What are your principles for conducting yourselves? You should conduct yourselves according to your station, find the right place for you, and perform the duty that you ought to; only this is someone with sense. By way of example, there are people who are adept at certain professional skills and have a grasp of principles, and they should take on the responsibility and make the final checks in that area; there are people who can provide ideas and insights, inspiring others and helping them to perform their duties better—then they should provide ideas. If you can find the right place for you and work in harmony with your brothers and sisters, you will be fulfilling your duty, and you will be conducting yourself according to your station. Originally, you may only be able to provide some ideas, but if you try to offer something else, and you end up trying very hard to do so, yet are still unable; and then, when others provide those things, you are uncomfortable, and do not wish to listen, and your heart is pained and constrained, and you blame God and say God is unjust—then this is ambition. What disposition is it that engenders ambition in a person? An arrogant disposition engenders ambition. These states can certainly arise in you at any time, and if you do not seek the truth to resolve them, and have no life entry, and cannot change in this regard, then the level of qualification and purity with which you perform your duties will be low, and the results will also not be very good. This is not performing your duty satisfactorily and means that God has not attained glory from you. God has given every person different talents and gifts. Some people have talents in two or three areas, some have talent in one area, and some have no talents at all—if you can approach these matters correctly, then you have reason. A person with reason will be able to find their place, conduct themselves according to their stations and perform their duties well. A person who can never find their place is a person who always has ambition. They always pursue status and profits. They are never satisfied with what they have. To get more profits, they try to take as much as they can; they always hope to satisfy their extravagant desires. They think that if they have gifts and are of a good caliber, they should enjoy more of God’s grace, and that having some extravagant desires is not a mistake. Does this kind of person have reason? Is it not shameless to always have extravagant desires? People who have a conscience and sense can feel that it is shameless. People who understand the truth will not do these foolish things. If you hope to fulfill your duty loyally so as to repay God’s love, this is not an extravagant desire. This is in line with the conscience and reason of normal humanity. This makes God happy. If you truly wish to perform your duty well, you must first find the right station for you, and then do what you can with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and do your very best. This is satisfactory, and such performance of duty has a measure of purity. This is what a real created being should do. First, you must understand what a real created being is: A real created being is not a superhuman, but a person who lives straightforwardly and practically on the earth; they are not at all extraordinary, and not in the least bit exceptional, but the same as any ordinary person. If you wish to always surpass others, to be ranked above others, then this is brought about by your arrogant, satanic disposition, and it is a delusion caused by your ambition. You cannot, in fact, achieve this, and it is impossible for you to do so. God did not give you such a talent or skill, nor did He give you such an essence. Do not forget that you are an ordinary member of mankind, in no way different from others, though your appearance, family, and upbringing may be different, and there may be some differences in your talents and gifts. But do not forget this: No matter how unique you are, it is only in these small ways, and your corrupt disposition is the same as others’. The attitude you should have and the principles to which you must adhere in the performance of your duty are identical to others’. It is merely in their strengths and gifts that people differ. In the church, some people can play the guitar, some can play the erhu, and some can play the drums. If you have an interest in any of these areas, you can learn. Regardless of which specific skill or technology it is, as long as you enjoy learning and are adroit, you can learn. Once you have learned a new skill, you can use it to perform an additional duty, not only pleasing people but also pleasing God. It is a most blessed thing to acquire more skills and contribute more to the work of God’s house. There is nothing wrong with learning new things while one is young and has a good memory. There is only benefit in this and no harm. It is advantageous to the performance of duties and the work of God’s house. Focusing on learning various new things while fulfilling one’s duty means one is diligent and responsible; they are much better than those people who are not committed to their work. However, if you have been learning something for a while and still have no understanding, it indicates that you do not possess an aptitude in that area. Just like some people who are able to dance well but sing off-key or lack musicality, this is innate and cannot be changed. Such a situation ought to be approached with the right attitude. If you can dance, then dance well. If you have a heart of praise for God, even if you sing off-key, God does not mind. As long as you have joy in your heart, that is sufficient. Regardless of where your personal talents lie, so long as you utilize them, it is a good thing. Perform your duties conscientiously, and that is what it means to conduct yourselves according to your station.

Let no person think of themselves as perfect, distinguished, noble, or distinct from others; all this is brought about by man’s arrogant disposition and ignorance. Always thinking of oneself as set apart—this is caused by an arrogant disposition; never being able to accept their shortcomings, and never being able to confront their mistakes and failures—this is caused by an arrogant disposition; never permitting others to be higher than themselves, or to be better than themselves—this is caused by an arrogant disposition; never allowing others’ strengths to surpass or exceed their own—this is caused by an arrogant disposition; never permitting others to have better thoughts, suggestions, and views than themselves, and, when they discover that others are better than themselves, becoming negative, not wishing to speak, feeling distressed and dejected, and becoming upset—all of this is caused by an arrogant disposition. An arrogant disposition can make you protective of your reputation, unable to accept others’ corrections, unable to confront your shortcomings, and unable to accept your own failures and mistakes. More than that, when someone is better than you, it can cause hatred and jealousy to emerge in your heart, and you can feel constrained, such that you do not wish to do your duty and become perfunctory in performing it. An arrogant disposition can cause these behaviors and practices to emerge in you. If you are able, little by little, to dig deeper into all these details, achieve breakthroughs, and gain an understanding of them; and if you are then able gradually to forsake these thoughts, to forsake these erroneous notions, views and even behaviors, and are not constrained by them; and if, in performing your duty, you are able to find the right station for you, and act according to principles, and perform the duty you can and should perform; then, over time, you will be able to perform your duties better. This constitutes entry into the truth reality. If you can enter into the truth reality, you will appear to have a human likeness, and people will say, “This person conducts themselves according to their station, and they are fulfilling their duty in a grounded way. They do not rely on naturalness, on hot-headedness, or on their corrupt, satanic disposition to fulfill their duty. They act with restraint, they have a God-fearing heart, they have love for the truth, and their behavior and expressions reveal that they have forsaken their own flesh and preferences.” How wonderful it is to conduct oneself in such a way! On occasions when others bring up your shortcomings, you are not only able to accept them, but are optimistic, facing your shortcomings and flaws with poise. Your state of mind is quite normal, free of extremes, free of hot-headedness. Is this not what it is to have a human likeness? Only such people have sense.

What kind of disposition is it when people always put up a front, always whitewash themselves, always put on airs so that others think highly of them, and cannot see their faults or shortcomings, when they always try to present their best side to people? This is arrogance, fakery, hypocrisy, it is the disposition of Satan, it is something evil. Take members of the satanic regime: No matter how much they fight, feud, or kill in the dark, no one is allowed to report or expose them. They are afraid that people will see their demonic face, and they do everything they can to cover it up. In public, they do their utmost to whitewash themselves, saying how much they love the people, how great, glorious and infallible they are. This is the nature of Satan. The most prominent feature of Satan’s nature is trickery and deception. And what is the aim of this trickery and deception? To hoodwink people, to stop them from seeing its essence and true colors, and thus achieve the aim of prolonging its rule. Ordinary people may lack such power and status, but they, too, wish to make others hold a favorable view of them, and for people to have a high estimation of them, and elevate them to a high status in their hearts. This is a corrupt disposition, and if people do not understand the truth, they are incapable of recognizing this. Corrupt dispositions are the hardest of all to recognize: Recognizing your own faults and shortcomings is easy, but recognizing your own corrupt disposition is not. People who do not know themselves never talk about their corrupt states—they always think that they are okay. And without realizing it, they start to show off: “Through all my years of faith, I have undergone so much persecution and suffered so much hardship. Do you know how I overcame it all?” Is this an arrogant disposition? What is the motivation behind putting themselves on display? (To make people think highly of them.) What is their motive in making people think highly of them? (To be given status in such people’s minds.) When you are given status in the mind of someone else, then when they are in your company, they are deferential toward you, and especially polite when they talk to you. They always look up to you, they always let you go first in all things, they give way to you, and they flatter and obey you. In all things, they seek you out and let you make decisions. And you get a sense of enjoyment from this—you feel that you are stronger and better than anyone else. Everyone likes this feeling. This is the feeling of having status in someone’s heart; people wish to indulge in this. This is why people vie for status, and all wish to be given status in others’ hearts, to be esteemed and worshiped by others. If they could not derive such enjoyment from it, they would not pursue status. For example, if you do not have status in someone’s mind, they would engage with you on an equal footing, treating you as an equal. They would contradict you when necessary, they would not be courteous or respectful toward you, and might even leave before you have finished speaking. Would you feel put out? You do not like it when people treat you like this; you like it when they flatter you, look up to you, and worship you at every moment. You like it when you are the center of everything, everything revolves around you, and everyone listens to you, looks up to you, and submits to your direction. Is this not a desire to reign as a king, to have power? Your words and actions are driven by the pursuit and acquisition of status, and you contend, grasp, and compete with others for it. Your goal is to seize a position, and have God’s chosen people listen to you, support you, and worship you. Once you have taken hold of that position, you have then acquired power and can enjoy the benefits of status, admiration from others, and all other advantages that come with that position. People are always disguising themselves, showing off in front of others, putting on appearances, putting up a front, and embellishing themselves to make others think they are perfect. Their aim in this is to gain status, so they can enjoy the trappings of status. If you don’t believe this, think it over carefully: Why do you always want to make people think highly of you? You want to make them worship you and look up to you, so you can eventually take power and enjoy the trappings of status. The status that you so desperately seek will bring you many benefits, and these benefits are precisely what others envy and desire. When people get a taste of the many benefits status confers, it intoxicates them, and they indulge in that luxurious life. People think only this is a life that has not been squandered. Corrupted humanity delights in indulging in these things. Therefore, once a person attains a certain position and begins to enjoy the various benefits it brings, they will relentlessly lust after these sinful pleasures, even to the point of never letting them go. In essence, the pursuit of fame and status is driven by the desire to bask in the advantages that come with a certain position, to reign as a king, to exert control over God’s chosen people, to have dominion over everything, and to establish an independent kingdom where they can luxuriate in the privileges of their position and indulge in sinful pleasures. Satan uses methods of all kinds to deceive people, dupe them, and play them for fools, giving them false impressions. It even uses intimidation and threats to make people admire and fear it, with the ultimate goal of making them submit to it and worship it. This is what pleases Satan; this is also its goal in competing with God to win people over. So, when you fight for status and reputation among other people, what are you fighting for? Is it really for renown? No. You are actually fighting for the benefits that renown brings you. If you always want to enjoy those benefits, then you will have to fight for them. But if you do not value those benefits and say, “It doesn’t matter how people treat me. I am just an ordinary person. I am not worthy of such good treatment, nor do I desire to worship a person. God is the only One I should truly worship and fear. Only He is my God and my Lord. No matter how good someone may be, how great their abilities, how vast their talent, or how magnificent or perfect their image, they are not the object of my reverence because they are not the truth. They are not the Creator; they are not the Savior, and they cannot orchestrate or reign sovereign over man’s destiny. They are not the object of my worship. No human person deserves my worship,” is this not in accordance with the truth? Conversely, if you do not worship others, how should you treat them if they begin to worship you? You must find a way to stop them from doing so, and help them break free from such a mentality. You must find a way to show them your true face, and let them see your ugliness and true nature. The key is to make people understand that no matter how good your qualities are, how highly you are educated, how knowledgeable you are, or how intelligent, you are still just an ordinary person. You are not an object of admiration or worship for anyone. First and foremost, you must stand firm in your position, and not withdraw after making mistakes or embarrassing yourself. If, after making mistakes or embarrassing yourself, you not only fail to acknowledge it, but also use deception to conceal or sugarcoat it, then you compound your error and make yourself appear even more ugly. Your ambition becomes even more apparent. Corrupt human beings are good at disguising themselves. No matter what they do or what corruption they put on display, they always have to disguise themselves. If something goes wrong or they do something wrong, they want to put the blame on others. They want credit for good things to go to themselves, and blame for bad things to go to others. Is there not a lot of disguising like this in real life? There is too much. Making mistakes or disguising oneself: which of these relates to disposition? Disguising is a matter of disposition, it involves an arrogant disposition, evil, and treachery; it is especially disdained by God. In fact, when you disguise yourself, everyone understands what is happening, but you think others do not see it, and you try your best to argue and justify yourself in an effort to save face and make everyone think you did nothing wrong. Is this not stupid? What do others think about this? How do they feel? Sick and disgusted. If, having made a mistake, you can treat it correctly, and can allow everyone else to talk about it, permitting their commentary and discernment about it, and you can open up about it and analyze it, what will everyone’s opinion of you be? They will say you are an honest person, for your heart is open to God. Through your actions and behavior, they will be able to see your heart. But if you try to disguise yourself and deceive everyone, people will think little of you, and say you are a fool and an unwise person. If you do not try to put on a pretense or justify yourself, if you can admit your mistakes, everyone will say you are honest and wise. And what makes you wise? Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has faults and flaws. And actually, everyone has the same corrupt disposition. Do not think yourself more noble, perfect, and kind than others; that is being utterly unreasonable. Once people’s corrupt dispositions and the essence and true face of their corruption are clear to you, you will not try to cover up your own mistakes, nor will you hold other people’s mistakes against them—you will be able to face both correctly. Only then will you become insightful and not do foolish things, which will make you wise. Those who are not wise are foolish people, and they always dwell on their minor mistakes while sneaking around behind the scenes. It is disgusting to witness. In fact, what you are doing is immediately obvious to other people, yet you are still blatantly putting on a show. To others, it has the appearance of a clownish performance. Is this not foolish? It really is. Foolish people do not have any wisdom. No matter how many sermons they hear, they still do not understand the truth or see anything for what it really is. They never get off their high horse, thinking they are different from everyone else and more respectable; this is arrogance and self-righteousness, this is foolishness. Fools do not have spiritual understanding, do they? The matters in which you are foolish and unwise are the matters in which you have no spiritual understanding, and cannot easily understand the truth. This is the reality of the matter.

The transformation of a corrupt disposition does not happen overnight. One must continually reflect and examine themselves in all matters. They must examine their actions and behaviors in light of God’s words, try to understand themselves, and find the path of practicing the truth. This is the way to address a corrupt disposition. It is necessary to reflect upon and explore corrupt dispositions which manifest themselves in daily life, to practice analysis and discernment based on one’s understanding of the truth, and to gradually break through, so that one is able to practice the truth and align all one’s actions with the truth. Through such pursuit, practice, and self-understanding, these corrupt manifestations begin to diminish, and there is hope that one’s disposition will eventually be transformed. This is the path. The transformation of one’s disposition is a matter of growth in their life. One must grasp the truth and practice it. Only by practicing the truth can they address the problem of a corrupt disposition. If a corrupt disposition continues to constantly manifest itself, even to the point of manifesting itself in every action and word, it means one’s disposition has not been transformed. Any matters related to a corrupt disposition should be earnestly dissected and explored. One should seek the truth in order to unearth and address the root causes of a corrupt disposition. This is the only way to completely resolve the problem of a corrupt disposition. Once you have found this path, there is hope for a transformation in your disposition. These are not hollow matters; they are relevant to real life. The key lies in whether individuals can wholeheartedly and diligently apply themselves to the truth realities, and whether they can practice the truth. As long as they are able to practice the truth, they can gradually begin to shed their corrupt disposition. Then they can conduct themselves according to God’s requirements and according to their station. By finding their place, standing firm in their role as a created being, and becoming a person who truly worships and submits to God, they will be commended by God.

February 20, 2020