but still want to eat well every day. Aren’t they parasites? They are even inferior to guard dogs. These people have thus been eliminated. People who genuinely believe in God are all people who are willing and eager to perform their duty. Although most people don’t know what duty actually means, at the very least they know in their hearts that people should perform their duty, and they are willing to do so. But does being willing to perform one’s duties mean that one is therefore practicing the truth? Does this internal willingness mean that one has fulfilled their duties well? Absolutely not. One must put the truth into practice and meet the standard of acting according to principles to be considered as having fulfilled their duties well. Before you’ve put the truth into practice, no matter how much faith you claim to have, or how eager and willing you say you are—able to risk your life, not hesitating to go through fire and water—these are all just slogans that serve no purpose. You must, based on this willingness, also act according to the truth principles. You say, “I don’t particularly love the truth, nor do I pursue it, and I haven’t changed much in disposition while performing my duties. But there is one thing I’ve held onto: I do whatever I’m told to do. I don’t cause disruptions or disturbances; I may not be able to achieve submission, but I do listen.” Wouldn’t someone who can do this get to remain in the church and perform their duties normally? But those evil people and nonbelievers who were cleared out couldn’t even meet this lowest requirement, and they even created disturbances. Such nonbelievers or evil people should not be allowed to remain in the church to perform their duties. God’s chosen people must discern nonbelievers and evil people; otherwise, they will be easily misled by them. Any person with conscience and reason should adopt an attitude of rejection toward nonbelievers and evil people.

Performing one’s duties is the most crucial aspect of believing in God. First, one must understand what duty is, and then gradually gain genuine experience and understanding of it. What is the minimum attitude a person should have toward their duty? If you say, “The house of God gave this duty to me, so it belongs to me. I can do as I please, because this is my business and no one can interfere,” is this an acceptable attitude? Absolutely not. If this is your attitude while performing your duty, you are in trouble, because your attitude is not in line with the truth principles. Your attitude is one of doing whatever you want rather than seeking the truth, let alone having a God-fearing heart. If a person is too willful, they will be somewhat neglectful of their proper work while performing their duty. What attitude should a person have when performing their duty? They must have a desire to submit to God and satisfy Him. If they do not complete the commission God has entrusted to them, they feel they have let God down; and if they have not performed their duty properly, they feel they are not worthy of being called human. Having this sort of attitude while performing your duty makes you loyal. To perform your duty well, you must first know what God demands, seek truth, and seek the principles. Once you have ascertained that the commission God has given you is your duty, you should seek by thinking, “How can I perform my duty well? Which truth principles should I practice? What does God demand of people? What work should I do? How should I act so that I carry out my responsibilities and am loyal?” Who are you being loyal to? To God. You must be loyal to God and perform your responsibilities for people. You should perform your duty according to God’s words and the truth principles, and hold fast to your duty. What does it mean to hold fast to your duty? For example, if a duty has been given to you for a year or two, but, so far, no one has checked up on you, what should you do? If no one checks up on you, does that mean the duty is gone? No. Pay no mind to whether anyone checks up on you or inspects what you are doing; this task was entrusted to you, so it is your responsibility. You should consider how this job should be done and how it can be done well, and that is how you should do it. If you are always waiting for others to check up on you, for them to supervise you and urge you on, is this the attitude you should have in your duty? What kind of attitude is this? This is a negative attitude; it is not the attitude you should adopt toward your duty. If you adopt this attitude, your performance of your duty will certainly be inadequate. In order to perform your duty adequately, you first must have a proper attitude, and your attitude must be in line with the truth principles. This is the only way to guarantee you perform your duty well.

Regarding what duty is, one’s attitude toward duty, as well as the difference between performing one’s duty and engaging in any kind of worldly work, our fellowship on these topics will conclude here for now. You should all ponder over the content that has been fellowshipped. For example, why discuss the relationship between performing one’s duty and engaging in personal management? What is the intended outcome of discussing these topics? On the positive side, it can provide people with a correct path, correct direction, and correct principles for performing their duty. On the negative side, it can also help people recognize which behaviors count as engaging in personal management. These two aspects are both interconnected and distinct from one another. Understanding these two sides is not only about understanding mere words of the truth; you must comprehend which states and manifestations are involved. Once you have a thorough understanding of these states and manifestations and can discern them, the next time you exhibit these incorrect states and manifestations, if you are a person who pursues the truth, you will seek the truth to find a way out from here. If you don’t understand this aspect of the truth, you may engage in personal management thinking that you are expending yourself for God, and even believing that you are performing your duty and are very loyal. Such consequences will arise from not understanding the truth. For instance, during the process of performing your duty, when some of your thoughts and methods, as well as the intentions and motives behind your actions, are revealed, you realize that you’re not performing your duty and have already deviated from the principles and scope of performing one’s duty; the nature has changed, and you are actually engaging in personal management. Only when you understand these truths can you find a way out from here and put an end to such thoughts, actions, and manifestations. However, if you don’t understand the truth and engage in your own personal management while performing your duty, you will be oblivious to the fact that you’ve already violated the principles. Like Paul, for example; after working and running around for so many years, he ended up shouting at God, saying, “If You don’t give me a crown, then You are not God!” You see, he could still utter such words. If people today, having understood the truth, still follow the path of Paul, they are not ones who love the truth. If you are a person who genuinely believes in God, understanding the truth is crucial for you. Without understanding the truth, you are definitely living based on a satanic disposition. At best, you’ll merely adhere to some regulations and avoid committing obvious wrongdoings, still thinking that you are practicing the truth. That would be quite pitiable. So, if one desires to pursue the truth and aims to enter into the truth reality, they must first understand the truth. The purpose of understanding the truth is so that people can accurately perceive other people and events, be discerning, have principles for action, have a path of practice, and achieve submission to God. When you understand the truth, you can discern all sorts of people, events, and things, choose the right path of practice, speak and act according to principles, cast off your corrupt dispositions, and achieve submission to God. If you don’t understand the truth, then the path you walk will certainly be wrong, and you won’t have any life entry, nor will you be able to be saved. Some people are particularly good at disguising themselves, appearing as though they are in pursuit of the truth, but they have no principles in their actions and all they do causes disruptions and disturbances, creating much trouble for the work of the church; such people cannot be saved. Therefore, the purpose of frequently listening to sermons and frequently eating and drinking of God’s words is not for the sake of superficial engagement or filling the heart, nor is it to equip oneself with doctrines or practice eloquence; it is to equip oneself with the truth and attain an understanding of the truth. What was just discussed is actually not particularly deep in terms of the truth of knowing God; it is the most basic truth. People’s understanding of the truth is limited and varies in depth, and it depends on the individual’s caliber. Some people comprehend more deeply; that is, they have the comprehension ability. Others comprehend quite superficially. Regardless of the depth of one’s comprehension, what’s most crucial is the practice of the truth. However, the truth cannot be divided into big or small, noble or lowly, nor can it be divided into deep or shallow. That is to say, truth can be classified as the most basic or the most elementary, but it cannot be divided into degrees of depth; it’s just that people comprehend and experience it to varying depths. Anything that touches upon the essence of the truth is equally profound and not something anyone can fully experience or completely possess. No matter what aspect of the truth is concerned, people have to start from the shallowest layer in their comprehension and practice, and then gradually progress from the shallow to the deep, reaching a true understanding of the truth and entering into reality. The shallowest part of the truth is what can be understood literally. If people cannot practice or enter it, then they only understand some words and doctrines. Merely understanding words and doctrines falls far short of the essence of the truth. People who don’t understand the truth always regard the ability to explain the literal meaning as understanding the truth; this is just human ignorance. If your practice of the truth is only about following regulations and rigidly applying them without any principles, don’t think that this is practicing the truth and entering into reality; you are still far from it. If you continue to practice and experience for several more years, and discover much more light, which will suffice for you to practice and experience for several more months or years, and later, with yet more experience, you can discover newer light, progressing like this from the shallow to the deep, in a step-by-step manner, then you have truly entered into the truth reality. Only one who has fully entered into the truth reality is one who has obtained the truth. Even if one day you live out the reality of the truth, and it can be said that you’ve obtained the truth, in actuality what you’ve experienced and come to know is still limited. You cannot say that you are the truth, nor can you claim like Paul did that “to me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), because the truth is too profound, and what one can experience and understand in several decades of a lifetime is extremely limited. Obviously, then, understanding the truth is achievable by people to some extent, but obtaining the truth is by no means an easy matter. If one cannot understand or put into practice even the shallowest truths, then that is someone who does not love the truth, and definitely lacks spiritual understanding; people who are nowhere near the truth cannot be saved. Those who never understand the truth cannot perform their duties well; they are wastes of life, beasts in human clothing. Some people think they understand the truth just because they understand some doctrines. If they really understand some truths, then why can’t they perform their duties well? Why do they have no principles in their actions? This shows that understanding doctrines is useless; understanding more doctrines doesn’t mean understanding the truth.

After fellowshipping the topic of duty, we will now move on to the issue of adequate performance of duty. With regard to the adequate performance of duty, the emphasis is on the word “adequate.” So, how should “adequate” be defined? In this, too, there are truths to seek. Is it adequate merely to do a passable job? For the specific details of how to understand and regard the word “adequate,” you must understand many truths and fellowship more on the truth. In the course of performing your duty, you must understand the truth and the principles; only then can you arrive at an adequate performance of duty. Why should people perform their duties? Once they believe in God and have accepted His commission, people have their share of responsibility and obligation in the work of God’s house and in the site of God’s work, and, in turn, because of this responsibility and obligation, they have become an element in God’s work, one of the recipients of His work, and one of the recipients of His salvation. There is quite a substantial relationship between people’s salvation and how they perform their duties, whether they can do them well, and whether they can do them adequately. Since you have become a part of God’s house and accepted His commission, you now have a duty. It is not for you to say how this duty should be performed; it is for God to say; it is for the truth to say; and it is dictated by the standards of the truth. Therefore, people should know, understand and be clear on how God measures people’s duties, what He measures them according to—this is a worthwhile thing to seek. In God’s work, different people receive different duties. That is, people with different gifts, calibers, ages, and conditions receive different duties at different times. No matter what duty you have received, and no matter the times or circumstances of your receiving it, your duty is only a responsibility and obligation you are supposed to perform, it is not your management, nor is it your business. The standard God demands for the performance of your duty is that it is “adequate.” What does it mean to be “adequate”? It means to meet God’s demands and satisfy Him. God must say it is adequate and it must receive His approval. Only then will the performance of your duty have been adequate. If God says it is not adequate, no matter how long you have been performing your duty, or how much of a price you have paid, it is not adequate. Then what will the result be? It will all be classified as laboring. Only a minority of laborers with loyal hearts will be spared. If they are not loyal in their laboring, then they do not have a hope of being spared. Speaking plainly, they will be destroyed in a disaster. If one never meets the mark when performing their duty, they will have their right to perform a duty taken away. After this right is taken away, some people will be cast aside. After being cast aside, they will be taken care of by other means. Does “taken care of by other means” mean to be eliminated? Not necessarily. God looks mainly at whether a person has repented. Therefore, how you perform your duty is crucial, and people should take it seriously and conscientiously. Because performing your duty is directly connected to your life entry and entry into the truth realities, as well as big issues like your salvation and being perfected, you must treat the performance of your duty as the first and foremost task when believing in God. You cannot be muddleheaded about it. In the process of performing their duties, various people will exhibit a range of different behaviors. These different behaviors are visible not only to people but also to God. It’s not just the church that scores and evaluates; ultimately, God will also give scores and evaluations to all those who perform their duties. Some people basically meet the standard, while others are utterly inadequate. Some inadequate people will still be under observation, while some will already have been definitively categorized by God. Who are the people that God sees as inadequate? They are those with poor humanity and lacking a conscience and reason, who consistently perform their duties in a perfunctory manner. Regardless of how much of God’s grace they enjoy, they are uninterested in reciprocation and devoid of gratitude. Of course, this naturally includes evil people as well. It can be said that anyone with poor humanity and lacking conscience and reason performs their duties inadequately. Those who are clearly evil will inevitably commit countless evil acts while performing their duties. As long as they are not cleared out, they will keep committing evil. Such people must be cleared out promptly. Of course, there are also some people who appear to have some semblance of humanity and who don’t seem to be bad people, but their performance of duty is perfunctory and yields no results. After being pruned and receiving fellowship on the truth, it will depend on how they ultimately perform and whether or not they have sincerely repented. For such people, God is still waiting and observing. As for those who have poor humanity and lack conscience and reason, as well as those who are clearly evil, God has already reached a conclusive verdict on them—they are to be thoroughly eliminated.