You now have some discernment of the corrupt disposition that you reveal. Once you can clearly see which corrupt things you are still liable to reveal on a regular basis, and what things you are still likely to do that are at odds with the truth, cleansing your corrupt disposition will be easy. Why, in many matters, can people not get a hold of themselves? Because at all times, and in every regard, they are being controlled by their corrupt dispositions, which constrain and disturb them in all things. When everything is going well, and they have not stumbled or become negative, some people invariably feel themselves to have stature, and think nothing of it when they see an evil person, a false leader, or an antichrist being revealed and eliminated. They will even boast in front of everyone that, “Anyone else could stumble, but not me. Anyone else might not love God, but I do.” They think that they can stand firm in their testimony in any situation or circumstance. And the result? A day comes when they are tested and they complain and grumble about God. Is this not failing, is this not stumbling? Nothing reveals people more than when they are tested. God scrutinizes man’s innermost heart, and people must not brag at any time. Whatever they brag about, that is where they will stumble one day, sooner or later. When they see others stumbling and failing in certain circumstances, they think nothing of it, and even think that they themselves can do no wrong, that they will be able to stand firm—but they, too, end up stumbling and failing in the same circumstances. How can this be? It is because people do not thoroughly understand their own nature essence; their knowledge of the problems with their own nature essence is still insufficiently deep, so putting the truth into practice is very strenuous for them. For example, some people are very deceitful, and dishonest in their words and deeds, yet if you ask them in what regard their corrupt disposition is most severe, they say, “I am a little deceitful.” They merely say they are a little deceitful, but they do not say that their nature itself is deceitful, and they do not say that they are a deceitful person. Their knowledge of their own corrupt state is not that deep, and they do not look at it as seriously, nor as thoroughly, as others do. From the perspective of other people, this person is so deceitful and so crooked, and there is trickery in everything they say, and their words and actions are never honest—but that person is unable to know themselves that deeply. Any knowledge they happen to have is merely superficial. Whenever they speak and act, they reveal some part of their nature, yet they are unaware of this. They believe that their acting thus is not a revelation of corruption, they think that they have already put the truth into practice—but to observers, this person is quite crooked and deceitful, and their words and actions are very dishonest. That is to say, people have a very superficial understanding of their own nature, and there is a huge discrepancy between this and God’s words that judge and expose them. This is not a mistake in what God exposes, but rather that humans lack an adequately profound understanding of their own nature. People do not have a fundamental or essential understanding of themselves; instead, they focus and devote their energy on coming to know their actions and outward revelations. Even if some people are occasionally able to say a bit about their self-knowledge, it will not be very profound. No person has ever thought that they are a certain type of person or that they have a certain type of nature because they did a certain type of thing or revealed a certain thing. God has exposed the nature and essence of man, but what people understand is that their ways of doing things and their ways of speaking are flawed and defective; as a result, it is a relatively strenuous task for them to put the truth into practice. People think that their mistakes are merely momentary manifestations that are revealed carelessly, rather than revelations of their nature. When people think in this way, it is very difficult for them to truly know themselves, and very difficult for them to understand and practice the truth. Because they do not know the truth and do not thirst after it, when putting the truth into practice, they merely follow regulations in a perfunctory way. People do not view their own nature as being very bad, and believe that they are not bad to the extent that they should be destroyed or punished. Yet according to God’s standards, people are too deeply corrupted, they are still far from the standards for salvation, because they merely possess some approaches that do not outwardly appear to violate the truth, and in fact, they do not practice the truth and are not submissive to God.

Changes in people’s behavior or conduct do not imply a change in their nature. The reason this is the case is that changes in people’s conduct cannot fundamentally alter their original appearance, much less can it alter their nature. Only when people understand the truth, have knowledge of their own nature essence, and are able to put the truth into practice, will their practice be adequately profound and something other than adherence to a set of regulations. The way people practice the truth today is still not up to standard, and it cannot fully achieve all that the truth requires. People practice only a portion of the truth, and only when they are in certain states and circumstances can they put a little of the truth into practice; it is not the case that they are able to put the truth into practice in all circumstances and all situations. When, on occasion, a person is happy and their state is good, or when they are fellowshipping with others and they have a path to practice in their heart, they are temporarily able to do some things that are in line with the truth. But when they live with people who are negative and who do not pursue the truth, and they are influenced by these people, in their heart they lose their path, and they are incapable of practicing the truth. This shows that their stature is too small, and that they still do not really understand the truth. There are some individuals who, if they are guided and led by the right people, are able to put the truth into practice; however, if they are misled and disturbed by a false leader or an antichrist, not only are they incapable of practicing the truth, they are also liable to be misled into following those people. Such people are still at risk, are they not? People like this, with this kind of stature, could not possibly be able to practice the truth in all matters and situations. Even if they do practice the truth, it would only be when they are in a good mood, or guided by others; without someone good to lead them, at times they would be capable of doing things that violate the truth, and they would deviate from God’s words. And why is this? It is because you have only come to know a few of your states, you do not have knowledge of your own nature essence, and you have yet to attain the stature of rebelling against the flesh and practicing the truth; as such, you have no control over what you will do in the future, and cannot guarantee that you will be able to stand firm in any circumstances or trial. There are times when you are in a state and you can put the truth into practice, and you seem to have changed a little, and yet, in different circumstances, you are incapable of putting the truth into practice. This is something involuntarily. Sometimes you can practice the truth, and sometimes you cannot. One moment, you understand, and the next, you are confused. Right now, you aren’t doing anything bad, but perhaps you will in a little while. This proves that corrupt things still exist inside of you, and if you are unable to truly know yourself, these things will not be easy to resolve. If you cannot attain a thorough understanding of your own corrupt disposition, and are ultimately capable of doing things that resist God, then you are in danger. If you can see through to your nature and hate it, then you will be able to control yourself, rebel against yourself, and put the truth into practice.

People today don’t prioritize practicing and entering into the truth, they only focus on understanding and speaking the words and doctrines, they think that it’s enough to satisfy their own psychological needs, and to not feel upset or negative. No matter how much fellowshipping on the truth helps you at the time, you don’t put the truth into practice afterward—what’s the problem here? It is that you only pay attention to understanding or listening to the truth, but you don’t focus on putting it into practice. Have any of you summarized how to practice an element of the truth, or how many states that element of the truth relates to? No! How can you summarize these things? You must have experienced them yourself to summarize these things; it isn’t any good just fellowshipping on a few words and doctrines. This is the greatest of all man’s difficulties—not being interested in practicing the truth. Whether or not a person can practice the truth depends on their pursuits. Some people equip themselves with the truth in order to spread the gospel, other people equip themselves with the truth in order to tell others about it and show off, not in order to practice the truth and change themselves. People who pay attention to these things struggle to practice the truth. This is another one of man’s difficulties. Some people say, “I feel that I am now able to put some truths into practice; it’s not as if I’m absolutely incapable of practicing any truths. In some circumstances, I can do things in accordance with the truth, which means that I count as a person who practices and possesses the truth.” Compared to before or when you first started believing in God, your state has changed a little. In the past, you did not understand anything, nor did you know what the truth was or what a corrupt disposition was. Now you have come to know some things about them, and you have some good approaches, but this is only a small part of you that has changed; it is not a genuine transformation of your disposition, because you are unable to put into practice greater and deeper truths that touch on your nature. In contrast to your past, you have indeed changed somewhat, but this transformation is only a small change in your humanity; when compared with dispositional change, you are falling far short. That is, you have not hit the mark for putting the truth into practice. Sometimes, people are in a state where they are not negative, and they have energy, but they feel that they have no path for knowing and practicing the truth, and they are not interested in finding out how to practice the truth. How does this happen? Sometimes you can’t grasp the path, so you just follow regulations, and think that you are practicing the truth, and as a result you’re still unable to solve your difficulties. You feel in your heart that you’re practicing the truth and showing your loyalty, and you wonder why problems are still appearing. This is because you’re acting based on your good intentions, and using your own subjective efforts—you do not seek out God’s intentions, you do not act according to the requirements of the truth, or abide by the principles. As a result, you always feel far below God’s standards, your heart feels uneasy, and you become negative without realizing it. An individual’s subjective desires and subjective efforts are far removed from the requirements of the truth, and they are also different in nature. People’s outward approaches cannot replace the truth, and they are not carried out fully in accordance with God’s desires, whereas the truth is the true expression of God’s intentions. Some people who spread the gospel think, “I have suffered quite a lot and paid a price, and I’m busy all day preaching the gospel. How can You say that I’m not practicing the truth?” Then let Me ask you: How many truths do you hold in your heart? How many things do you do that are in accordance with the truth when you are preaching the gospel? Do you understand God’s intentions? You can’t even say yourself whether you’re just doing things or practicing the truth, because you only focus on using your actions to satisfy God, and to gain God’s favor, and you don’t use the standard of “satisfying God by seeking His intentions in order to conform to the truth in all things” to measure yourself. If you say that you are practicing the truth, how much has your disposition changed during this period? How much has your love for God grown? By measuring yourself in this way, your heart will be clear on whether or not you are practicing the truth.