I generally do not intervene in minor matters that do not involve church work, but for some matters involving the physical and mental well-being of God’s chosen people, I occasionally say a few words and offer some advice. So, in what identity, and with what kind of status, do I intervene in these matters? Is it as a parent? The head of a clan? A shepherd? A leader? Or is it as your boss? I don’t think it’s any of these. What role do I play in such matters, then? First of all, there is no distinction in status; I speak and act out of a sense of responsibility. No matter what happens to you, as long as I notice it and am aware of it, I will lead you onto the right path, enabling you to act according to your conscience and based on this most basic, fundamental boundary, which will regulate your behavior and correct your intentions, and enabling you to establish a correct outlook on life, and to handle this kind of thing and view this kind of issue from the correct standpoint and perspective. I will help vet things for you. It may be the case that while I vet things for you, you feel your self-esteem and pride have suffered a blow, but I do not coddle you or pander to you; I help you out of a sense of responsibility toward you, standing on equal footing with you. What do you think of this approach? (It’s good.) I do not spout high-sounding ideas to you, and I do not shout slogans—I just tell you how to do a certain thing and how to do it properly, explaining the pros and cons clearly to you. From your perspective, the words I speak are simple and ordinary. They’re just plain language, not containing any profound knowledge, philosophies, or theories. But after listening to them, you have a path and know how to act. Although the incarnate God has a unique status in people’s eyes, and although it is a very high status, the scope of what He does is not restricted by this high status. On the contrary, He attends to everything, no matter how big or small. Regardless of what kind of problems or difficulties you have, as long as I notice them, I will talk to you about them, and I will not assume a position of superiority; if you are willing to listen, then listen, and if you are not willing to listen, I will not force you. If it is a crucial matter, one that involves church work and the truth principles, I will tell you how to practice, and I will follow up afterward; if it is a matter in your personal life, I will have a heart-to-heart chat with you, sharing My heartfelt views without spouting high-sounding ideas—if you are willing to listen, you can accept it, and if you are not willing to listen, I will not reprimand you or constrain you. If you are able to accept it, I will see that you are a decent person who can accept right and correct words, and then be willing to speak with you more; if I see that you do not accept right words and will not listen to what I say, then I will not speak to you in the future, or I will speak to you less. I have My own choices and My own principles in associating with people. Do you think I speak and act like someone with status? (No.) For example, in past gatherings, whether there were thirty to fifty people or eighty to a hundred, I never used a microphone; I just spoke directly and people could hear Me. Nowadays, in some places, even with only twenty or thirty people at a gathering, some speakers still use a microphone—is that necessary? Are the words you say in any way edifying to others? And yet you must use a microphone to speak—is that not putting on airs? That’s emulating worldly officials. You see, I also often chat and fellowship with the brothers and sisters; sometimes, we just sit in the yard talking, with around twenty people present. There’s background noise, yet everyone hears Me clearly without Me using a microphone. Whatever needs to be fellowshipped is fellowshipped clearly, and nothing gets held up. Is it still necessary to use a microphone? What’s the point of engaging in such formalities? That is a worldly custom; everyone likes to put on a grand display and put on airs, and is particular about panache and ostentation. If ordinary people can act this way, then if one were to have a bit of status, they would think the world of themselves, wouldn’t they? My aim in telling you these things is to let you know a fact: Although the incarnate God has the status in man’s eyes, My feelings regarding this status are different from yours. I just feel like I am an ordinary person, and chatting with you and fellowshipping the truth is fulfilling My responsibility. So what do I require of you? It is that you be able to accept positive things, accept the truth, and do things according to the truth principles; I do not require you to do anything extra. First, I do not require you to prostrate yourselves in worship; second, I do not require you to greet Me in an obsequious way when we meet—acting normal and natural is enough. Is it necessary for family members to always greet each other when they meet? If they don’t see each other often, it’s normal to say hello when they run into each other; this is being polite, and it is something the rationality of normal humanity ought to possess—even animals know to greet each other, let alone humans! However, there is no need, just because I have status, for you to bow and scrape and politely ask how I’m doing when you see Me. This is an unnecessary formality, and it is not something I require of you. My requirements of you are very reasonable and proper. If you possess normal humanity, and you love the truth and pursue the truth, you will be able to meet all these requirements, because these requirements are not empty or high at all; they’re all things that normal people can achieve. If you have understood and comprehended the various aspects of the truth that I have fellowshipped with you over the years, and have experiential knowledge and life entry, then you will be able to act according to the truth principles when all kinds of things happen to you. You will be able to practice according to the truth principles in how you treat people, your work, your duties, antichrists, false leaders, harmonious cooperation, all sorts of things that are not to your liking, and much more—this is what is required of you. The requirements I make of you are all things within the scope of what you can achieve in normal humanity. After I finish speaking, I require that you practice according to these words to achieve the results that should be achieved.

Some people have listened to sermons for so many years but have never made any offerings. Does God’s house press the matter? No, it does not. I also never inquire about who has never made any offerings, or who is always asking God’s house for living expenses. I do not inquire about these matters, and I don’t care about them either. What I care about is how you do your duty, whether you can pay a price, and whether you can accept correct advice; whether you can rebel against yourself and let go of your ambitions and desires when things happen to you; whether you can fulfill your responsibilities and treat people fairly when you have status; whether you seek the principles and have the principles in your heart when doing things; whether you would act according to your own will in matters where you do not understand the principles; whether you can accept it, feel remorse, and turn yourself around when someone points it out after you have acted according to your own will; whether you would hate, suppress, or torment those who criticize you; what your required standards are regarding matters within the scope of normal human life—speaking and acting, as well as the basic necessities for living—and whether you have a boundary. I care about matters like these that involve the truth, one’s principles for conducting oneself, one’s outlook on life, and the path one walks. Additionally, I also inquire about and look into matters involving offerings. If any leader, when doing work involving the expenditure of offerings, does not adhere to the principles, but rather spends extravagantly and engages in the act of squandering offerings, and after being exposed and pruned, they do not have any remorse, nor do they confess their sins and repent, and not only do they refuse to compensate for the losses but they also try to argue and justify themselves—with some of them even forging things and fabricating false evidence, or in severe cases even destroying evidence, and so on—I will inquire about and look into these matters. Don’t all these matters involve how one conducts oneself and the path one walks in their belief in God? (Yes.) Would you say I am justified in caring about these matters? (Yes.) Some people are part of very good families and are quite wealthy; do you think I inquire about how much their family earns a year, whether they have made offerings, or whether they’ve offered tithes? I have never said such things while preaching in gatherings. Some people say, “Is it that You don’t talk about this in public settings, but secretly inquire about it from certain individuals?” You can ask the brothers and sisters who have interacted and associated with Me if I have ever inquired about these matters—I have not. Tell Me, is it that I’m unwilling to ask, or is it that I’m not interested? (You’re not interested.) I am not interested, meaning My mind does not contain these things—these things are not in My mind. This is one aspect of the matter. For another thing, I truly do not know what the economic conditions and social status of the brothers’ and sisters’ families are. Why do I not know? Because I am not curious about them, and I do not inquire about them. Even if I do know about individual cases, it’s just from hearing you mention that their family is wealthy; I only know this bit of basic information. As for what kind of work they do or how much they earn a year, I truly do not know. I never inquire about or care about the economic situation of any of your families, how much income you have, or whether you are wealthy or poor—I do not care about these things. Some people, after interacting with the brothers and sisters a few times, get a pretty good grasp of the basic situations of their families—what their families do, which families are wealthy, which are poor, and how much their families own in terms of assets. They fall just short of investigating what the past three generations of their ancestors did for a living. They are particularly interested in these matters and find out about them especially quickly. Would you say such people are neglecting their proper tasks? (Yes.) After interacting with or meeting someone just once, they know how much this person earns a month, what standard of food and clothing they usually have, and which people with standing and status in society they associate and interact with—they are able to know all these things. Even after I interact with someone several times, I do not know these things. Only if they take the initiative to tell Me what work they do in the world and what their annual salary is will I know a little, but I don’t remember it afterward. Some people say, “You do the work of saving man—is it okay for You to not know about many matters in the outside world?” Tell Me, is it necessary to know about those matters that are unrelated to the truth? (It is not.) I only look into matters that are related to the truth; I only look into issues involving your disposition, your humanity, your self-conduct, and the path you walk. I do not look into how much money you have, nor do I look into where your money comes from. I do not want to inquire about or know about these things, and it is not a hobby of Mine. When I say that I know man like the back of My hand, I mean that I understand man’s disposition, understand the essence and the actual condition of his corruption, and understand the humanity of all kinds of people; this is one aspect of the matter. It also means understanding what kind of essence is involved in the dispositions revealed by all kinds of people, what issues are involved in the various states people reveal, and how to fellowship, provide for them, and help them in order to resolve their problems and enable them to emerge from the state they’re in. In short, I only look into matters that are related to My work and related to the truth.

In doing My work, the responsibility I fulfill toward you is to resolve your problems. On a small scale, that means resolving the problems with what your humanity lives out in your daily lives; on a large scale, it means resolving the problems of your corrupt dispositions and clearly pointing out the path of salvation to you. Therefore, the incarnate God has come among people not to enjoy humankind’s tributes, adulation, or following, nor to enjoy the joys of the human world, but to fulfill His responsibility. He possesses God’s identity and He possesses God’s life; He has come among people to do God’s own work and fulfill the responsibility toward man that God Himself ought to fulfill. Regardless of which stage it is or which group of people it is among, the basic goal of the work God does when interacting with people is to help them resolve all kinds of problems. Although I sometimes talk about some trivial matters of daily life, and you might feel like you are just listening to some stories, in fact, these trivial matters I fellowship with you about include problems that you have, and truths that you ought to understand, which are things you ought to resolve and enter into. After listening, those who focus on seeking the truth principles and focus on practicing the truth will come to understand some truths and understand some principles for conducting themselves and acting without even being cognizant of it. However, people who don’t have spiritual understanding will not understand even after listening, and will even feel that the fellowship just involves trivial homespun matters. Actually, you should also be able to learn lessons from these trivial matters much of the time. This is because no matter what aspect of things we’re fellowshipping on—whether it’s something to do with daily life, something involving one’s duty, or something involving life entry—the principles and understanding we fellowship about are not meant to solve any riddles or unveil any mysteries—rather, our fellowship uses everyday language to explain a fact, resolve the problems with one’s thoughts and views, and resolve the problems of how one views all kinds of things and how one treats all kinds of people. For example, take choosing the style and color of clothes. Whether for daily wear or for making programs, My principles and motives for choosing the style and color of clothing are different from yours. What are your principles and motives? They are to dress yourselves up to look beautiful or handsome—as long as you look charming and attract attention, you are satisfied. What are My original intentions and motives? They are to make you appear modest, upright, and possessed of human likeness and dignity, so that people will hold you in some regard and not dare to look down on you, toy with you, or harbor any crooked ideas or improper thoughts about you. In doing so, I am not stripping you of the opportunity to show off, but rather I am protecting you, making you possess human likeness and making you look like you have an upright presence, so that those with bad intentions will find no opportunity to exploit you, and those wicked people will not dare to take advantage of you or treat you as a plaything. They will have to respect you. In this way, is your integrity not protected? (Yes.) In a matter as simple as choosing the style and color of clothes, you might think I do so to safeguard the interests and the reputation of God’s house, but in fact, this is really not the main purpose; the primary purpose is to protect you. Just on this small matter, My viewpoints are completely different from yours. As for how you dress and groom yourselves in your personal lives, I give you space and allow you to choose freely to satisfy your vanity. These matters rely on people coming to possess normal humanity after the truth has been fellowshipped on and they have understood the truth, so that they can achieve self-restraint and come to be modest, upright, and have human likeness. However, when you appear in public settings, I have to vet things for you. This is purely to protect you, not to control or constrain you. No matter what you think, this is just what My principles for doing things are like, and in this matter, I have the final say. Even if some individuals are a bit dissatisfied, feel a bit peeved inside, or have reservations about this matter, it does not matter; you will understand in the future. In addition, My choices regarding the color, fabric, and style of clothing are not conservative or bound by old conventions; I do not have outdated thoughts and notions. If you are older, I style you to look more vibrant, picking out some brightly colored clothes for you so that you look younger but not coquettish. This is a good thing for you; when people see that although you are older, you still seem to have some vitality, and you look quite put-together and presentable, they will respect you and hold you in some regard, thus ensuring that your dignity is fully protected. This is something you would not think of. It is possible that a few individuals have thought of it, but who can hold to this principle, and who can master this principle? You really cannot master it, right? (Yes.) Some of you say, “I’m old, and old people should look like old people. I have to set an example for young people and get them to hold me in some regard.” You do not dye your graying hair, do not put on a touch of light makeup despite your pale complexion, do not replace your missing front teeth, causing air to whistle through the gaps in your teeth when you speak, and do not wear vibrant clothes, but only gray and black. As a result, people find you to have absolutely no color in your cheeks; you just look sickly. Tell Me, how do young people feel when they see you? When they address you, they have to add the word “old,” calling you “old sister” or “old brother.” Does that make you feel comfortable? You are reluctant to accept it, thinking to yourself, “Although I am a bit older than you, am I really that old?” Who told you to make yourself look so old? Wouldn’t it be fine to choose clothes with colors that enhance your complexion? Dress up a little so that people can see you have vitality, and see that although you are old in age, you are not old in your mindset—wouldn’t that earn you respect? There was someone in her forties, and when I asked her to wear a pink outfit for a performance, she said, “Wearing pink at my age, wouldn’t that be trying to pass myself off as younger than I am?” Her viewpoint was different from Mine. I said, “It’s not passing yourself off as younger than you are; being on camera calls for it. I give you tips and help style you so that you appear to have some color in your cheeks, and look presentable and put-together. If you feel it’s trying to pass yourself off as younger than you are, and that’s the way you see it, then don’t wear it. If you change into a dowdy outfit, you’ll immediately look ten years older.” If you tell her she looks ten years older, she’s unhappy about it, but she also can’t accept you trying to make her look a bit younger. Isn’t this person quite difficult to deal with? (Yes.) Just in these simple matters, if people have correct thoughts and views, they will handle them suitably, properly, and in accordance with principles. However, most people’s thoughts and views regarding these matters are very distorted, conservative, or radical, and some people even put on a facade. Even if My thoughts and views on these matters cannot be called the truth, they are at least suitable, proper, and within the scope of normal humanity. So, sometimes, even on these small matters, I give you some prompts and pointers to one extent or another. If you are attentive and can accept correct thoughts and views, you will come to grasp these things without even realizing it. If you are inattentive, or always have your own opinions and ideas, or if you still hold many old, traditional, foolish, and stubborn thoughts and views inside, then you might not be able to take in or make sense of what I say. But no matter what, and no matter in which aspects, as long as it is in these matters that can be encountered within the scope of the work I do, I try My best to let you benefit, steer you toward the correct direction, help you correct your fallacious thoughts and views, and establish all kinds of correct thoughts and views. This is My responsibility. Just on this point of fulfilling responsibility, the nature of the work done by the incarnate God is completely different from that of the work done by any person with status among humankind, right? (Yes.)