Last gathering, we fellowshipped on item nine of the responsibilities of leaders and workers: “Accurately communicate, issue, and implement the various work arrangements of the house of God in accordance with its requirements, providing guidance, supervision, and urging, and inspect and follow up on the status of their implementation.” We fellowshipped on the responsibilities that leaders and workers must fulfill and the work they must do, and we also dissected a few of the behaviors of false leaders. Though we didn’t fellowship on the specifics of how leaders and workers are to implement each work arrangement, we did fellowship on the specifics of the principles for implementing those arrangements, as well as what leaders and workers must do. Have you gotten a more specific, accurate definition of the work leaders and workers are to do through our fellowship on item nine? Are you now clear about what the work is that leaders and workers must do? The main thing for them is to implement the work according to God’s requirements and the work arrangements of His house. That’s basically it. Now, we’re all clear. What work a leader or worker must do in God’s house, and what their responsibilities are, should have been fellowshipped on quite specifically within item nine. It’s basically comprehensive. The scope of their responsibilities is delimited, and the work they should do, as well as how they should do it, is clearly stated, too. If someone still doesn’t know how to do concrete work now that it’s been clearly stated, that’s a problem of them having poor caliber. They’re the sort of false leader that can’t do work. There’s another sort of false leader that arranges work only by their own notions and imaginings, and uses people haphazardly, resulting in a case of too many cooks. The work isn’t just not done well—they make a complete mess of it, leaving it with no way ahead. False leaders will never implement the work arrangements, much less do real work. They just do the work they like, focusing only on the work of general affairs; when they work, they only know how to issue orders and shout hollow catchphrases and doctrines. They never follow up on the work, nor do they care if it’s been effective. This is one sort of false leader. In short, whether someone can’t do real work or doesn’t do real work as a leader—whatever the circumstances may be—if they can’t fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers or do the work of God’s commission, and if they can’t manage to implement the various pieces of work arranged by God’s house, then they’re a false leader.

Now, through our fellowship on item nine of the responsibilities of leaders and workers and our exposure of the various ways in which false leaders manifest, have you gained some basic knowledge and understanding of how to fulfill the responsibilities of leaders and workers? (Yes.) Do you see the work of God’s house as easy to do, then? Are the requirements of man high? Are they excessive? (They’re not high; they’re all requirements we can meet.) Are there leaders and workers who say, “There are too many items and types of work that God’s house requires us to do. The higher up a leader, the greater the scope of their work, and the more items of work they’re responsible for. To do that work well and see it implemented according to the Above’s requirements—we’d die of exhaustion, wouldn’t we?” Has anyone keeled over from exhaustion for having done all the concrete work well, for having implemented every item of work to where it should be? (No.) Has anyone gotten ill with exhaustion? Is anyone so busy they don’t have time to eat or sleep? (No.) Some may say, “What do you mean, no? Some people do get exhausted doing church work, because they go a long time without being able to eat on a regular schedule, or to work and take breaks in a regulated way, with labor and rest in balanced measure. They wind up with illnesses from exhaustion.” Have you heard of such a situation happening? (No.) Has anyone come away from hearing item nine and seeing the specific contents of the various items of work in God’s house, as well as its required standards for leaders and workers in doing this specific work, feeling fearful and afraid? Do they feel, “It’s not easy being a leader or worker. Without soundness of body, good caliber, expansiveness of heart, and superhuman energy and strength, who could do the job well?” Has anyone had this thought? Is it valid? (No.) What makes it invalid? First, when performing the work of God’s house, no matter what their rank is, and whether their responsibility is comprehensive or for a single item of work, leaders and workers must at least do their primary work well, along with one or two additional items of work, at the very most. Even if they’re tasked with comprehensive work, that doesn’t mean they’re to offer comprehensive follow-ups or guidance. They must focus on taking charge of the most critical work, or attend simultaneously to the weak links in certain items of work. Some people may be full of energy, have a strong sense of responsibility, and good caliber, and they’re able to do a large range of multifaceted work, but their main work primarily consists of just one or two items of work. With other work, they need only ask after it, make inquiries about it, and try to understand it, and resolve only such problems as they discover. That’s part of it. Another part is that even if they are concurrently handling several items of work, they need only rely on primary supervisors to do those items of work. All they do is supervise the various items of work, check up on them, and guide them; the main work they’re to do themselves is still a single item of work. And would one get exhausted by doing a single item of work? (No.) If the person’s caliber is sufficient and their mind flexible, they’ll arrange the work reasonably in terms of how time is allocated and how to make it efficient. They won’t be in a disorganized jumble, with no way ahead. They won’t look so busy—they’ll be working according to a prescribed routine—but the work won’t be inefficient, and it will yield good results. That’s someone with caliber, who knows how to allocate manpower and time reasonably. People without caliber or of poor caliber are a mess, whatever work they’re doing. They’re quite busy every day, but what’s keeping them busy, they themselves can’t say for sure. They have no schedule, no concept of time; they wake up quite early and go to bed quite late; they can’t eat at regular times—but given the efficiency of the work, they do no real work at all. Is this not a case of an excessively poor caliber? (It is.) This sort of person seems to be bustling around every day without rest, but they can’t get to the pith of the work, nor can they distinguish what’s urgent from what can wait, and they’re inefficient at resolving problems. This slows down the work. They’re anxious to bursting at heart, and they develop mouth sores. Even in these cases, though, they don’t keel over from exhaustion. People of poor caliber may work more than eight hours a day, yet the efficiency of their work is much poorer than that of people of good caliber. So, they have to be busy, don’t they? They should be—they can’t get results, even when they are busy; if they didn’t keep busy, the work would be paralyzed. This is someone of such poor caliber that they’re not up to being competent with the work or taking it on. Furthermore, there are many items in the work of God’s house, and the requirements are somewhat strict in terms of personnel and time. With most people, when they’re a bit busier, it’s in order to strive for excellence and get good results, because the work of God’s house is different from that of the businesses and factories of nonbelievers: Those demand economic efficacy, whereas we emphasize the results of the work. But because most people are of poor caliber, unprincipled and exceedingly inefficient in their work, it takes them more time to produce results. Do most of you now have no negative thoughts about the responsibilities of leaders and workers? One thing’s for certain: Leaders and workers won’t crumple from exhaustion by working according to the requirements of God’s house. Beyond these external, objective factors, there’s something else you can be certain of: If a person has a burden and is of a certain caliber—and don’t overlook the fact that there’s the work of the Holy Spirit—then, with some problems they can’t imagine or predict, and with some matters they haven’t been through before and have no experience of, the Holy Spirit will give them constant reminders, enlightening and helping them at any time. The work of the church doesn’t entirely rely on human strength, energy, and burdens to be done—a part of it must rely on the work and leadership of the Holy Spirit, as most people have experienced. So, whichever way one looks at it, fulfilling their responsibilities is something a leader or worker should achieve. It’s not an extra requirement of them. When nonbelievers work in the world, they act on the basis of their personal caliber. Doing a duty in God’s house is different: One doesn’t just do it on the basis of their caliber—they must also rely on their understanding of the truth principles if they’re going to achieve results. Sometimes, they must also help each other and cooperate in harmony if they’re going to do their duty well. Some may ask, “Does working in God’s house require us to ‘bend to a task and strive to do our utmost until our dying day’? ‘The silkworms of spring weave till they die’—do we need to achieve that? Will God’s house only be done with us when we’re dying of exhaustion?” Is this what God requires of man? (No.) Our fellowship on the requirements for the responsibilities of leaders and workers is meant merely to give people clarity and understanding about how to cooperate with God’s work according to the truth principles and work methods He requires, so that His work may proceed ahead in an orderly, effective way, and so that His words and work will be able to achieve better results in His chosen people. One aspect of it is about developing and spreading the work; the other is about having God’s words and work achieve the effects they ought to on those who follow Him. These are the responsibilities of leaders and workers, and what they’re to achieve in their work.

Item Ten: Properly Safeguard and Sensibly Allocate the Various Material Items of the House of God (Books, Various Equipment, Grain, and So on), and Carry Out Regular Inspections, Maintenance, and Repair to Minimize Damage and Waste; Also, Avert Their Misappropriation by Evil People

Today, we’ll move on to fellowship about item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers: “Properly safeguard and sensibly allocate the various material items of the house of God (books, various equipment, grain, and so on), and carry out regular inspections, maintenance, and repair to minimize damage and waste; also, avert their misappropriation by evil people.” Item nine is a relatively comprehensive requirement of leaders and workers. Item ten is another big section of the work, one that comprises another specific requirement for the responsibilities of leaders and workers. This part of the work involves items that belong to God’s house, some of which are purchased to meet the life necessities of people who do their duties full-time, and others of which are equipment, materials, and so on that are bought for the work of spreading the gospel. There are also some books of God’s words and some such things that involve the life entry of the brothers and sisters, and that should be kept by God’s house. These are goods that involve people’s belief in God. Three categories, in total: items necessary for life, items necessary for work, and items necessary for belief in God. Whether these items are bought by God’s house or offered up by brothers and sisters, once they come into the possession of God’s house, they become related to the issue of the management and allocation of material items by leaders and workers. Though this work doesn’t seem from the outside so important compared to church life, administrative work, or professional work, and not something that needs to be on the agenda, it’s still important work that leaders and workers need to do. The various items of God’s house are involved in the work, life, studies, and all such things of all personnel doing duties, so their safeguarding and sensible allocation is very important and must not be overlooked.

Proper Safeguarding

As leaders and workers, what’s even more central than doing the administrative work of the church well and making the church life good is doing the work of gospel-spreading well, as well as its various associated work. In addition, the various material items of God’s house should also be afforded appropriate management. These things should be safeguarded well; don’t let them become moldy or bug-infested, and don’t let people gobble them up as their private property. God’s house also has specific requirements and steps for how leaders and workers are to do this work well. They are to begin by checking whether the personnel who manage these items are appropriate, responsible people, and whether they know how to manage them, and whether they can diligently fulfill their responsibility—whether these things will be kept safe in their hands. In keeping grain, for instance, is the place where it’s kept during the rainy season—when the weather is humid and there’s a lot of rain—damp? Do the people who manage this check it in time? If the grain does get damp, do they take it out to dry? Do they manage these things as scrupulously as though they were their own? Do they have such humanity? Do they have such loyalty? They’re to start by conducting an audit of the people who manage these things, to see what their humanity’s like, and whether they have a conscience and are virtuous. If a person seems to be of fine humanity and kind-hearted, and most others give good reports of them, yet you don’t know whether they’re suited to managing the items of God’s house, what’s to be done then? You must follow up, check on things, and supervise. You must ask after things after a while, to see whether the custodian has been fulfilling their responsibility. With grain, for instance, the greatest concern is moisture. The custodian should check whether the granary is humid and whether there are liable to be insects in the grain, and they should find someone who knows about such things, to consult with and gain understanding about what practices may guarantee that the grain won’t get damp and grow moldy or be infested by insects. Once they’ve put the grain away, they should frequently check on the granary, or open the windows for ventilation. That would truly be fulfilling their responsibility. If the custodian takes the initiative to do these things without needing to be urged or reminded, then they’re reliable, which is reassuring. What about the people who safeguard various types of equipment, then—are they right for the job? You don’t know yet; you must check on them, too. How is most equipment—electronics, furniture, facilities, and so forth—safeguarded if it’s not normally in use? Does the custodian take care of it and maintain it? Do they conduct regular checks on the electronics, powering them on and starting them up? By asking around, you may learn that the custodian of these things is doing this regularly. Those things may just be sitting there idle, but there’s no dust on them, which means that someone comes often to take care of them—you’ll see that their custodian is fine, that they’re fulfilling their responsibility. You can then rest assured. There are also books of God’s words. Each of those is hard to come by, and in addition, books of God’s words are more important to every believer in God than any other thing—more than grain, electronics, or any other such item. So, with these things, all the more should you find the right person to manage them and the right place to store them. Proper ventilation, oversight, and inspection are necessary, too—they can’t let the books get damp or wet, or chewed up by mice. These things must all be watched out for. So, are the people managing such items right for the job? You must often check up on this, as well. If the caretakers are lazy, neglectful, and careless, some items will be damaged, if not to dampness and mold, then to insects. These are all losses, caused by lax monitoring and inspection on the part of the leaders and workers. If the caretakers take proper care of these items, this responsibility of the leaders and workers has been fulfilled. Whether these items are big or small, and whether they’re frequently used or not, so long as they’re in a class of items that belong to God’s house, it should be arranged for someone to manage them. An item should be safe, whatever its sort and wherever it’s stored, and it should be ensured that nothing will go wrong with it. That’s what it is to be loyal and responsible. If a person who manages things is found to be unfit, what’s to be done? They must be reassigned at once, and someone found to replace them. Some people, for instance, are idle loafers, fond of eating but not of working, taking no responsibility. They treat the church’s things casually, as if they were public property, thinking that it’s fine so long as they’re not lost. As to whether those things are moldy or bug-infested, or whether any have been damaged, they neither care nor ask. Whenever you ask them, they say they’ve been to check on them, and everything’s fine. In fact, they haven’t been to check on things in a long time. Then, a day comes when someone suddenly finds that the grain has gone moldy, and the wiring in some equipment has been chewed up by mice, and even books of God’s words have gotten so damp that the writing in them is blurred and unclear. To find out about these things only then—isn’t that too late? (Yes, the damage has been done.) That’s the result of improper management. Is the person who’s managing them not unfit, then? Are they not of poor humanity and immoral? (They are.) Nonbelievers would call this kind of person immoral; what do we say? That this person’s humanity is bad, that they’re not loyal. They can’t even fulfill that little responsibility; they can’t even do something that someone who takes just a few pains, who has just a bit of conscience and humanity, could do. Are they still a believer in God? Even nonbelievers hold the view, “Do your best to faithfully handle whatever other people have entrusted to you”—this person doesn’t even meet the minimal moral standard of nonbelievers, so they’re obviously unfit to serve as a member of the item-management personnel. Unfit people must be handled promptly, and suitable replacements found. If you don’t trust your item-management personnel, and you have no time to check on things yourself, or can’t follow up on things and check on them for some circumstantial reason, what’s to be done in that case? You may have the person who manages things write guarantees, saying that if there’s damage to the items they manage, they’ll pay for it, or that they’ll be willing to accept any sort of penalty from God’s house. It must be resolved according to the administrative system. If a leader or worker can do their job up to this level, they will be fulfilling their responsibility.

Any material item of God’s house, whether it’s big or small, expensive or cheap, whether or not it’s of use to you, if you’re made to manage it, then it’s your responsibility. This work falls within the scope of responsibility of leaders and workers, so you should find the right person and right place for it to be safeguarded appropriately. Don’t allow the items of God’s house to be damaged. With safeguarding books of God’s words, for instance—once a leader or worker has arranged suitable personnel for them, they should still ask after it from time to time: “A lot of books have been issued out recently, but don’t be careless, even though there are fewer left. In keeping books, the main thing is not letting them get damp or sun-damaged, and not letting them get crushed and bent out of shape.” They must ask after it and make inquiries from time to time. If new books have come, they must ask how well they’re being safeguarded; whether they’ll all fit in the original spot, and if not, whether another spot has been found for them, and what that spot is like, whether it’s safe and dry; whether the books are stored well; and if there’s worry about mice, whether there’s need of keeping a cat. All such things are what leaders and workers must do, and their responsibility to fulfill. This work might appear somewhat insignificant, but it, too, is one of the tasks that leaders and workers should do on a regular basis. Don’t sell it short—it must be taken seriously. Those things may be public property and not belong to any individual, but they must be safeguarded well; regardless of whether they’ll be of use to you in the future, and regardless of whether they’re yours to use, safeguarding them well is your responsibility, a matter that falls to you, and you shouldn’t look for any reason or excuse to pass it off and pay it no mind. So long as something is your responsibility, it’s something you should manage, work you should do. With all of it, you should make inquiries and try to understand things, or participate in it personally. If you have time to go to the site and have a look for yourself, that would be better, of course. But if circumstances and conditions don’t allow that, or if you’re too busy with work, you should still make inquiries and ask about it in a timely manner, in an effort to keep the items of God’s house from being damaged or wasted in any way. Doing this means that you have fulfilled the responsibility of leaders and workers.

Sensible Allocation

With the material items of God’s house, there’s another important piece of work beyond safeguarding them: sensibly allocating them. All these items are for people’s use—they’re all useful things—so the main goal in safeguarding them is so that they may be sensibly used. Before putting these items to sensible use, it’s up to leaders and workers to allocate them sensibly. What is sensible allocation? As to whom these items should be given to use, God’s house has principles and rules. The main purpose of these items, whether they are offered up by the brothers and sisters or purchased by God’s house, is not in stockpiling them for relief or as alms for welfare work; instead, they’re for the use of all brothers and sisters who do their duties full-time. So, how they’re to be allocated—what the principles are for their allocation—is another responsibility that leaders and workers should fulfill in their management of the various material items of God’s house. We’ve mentioned here sensible allocation; in this case, being “sensible” is the principle required by God’s house.

I. Sensibly Allocating the Books of God’s Words

We’ll start with books of God’s words. Every time new books are issued, God’s house has requirements and rules in terms of principles concerning who should be issued those books. In the church, there are people who read God’s words and people who don’t, there are people who love the truth and people who don’t, and there are people who do duties and people who don’t—differentiations should be made between these types of people. There are also some special books in the class of textbooks—grammars, dictionaries, and other such instrumental books. All these should be distributed in strict accordance with the principles. They must be given to those who need them, and not to those who don’t. And then there are some instrumental books printed in relatively small quantities—if these are issued to an individual, what’s required of that individual? You may read them, but don’t damage them; don’t leave them around or tear paper out of them indiscriminately. And they should be returned to their original place when you’re done reading them. With books of belief in God, leaders and workers should distribute them in strict accordance with the work arrangements of God’s house, and they should let God’s chosen people understand the principles, too, and act according to them.

II. Sensibly Allocating Various Sorts of Equipment

What follows is how to allocate various sorts of equipment. This is a relatively critical task. Various sorts of equipment are somewhat stricter in their allocation. Such equipment includes electronics, as well as the tools required for various professions. When leaders and workers distribute these, there should be principles to that, too. Those to whom they’re issued must be people who are able to operate such equipment familiarly and make correct, sensible use of it. If someone’s a novice or simply doesn’t know how to use the thing, it must not be issued to them. This holds especially for good, high-end electronics, such as high-end cameras and pricier computers, as well as recording equipment, photographic devices, or equipment needed for video post-production—less still may equipment like this be issued to such a person, in order to prevent damage. Leaders and workers are to ensure that those who use such equipment are, first, able to value the machinery, and second, are able to use and maintain it correctly. Some machine, for instance, must by its rules be given a ten-minute rest after two hours of use, to cool down. If it doesn’t cool down, it will damage the machine and shorten its useful life. People who value a machine will use it in strict accordance with its maintenance precautions; they’ll follow them on their own, without your telling them to, and they’ll be stricter and more precise still if you do urge them. Such people are fit to use machinery; they’re suited to using high-end things, because they know to value machinery, and they take its maintenance and repair precautions seriously. Such people, who can treasure machinery and use it normally, are those most fit for the allocation and distribution of high-grade machinery. Leaders and workers should carry out proper checks in this regard. If there’s a high-end computer, and it’s issued out for the use of anyone who applies by stating their need of it, is the principle there right? (No.) What’s not right about it? For leaders and workers, part of distributing and allocating such things should be based on the professional competency of the person tasked with the work; the other part is that they must base it on the degree to which that person cherishes machinery, on whether they have humanity, whether they value machinery when they use it. If the person doesn’t know to care for machinery and is unfamiliar with the skills of the profession, and just wants to play with the machine out of curiosity, then they should be restricted and forbidden from using it. They’re not fit to use and take care of high-grade machinery. It’s enough to give those doing ordinary duties ordinary machinery. Those who know a profession; are of good humanity; and know how to use, maintain, and value machinery may use higher-grade things, because they’re versed in a profession and are able to make use of high-grade machinery. If you give a muddled or coarse person something high-grade to use, they’ll ruin the machine in just a few days. Others won’t be able to use it, and it won’t be easy to fix. This not only impedes the work of the church, but also wastes a material item of God’s house. What’s implicit in this? That such people aren’t fit to use good machines. Good machines must be given to people with humanity, who know their way around a profession, to use. It’s good enough for those who aren’t experts in a profession and whose humanity is poor to use ordinary things. Is allocating things like this sensible? (It is.)

With all manner of material things, different people have different ways of treating them. Some people buy a high-end computer, and after two years of use, it still looks new; there’s never a fingerprint to be seen on the screen, and the keyboard’s always so clean, without a speck of dust. The desktop is nice and neat, too, and what’s stored on the computer is all quite organized and clear. If someone tells them that it’s bad for the screen if it’s in use for a long time, they’ll ask right away how best to protect the screen—whichever way is best, that’s what they do. If someone tells them that the computer needs to idle after long usage, that it’ll function worse if it gets too hot, affecting the machine’s longevity, then when they realize that they’ve been using their computer for more than two hours, they’ll stop at once to let it cool off. If it cools slowly because the weather’s too hot, they’ll set a fan to blow on it. They treat the machine with as much special care as though it were their child. They’re especially attentive and careful when putting it in its bag, and when they place it on a table, they’ve got to clean its surface and place the machine properly. Is this not a strength of theirs? (Yes.) Such people don’t just cherish machinery themselves—when they see others ruining and damaging machinery, they find it hard to bear. Such people are fit to use good machinery. Some people with money will also buy high-end computers, which they don’t cherish at all once they’ve gotten them home. They don’t clean them, however much dust settles on them, and they get them quite dirty. Others will use a machine for two years, and it’ll still look new; these people use a machine for two months, and it looks as if it’s been used for ten years. Tell them that machines need maintenance, and they’ll say, “What’s the point of maintaining that thing? Machines render service to people, in service of people. If it breaks, just buy a new one!” As a result, the machine breaks down in less than six months due to improper use. What do you make of such people? Are they fit to use high-grade machinery? (No.) However nice the computers they buy, they don’t think to cherish them, but toss them around and place them carelessly. Some of their computers are marred with scratches; some are water-damaged; some fall to the ground and break. They use them quite roughly. There’s something missing in such people’s humanity. Are you willing to allocate good machinery for the use of such people? (No.) Some people wear glasses, and the lenses are always wiped so clean, whereas other people’s lenses have filthy surfaces, with dirt and fingerprints and the like on them. How can they even use them like that? Those who would take care of their glasses are particular when putting them down; they absolutely won’t let the lens touch a tabletop or any object, nor will they let the lens be scratched or have any abrasions. Glasses are so important to near-sighted people in particular—how will you use them if you scratch the lenses? Some people are rough with their glasses, and their lenses get blurred after they’ve worn them for just a short while. They can’t see anything clearly when they’re wearing them—they’d be better off without them on. Yet they think it’s fine to go on wearing them as they are, as if it made no difference. I’m puzzled by this: Isn’t their goal in wearing glasses to be able to see things more clearly? What can they see clearly, with their lenses all scuffed? Are these not coarse people? Coarse, indeed! There’s something missing from the humanity of excessively coarse people—they don’t know how to take care of things, much less do they think to cherish them.

When it comes to the important equipment and tools of God’s house, what’s the responsibility of leaders and workers? When allocating such equipment, it’s to be given to appropriate people. Those using such important, high-grade equipment absolutely must be people who know how to cherish things. They’ll cherish it, take care of it, and maintain it; when it’s in their possession, you can be assured that they’ll never destroy or damage it intentionally or due to self-made factors, unless through a moment’s carelessness or lack of some element of common knowledge. Such people may use this equipment; high-grade, good equipment may be allocated to them. With people who are naturally rough in their use of things, it’ll do just to give them ordinary stuff to use. Also, the custodians of such equipment and tools are responsible for keeping records of their usage: who’s taken what and how long they’ve used it for, or which item is for someone’s exclusive use, who, if it’s damaged, should compensate for it according to its value. Both parties must sign off on these things, so that things are fair and sensible for everyone. Machines and equipment are to be taken care of well, whether their usage is short-term or long-term; the user must learn to use them correctly, and if they malfunction, they should be repaired promptly. The more meticulously this work is done, the better. If a situation arises where Satan’s regime is arresting people, leaders’ and workers’ most central responsibility then is to allocate the important equipment and tools to reliable, trustworthy people. Once they’ve sent it, they should give the person some counsel, telling them, “These are things from God’s house, for you to use in doing your duty. They’re not to be toyed with. You should use them sensibly and take care of them well. Don’t damage them. As these pieces of equipment and tools are needed for the performance of duty, if there’s damage to them, compensation should be paid according to their value. If the work is delayed because of damaged equipment, that’s an issue of a more serious nature, meaning that there’s some disturbance and destruction to it. So, you must know how to use all sorts of equipment and tools correctly in doing duties—you absolutely must not damage the property of God’s house. Be sure to remember these principles: sensible usage, and regular inspection, repair, and maintenance—if something malfunctions, report it promptly and apply for repair.” To do this work well, leaders and workers must, in part, know the principles of allocation and usage; the other part is that they should let the users know how to perform maintenance and upkeep, and if a malfunction should occur, how to perform repairs, and so on. This is standard knowledge that people should understand and possess when it comes to taking care of and using all sorts of equipment and tools.

Leaders and workers are to sensibly allocate the various equipment of God’s house. If, for instance, a work personnel needs a computer with relatively comprehensive features, you should allocate one to them. If they say one isn’t enough, you must ask them why that is, and you must ask around and see whether what they’re saying is factual. Don’t just go by their application and give them as many computers as they ask for, giving two if they say one’s not enough, giving three if they say two’s not enough. Wouldn’t you then be distributing the computers as though they were toys? Wouldn’t that be reckless? You should first investigate the situation and make a decision based on the principles of God’s house. You must absolutely not arbitrarily approve all manner of applications, in case some people are just making indiscriminate applications under the guise of doing a duty. Furthermore, some people doing important work may need higher-grade computers, yet their personal computers have lower-grade configurations. Leaders and workers must promptly look into this, too, and allocate equipment sensibly. The provision of computers should be decided based on the nature of a person’s work and the requirements for the computer’s grade. If someone’s just an ordinary leader or worker, and they don’t engage in computer technology or video production work, and only use computers to do such things as going on the internet, looking up resources, and making calls, and they don’t require much in terms of the specs of their computer, then it’ll do for them to use an ordinary one. Some older people only know how to do simple operations such as typing, going online, and making calls, yet once they become a leader or worker, they’re issued very high-end computers. Is this sensible? Are they not seeking special privileges? Are they not enjoying the benefits of status? (They are.) What is this kind of high-end, high-grade equipment to be used for? They’re to be given to the relevant work personnel and professional personnel to use. They don’t have to be matched to a person’s status. Some leaders and workers mistakenly believe that they should enjoy privileged usage rights over the various items of God’s house. Is that a rule in God’s house? No. Once some people have become leaders and workers, they are quickly issued high-grade computers, cell phones, and headphones, they’re furnished with all sorts of high-grade equipment. What’s the consequence of this? Is this really done to attain good results in the work? Are those people not hankering after fleshly enjoyment? What are you using high-grade computers for, anyway? Aren’t you just holding gatherings online and preaching words and doctrines? Do you know how to upload videos, or are you able to produce videos? Do you know how to maintain network security, or can you set up websites? Do you know these professions? If you don’t, what use do you have for some high-grade computer? Is this not a disgusting thing to do? (It is.) If you have your own money, no one cares how many computers you buy with it, and no one will interfere no matter how high-grade they are. We’re talking now about how the material items of God’s house need to be sensibly allocated. What does “sensibly” mean? When leaders and workers use this high-grade equipment of God’s house, does that count as using it “sensibly”? (No.) They don’t know the profession or how to do anything. Does having a high-grade computer make them high-grade? What are they showing off for? God’s house has no rule that gives privileged rights of usage and allocation of its material items to leaders and workers; they don’t have that special privilege, and this isn’t a sensible principle for God’s house allocating items—it is not sensible at all. Someone may buy these things themselves if they’re in a position to do so; if they’re not, and need to be allocated them by God’s house, then it’s enough for them to use ordinary ones. This is fair and sensible. Those who truly know how to use this high-grade equipment are the professional personnel involved in this work, so God’s house should allocate this equipment to them. These are some principles that leaders and workers should understand and grasp regarding the allocation of the material items of God’s house. Check again, based on these principles, to see whether these things have been insensibly allocated anywhere. If they have, hurry up and rectify it. After some people become leaders or workers, they see that no one in God’s house is sucking up to them, that no one is issuing them high-grade items, and that they’re still wearing their own, old outfits, still using their own, extremely ordinary little computer, and that God’s house hasn’t furnished them with a good one. So, they go to the finance team and apply to buy a computer. Is this sensible? (No.) They say, “If you don’t issue it to me, I won’t do my duty—I’ll find an opportunity to make God’s house buy me a higher-grade computer, a newer model, a faster one!” They’re very bold—there’s nothing they wouldn’t dare do. After these people become leaders, they treat God’s house as their own, thinking, “The money of God’s house is mine, too—I’ll spend it as I please!” This is something antichrists are capable of doing.

III. Sensibly Allocating Various Daily Supplies and Food

We’re now through speaking about the sensible allocation of various material items and equipment. Next, we’ll talk about stuff for daily living, for example: grain, vegetables, and dried food, as well as necessary ingredients for cooking, various supplementary foods, and so on. These items aren’t just to be sensibly safeguarded, but to be sensibly allocated, too. So, how are these various items to be sensibly allocated, then? God’s house has standards for its food, and those who manage such items should allocate them sensibly in rigorous adherence to those standards. They aren’t to give more of the good food to those close to them. For instance, if some tasty, good-quality rice is purchased, or if some fruit or meat is only bought occasionally, and you issue more of it to whomever you’re on good terms with, or issue all of the good stuff to them, sending the bad stuff to others—is that considered sensible allocation? (No.) How is “sensibility” to be measured here, then? What way of allocating things could be considered sensible? Even allocation, according to the principles and to the required standards that God’s house has stipulated for foods, issuing out as much as should be issued. If you feel you’re close with someone, you may give them your own portion. Don’t be generous with other people’s things, and don’t use the material items of God’s house to show generosity to other people; if you want to be generous, do it with your own things. Generosity isn’t a principle in God’s house—the principle of God’s house is sensible allocation. The distribution of daily life necessities and various foodstuffs should be done in accordance with the standards set by God’s house, not indiscriminately. Naturally, leaders and workers may supervise and see whether the people responsible for the distribution of such things have their hearts in the right place, whether their distribution is sensible, whether the distribution is done in accordance with the principles of God’s house, how most people report it to be, if they have any complaints, and if everyone has been taken care of. What’s to be done if things are scarce at times? Is it alright for leaders and workers to keep them to eat themselves? Some may say, “Leaders and workers have the highest status and prestige, and they’re usually the ones who speak the most to us, which makes their mouths dry. If there’s any good stuff, let’s leave it for them to eat.” Is it alright to allocate things like this? (No; things should be left for those who truly need them.) If some relatively expensive healthcare products are in short supply, how should they be allocated? They should be allocated to those who have expended themselves for God for many years and made a contribution. These people are in poor health due to their age, yet they’re still conscientiously doing their duties, and the brothers and sisters have benefited considerably from them. These people need to maintain and take care of their bodies a bit, and it’s only right that they be allowed to eat and use those healthcare products. No one should fight over scarce supplies. This is how leaders and workers must allocate these things. Is this sensible? (Yes.) Would most people have objections to such allocation, then? Is there anyone who says, “I may not be that old, but I have plenty of work to do—I work more than eight hours every day. My work may not be that efficient, and I may not have been doing it for so many years, but my health isn’t so great sometimes, either. Why is no one looking out for me? When there are good things, it’s never my turn to get them, but when there’s work to be done, it’s always me who’s sought out”? Is someone like this to be given a portion? Since they had the nerve to ask for this, leave some for them–is that sensible? Would you agree to doing that? (No.) If it were Me, I’d agree. Why get so bothered about such things? People don’t live their lives for enjoyment; they don’t live to eat, drink, and make merry. Why fight over such things? If someone really wants to fight over them, and their circumstances are somewhat appropriate, then let them enjoy those things a bit. They’ll have been shown some special favor, but you won’t have lost out for it; there’s no need to get so bothered. So, suppose that someone was to say, “Why don’t you give me some? My health isn’t great, either; if I really did get to eat something good, I’d be able, with my improved health, to do more work and take more pains for God’s house, and my work would be more efficient.” Since they’ve made this request, don’t embarrass them by rejecting it, distribute some to them. Other people shouldn’t get so bothered about this—be a bit more generous. Wouldn’t your life go on as it has been without those things? What God gives people isn’t scarce; it’s bountiful and abundant—there’s no need to fight over things. If there’s some special item, and no one feels that they require it or that they need to enjoy it, then whichever sort of person the majority ultimately agrees is most suitable should be given it to eat. We emphasize humanity and sensibly allocating things. Those who obtain these things should accept them from God and thank Him for His grace. Others aren’t to fight over them. If you do, you’re unreasonable, you are willfully making trouble, and you are out of line. This is how such special circumstances are to be dealt with. There are principles for special circumstances and ordinary ones alike; they’re not to be treated indiscriminately, much less on the basis of the requirements of human relationships. When these things are allocated sensibly, leaders and workers have fulfilled their responsibility.

In allocating daily supplies and food, leaders and workers should also do so based on real situations, real headcounts, and real amounts needed, so as to allocate them in a truly sensible way, with the aim of not allowing them to be wasted or suffer losses. This is a responsibility leaders and workers should fulfill. Sometimes, when they don’t have an understanding of specific circumstances, they may allocate some things according to a basic principle, and learn afterward, through everyone’s feedback and subsequent monitoring, that the allocation wasn’t sensible, that it was a bit regulation-bound. In that case, they must improve the next time, to avoid that problem’s reoccurrence and to reduce waste and loss. That’s fulfilling their responsibility. Of course, in order to avoid damage and waste, they must, in part, make more consultations when allocating things; they must also strictly adhere to the principles. This is necessary. Don’t issue things out indiscriminately, not giving them to those who truly need them, not giving them to those doing their duty sincerely, who have the truth reality, but giving them specifically to flatterers who don’t have spiritual understanding. Is doing that acting in accordance with the principles? (No.) Is doing that not wanton recklessness? Not to act according to the principles is not to fulfill one’s responsibilities. What does fulfilling one’s responsibilities refer to? It’s not going through the motions and abiding by regulations, and it’s not fulfilled by taking a series of set steps—instead, it’s acting in truly strict adherence to the principles required by God’s house, while also ensuring that no cases of waste or damage occur with anything of God’s house. That’s what it is to truly fulfill your responsibility. For example, in issuing eggs to five people, you should give each person one per day, and issue them every ten days, so you’d send exactly fifty. You should issue them like this, in part, because it’s a small number and easy to take care of; furthermore, it’s exactly the right amount for them to eat. To practice like this, according to the standards and specifications required by God’s house, is quite right—it’s acting according to the principles. If a leader or worker, fearing the hassle, issued them one hundred days’ worth of eggs at a time—five hundred eggs—would that be appropriate? Tell Me, are fifty eggs easier to transport and take care of, or five hundred? (Fifty.) A smaller number is easier to transport and take care of. Some people do send a hundred days’ worth, and as a result, some are broken on the way, and some are crushed when they’re carried at the destination. With one little breakage after another, a portion sustains damage. Add to this that when people see a lot of eggs issued, they’ll casually waste them, and so they’ll have no eggs to eat before the day of the next shipment. So, when these eggs are broken and sustain damage, is it not the leaders’ and workers’ dereliction that causes it? (It is.) If they ask for more, can you give them to them? According to the principles, you can’t give them any more before the appointed date, but they feel aggrieved when they have none to eat. What’s to be done here? (They should be given on time and in the right quantity.) Giving them out on time and in the right quantity is acting according to the principles—that’s sensible allocation. When allocating these things, leaders and workers absolutely must abide by the principle of sensible allocation and the standard required by God’s house, issuing them on time and regularly. Beyond that, they must have a prompt understanding of whether there have been cases of waste, whether there have been reapplications or requests for things that are scarce due to wastage, and whether there have been cases of waste with things issued out that people didn’t like. Meats and vegetables, for instance, are both issued, and most people prefer meat, so they may consume it in three or five days, and the vegetables are left. Vegetables don’t keep well; some go bad and rot after a while, and so they run out before the next batch is issued. Someone may then reapply and ask for more. Are more to be given in a case like this? Is it sensible to give them more? (No.) Other people will sneakily eat up the meat and eggs, and eat up all the vegetables they like while giving all sorts of reasons and excuses not to eat the ones they don’t. When the vegetables yellow and go bad, they say they’re inedible, and they wind up feeding them to the pigs and chickens, or else just toss them, then ask for more. When leaders and workers encounter this kind of case, how are they to handle it? If they say, “I’ll give you more next time, seeing as it’s not enough—I’ll provide you with more, since you eat a lot,” is that the appropriate way to handle it? Isn’t that blind? (Yes.) How is it that they’re blind? (They don’t understand what’s really going on: The main reason the food they issued wasn’t enough is that it was wasted.) They jump to conclusions without understanding what’s really going on. There’s enough food to eat in most places that’s issued according to the specifications of God’s house. Why is it never enough for that one place alone? Doesn’t that need specific investigation? They must go to the site and ask carefully and in detail about the situation, to see what’s happening. In the end, through their investigation and understanding, they find that the cook in that place is a bad and immoral person, who fed food for people to chickens, intentionally wasting the food of God’s house. They’re quite finicky about what they eat, and they only like to eat delicious food. They won’t eat vegetables when there’s no meat, and when there is, they won’t even eat tofu. When they get eggs, they eat them at every meal. They exclusively pick out tasty food and don’t eat any ordinary vegetables, nor do they care if they go bad. Understanding has shown the cook to be a bad person—should they then be given an increased allowance next time things are issued? (No.) Is not giving them more all there is to it? How is this problem to be handled, once discovered? Replace them at once; switch them out with someone with a bit of humanity to take on the duty. Discover and resolve the problem promptly, and eliminate such evil people, such rotten apples. Some may ask, “Since they’re not cooking anymore, would it be okay to have them feed the chickens?” (No.) If they feed the chickens, the chickens won’t lay eggs; if they feed the pigs, the pigs will grow lean. It won’t do to have them feed anything. Such people must be sent away—they’re unfit to do a duty in God’s house. If any other problems are found while allocating the material items of God’s house, they should also be resolved promptly. What is the goal of resolving these problems? To lessen the waste and spoilage incurred to the material items of God’s house. Some may ask, “To resolve those problems, one has to go investigate the kitchen. Haven’t You said that leaders and workers aren’t allowed into the kitchen? Why are they allowed to now?” Those are two separate issues. I didn’t say that they’re not allowed to go—it was a dissection of leaders’ and workers’ not knowing how to work, loitering idly and strolling around, greedy for the benefits of status, always going to the kitchen to find good things to eat. In the present case, they’re going to the kitchen to resolve problems, not to find good things to eat. Go when you’re supposed to, and don’t go when you’re not. Leaders and workers have a lot of work to do, and this is one of their tasks, one whose particular problems can only be known by going into the depths of the kitchen and getting an understanding of the details. If a cook is found to be unsuitable, they’re to be dismissed at once and replaced with someone suitable. Doing so ensures that the items issued by God’s house aren’t met with waste and spoilage. However I put it, the requirement of leaders and workers is that they fulfill their responsibilities—if it’s yours to worry over and do, then you absolutely must worry over it and do it. You must observe with your eyes and use your ears to listen attentively to what each sort of person has to say—and of course, you must also learn at heart to have opinions, thoughts, and discernment about all manner of things; another important piece is taking to heart the principles that are required to be followed by God’s house, and not changing from them at any time. Whatever work you’re doing, you must first understand what the principles and rules required by God’s house are; before you get to work, you must ask yourself a few more times such questions as: Am I clear on the principles required by God’s house? How should this be done, if it’s to be done according to the principles of God’s house? How should it be done according to the principles in special circumstances? How’s it to be handled in ordinary circumstances? You absolutely must ask yourself more of these and other such questions before you get to work, and pray more before God. Part of it is self-examination; the other part is accepting God’s scrutiny. Doing so is of aid to leaders and workers in making fewer mistakes and deviating less in their work, reducing waste of the material items of God’s house, and reducing losses incurred to His house. What’s more important is that doing so upholds the responsibilities of leaders and workers and fulfills those responsibilities. It’s what leaders and workers truly should do. This is the requirement of leaders and workers. Safeguarding and allocating the various material items of God’s house isn’t a complicated task. In part, it’s a matter of leaders and workers being themselves familiar with the principles; the other part of it is that leaders and workers must fellowship these principles more to the people in charge of managing the various material items, following up on things more and trying to understand things more and investigating more on the state of the management, all while fellowshipping more with the supervisors of allocating the various material items of God’s house, to give them a more thorough grasp on these principles. Of course, leaders and workers must also continually inquire and ask how those people are allocating and issuing the items, and whether there are any special circumstances—for instance, whether the supervisors are allocating items according to the principles required by God’s house in different seasons, at different times, and in cases where various sorts of people have different requirements. The goal in doing so is to enable the various items of God’s house to perform their functions effectively, and to be used sensibly to the greatest possible extent, and to be safeguarded in the best possible care, with the best possible maintenance. This is the responsibility of leaders and workers.

Managing the Material Items of God’s House Well Is the Responsibility of All God’s Chosen People

Having understood the responsibilities of leaders and workers, have you also understood the principles that each and every brother and sister should grasp in their treatment of the various material items of God’s house? You may not be leaders and workers, but you should still fulfill the responsibility of supervision. This is the right of God’s chosen people. Also, with the various material items of God’s house—books and instruments of all sorts; daily food, drink, and items; and so forth—everyone must treat them with love and care. Everyone should also conduct regular checks, repairs, and maintenance on the various things they’re using, and they should use them sensibly—don’t let them come to be damaged and wasted in your possession, or dispose of them indiscriminately. Some say, “This thing isn’t mine, anyway. I didn’t buy it with my money. God’s house issued it to me—it’s public property. I don’t need to care about when it’s maintained and repaired, or where it’s stored. I can’t take it around with me, as though I’d hijacked it.” Is this a sensible thought? Is it not quite selfish and lacking in humanity? (It is.) So, what principles should be followed in using the material items of God’s house? If something has been allocated for your use, then it’s yours to repair and take care of while you’re using it. You’re entirely responsible; without anyone else’s urging or supervision, you should treat, cherish, and protect the item as if it were your personal property. That’s what it is to have humanity. Whatever condition the thing was in when it was issued to you, when you’re no longer allowed to use it or are finished with it, you should return it to the person who safeguards it perfectly undamaged and in its original condition. This is called having reason; this is something that should be there in humanity. You say that you believe in God, that you have a conscience and reason, that you love the truth, and pursue it, and submit to it, but if you don’t even have the most minimal humanity that you should in your treatment of a material item, how can you even talk about loving the truth or practicing it? Isn’t that a bit too hollow? If you can’t even fulfill the responsibility you should in your treatment of a material item, it means your humanity is no good—“lacking humanity” is a common way to put it. In addition, however you use your own things, whether you’re rough or meticulous in your treatment of them, that’s your right. No one will interfere. But God’s house has principles for the use of its things. These principles are all grounded in conscience and reason, and though they may not rise to the height of the truth, they at the very least conform to the standards for humanity. If you can’t even meet this standard for humanity, if you can’t even correctly treat and use the instruments and supplies God’s house issues to you, then whether you can understand the truth and enter the truth reality is a problem—it calls for a question mark on it. So, when it comes to your treatment of these things, you have the right to use them, and you naturally also have the responsibility to repair, maintain, and care for them. You must take these things seriously. If you, like the nonbelievers, say, “It’s not mine, anyway. I didn’t buy it with my money. If a public thing breaks, it breaks—just buy a new one, or fix it, in the worst case. Still, it’s not as if I’ve lost out.” If that’s how you think, that’s trouble—you’re in danger. You do not possess upright character, and your heart isn’t in the right place. To use one’s own things sparingly, but to treat the things of God’s house as unimportant, not to take care to cherish them—is that not someone whose heart isn’t in the right place? Does God like people whose hearts aren’t in the right place? (No.) Tell Me, does God scrutinize people whose hearts aren’t in the right place? (He does.) God scrutinizes those whose hearts are and those whose aren’t alike. When you accept God’s scrutiny, what’s to be done if you discover you’re thinking that way? Pay it no heed? Leave it unchecked? Not care about it? “What I think is my business. Who are you to meddle in it? If you let me use something, then I have a right to use it—and at any rate, it’ll be fine if I just don’t break the machine. Why are you making such high and so many demands?” Is this a good way of thinking? (No.) It’s “lacking humanity.” If you have such thoughts, you must accept God’s scrutiny and say, “God, I have a corrupt disposition, and my humanity is poor. I used to think I was quite noble and honorable, that I had dignity; I wouldn’t have thought this little item would reveal me: I have selfish desires; my heart’s not in the right place; I have my own little aims. I’m willing to accept Your scrutiny and Your discipline, and I’m willing to turn myself around.” You must pray and repent before God, and let Him scrutinize you. When you have accepted His scrutiny, how should you turn yourself around? You will say, “It was immoral to think as I once did—that’s the thinking of nonbelievers, of disbelievers. I can’t think like that anymore. I must not take that road. I’m a believer in God; I need to be a person with humanity and dignity, I need to do things that God loves. I need to change my way of using instruments and machines in the future. I must let them rest when they should, and repair them as needed, and maintain them as needed. I must clean them often, and regularly check their various components to ensure their normal usage. And I’ll clean up right away when I’m through with them, and get them back into safekeeping, so as not to let uninvolved people tamper with them.” And then, when you use machines again in the future, you’ll be particularly careful and attentive. Your views will constantly be changing, and your ways will improve, turning from your previous selfish, despicable thoughts and actions toward a sense of responsibility, a mind to care for things, and a mind to take responsibility. A change in your thinking is the beginning of truly turning yourself around. It becomes a change in your ways when you actualize your thinking and thoughts in your practice. It’s when it reaches this level that God sees that you are truly turning around and repenting; these reversals and changes you make will be truly acceptable to God. This is practicing the truth. What’s the most fundamental thing one must possess in practicing the truth? The conscience and reason that people ought to have. And does a selfish, despicable person have a conscience and reason? (No.) You may know as a matter of doctrine that you can’t leave the items of God’s house lying around, or damage and waste them, or be irresponsible with them—but what’s your attitude in your heart and thoughts? “What’s the point of caring about those things? The thing’s not even mine.” Such thinking will steer your behavior, and will the doctrine you know be of any use then? No—it will just be doctrine that comes to no avail at all. Only when your thinking and views reverse, and you’ve truly turned around and repented before God, will your behavior and your practical actions begin to change. That’s when what you live out will begin to have humanity; that’s when you’ll begin to enter the truth reality. Such a small matter reveals a person’s humanity, as well as whether that person truly does love the truth.

Managing the various material items of God’s house is a responsibility that leaders and workers should fulfill, and every one of God’s chosen people should collectively offer supervision, help, and the utmost cooperation. This is everyone’s responsibility. God’s chosen people should serve as examples. They should begin with themselves—only when they do a good job themselves are they qualified to supervise others, and to evaluate whether what others do is appropriate and in line with the principles. This is a matter that involves everyone, that little thing reveals people’s humanity, as well as their attitude toward the truth. Leaders and workers should do this work well and with extreme vigor, according to the principles of God’s house, and every ordinary brother and sister should also regard this matter with strictness and caution. You must reflect on yourself often, on whether there are problems in your humanity and thinking, on what sort of attitude you have. When you find that there’s a problem with your attitude and thinking, you should promptly pray and turn yourself around—and when managing or using the things of God’s house, you should strive in part neither to be rebuked by your conscience nor come up short to God, and in part to be admired by others and have them approve of what you do, and say you have humanity, which is there for all to see. The main thing is for people to uphold the principles when doing this. This is the obligation people should fulfill, something any member of God’s house should achieve. It’s not just the responsibility of leaders and workers.

Are you now more or less clear on item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers? Having understood the principles, people should be more attentive and meticulous in doing this work, and they should take more pains with it, and not be lazy—they’ll then basically be able to reduce damage and waste of the material items of God’s house, and keep them from being plundered by evil people. This should be achievable. Why do I say it’s easy to achieve? These are matters that everyone’s daily life at home may touch on. It’s easy to be attentive in managing the things of your own home, so if you safeguard the things of God’s house as though they were your own, according to the requirements of His house, allocate them sensibly, and come to reduce damage and waste, and don’t let evil people plunder them, you will then be fulfilling the responsibility of leaders and workers. This work seems by its nature to be a general affairs task. Why are we calling it a general affairs task? It involves the management of material items. Manage them and allocate them well, and you’ll be fulfilling your responsibility. Also, the principle of this work is quite simple—it only involves a single principle, and it doesn’t involve complicated truths. So long as one has a burden and the right intentions, they can do this work well without needing to understand too much truth, and without needing too much truth to be fellowshipped to them. Therefore, this work is a single task, and it’s a general affairs task. It’s work that’s easy for leaders and workers to do. So long as you’re a bit more industrious, ask more questions, make more inquiries, concern yourself more, and have the right intentions, you can do it. It’s not complicated at all. We’ve finished our fellowship on item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers. It’s that simple.

The Attitude and Manifestations of False Leaders With Regard to the Material Items of God’s House

Now that you’ve understood this responsibility of leaders and workers, with regard to it, we’ll go on to dissect the manifestations that false leaders display when they perform this work, and what things they do that can define them as false leaders. First, when false leaders do this work, they aren’t capable of safeguarding various items properly. Safeguarding is the first item of important work when it comes to all sorts of material items. False leaders are a mess in everything they do; in addition to being mired in a morass when it comes to the truth and the various principles that involve it, they’re likewise a mess when it comes to safeguarding the various material items of God’s house. They don’t know what kinds of people to look for to manage them or the way they should be safeguarded. They have no precise goals and no specific plans, much less detailed steps for doing this work. If there’s someone willing to take the trouble, these items can be safeguarded; if there’s not, a false leader lets these items be casually set aside. They don’t find an appropriate person to safeguard them or an appropriate place to store them, and less still do they fellowship the specific principles of safeguarding them. At the same time, they make no arrangements for the future placement, repair, and maintenance of these material items. Some false leaders are even completely ignorant regarding what items God’s house has—they don’t care and they don’t ask about this. Say that God’s house has printed new books of God’s words, for instance. How many books are left after they’ve been distributed, who’s been arranged to store them, how they are being stored, and whether they are being stored in the right place—a false leader will know none of these things, nor will they ask or make inquiries about them. Why won’t they make inquiries? They think that safeguarding the material items of God’s house is a minor matter, that they’re a leader, someone who does important things, who exclusively preaches. They pay no mind at all to these “minor matters,” but hand them off to be done by people who don’t understand anything, and they don’t care if they’re done well or badly. Therefore, they don’t take the work of safeguarding the material items of God’s house seriously at all. This is one reason. The other is that some false leaders are muddleheaded—their minds are a jumble. They don’t have normal thinking or an awareness for safeguarding things, and they have no procedure or path as to how to safeguard the items of God’s house. So, they don’t know how many of these things are damaged, and they don’t know if there are instances of waste, either. When some things are taken by evil people, a false leader says, “Let them be—in any case, everything is in God’s hands.” Some important items are used by individuals without anyone’s approval; those people take these things, and others can’t use them in their work, and no one dares ask for them. A false leader says, “No big deal. Just buy a new one. They took that thing, so let them use it first. It’s just a thing—it’s all the same no matter who uses it. If they’re not using it sensibly, that’s between them and God. There’s no need for us to interfere.” Look at how they preach a grand doctrine to “handle” the issue, turning big issues into small ones and small ones into nothing. False leaders fulfill none of their responsibilities when it comes to safeguarding the various items of God’s house. They don’t care or ask about it, and they don’t resolve or handle any problems. Even if the Above looks into their work, they just speak evasively to fob them off, and that’s it.

Some brothers and sisters buy equipment, clothes, and medicine for God’s house to use, and when a false leader sees those items, they’ll pick through them and take the good clothes, shoes, and bags for themselves, and only allow others to take the leftover stuff that they themselves don’t need. When the blockheads they lead see this, they say, “Our leader’s picked what he wants—now, it’s our turn. When we’re done, we’ll toss the worthless stuff that’s left to the brothers and sisters beneath us.” Whosever hands these things fall into, that’s who they belong to, and the remaining things that no one likes are tossed aside, and no one safeguards them. And so, the various material items of God’s house nominally have places to be safeguarded, but in fact, they’re not being safeguarded at all—those places are dumps, without anyone at all managing them. They just toss things in some spot and allow them to pile up. There are clothes, shoes and socks, medicine, and electronics, as well as daily goods and kitchenware—it’s a jumble, with all sorts of junk in it, and even food for people and food for dogs get mixed together. If you ask who’s managing these things and whether they sort them; or whether there are instructions for these things, and how they need to be safeguarded; or, if these things are not needed for the work of God’s house, whether the brothers and sisters have need of them—nobody knows the answers. It’s quite normal for the brothers and sisters not to know, but the leaders and workers also don’t have the answers for any of these questions—they completely shirk responsibility for these things, saying either “I don’t know,” or “Someone’s taking care of that,” thereby dismissing you, and cheating God’s house. This causes these problems to go unresolved. It’s not difficult for leaders and workers to find suitable people to manage the various material items of God’s house, is it? False leaders don’t even do the simple work of finding someone loyal to safeguard these things properly, to keep good records and keep them well sorted. What do they do, then? When brothers and sisters have offered clothes or daily necessities to God’s house, and false leaders see these items, they swarm around them, like a pack of hungry wolves devouring meat together. They try on whichever garments suit them, over and over, endlessly picking things out for themselves. When God’s house purchases different sorts of important and expensive machinery and equipment, they rush to pick out the good ones for themselves first. Why do they pick out the good ones? They think that as a leader or a worker, they have privileged usage rights over the items of God’s house. Whatever God’s house issues, they always pick the best stuff first. This is how they treat the items of God’s house. Is this doing work? Is this not a manifestation of false leaders? When it comes to things that have expiration dates—food and medicine, for instance—false leaders just don’t care about them. They don’t find suitable personnel to manage them, nor do they tell the personnel, “Some of these things have expiration dates, so make a record of them right away. Hurry to allocate them to brothers and sisters before their expiration dates, so that they are used sensibly—don’t wait for them to expire; don’t let them go to waste.” False leaders never do these things. When something expires, they just throw it away. When leaders and workers perform work in God’s house, strictly speaking, they should be the stewards of God’s house. The first thing they should do is sensibly safeguard the items of God’s house well, keeping firm watch over them and conducting proper checks. This is also a fundamental item of the work of God’s house, yet false leaders can’t even do such fundamental work as this. Are they muddled, of poor caliber, and dim-witted—or are their hearts not in the right place? If they are dim-witted and muddled, how do they know to pick the good items for themselves? Why don’t they part with their own things or casually give them to other people? Why don’t they spoil or damage their own things? And why is this their attitude toward the things of God’s house? Clearly, they lack morals, and their hearts aren’t in the right place. Once leaders and workers have gotten status, and come into contact with a greater scope of the work of God’s house, they get to have privileged access to the various material items and public property of God’s house, and they’re the most informed about these things. And yet some leaders ignore them, don’t safeguard them properly, and let anyone use them and take them, they just let whoever is willing to care about them do that, and if someone isn’t willing to care about them and is irresponsible, they don’t mind, and even if they learn that someone has a problem, they don’t resolve it. These are false leaders. At this point, we’ve concluded that false leaders, beyond being poor of caliber and not bearing a burden, also have their hearts in the wrong place, and have poor character. Since these leaders are of poor caliber and lack comprehension ability, their doing a bad job at work that involves the truth and life entry is understandable. And since they’re of poor caliber and don’t have work capability, their doing a bad job at work that involves administration is also something that can be tolerated. But their not even being able to perform work that involves managing the various items of God’s house—which is the most minimal, simple work—demonstrates something even more clearly: For some false leaders, their problem isn’t as simple as having poor caliber and not bearing a burden, even more so they are of particularly low character and poor humanity. Through our fellowship on the tenth responsibility of leaders and workers, another manifestation of false leaders has been revealed: They aren’t just of poor caliber, not bearing a burden, and greedy for fleshly comfort—they’re also of poor character, and their hearts aren’t in the right place. Things that aren’t theirs are of no concern to them—they don’t even safeguard them. They have been made stewards of God’s house, and yet they bite the hand that feeds them and they do not protect the interests of God’s house while living off it; they casually toss the things of God’s house to one side, as if they belonged to outsiders, and they don’t safeguard them, and they think they’re no big deal. This isn’t just a failure to fulfill their responsibilities—it’s a problem with their humanity, it’s a great lack of morals! Safeguarding the things they’re supposed to poorly, or not safeguarding them, indicates that false leaders have no humanity, and that their hearts aren’t in the right place. They can’t even safeguard the items of God’s house well, so if they were to allocate them, could they do so sensibly? They fall even shorter of acting according to the principles. They see the things of God’s house being carelessly thrown away, damaged, and wasted, without anyone good there to manage them, and they know all too well in their hearts that doing that isn’t right—yet still, they don’t handle this. That’s having one’s heart in the wrong place. Can those scum, whose hearts are in the wrong place, sensibly allocate the various material items of God’s house? They’re even less able to do that—if you have them allocate those things, they’ll do things that are even more lacking in morals.

In one farm church that keeps dogs, the person responsible for keeping them cares very much for the newborn puppies. They were afraid that the puppies wouldn’t get the nutrition they needed, so they applied for organic eggs for the dogs to eat. The false leader there signed off on the request at once; they didn’t think about how scarce organic eggs are. There aren’t even enough for people to eat, so why would they give them to the dogs? Is this not an absurd way to handle this matter? What is the nature of this behavior of that false leader? How’s it to be characterized? Isn’t this practice of that false leader absurd? What that false leader says all the time, whenever they open their mouth, are doctrines that suit people’s tastes, but in fact, they don’t understand the least bit of the truth principles, so when something happens, they approach it and handle it according to human imaginings, preferences, and subjective wishes—and they ultimately wound up doing such a disgusting thing as feeding organic eggs to dogs. Can this sort of allocation of the items of God’s house by that false leader be considered sensible? (No.) Why can’t they achieve sensible allocation? On the surface, it seems that false leader was intervening in, caring about, and following up on even this very small matter, and that they had ample reason and grounds to support this application—but were they acting in alignment with the principles? Were they acting according to the principles required by God’s house? No. So, looking at the nature of this action of theirs, is it a good deed or an evil deed? Is it a fulfillment of their responsibility or a dereliction? It’s a dereliction—it’s unprincipled, it’s recklessly doing bad things! Through this matter, what do you see the essence of this false leader’s humanity to be? Is it not distorted comprehension and the blind application of regulations? What they say with every breath is correct doctrines, and it sounds as if there’s not a wrong phrase in it, yet in fact, it’s distorted. Such people are falsely spiritual and have distorted comprehension—they are pieces of trash that lack spiritual understanding. We mentioned just now that the humanity of false leaders is that they’re low of character and have their hearts in the wrong place. They lack principles when it comes time to allocate the items of God’s house, and they allocate them blindly, which reveals that false leaders are distorted in their comprehension and blindly apply regulations, and that they’re unprincipled in their actions—they just act blindly and randomly. False leaders seem on the outside to be so benevolent and kind, when in fact, this is false benevolence and false kindness. When a female dog birthed puppies, for instance, the dog-keeper said they should give the dogs a new blanket meant for people. Someone then said, “It’d be a pity to give a new blanket to the dogs—it’d be better to give it to the brothers and sisters instead, and give the old blanket we’re replacing to the animals.” What do you think of this suggestion? Allocating new things to people and old things to animals is quite sensible. This is the principle; this is sensible allocation. How do false leaders handle such things when they encounter them? After hearing this, the false leader there pondered: “The animals never get to use new things. They’re always using old, dirty things. We people always get to use new things. God’s words have said that sometimes we’re not even as good as pigs or dogs. So, don’t fight with pigs and dogs over things. That’s a lack of humanity.” And so, they wound up giving the new blanket to those animals. The people there may not have lost out by using an old one, but the way this thing was handled is very illustrative of the issue. What role did the false leader play in this matter? Would you say that normal people would be able to do such a thing? (No.) What sorts of people, then, would allow things to get to this point while handling this matter? (Absurd types who lack the reason or thinking of normal people.) These answers are all correct—those people are less than nothing. When normal people encounter something like this, they know how to handle it sensibly, but falsely spiritual false leaders with distorted comprehension don’t know how to handle it. Their way of handling it also seems to have a basis, and it also seems to accord with the principles of God’s house, and to be backed up by abundant, sensible justifications—yet people come away from hearing it not knowing whether to laugh or cry, it’s so ludicrous. How is it that they can’t even make sense of such simple, obvious logic? How do they wind up handling it in such a distorted way? It’s sickening. If you have them act as stewards, they’ll have dogs catching mice, cats guarding the house, and pigs in the beds—everything will be in a muddle. Are false leaders capable of sensibly allocating the various material items of God’s house? (No.) They’re a kind apart, muddled people, and absurd types. Aside from those false leaders with particularly distorted comprehension and their hearts in the wrong place, the majority of false leaders also make a mess and a jumble of this kind of work, though they have a bit of caliber and aren’t distorted in their comprehension. They can’t even fulfill the most minimal responsibilities they ought to. So, when you ask them about this work, their answer is always the same: “So-and-so is on it. So-and-so knows. If you’ve got any questions, I’ll have to go ask So-and-so.” And that’s the last you’ll hear of it. This is the manifestation that false leaders display when they’re doing this work.

When it comes to the work of allocating the various material items of God’s house, false leaders aren’t just unable to do this according to the principles required by God’s house, they also let lots of their personal feelings, preferences, and desires, as well as their personal understandings, get mixed up in this. They make a jumble and a confused mess of this work, with no principles to speak of at all. So, when a false leader is managing the various items of God’s house, it often happens, in circumstances where no one knows what’s going on, that things are damaged, wasted for no reason, or that things go missing and the numbers don’t add up. Other items are taken by individuals for their personal use, without them registering or reporting this. False leaders can’t even manage such a simple piece of general affairs work well. They make a mess of this work, yet they still feel at ease, thinking that they’ve done a lot of work. False leaders never carry out the regular inspection, maintenance, and upkeep of the various material items of God’s house; at heart, they don’t care a bit about these items. Suppose that you ask them, “Is there anyone taking care of the maintenance and upkeep of these pieces of equipment? Have there been any cases of wastefulness in the acquisition of spare parts when repairing them? Or of anyone overspending or getting ripped off? Was anyone held accountable after those incidents? Was anyone fined or given a warning?” False leaders won’t know or care about any of this. Whether money was illegitimately spent when buying things for God’s house, whether anyone has been assigned to manage those things after they were bought, whether the things bought are suitable and whether they can be put to effective use, and, if not, whether they were returned or exchanged within the designated timeframe—they know about none of this. They’re such idiots—they don’t know anything. The only thing false leaders think about is how to preach doctrines at gatherings to make people esteem them; they have no work capability when it comes to the specific matter of the management of items, nor do they have any attitude toward this matter. They don’t know that this is work they should be doing, nor do they know how to do it. The view that false leaders take on the items of God’s house is that they belong to everyone, so whoever would like to use something may do so, and whoever needs something may take it or apply for it from the higher-ups—that this is everyone’s right, and that the items of God’s house shouldn’t be under any individual’s management or control. So, if someone should break or lose a machine, they don’t care, and if someone should apply to buy something, they don’t care if it’s expensive or cheap, either. The fact is that God’s house has rules for these things. So long as leaders and workers fulfill their responsibilities and carry out proper checks according to the principles of God’s house, all such losses and waste can be avoided. Yet false leaders don’t even do this simplest work that may prevent losses. Aren’t they just eating the food of God’s house for free? Aren’t they freeloading? Is this not a specific manifestation of the “falseness” of false leaders? How would you handle such a leader, if you encountered one? (By dismissing them.) Just dismiss them, and that’s it? Don’t you need to teach them a thing or two? “That machine was put there, and it got damp, and no one checked up on it for days. It’s not clear if the power still works, or if mice have chewed the cables. Why don’t you concern yourself with these things? The computer I use is broken and needs to be repaired. It’ll delay the work if it goes unrepaired. Yet I’ve applied for it so many times from you—why haven’t you paid attention? What are you blindly busying yourself with all day, like a chicken with its head cut off? When a leader like you is counted on to do work, you delay all of the work, and all machines and material items get destroyed by your hand. You don’t look after or manage the various items of God’s house. You’re unfit to be a leader—hurry up and step down!” Is it alright to lecture them like this? (Yes.) What is possessed by a person who dares to lecture leaders and workers? They must first be brave, and they must have a sense of justice. Some may say, “I wouldn’t dare lecture the leaders and workers. They’re officers, and I’m just a soldier, my rank is so much lower than theirs. They have the truth and they can preach sermons. I’m no good at anything, and in no position to lecture them.” Isn’t this the logic of a scoundrel? (It is.) So, how would you lecture this kind of leader, then? “If you can do this work, then try your best to do it, and do it in accordance with the principles of God’s house. Whatever you arrange for us to do, we’ll obey it. But if you don’t try your best to do this work, if you don’t do it according to the principles of God’s house, you’ll never get us to listen to you! Furthermore, if you don’t do any real work, we have the right to remove you from your post and clear you out! Harm yourself, if you want to harm someone—you must not try to harm all of us.” Would you dare lecture them like this? (Yes.) You say so now; would you really, when the time comes to do it? Generally, with things that touch on the truth principles and important matters, you don’t dare to speak casually, for fear that a lack of insight, and clarity in speaking, may mean that you are just passing judgment on the leaders and workers and causing a disturbance. But you should be capable of having insight into the matter of managing material items; you should learn discernment in this matter and get a grasp on its principles.

There was a man who was in charge of clothing in a film production team. He was unruly in his actions, and always sneakily misappropriating the items of God’s house. When he left the film production team, he took some things with him, and a later check of the accounts showed that a lot of the money he’d received didn’t square up. Moreover, although he wasn’t working, he had money, and he’d also bought a lot of high-end items. A lot of people had flattered him while he was in the film production team, and they all wanted to get on good terms with him, so that when they needed clothes, they’d just have to ask, and he’d give them some. If a person was on bad terms with him, he wouldn’t even give them the clothes they were supposed to get. What problem is this? It’s a problem with management personnel. Part of it was that he was misappropriating these things himself; the other part was that he did not allocate the items of God’s house in line with the principles, but instead went by his feelings, his own will, and his relationships. According to the principles, this person should have been cleansed away. This was an obvious problem. The false leader not only didn’t do so, but took him to be a good person and arranged for him to go to another place to do his duty. Was this not compounding the mistake? What do you think of how this work was done? Was it in line with the principles? Did this leader fulfill the responsibilities that a leader ought to? (No.) Putting aside for the moment what benefits the leader could reap by handling that person in this way—just judging by how they handled the matter, what was the nature of this? It was that of harboring an evil person based on feelings, and not handling him according to the principles of God’s house. So, to link that up with item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers, what mistake does this sort of leader and worker make in their treatment of the various material items of God’s house? Did this leader fulfill their responsibilities? Was their handling of the matter based on protecting the items of God’s house? It certainly was not. They didn’t take the items of God’s house seriously, even turning a blind eye as they allowed these items to be ruined or taken at whim by the evil person. Is that how they’d handle it if their own things were damaged or misappropriated by others? No—then they’d be thinking about revenge and compensation. So, why didn’t they handle the items of God’s house in that way? They even said, “He can take a few items, if he likes—he’s not taking that much. He can misappropriate these things a bit, if he likes—who doesn’t have a slight desire to do that? What does the little amount he misappropriates matter? It’s not as if others are getting less.” What kind of attitude is this? Is this the attitude leaders and workers should have toward the items of God’s house? (No.) Are they not biting the hand that feeds them? And what logic did they offer in the end? “Let him misappropriate those things—there’s no need for us to settle these accounts with him. What do those petty funds and items amount to? Antichrists misappropriate so much more than that. His misappropriation of those items is between him and God—it’s his business how he’ll account for himself before God, when the time comes. It has nothing to do with us.” What thoughts and feelings do you experience after you hear a leader say such a thing? Anyone with any sense of justice, with a bit of the awareness of conscience, would weep inside to hear these words, and they’d feel heartbroken and disappointed, even if they were just an ordinary follower, let alone if they were a leader or a worker! This type of false leader enjoys so much of God’s grace and protection, and so many of His truths, but they still have this sort of cold-blooded attitude toward the items of His house. Do they possess humanity? Are they fit to be a leader or a worker? (No.) Once such a person has been dismissed, are they qualified to be a leader or a worker in the future? (No—their humanity is poor.) How does their poor humanity manifest? (In them not upholding the interests of God’s house.) What is the specific action in which they don’t uphold the interests of God’s house? What is the essence of this specific manifestation? People like this don’t have their hearts in the right place and they are of lowly character; they speak quite nicely, but they don’t do anything real. Such people absolutely must not be leaders and workers. Those whose hearts aren’t in the right place aren’t lovers of the truth, but are out for their own gain; those whose hearts aren’t in the right place give absolutely no thought to God’s chosen people, and they absolutely do not uphold the work of the church or the interests of God’s house.

The first fundamental thing that leaders and workers must do is to keep a proper watch over the various material items of God’s house, to properly carry out checks and keep guard for God’s house, not letting any items get damaged, wasted, or misappropriated by evil people. This is the minimum they should do. As soon as you’re chosen as a leader or a worker, God’s house regards you as its steward: You’re of the managerial class, and the task that you shoulder is heavier than that of others. You bear a great responsibility. That’s why your every attitude, your every action, your every plan for handling issues, and your every method for resolving problems, all involve the interests of God’s house. If you don’t even consider the interests of God’s house or take them to heart, you’re unfit to be a steward of His house. What sort of person is this? Why aren’t they fit to be a steward of God’s house? Among false leaders, there are some who aren’t just poor of caliber—their key problem is that they bear no burden; they don’t know how to work, but they don’t seek the truth, and they’re incapable of fulfilling even the minimal responsibilities that a steward should. They have no conscience or reason. This is because their hearts aren’t in the right place, they are of lowly character, and they’re selfish and base; they don’t uphold the church’s work at all, but often damage and sell out the church’s interests, currying people’s favor and upholding their relationships with other people at the expense of doing harm to the church’s interests. They allow the material items of God’s house to be damaged, wasted, lost, or even misappropriated by the evil people, and they don’t care about this at all, or feel the least bit of indebtedness or guilt about this. So, when it comes to selecting leaders and workers, looking at this from the perspective of humanity, what’s the most basic thing that they should possess? They must have a conscience and a sense of justice, and their motives should be proper. Their humanity must first pass the bar. No matter how much work capability they possess, or what level of caliber they possess, people of that sort will be up-to-standard stewards if they serve as supervisors. At the very least, they’ll be able to uphold the interests of God’s house and the common interests of the brothers and sisters. They absolutely won’t sell out the brothers’ and sisters’ interests, nor those of God’s house. When the interests of God’s house and the brothers and sisters are about to come to harm or injury, they’ll have thought of it beforehand, and they’ll be the first to step forward and safeguard them, even if doing so will affect their own safety, or require them to pay a price or suffer. These are all things that people with a conscience and reason can do. Some false leaders and workers rush to find a safe place to hide themselves away in when they’re faced with dangerous circumstances, yet with the important items of God’s house—books of God’s words, cell phones, computers, and so on—they neither care about them nor ask after them. If they were worried about how them being arrested would affect the bigger picture of the church’s work, they could send others to handle these things—yet these false leaders hide only for their own safety’s sake. They’re scared to death, and in order to ensure their own safety, they don’t do what they can. There are therefore many instances where false leaders’ negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility cause various items of God’s house and offerings to God to be plundered and taken by the great red dragon when dangerous situations arise, which leads to serious losses. When those situations have just arisen in the church, the first thought of leaders and workers should be to put the equipment and material items of God’s house in suitable places, to hand them off to suitable people for management; the great red dragon absolutely must not be allowed to take them. But false leaders never have such things in mind; they never put the interests of God’s house first, instead they put their own safety first. False leaders’ failure to do real work often causes various important items of God’s house to suffer losses or damages. Is this not a serious dereliction of duty on the part of false leaders? (It is.)

Regarding item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers, what is the main manifestation of false leaders that we are exposing? The attitude of false leaders toward the material items of God’s house is one of indifference and disregard; they don’t go by the principles, but allocate those things haphazardly, based on their own imaginings and preferences. While they’re managing things, the items of God’s house are often subjected to greater or lesser degrees of damage and waste, which causes losses to the work of God’s house. This is the main manifestation of false leaders. False leaders can’t even handle this simplest, single piece of general affairs work; they can’t even do that or do it well—what can they do, then? So, when you see such people acting as leaders, you may inspect and supervise their work. If they make a mess of this single piece of general affairs work, not doing even what they can, and not finding other suitable people to do it when they don’t have the time, then such leaders are to be dismissed and removed from their posts at once. God’s house will never use them. Is this fitting? (It is.) Why? A person whose heart isn’t in the right place, whose comprehension is distorted, and who acts only according to their feelings and their selfish, base ambitions and desires, is not trustworthy. What work can an untrustworthy person do well? What duty can they do well? Are they capable of doing a duty with loyalty? (No.)

Through today’s fellowship on item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers, haven’t I clearly laid out another of the principles and standards that are required of leaders and workers? What’s involved here isn’t a question of caliber, nor is it a question of work capability, but a question of humanity. Observe people who are serving as leaders and workers, or those whom the church is cultivating, and see if there are any among them who are of poor humanity and whose hearts aren’t in the right place, whose humanity is the same as that of the false leaders dissected in item ten. If you truly do find such leaders and workers, you should dismiss them, and you must remember never to elect such people as leaders, and never to cultivate such people to be leaders and workers. If some people don’t understand the character of those people and elect them, report them right away. Don’t give them the chance to be leaders and workers. Those people don’t become leaders and workers to do real work, but to destroy the work of the church. If they become leaders, the various material items of God’s house will only go to ruin in the wake of this. Are you willing to see such a consequence? (No.) So, how should you treat such people, then? If they’re currently serving as leaders, report them and remove them from their posts. If they’re not, if they haven’t yet been elected, then tell everyone: “This person’s no good. Don’t elect them, whatever you do; it would be detrimental to the church.” And if people have been hoodwinked and misguided into electing them, you must inform everyone at once: “We did something wrong today. We elected someone of poor humanity, whose heart is in the wrong place, as our leader. Now that we have done this, the interests of God’s house are going to be subjected to losses and harm. We have to remove them from their post at once, in order to keep the interests and various items of God’s house from being damaged. We must not let them succeed with their scheme.” Is this a fitting thing to do? (It is.)

Those chosen as leaders and workers are required to have caliber and work capability; now there are also requirements for their character. What do you say, is it the case that most people do not fulfill the criteria for being leaders and workers? Which of these three is most crucial? (Humanity.) And second? (Work capability.) After that? (Whether or not they have caliber.) That order is pretty accurate. When you elect leaders in the future, measure them according to this order. Some people say, “There’s a problem with this order. Suppose that humanity comes first, and there are some people who are of good humanity but fairly bad caliber, and if they are selected as leaders, they won’t be able to do any real work—is it still OK to only consider people’s humanity then?” People’s humanity is of chief importance, and it’s the first thing that you should look at, but it is not the only thing to consider when electing leaders and workers. If a person’s humanity is up to standard, next look at their work capability. If they lack work capability, and cannot do any real work, you can ask them to undertake work that is not overly taxing of their abilities. If they are of good humanity, and they are able to shoulder the work and try their best to do it well, and they are someone trustworthy, and the house of God need have no qualms about making use of them, and they are edifying, helpful, and beneficial to most of the brothers and sisters, then they are up to standard. If their caliber is poor and they lack work capability, or if they are just average in terms of their work capability, get them to perform some simple work or a single job. If they have good caliber and strong work capability, they can perform some important work or several different jobs. Can you not even manage to make these kinds of arrangements? If they are of poor humanity and their heart is not in the right place, then no matter how great their work capability is, will they be able to do the work well? (No.) If they managed a company or a few staff, it might not be a problem—but what issues would arise if they were asked to manage the various material items of the house of God? First of all, they absolutely would not manage those items or handle things according to the principles required by the house of God. Their heart is not in the right place, they do not love the truth, and there is nothing but scheming in their heart, nothing but wicked ideas and thoughts, so whenever they act, they do so according to their own preferences, and based on their own interests, not based on the truth principles, nor on fairness. They consider only what they have to lose or gain, and give no thought to the principles required by the house of God—and thus they are destined to fail in the work of leaders and workers. What is this determined by? By their character; it is not determined by their work capability. And so, when weighing up whether someone is noble or lowly, and whether they meet the house of God’s standards for the selection of leaders and workers, first look at their humanity: If they are of dependable and qualified humanity, next consider whether they possess work capability and have a burden; then consider the other aspects.

This is item ten of the responsibilities of leaders and workers. This is more or less what’s dissected in item ten of the various manifestations of false leaders. One can see in the attitude and manifestations with which false leaders treat the material items of God’s house, that most of them lack a conscience and reason, that they’re too poor of humanity and take no responsibility—you could say their hearts are in the wrong place. Do we not now have one more piece of evidence with which to characterize false leaders? Some false leaders can’t do work because their caliber’s poor, and because they’re blind and have no insight into things. Some don’t do actual work because their hearts aren’t in the right place, and they’re out exclusively for their own benefits—they don’t uphold the interests of God’s house, and they don’t care if God’s chosen people live or die. Every sort of false leader must be dismissed and eliminated as quickly as possible, to prevent delays to the work of God’s house and harm to His chosen people.

May 1, 2021