Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

With regard to the performance of duty that is up to standard, the emphasis is on the phrase “up to standard.” So, how should “up to standard” be defined? In this, too, there are truths to seek. Is it “up to standard” merely to do a passable job? For the specific details of how to understand and regard the phrase “up to standard,” one must understand many truths, and more fellowships on the truth are needed. In the course of performing their duty, people need to understand the truth and the principles; only then can they come to perform their duty in a way that is up to standard. 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 where God’s work unfolds, and, in turn, because of this responsibility and obligation, they have become a part of 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 perform them well, and whether they can perform them in a way that is up to standard. Since you have become a part of God’s house and accepted His commission, you now have a duty. The standard for performing this duty is not for you to decide, nor do you have any say in what it is; it’s up to God, and should be determined according to God’s standards. This matter should be measured according to the principles and standards of the truth; the truth calls the shots. Therefore, people should know and be clear on how God measures whether people’s performance of duty is up to standard, and what He measures it according to. This involves the truth, and it’s something that’s worthwhile 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 fulfill; it is not your enterprise, much less is it your business. The benchmark God demands for the performance of your duty is that it is up to standard. What does it mean to be “up to standard”? It means to meet God’s demands and satisfy Him. Your performance of your duty must be said to be up to standard by God and it must receive His approval, only then will it be up to standard. If God says it is not up to standard, no matter how long you have been performing your duty, or how much of a price you have paid, it is not up to standard. Then what will the result be? It will all be classified as laboring. Only a minority of laborers with devotion will survive. If a person is not devoted in their laboring, then they do not have hope of surviving. Speaking plainly, they will be destroyed in disaster. If one is never up to standard when performing their duty, they will be stripped of their right to perform a duty. After this right is stripped, 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 you should take it seriously and conscientiously. Because performing your duty is directly related to your life entry and entry into the truth realities, as well as significant matters like your salvation and being perfected, you must treat the performance of your duty as the first and foremost matter in your belief in God. You cannot be muddleheaded about it.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?

Everyone who believes in God should understand His intentions. Only by performing their duty well can they satisfy God, and only by completing God’s commission can their performance of their duty be up to standard. There is a standard for the completion of God’s commission. The Lord Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” “Loving God” is one aspect of what God requires of people. Where should this requirement be manifested? In the completion of God’s commission—in practical terms, you must perform well your duty as a human. So what is the standard for performing your duty well? It is God’s requirement that you perform well your duty as a created being with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This should be easy to understand. In order to meet God’s requirement, the main thing you must do is put your heart into your duty. If you can put your heart into it, then it will be easy for you to perform it with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. If you perform your duty by just relying on the imaginings of your mind, and by relying on your gifts, can you meet God’s requirement? Absolutely not. So, what standard must you meet to be regarded as having completed God’s commission, and as having performed your duty devotedly and well? It is to perform your duty with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. To perform your duty well, you must have a God-loving heart. If your God-loving heart grows ever stronger and more genuine, then you will naturally be able to perform your duty well with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. All your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength—the one that comes last is “all your strength”; “all your heart” comes first. If you’re not performing your duty with all your heart, how could you be doing it with all your strength? That’s why merely trying to perform your duty with all your strength can’t achieve results—or live up to the truth principles, either. Which of these is the most important thing that God requires? (With all one’s heart.) No matter what duty or thing God entrusts to you, if you only exert effort, run around, and toil, can the things you do be in accordance with the truth principles? Can you act in accordance with God’s intentions? (No.) Then how can you accord with God’s intentions? (With all our hearts.) The words “with all your heart” are easy to say, and people often say it, so how can you do it with all your heart? Some people say, “It’s when you do things with a little more effort and diligence, think more, and also when you don’t let anything else occupy your mind, and just focus on how to do the task at hand, isn’t it?” Is it that simple? (No.) So let’s talk about a few fundamental principles of practice. According to the principles that you usually practice or observe, what should you do first to do things with all your heart? You must use all of your mind, use all of your energy, and put your heart into doing things, and not be perfunctory. If a person is unable to do things with all their heart, then they have lost their heart, which is just like losing one’s soul. Their thoughts will wander while they speak, they will never put their heart into doing things, and they will be mindless no matter what they do. Consequently, they won’t be able to handle things well. If you don’t perform your duty with all your heart and don’t put your whole heart into it, you won’t perform your duty well. Even if you perform your duty for several years, you won’t be able to do it in a way that is up to standard. You can’t do anything well if you don’t put your heart into it. Some people are not reliable workers, they are always fickle, they aim too high, and there’s no knowing where they have left their hearts. Do such people have hearts? How can you tell if a person has a heart or not? If someone who believes in God rarely reads God’s words, do they have a heart? If they never pray to God no matter what happens, do they have a heart? If they never seek the truth no matter what difficulties they face, do they have a heart? Some people perform their duties for many years without getting any clear results, do they have hearts? (No.) Can people who don’t have hearts perform their duties well? How can people perform their duties with all their hearts? First of all, you should think of responsibility. “This is my responsibility, I have to shoulder it. I can’t flee now at this critical moment. I have to perform my duty well and give an account of it to God.” This means you have a theoretical basis. But does merely having the theoretical basis mean you are performing your duty with all your heart? (No.) You are still far from entering into the truth reality and from putting into practice God’s requirement to do things with all your heart. So, what does it mean to perform your duty with all your heart? How can people come to perform their duties with all their hearts? First of all, you need to think, “Who am I performing this duty for? Am I doing it for God, or the church, or some person?” This must be figured out clearly. Also: “Who commissioned this duty to me? Was it God, or was it some leader?” This needs clearing up, too. This may seem like a small thing, but still, the truth must be sought to resolve it. Tell Me, was it some leader or worker that commissioned you with your duty? (No.) That’s good, so long as you’re sure at heart about it. You must confirm that it was God who commissioned you with your duty. It may seem to have been given to you by a church leader, but in fact, it all comes from God’s arrangement. There may be times when it clearly comes from human will, but even then, you must first accept it from God. That’s the right way to experience it. If you accept it from God, and deliberately submit to His arrangement, and come to accept His commission—if you undergo it like that, you will have God’s guidance and the work of the Holy Spirit.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Man Actually Lives by

The principles you must understand and the truths you must put into practice are the same regardless of what duty you are performing. Whether you are asked to be a leader or a worker, or whether you are cooking up dishes as a host, or whether you are asked to take care of some external affairs or do some physical labor, the truth principles that should be observed in performing these different duties are the same, in that they must be based on the truth and on God’s words. What then is the greatest and most important principle? It is to devote one’s heart, mind, and effort to performing one’s duty well, and to perform it up to standard. To perform your duty well and perform it up to standard, you must know what duty is. Just what is duty, anyway? Is duty your own career? (No.) If you treat your duty as your own career, willing to put in all your effort to do it well, so that others can see how successful and distinguished you are, thinking that this gives your life meaning, would that be the correct view? (No.) Where does this view go wrong? It goes wrong in taking God’s commission as one’s career. While doing this seems fine to humans, to God it is walking the wrong path, violating the truth principles, and He condemns it. Duty must be performed according to God’s requirements and the truth principles in order to be in accordance with God’s intentions. Contravening the truth principles and acting instead upon human will is sinful. It opposes God and demands punishment. This is the fate of those foolish and ignorant people who do not accept the truth. Those who believe in God should be clear about what God demands from people. This vision must be made clear. First let’s talk about what duty is. A duty is not your own enterprise, your own career, or your own work; it is God’s work. God’s work requires your cooperation, which gives rise to your duty. The part of God’s work with which man must cooperate is his duty. The duty is a portion of God’s work—it is not your career, your domestic affairs, or your personal affairs in life. Whether your duty is to deal with external or internal affairs, whether it involves mental or physical labor, this is the duty that you ought to perform, it is the work of the church, it forms one part of God’s management plan, and it is the commission God has given to you. It is not your personal business. So then, how should you treat your duty? At the very least, you must not perform your duty whichever way you please, you must not act recklessly. For instance, say it’s your responsibility to cook for the brothers and sisters, and that is your duty. How should you treat this task? (We should seek the truth principles.) How do you seek the truth principles? This involves the reality and the truth. You must think about how to put the truth into practice and how to perform this duty well. Which aspects of the truth does this involve? Step one is that you must first of all know, “I am not cooking for myself. This is my duty.” This involves the aspect of vision. What about step two? (We must think about how to cook the meal well.) What is the standard for cooking well? (We must seek out God’s requirements.) That’s right. Only God’s requirements are the truth, the standard, and the principle. Do things according to God’s requirements—this is one aspect of the truth. You must first of all think of this aspect of the truth, and then contemplate, “God has given me this duty to perform. What is the standard required by God?” You must first of all possess this foundation. How should you act so as to meet God’s standard, then? The food you cook should be healthy, tasty, hygienic, and not harmful to the body—these are the details involved. As long as you act according to this principle, the food you cook shall be made according to God’s requirements. Why do I say this? Because you sought the principles of this duty, and your actions did not exceed the scope delineated by God. The way you acted was correct. You performed your duty well, and you performed it in a way that is up to standard.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Seeking the Truth Principles Can One Perform One’s Duty Well

No matter what duty you are performing, you must seek the truth principles, understand God’s intentions, know what His requirements are with regard to the duty in question and understand what results you should achieve in the performance of that duty. Only in so doing can you come to act with principles. In performing your duty, you absolutely cannot go by your personal preferences, doing whatever you would like to do, whatever would make you happy and look good. This is acting in accordance with one’s own will. If you rely on your own personal preferences in the performance of your duty, yet still believe that this is what God demands and that this is what will bring God joy, imposing your personal preferences on God—practicing your personal preferences as though they were the truth and observing them as though they were truth principles—is this not a mistake? This is not performing your duty, and performing your duty in this way will not be remembered by God. Some people do not understand the truth, and they do not know what it means to fulfill their duties. They feel that they have exerted effort and put their heart into it, rebelled against their flesh and suffered, but why then can they never do their duty in a way that is up to standard? Why is God always dissatisfied? Where have these people gone wrong? Where they went wrong was in not seeking the truth principles and not acting according to God’s requirements, and instead acting completely in accordance with their own ideas—this is the reason. They treated their own wishes, preferences, and selfish motives as principles and standards, using these things in place of God’s requirements. They regarded what they believed to be correct, good, and beautiful as the truth; this is a grievous mistake. In fact, even though people might sometimes think something is right and that it accords with the truth, that does not necessarily mean that it accords with God’s intentions. The more people think something is right, the more cautious they should be and the more they should seek the truth to see whether it meets God’s requirements. If it precisely runs counter to His requirements and counter to His words, then it is unacceptable even if you think it is right, it is but a human thought, and it will not accord with the truth no matter how right you think it is. Whether something is right or wrong must be determined based on God’s words. No matter how right you think something is, unless there is a basis for it in God’s words, it is wrong and you must discard it. It is acceptable only when it is in line with the truth, and only by upholding the truth principles in this way can your performance of your duty be up to standard.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Seeking the Truth Principles Can One Perform One’s Duty Well

When performing your duty, you should always examine yourself to see if you are doing things according to principle, if your performance of your duty is up to standard, whether or not you are doing it in a perfunctory manner, whether you have been slippery and slacking off, and whether there are any problems with your attitude and the way you think. Once you have self-reflected and these things become clear to you, you will have an easier time fulfilling your duty. No matter what you encounter while performing your duty—negativity and weakness, or being in a bad mood after being pruned—you should treat it properly, and you must also seek the truth and understand God’s intentions. By doing these things, you will have a path of practice. If you wish to do a good job in performing your duty, then you must not be affected by your mood. No matter how negative or weak you are feeling, you should practice the truth, fulfill your obligations and responsibilities, and stick to the principles in everything you do. If you do this, then not only will other people approve of you, but God will like you, too. As such, you will be a person who is responsible, who can assume responsibility, who is genuinely good, and who truly performs their duties up to standard, and you will fully live out the likeness of a genuine person. Such people are purified and achieve real transformation when performing their duties, and they can be said to be honest people in God’s eyes. Only honest people can persevere with practicing the truth so as to achieve acting with principle and being able to perform their duties up to standard. People who act with principle perform their duties meticulously when they are in a good mood; they do not work in a perfunctory manner, they are not insolent, and they do not show themselves off to make others think highly of them. When they are in a bad mood, they can complete their everyday tasks just as earnestly and responsibly, and even if they encounter something vexatious that puts pressure on them or causes a disturbance while they perform their duties, they are still able to quiet their hearts before God and pray, saying, “No matter how big a problem I come up against—even if the sky comes tumbling down—as long as I am alive, I must fulfill my duty. Every day I live is a day in which I must perform my duty well, so that I am worthy of this duty given to me by God, as well as this breath He has put in my body. Regardless of how much difficulty I might be in, I will set it all aside, for fulfilling my duty is of the utmost importance!” Those who are not affected by any person, event, thing, or environment, who are not constrained by any mood or external situation, and who put their duties and the commissions with which God has entrusted them first and foremost—they are the people who are loyal to God and who genuinely submit to Him. People like this have attained life entry and have entered the truth reality. This is one of the most genuine and practical expressions of living out the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Life Entry Begins With the Performance of Duty

Being perfunctory when performing your duty is a major taboo. If you are always perfunctory while performing your duty, then you have no way of performing your duty up to standard. If you want to perform your duty with devotion, you must first fix your problem of being perfunctory. You should take steps to rectify the situation as soon as you notice its manifestations. If you are muddleheaded, are never able to notice problems, always just go through the motions, and do things in a perfunctory fashion, then you will have no way of performing your duty well. Therefore, you must put your heart into your duty. The opportunity for people to perform their duty is hard to come by! When God gives them this chance, yet they do not grasp it, then that opportunity is lost—and even if, later on, they wish to find such an opportunity, it might not come up again. God’s work waits for no one, and neither do chances to perform one’s duty. Some people say, “I didn’t perform my duty well before, but now I still want to perform it. I will just get back on the horse.” It is wonderful to have resolve like this, but you must be clear about how to perform your duty well: You must strive toward the truth. Only those who understand the truth can perform their duty well. If one does not understand the truth, even their labor will not be up to standard. The clearer you are on the truth, the more effective you will become in your duty. If you can see this matter for what it is, then you will put effort into the truth, and you will have a hope of performing your duty well. There are not many opportunities currently to perform a duty, so you must hold onto them when you can. It is precisely when faced with a duty that you must put in real effort; that is when you must offer yourself up and expend yourself for God and when you need to pay a price. Do not hold anything back, harbor any schemes, leave any leeway, or give yourself a way out. If you leave any leeway, play tricks, or are slippery and slack off, then you are bound to do a poor job. Suppose you say, “No one saw me being slippery and slacking off. How cool!” What kind of thinking is this? Do you think you have pulled the wool over people’s eyes, and over God’s, too? In actual fact, though, does God know what you have done? He knows. In fact, anyone who interacts with you for a while will learn of your corruption and hideousness; it’s just that they may not say so outright: They will have their assessment of you in their heart. There have been many people who were revealed and eliminated because most people could see through to their essence and so exposed those people for who they were and had them cleared out of the church. So, whether they pursue the truth or not, people should perform their duty well to the best of their ability; they should be led by their conscience and do some real things. You may have shortcomings, but if you can be effective in performing your duty, you will not be eliminated. If you always think that you are fine, that you definitely won’t be eliminated, if you never reflect or try to know yourself, and you still ignore your proper tasks and are always perfunctory, then when God’s chosen people really do lose their tolerance with you, they will expose you for who you are, and you will be eliminated. Then, it will be too late for regrets, because everyone will have seen through you, and you will have lost all your dignity and integrity. If no one trusts you, would God trust you? God scrutinizes man’s innermost heart: He absolutely would not trust such a person. If you encounter an unreliable person, do not, under any circumstances, entrust them with doing something. If you’re not familiar with someone, and have just heard other people say they can get things done well enough, but in your heart you’re not one hundred percent sure, then all you can do is give them a small or ordinary task to handle first. Only if they’re successful with small and ordinary tasks should you entrust them with important ones. If they mess up the ordinary task, then this person is not trustworthy. Nothing can be entrusted to them, no matter what it is. If you notice a person who is kind and responsible, who is never perfunctory in what they do, who treats the tasks others have entrusted to them as seriously as if they were their own, who keeps you in mind when doing every aspect of the task, thinks of your needs, considers things thoroughly and comprehensively, and handles things in just the right way, making you particularly satisfied with their work—then, this is the sort of person who is trustworthy. Trustworthy people are those who have humanity, and people who have humanity possess conscience and reason, and it should be very easy for them to perform their duty well, because they treat their duty as something that falls to them and put their heart into doing it. People without conscience or reason are bound to perform their duty poorly. They do not act responsibly no matter what duty they perform. Others always have to worry over them, supervise them, and inquire into their work; if not, they could cause problems while performing their duty, and do something bad while working on a task, which would be more trouble than it’s worth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Life Entry Begins With the Performance of Duty

In order to perform your duty in a way that is up to standard, you must first have the proper mentality. When your corrupt disposition is revealed, you must also adjust your own state. When you are able to treat your duty correctly, when you have shaken off the constraints and influences of all kinds of people, events, and things, when you can completely submit to God, then you will be able to perform your duty well. The secret to doing this is to always put your duty and responsibilities first. In the process of performing your duty, you must always examine yourself: “Do I have a perfunctory attitude toward performing my duty? What things disturb me and cause me to be perfunctory in performing my duty? Am I performing my duty with all my heart and strength? Will God trust me if I act this way? Do I have a heart of submission to God? Is performing my duty this way in accordance with principles? Can it achieve the best results?” You should often reflect on these questions. When you discover problems, you should actively seek the truth, and find the relevant words of God to solve them. Thus, you will be able to perform your duty well, and you will have peace and joy in your heart. If problems frequently arise as you perform your duty, where does the root of this issue lie? This is a problem with your heart; this is a matter of having corrupt dispositions. When a person’s corrupt disposition is revealed, they will have problems in their heart and their state will be abnormal, which will directly influence how they perform their duty. Problems that influence one’s duty are big, serious problems; they can directly influence one’s relationship with God. For example, some people develop notions and misunderstandings about God when disasters befall their families. Some people become negative when they endure a bit of hardship in their duty and no one sees it or praises them for it. Some people do not perform their duty well, always being perfunctory, and they complain against God when they are pruned. Some people are unwilling to perform their duty because they are always considering an escape route. These problems all directly influence a normal relationship with God. These are all problems of corrupt dispositions. They all stem from the fact that people do not know God or His work, and that they always scheme for and consider their own status and reputation, their prospects and destiny, and their fleshly interests, which prevents them from being considerate of God’s intentions and submitting to God’s arrangements, leading to all kinds of negative emotions. This is just how people who do not pursue the truth are. When faced with somewhat difficult situations, they become negative and weak; when they encounter things that do not go their way, they take their frustration out on their duty. When performing their duty, they constantly become negative, slack off, and act perfunctorily; they keep rebelling against and resisting God, and even want to throw down their work in betrayal of God. These are all the various consequences that come about when one is constrained by their corrupt dispositions. A person who loves the truth is able to set aside their own life, prospects, and destiny, and they only want to pursue and gain the truth. They think that there is not enough time, they fear that they will fail to perform their duty well and not be perfected, so they are able to forsake everything and expend themselves for God. Their mentality is just to focus on God and submit to God. There is no difficulty that can stump them, and if they feel negative or weak, they resolve it naturally by reading a few passages from the words of God. People who do not pursue the truth are very troublesome; no matter how the truth is fellowshipped, it cannot fully resolve their problems. Even if they momentarily come around and are able to accept the truth, they will nevertheless go back on it later, so it is very difficult to handle this kind of person. It’s not that they don’t understand even a sliver of the truth; it’s that they do not treasure or accept the truth in their hearts. As a result, they are never able to put aside their own will, or let go of their personal interests, their prospects and fate, and their outcome and destination. Their hearts are always disturbed and constrained by these things, leaving them unable to perform their duty well. If a person is able to accept the truth, once they understand it, all those things that belong to corrupt dispositions will naturally disappear, and they will have life entry and stature; they will no longer be an ignorant child. When a person has stature, they will grow more and more able to see through things, more and more able to discern all kinds of people, and they will not be constrained by any person, event, or thing. They will not be influenced by anything anyone says or does. They will not be subject to interference from the evil forces of Satan, or be misled or disturbed by false leaders and antichrists. If this happens, will a person’s stature not gradually grow? The more someone understands the truth, the more they will reflect on and come to know themselves, the more they will be able to discover the harm their corrupt dispositions cause, the more they will be able to find a path of practicing the truth, and the quicker their entry into the truth reality will be; at the same time, they will also be able to perform their duty in a way that is up to standard. When you have life entry and your life is gradually growing, your state will become increasingly normal. The people, events, and things that were once able to disturb and constrain you will no longer be a problem for you. You will have no more difficulties in performing your duty, and your relationship with God will become increasingly normal. When you know how to rely on God, when you know how to seek God’s intentions, when you know your own place, when you know what you should and should not do, and which matters do and do not require you to take responsibility, will your state not become increasingly normal? Living like this will not make you tired, will it? Not only will you not be tired, but you will feel especially relaxed and happy. Won’t your heart feel brightened as a result? Your mentality will be normal, your spirit will be liberated, you will reveal corrupt dispositions less often, and you will submit to God more. In this way, you will be able to constantly live in the presence of God, and you will live out normal humanity. When people see your demeanor, they will feel there has been a great change in you. They will be willing to fellowship with you, will feel peace and joy in their hearts when listening to your fellowship, and will also benefit from it. As your stature grows, your speech and actions will become more measured and principled. When you see that someone is negative and weak, you will be able to give them some true help. Not only will you be able to resolve people’s problems, but you will also be able to avoid constraining or lecturing them, and instead use your own practical experiences to help others, providing them with some benefit. This way, you will not just be exerting yourself in the house of God, you will be a useful person, able to shoulder a burden, and able to do more meaningful things in the house of God. Is this not the kind of person God likes? If you are a person God likes, will everyone not also like you? (They will.) Why is God pleased by this kind of person? Because they are able to do real things before Him, they don’t use empty, florid words, and they get real things done. They are able to help and lead others by speaking about their true experiences; they are able to help others solve any problem, and when there are difficulties in the work of the church, they are able to lead the way forward, actively solving problems. This is what it means to devotedly perform their duty.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Life Entry Begins With the Performance of Duty

Do not always do things for your own sake and do not constantly consider your own interests; give no thought to your own pride, reputation, and status, and do not consider your personal interests. You must above all consider the interests of God’s house, and make them your priority. You should be considerate of God’s intentions and above all contemplate whether or not there have been impurities in the performance of your duty, whether you have been devoted, fulfilled your responsibilities, and given it your all, as well as whether or not you have been wholeheartedly thinking about your duty and the work of the church. You must consider these things. If you think about them frequently and figure them out, it will be easier for you to perform your duty well. The only exception is if your caliber is poor, or your experience is shallow, or you are not proficient enough in your professional work, and this leads to some mistakes or deficiencies arising in your work, and prevents good results from being achieved, but you are already doing your best. You are not acting in order to satisfy your own selfish desires or preferences. Instead, in every respect you are giving consideration to the work of the church and the interests of the house of God. Though you may not be achieving good results in your duty, your heart has been set right; if, on top of this, you are able to seek the truth to solve the problems in your duty, you will be up to standard in the performance of your duty, and, at the same time, you will enter into the truth reality. Then, you will possess testimony.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Dispositions

At the outset, people practice the truth with some reluctance. Take devotedly performing one’s duties as an example: You have some submission in performing your duties, some knowledge of what it means to be devoted to God, and some understanding of the truth, but when will you be able to be completely devoted and be able to perform your duties in both name and deed? This will require a process. During this process, you could suffer many hardships. Some people might prune you, and others might criticize you. Everyone’s eyes will be on you, scrutinizing you, and only then will you begin to realize that you are in the wrong and that you are the one who’s at fault, that lacking devotion in the performance of your duty is unacceptable, and that you must not be perfunctory. The Holy Spirit will enlighten you from within, and reproach you when you make a mistake. During this process, you will come to understand some things about yourself, and will know that you have too many impurities, harbor too many personal motives, and have too many extravagant desires when performing your duties. Once you have understood the essence of these things, if you can come before God in prayer and have true repentance, you can be cleansed of those corrupt things. If, in this manner, you frequently seek the truth to resolve your real problems, you will gradually set foot upon the right path of faith; you will begin to have true life experiences, and your corrupt dispositions will start to be gradually cleansed. The more your corrupt dispositions are cleansed, the more your life disposition will transform.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Should Be Known About Dispositional Transformation

If you want the performance of your duties to be up to standard, then in the course of performing your duties, you must first achieve harmonious cooperation. There are currently some people who are already trying to practice harmonious cooperation. After understanding the truth, even though they are unable to fully practice according to the truth, and even though there are failures, weakness, and deviations along the way, they still strive toward the truth principles. So, they have hope of achieving harmonious cooperation. For example, sometimes you may think what you are doing is right, but you are capable of not being self-righteous. You can discuss with others and fellowship on the truth principles together until they are clear, apparent, and understood, such that everyone is in agreement, and thinks that the chosen course of action will achieve the best result, that it does not step outside the principles, that it takes the interests of the house of God into consideration, and that it will protect the interests of God’s house to the greatest degree possible. Practicing in this way is in accordance with the truth principles. Although the end result may not always be as you wished, the path, direction, and goal of your practice was right. So how does God see it? How does God define this matter? God will say that the performance of your duty is up to standard.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?

What must one do to perform their duty well? They must seek the truth principles in all things in the performance of their duty, and come to perform it with all their heart and all their strength—only that will do. Using all one’s heart and strength means placing all of one’s heart into one’s duty and not letting other things occupy it, putting all of one’s effort into one’s duty, and putting one’s caliber, gifts, strengths, and the things they understand into play. If you have understanding ability and comprehension ability, when you have a good idea, you must communicate with others about it, listen to everyone’s input, learn from each other’s strong points to offset one’s weaknesses, and cooperate harmoniously. In this way, your performance of duty will yield results, and you will be performing your duty up to standard. If you always want to take on everything yourself, do great things alone, and show yourself off to make others hold you in high regard, and you reject and suppress people who have strengths, not giving them any opportunity to put them into play, are you performing your duty? This is being an autocrat; it is putting on a show. It is satanic behavior, not the performance of duty. No matter what strengths, gifts, or special talents a person has, they cannot shoulder a whole item of work themselves; they must learn to cooperate in harmony if they are to do the church’s work well. That is why harmonious cooperation is a principle of practice in performing one’s duty. As long as you give it all your heart, all your effort, and your devotion, and offer up everything you can do, you are performing your duty well. If you have a thought or idea, tell it to others; do not hold it back or keep it tucked away. If you have suggestions, offer them; whoever’s idea is in line with the truth is to be accepted and obeyed. Do this, and you will have achieved cooperation in harmony. This is what it means to perform one’s duty with devotion. In performing your duty, you are not required to take on everything yourself, nor are you required to work yourself to death, or to be “the only flower in blossom” or maverick; rather, you are required to learn how to cooperate with others in harmony, and to do all you can, to fulfill your responsibilities, to give it all your effort. That is what it means to perform your duty. To perform your duty is to bring forth the portion of strength and light that you have and achieve results. That is enough. Do not try always to show off, always to say high-sounding things, to do things by yourself. You should learn how to cooperate with others, and you should pay more attention to listening to others’ suggestions and discovering their strengths. In this way, cooperating in harmony becomes easy. If you try always to show off and have the final say, you are not cooperating in harmony. What are you doing? You are causing a disturbance and undermining others. To cause a disturbance and undermine others is to play the role of Satan; it is not the performance of duty. If you always do things that cause a disturbance and undermine others, then no matter how much effort you expend or care you take, God will not remember. You may be of little strength, but if you are capable of cooperating with others, and are able to accept suitable suggestions, and if you have the right motivations, and can protect the work of God’s house, then you are a right person. Sometimes, with a single sentence, you can solve a problem and benefit everyone; sometimes, after you fellowship on a single statement of the truth, everyone has a path forward, and is able to cooperate in harmony, and all strive together, united in heart, and share the same views and opinions, and so work is particularly effective. Although no one might remember that you played this role, and you might not feel as if you made much effort, in God’s eyes, you will be a person who practices the truth, a person who acts according to the principles. God will remember what you did. This is called performing your duty with devotion. No matter the difficulties you have in performing your duty, they can in fact all be easily solved. So long as you are an honest person with a heart inclined to God, and are able to seek the truth, then there is no problem that cannot be solved. If you do not understand the truth, then you must learn to obey. If there is anyone who understands the truth or speaks in line with the truth, then you must accept it and obey. By no means should you do things that disturb or undermine, and do not act in an arbitrary, unilateral manner. This way, you will do no evil. You must remember: Performing your duty is not a matter of engaging in your own operation or your own enterprise. This is not your personal work, it is the work of the church, and you only contribute the strengths you have. What you do in God’s management work is but a small part of man’s cooperation. Yours is just a minor role in some corner. That is the responsibility you bear. You should have this reason. And so, no matter how many people are performing their duties together, or what difficulties they face, the first thing everyone should do is pray to God and fellowship together, seek the truth, and then determine what the principles of practice are. When they perform their duties in this way, they will have a way forward.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Proper Fulfillment of Duty Requires Harmonious Cooperation

In God’s house, no matter what you do, you are not engaging in your own undertaking; it is the work of God’s house, it is God’s work. You must constantly bear this knowledge and awareness in mind and say, “This is not my own matter; I am performing my duty and fulfilling my responsibility. I am doing the church’s work. This is a commission God entrusted to me and I am doing it for Him. This is my duty, not my private affair.” This is the first thing you should understand. If you treat a duty as your own private affair, and do not seek the truth principles when you act, doing things according to your own motives, views, and aims, then you will likely make mistakes. So how should you act if you make a very clear distinction between your duty and your own private affairs, and are aware that this is a duty? (Seek what God asks, and seek principles.) That’s right. If something happens to you and you don’t understand the truth, and you have some idea but things still aren’t clear to you, then you must find brothers and sisters who understand the truth to fellowship with; this is seeking the truth, and before all else, this is the attitude you should have toward your duty. You shouldn’t decide things based on what you think is appropriate, and then slam the gavel down and say case closed—this easily leads to problems. A duty is not your own matter; whether major or minor, matters of God’s house are no one’s personal affair. As long as it relates to duty, then it is not your personal affair—it concerns the truth, and it concerns principle. So what is the first thing you should do? You should seek the truth, and seek the principles. And if you do not understand the truth, you must first seek the principles; if you already understand the truth, identifying the principles will be easy. What should you do if you don’t understand the principles? There is a way: You can fellowship with those who understand the truth. Don’t always assume that you understand everything and are always right; this is an easy way to make mistakes. What kind of disposition is it when you always want to have the final say? This is arrogance and self-righteousness, it is acting arbitrarily and unilaterally. Some people think, “I am college-educated, I’m more cultured than you, I have the comprehension ability, you all have small stature and don’t understand the truth, so you should listen to me in all matters. I alone can make the decisions!” How is this view? If you have this kind of view, you will run into trouble; you will never perform your duties well. How can you perform your duties well when you always want to be the one to have the final say, without harmonious cooperation? Performing your duties this way will absolutely not be up to standard. Why do I say this? You always want to constrain others and make them listen to you; you don’t take in whatever anyone else says. This is being obstinate, it is also arrogance and self-righteousness. In this way, not only will you fail to perform your duties well, but you will also hinder others from performing their duties well. This is the consequence of an arrogant disposition. Why does God demand that people cooperate harmoniously with one another? In one respect, it is beneficial for revealing people’s corrupt dispositions, thus allowing them to know themselves and cast off their corrupt dispositions—this benefits their life entry. In another, harmonious cooperation is also beneficial for the work of the church. Since everyone lacks understanding of the truth and has corrupt dispositions, if there can’t be harmonious cooperation, then they will not be capable of performing their duties well, which will impact the work of the church. The consequence of this is severe. In summary, in order to come to perform one’s duty in a way that is up to standard, one must learn to cooperate harmoniously and, when faced with situations, fellowship on the truth to find solutions. This is essential—it benefits not only the work of the church but also the life entry of God’s chosen people. … To perform your duty in a way that is up to standard, it does not matter how many years you have believed in God, how many duties you have performed, nor how many contributions you have made to God’s house, much less does it matter how experienced you are in your duty. The main thing God looks at is the path a person takes. In other words, He looks at one’s attitude toward the truth and the principles, direction, origin, and impetus of one’s actions. God focuses on these things; they are what determine the path you walk. If, in the process of your performing your duty, these positive things cannot be seen in you at all, and the principles, path, and basis of your action are your own thoughts, aims, and schemes; your starting point is to protect your own interests and your pride and status, the way that you do things is still to go by your own will and act arbitrarily and unilaterally, and have the final say, never discussing things with others or cooperating harmoniously, and never listening to advice when you have made a mistake, let alone seeking the truth, then how will God see you? If this is how you do your duty, then your performance is miles away from being up to standard, and you have not set foot on the path of pursuing the truth, because, as you perform your duty, you do not seek the truth principles and always act as you wish, doing whatever you like. This is the reason why the duty performance of most people isn’t up to standard. So how should this problem be resolved? Would you say the up-to-standard performance of a duty is difficult to achieve? In fact, it is not; as long as people possess a bit of reason, can take a stance of humility, and adopt an appropriate position, then it’s not difficult. No matter how educated you are, what awards you have won, or what you have achieved, and no matter how high your standing and rank might be, you must let go of all of these things, you must humble yourself—this all counts for nothing. In God’s house, however great these honors are, they cannot be higher than the truth, for these superficial things are not the truth, and cannot take its place. You must be clear about this issue. If you say, “I am gifted, I have a sharp mind, I have quick reflexes, I am a quick learner, and I have an exceedingly good memory, so I am qualified to make the final decision,” if you always use these things as capital, and see them as precious, and as positive, then this is troublesome. If your heart is occupied by these things, if they have taken root in your heart, it will be hard for you to accept the truth—and the consequences of that don’t bear thinking about. Thus, you must first put down and deny those things that you love, that seem nice, that are precious to you. Those things are not the truth; rather, they can block you from entering the truth. The most pressing thing now is that you must seek the truth in performing your duty, and practice according to the truth, such that your performance of your duty is up to standard, for performing your duty in a way that is up to standard is merely the first step onto the path of life entry. What does “the first step” mean here? It means the starting point. In all things, there is a starting point, something that is most basic, most fundamental, and being up to standard in performing your duty is a way to achieve life entry. If your performance of your duty merely seems fitting in how it is done, but is not in accordance with the truth principles, then you are not performing your duty up to standard. So how, then, should you work on this? You must work on and seek the truth principles; possessing the truth principles is what is crucial. If you have merely changed your behavior and temper for the better, but do not possess the truth realities, it is useless. You may have something of a gift or specialty. That is a good thing—but it’s only being put to use in the right place if you use it in the performance of your duty. Performing your duty well does not require an improvement in your humanity or personality, nor that you set aside your gift or specialty. That is not what is required. What is crucial is that you understand the truth and learn to submit to God. It is all but inevitable that you will reveal corrupt dispositions as you perform your duty. What should you do at such times? You must seek the truth to resolve the problem and come to act in line with the truth principles. Do this, and it will not be a problem for you to perform your duty well. No matter what kind of gift or specialty you have, or what professional knowledge you possess, using these things in the performance of your duty is most proper—it is the only way to perform your duty well. One aspect is relying on conscience and reason to perform your duty, and the other is that you must seek the truth to resolve your corrupt disposition. By performing your duty in this way, you will have life entry, and be able to perform your duty in a way that is up to standard.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?

In the process of performing your duties, on the positive side, if you can treat your duties in the correct manner, never abandon them regardless of the circumstances you face, and even when others stop believing and performing their duties, you still hold fast to yours and never abandon them from start to finish, remaining steadfast and devoted to your duties until the end, then you are being completely devoted in the performance of your duties. If you can meet this benchmark, you’ve essentially come to perform your duties in a way that is up to standard; this is on the positive side. However, before reaching this benchmark, on the negative side, one must be able to withstand various temptations. What kind of problem is it when someone can’t withstand temptations in the process of performing their duty, so they abandon their duty and flee, betraying their duty? That amounts to betraying God. Betraying God’s commission is to betray God. Can one who betrays God still be saved? All hope is lost for them, and the duties they previously performed were merely laboring, which vanished into nothingness with their betrayal. So, it’s essential to hold fast to one’s duty; by doing so, there is hope. By devotedly fulfilling one’s duty, one can be saved and earn God’s approval. What does everyone find to be the most difficult part of holding fast to one’s duty? It is whether they can stand firm when faced with temptation. What do these temptations include? Money, status, intimate relationships, feelings. What else? Some duties require taking risks, even risks to one’s life, and performing such duties might result in arrest and imprisonment or even being persecuted to death—under those circumstances, could you still perform your duty? Could you persevere? The ease with which these temptations can be overcome depends on whether one pursues the truth. It depends on one’s ability to gradually discern and recognize the temptations they face while pursuing the truth, to recognize their essence and Satan’s schemes behind them. It also requires recognizing one’s own corrupt dispositions, one’s nature essence, and one’s weaknesses. One must also often ask God to protect them so they can withstand these temptations. If one can withstand them, and hold fast to their duty without betrayal or escape under any circumstance, then the likelihood of being saved reaches 50 percent. Is this 50 percent easily achievable? Each step is a challenge, fraught with peril; it’s not easy to attain! Some people think that reading all of God’s words will take forever, and so they feel that pursuing the truth is too hard, and that believing in God is difficult. What kind of people are they? They are people who do not love the truth—only disbelievers have such thoughts. For mere survival, people can rack their brains, endure any hardship, and still cling to life tenaciously in disasters, not giving up until their last breath—if they pursued the truth with this kind of vigor, they would definitely gain the truth and God’s approval. If people do not love the truth and are unwilling to strive for it, they are good-for-nothings! Pursuing and gaining the truth aren’t things that can be achieved merely through human effort; it requires human effort combined with the work of the Holy Spirit. It requires God setting up various environments to try and refine people, and the Holy Spirit working to enlighten, illuminate, and guide them. The suffering one undergoes to gain the truth is entirely warranted. Just like mountain climbers who risk their lives to scale peaks, they aren’t afraid of hardship in their quest to challenge the limits, even to the point of venturing their lives. Is believing in God and gaining the truth harder than climbing a mountain? What kind of people are those who desire blessings but are unwilling to suffer? They are good-for-nothings. You can’t pursue gaining the truth without resolve; you can’t do it without the ability to suffer. You must pay a price to gain it.

People have come to understand the definition of “up to standard,” the benchmarks for “up to standard,” the reason why God has set forth this benchmark of being “up to standard,” the relationship between performing one’s duty in a way that is up to standard and life entry, and other such factors related to the truth of the up-to-standard performance of one’s duty. If they can then get to where they can hold fast to their duty regardless of time or place, without abandoning it, and can withstand all manner of temptations, and then comprehend and gain knowledge of and entry into all the various truths that God requires in all the different situations He sets up for them, then in God’s view, this is more or less up to standard. Basically, there are three parts to performing one’s duty in a way that is up to standard: First, having a correct attitude toward one’s duty, and not abandoning one’s duty at any time; second, being able to withstand all sorts of temptations while performing one’s duty, and not stumbling; third, being able to understand every aspect of the truth while performing one’s duty, and entering into reality. When people fulfill these three requirements and have met the mark, then the first prerequisite for receiving judgment and chastisement to be perfected—performing one’s duty in a way that is up to standard—will have been completed.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?

Related Hymns

Only the Honest Can Be Up to Standard in Performing Their Duties

Only by Acting With Principles Can One Perform Their Duty Well