At the last gathering, we fellowshipped on item five of the responsibilities of leaders and workers. In the course of fellowshipping on item five, we dissected some of the manifestations and actions of false leaders, and we finished fellowshipping on this item. Now we’ll fellowship on items six and seven of the responsibilities of leaders and workers. What is the specific content of these two items? (Item six: Promote and cultivate all manner of qualified talent so that all who pursue the truth can have the opportunity to train and enter the truth reality as soon as possible. Item seven: Allocate and make use of different types of people sensibly, based on their humanity and strengths, such that each is put to their best use.) Let us then dissect the various actions and manifestations of false leaders with regard to these two items. These two items belong to the same category, which concerns the church’s promotion, cultivation, and use of all kinds of people. Let us first fellowship on the principles of God’s house in promoting and cultivating all manner of qualified talent. That way, won’t you then basically be able to understand some of the principles that leaders and workers should adhere to when doing this work? You may think, “As leaders and workers, we often come into contact with these matters, we are already familiar with this work and have some experience of it, so even if You said nothing more about it we are clear about it, and You don’t need to specifically fellowship on it further.” So, is there no need to fellowship on it? (We need Your fellowship on it. We still don’t grasp the principles in this regard, and there are some talented people that we still don’t know how to discern.) Most leaders and workers are still very confused about how to do this job, and are in the process of feeling their way around it, and cannot grasp the precise principles, so we still need to fellowship about the details.

Item Six: Promote and Cultivate All Manner of Qualified Talent So That All Who Pursue the Truth Can Have the Opportunity to Train and Enter the Truth Reality As Soon As Possible

The Significance of God’s House Promoting and Cultivating All Kinds of Talented People

Why does God’s house promote and cultivate all kinds of talented people? Is promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people for the sake of engaging in science, education, and literature? God’s chosen people should all already know that when God’s house promotes and cultivates various types of talented people, this is not done in order to manufacture some sort of high-tech product and create a miracle or to conduct research into the history of human development, and much less to make any sort of plans for the future of mankind. Why, then, does God’s house promote and cultivate all kinds of talented people? Do you understand this or not? (In order to spread the gospel of the kingdom.) In order to spread the gospel of the kingdom—this is one reason. What else is there? (So everyone who pursues the truth can have the opportunity to train.) That’s right, this answer is quite reasonable and hits the mark. It is so that even more people who pursue the truth can have the opportunity to train, and enter into the truth reality as soon as possible. Both of the answers that you gave just now are correct and accurate. The promotion and cultivation of all kinds of talented people by God’s house in one respect relates to the spreading of the gospel of the kingdom and to the work of God, and in another respect, it relates to individual pursuits and entry. These are the two overarching aspects. Specifically speaking, what is the significance of God’s house promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people? Specifically what work is done in the church by these people who are promoted and cultivated? When God’s house promotes and cultivates a person to be a team leader, supervisor, or a church leader or worker, are they being made an official? (No.) God’s house promotes and cultivates people so that they can be responsible for specific projects or jobs within the church’s various items of work, such as gospel work, text-based work, film production work, watering work, as well as some general affairs, and so on. So, how do they carry out these specific jobs? By undertaking various items of church work in accordance with God’s requirements, the truth principles of God’s words, and the work arrangements of God’s house, and thereby doing their duty according to God’s requirements and acting in accordance with the truth principles. Looking at the fact that these people are being promoted and cultivated to undertake work, it is not having an official title or status that enables them to do their work well. Rather, they must possess a certain caliber in order to shoulder a specific job, that is, to shoulder what God has entrusted them to do, or in other words, a duty and obligation that carries responsibility. This is the specific significance and definition of promoting and cultivating various types of talented individuals as mentioned in item six of the responsibilities of leaders and workers. Therefore, in promoting and cultivating people, the aim of God’s house is to cultivate all kinds of talented people to do the various items of church work well in accordance with God’s requirements and the work arrangements of God’s house; it is to enable these people to shoulder various specific tasks of the church. At the same time, God’s house cultivates and trains these people so that they learn how to contemplate God’s words, fellowship on the truth, and act according to principles, leading them to practice the truth and live by God’s words, and enter into the truth reality, and enabling them to have true experiences and testimonies, after which they can lead, water, and supply others, and do the various items of the church work well, and at the same time, God’s chosen people can be enabled to submit to God, testify to God, and fulfill the duty of preaching the gospel. The method of practice for promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people is, in one respect, to lead people in practicing and experiencing God’s words, coming to know themselves, casting off their corrupt dispositions, and entering into the truth reality; in another respect, it is for the leaders and workers to use their own real experience of loyalty and submission to lead and cultivate people in fulfilling their duties and giving resounding testimonies to God. These are the two major paths of practice for cultivating various kinds of talented people. This is the specific work involved in promoting and cultivating various kinds of talented people, and it is also the true significance of promoting and cultivating them.

The Required Criteria for Various Kinds of Talented People That God’s House Promotes and Cultivates

I. The Required Criteria for Leaders and Workers and Supervisors of Various Items of Work

Who do “the various kinds of talented people promoted and cultivated by the church” refer to? What ambits does that encompass? First is the type of people who can be supervisors of the various items of work. What are the required standards for supervisors of the various items of work? There are three main ones. First, they must have the ability to comprehend the truth. Only those who can comprehend the truth purely without distortion and draw inferences are people of good caliber. People of good caliber must at the very least have spiritual understanding and be able to eat and drink the words of God independently. In the process of eating and drinking God’s words, they must be able to independently accept the judgment, chastisement, and pruning of God’s words, and seek the truth in order to resolve their own notions and imaginings and the adulteration of their own will, as well as their corrupt dispositions—if they reach this standard it means they know how to experience the work of God, and this is a manifestation of good caliber. Secondly, they must carry a burden for the church’s work. People who truly carry a burden don’t just have enthusiasm, they have true life experience, understand some truths, and they can see through to some problems. They see that in the church’s work and God’s chosen people there are many difficulties and problems that need to be resolved. They see this with their eyes and worry about it in their hearts—this is what it means to carry a burden for the church’s work. If someone is merely of good caliber and capable of comprehending the truth, but they are lazy, covet the comforts of the flesh, aren’t willing to do real work, and only do a bit of work when the Above issues them a deadline for its completion, when they can’t get away with not doing it, then this is a person who carries no burden. People who carry no burden are people who do not pursue the truth, people with no sense of justice, and good-for-nothings who spend all day stuffing their faces, without giving serious thought to anything. Thirdly, they must possess work capability. What does “work capability” mean? Simply put, it means that not only can they assign work and give people instructions, but they can also identify and solve problems—this is what it means to possess work capability. In addition, they also need organizational skills. People with organizational skills are particularly adept at bringing people together, organizing and arranging work, and solving problems, and when arranging work and solving problems, they can thoroughly convince people and make them obey—this is what it means to have organizational skills. Those who truly have work capability can carry out specific jobs arranged by God’s house, and can do so swiftly and decisively without any sloppiness, and moreover they can do the various jobs well. These are the three standards of God’s house for cultivating leaders and workers. If someone meets these three standards, they are a rare, talented individual and should be promoted, cultivated, and trained straight away, and after practicing for a period of time, they can then take on the work. Whoever has caliber, carries a burden, and possesses work capability doesn’t need people to always worry about them and supervise and urge them in their work. They are proactive, they know which jobs should be done at what time, which jobs to inspect and supervise, and which jobs need to be checked up on or watched closely. They are well aware of these things. Such people are relatively dependable and reliable in their work, and no major problems will occur. Even if problems do occur, they will be trivial issues that do not affect the big picture, and God needn’t worry about the work that these people do. Only those who can really stand on their own two feet in their work truly possess work capability. Those who cannot stand on their own two feet and always need others to worry about them, keep an eye on them, supervise them, and even hold their hand and teach them what to do are the type of people who have extremely poor caliber. The results of the work that people with ordinary caliber do are definitely ordinary, and these people need others to keep an eye on them and supervise them before they can do anything. By contrast, people with good caliber can stand on their own two feet after they have been trained for a period of time, and every time the Above has given them instructions for a task and fellowshipped some principles, they can grasp the principles, execute the work in accordance with them, and basically follow the right course without too great deviations or flaws, and achieve the results they’re supposed to—this is what it means to possess work capability. For example, God’s house calls for the church to be cleansed, and for antichrists and evil people to be identified and expelled from the church, and the type of people who possess work capability basically do not deviate while carrying out this task. Once an antichrist has appeared, it takes around half a year at the very least for them to be revealed and cleared out. During this time, those who possess work capability can identify them, fellowship on the truth to dissect the antichrist’s manifestations, and help the brothers and sisters gain discernment of them and not be misled, thereby enabling them to rise up to expose and expel the antichrist together. When antichrists or evil people appear in the scope of the work of people who possess work capability, basically most of the brothers and sisters do not get misled or influenced. Only a few muddleheaded people and those of very poor caliber are misled, and this is a normal phenomenon. People who are of good caliber and who possess work capability can achieve these results in their work, and such people are possessed of the truth reality and are up-to-standard leaders and workers.

Among the various types of talented people I mentioned just now, the first type was those who can be supervisors of the various items of work. The first requirement for them is that they have the ability and caliber to comprehend the truth. This is the minimum requirement. The second requirement is that they carry a burden—this is indispensable. Some people comprehend the truth more quickly than ordinary people, have spiritual understanding, are of good caliber, possess work capability, and after practicing for a period of time, can absolutely stand on their own two feet. But there is a serious problem with these people—they carry no burden. They like eating, drinking, having fun, and gallivanting around. They are so interested in these things, but if they’re asked to do some specific work that requires them to suffer hardship and pay a price, and restrain themselves a bit, they grow listless, and claim that they have some ailment or affliction, and that every part of them feels uncomfortable. They are unrestrained and undisciplined, casual, headstrong, and dissolute. They eat, sleep, and have fun whenever they want, and only do some work when the mood takes them. If the work is a bit hard or tiring, they lose interest and no longer want to do their duty. Is this carrying a burden? (No.) People who are lazy and covet the comforts of the flesh are not the ones who should be promoted and cultivated. There are also people whose caliber is more than adequate for a job, but unfortunately they just don’t carry a burden, they don’t like to take on responsibility, they don’t like trouble, and they don’t like worrying. They are blind to the work that needs doing, and even if they can see it, they don’t want to take care of it. Are people of this type candidates for promotion and cultivation? Absolutely not; people must carry a burden in order to be promoted and cultivated. Carrying a burden can also be described as having a sense of responsibility. Having a sense of responsibility is more to do with humanity; carrying a burden relates to one of the standards God’s house uses for measuring people. Those who carry a burden while additionally possessing two other things—the ability and caliber to comprehend the truth, and work capability—are the type of people who can be promoted and cultivated, and this type of people can be supervisors of the various items of work. These are the required standards for promoting and cultivating people to become various types of supervisors, and people who meet these standards are candidates for promotion and cultivation.

II. The Required Criteria for Talented People in Various Professions Who Possess Special Talents or Gifts

Besides the type of people who can be supervisors of the various items of work, another type of people who can be promoted and cultivated are those who possess special talents or gifts or have mastered some professional skills. What is the standard that the house of God requires for cultivating people like this into team leaders? First look at their humanity—so long as they relatively love positive things and are not evil people, that’s enough. Some people might ask, “Why are they not required to be someone who pursues the truth?” Because team leaders are not church leaders or workers, nor are they waterers, and requiring them to meet the standard of pursuing the truth would be asking too much, and out of reach for most of them. This is not required of people who perform general affairs work or specific items of professional work; if it was, only a few would qualify, so standards have to be lowered. As long as people understand their profession and are capable of shouldering the work, and do not commit evil or cause any disturbance, then that’s enough. For these people, who have expertise in some skills and professions and have some strengths, if they are going to carry out work that requires some familiarity with skill and relates to their professions in the house of God, as long as they are relatively guileless and upstanding in terms of their character, not evil, not distorted in their comprehension, able to endure hardship, and willing to pay a price, then that’s enough. Thus, the first requirement for cultivating such people to be team leaders is that they must relatively love positive things, and in addition, they must be able to suffer hardship and pay a price. What else is there? (They must have an upstanding character, and not be evil, and not be distorted in their comprehension.) Their character must be relatively upstanding, they must not be evil people, and they must not be distorted in their comprehension. Some people might ask, “So can their ability to comprehend the truth be considered high? After hearing the truth, can they awaken to the truth reality, and enter into the truth reality?” There is no need to require all of this; it is sufficient to require that such people are not distorted in their comprehension. When people who are not distorted in their comprehension do their work, one of the benefits is that they are not likely to cause disruptions or do anything ridiculous. For example, God’s house has fellowshipped over and over about the principles regarding the color of actors’ costumes, which should be dignified and decent, and colorful rather than drab. Yet there are still those who simply cannot make sense of what they are told, do not understand what they hear, are incapable of comprehending, and are unable to identify the principles within these requirements of God’s house, and they end up selecting costumes that are all gray—isn’t this a distorted comprehension? (Yes.) This is what it means to have a distorted comprehension. What does it mainly mean to relatively love positive things? (Being able to accept the truth). That’s right. It means being able to accept words and things that accord with the truth, and being able to accept and submit to God’s words and all aspects of truth. Regardless of whether such people can put these things into practice, at the very least, deep down they must not be resistant to or disgusted by them. Such people are good people, and colloquially it can be said that they are decent people. What are the characteristics of decent people? They feel disgust, revulsion, and loathing toward the evil acts that nonbelievers like to commit, as well as toward the evil trends that nonbelievers follow. For example, trends in the world of nonbelievers advocate evil forces, and many women pursue marrying someone rich or being someone’s mistress. Is this not wicked? People who love the truth find these things particularly repugnant and some say, “Even if I couldn’t find someone to marry, even if I was dying of poverty, I would never act like one of those people,” in other words, they are disdainful and contemptuous of such people. One characteristic of decent people is that they find evil trends repugnant and revolting, and are disdainful of those who have been ensnared by such trends. These people are fairly upstanding; at the mention of believing in God and being a good person, walking the right path, fearing God and shunning evil, shunning evil trends, and shunning all the evil behavior in the world, deep down they feel that this is something good. Whether or not they are able to step up to achieving all this, and irrespective of how great their aspiration is to believe in God and walk the right path, when all is said and done, deep down they yearn to live in the light and yearn to be in a place where righteousness holds power. Upstanding people like this are the type who fairly love positive things. Those who are to be promoted and cultivated by God’s house must at the very least possess the character of an upstanding humanity and of a love for positive things. This is also the first required standard for promoting the type of talented people who have professional skills and strengths. The second standard is that such people must be able to suffer hardship and pay a price. That is, when it comes to causes or work about which they are passionate, they are able to put aside their own desires, put aside the pleasures of the flesh or a comfortable lifestyle, and even forsake their own future prospects. Moreover, a little hardship or feeling somewhat tired is not a big deal to them; as long as they are doing something meaningful and which they believe to be right, then they gladly forsake fleshly pleasures and benefits—or, at the very least, have the aspiration and wish to do so. Some people say, “Sometimes that person still covets the comforts of the flesh: Sometimes they want to sleep in, or to eat good food, and sometimes they want to go out for a wander or to goof around—but most of the time they are able to suffer hardship and pay a price; it’s just that sometimes their mood leads them to such thoughts. Would this be considered a problem?” It would not. It would be asking too much to demand that they completely put aside the pleasures of the flesh, except in special circumstances. In general, when you give such people a job to do, whether it is a big job or not, and whether or not it is something they like to do, and no matter how difficult the job is, or how great the hardship they have to bear, or what price they have to pay, as long as you assign it to them, they are guaranteed to do it to the best of their ability even without you needing to keep an eye on them or supervise them. Such people can suffer hardship and pay a price, and this is another manifestation of decent people. What does it mean to be able to suffer hardship and pay a price? It means being thorough, being extremely devoted and attentive, and being willing to suffer any hardship and pay any price in order to get things done properly. Such people, when it comes to getting things done, keep their promises and are dependable, unlike people who are gluttonous and idle, love leisure and loathe labor, and put profit before everything. Those people go back on their promises, constantly speak false words to deceive and coax others, and do not hesitate to lie and take false oaths in order to achieve their goals—God will not save those people. God likes honest people. Only honest people keep their word and are loyal to their duties, and only those who can suffer hardship and pay a price to fulfill God’s commission can be saved by God. Being able to suffer hardship and pay a price is the second characteristic and manifestation that one should possess in order to be promoted and cultivated by God’s house. The third standard is not being distorted in one’s comprehension. That is, after listening to God’s words, they are at least able to know what the words refer to, they can make sense of what God says, and there is no deviation or absurdity in their comprehension. For example, if you talk about the color blue, they will not misconstrue it as black, and if you talk about the color gray, they will not misconstrue it as purple. This is the bare minimum. Even if sometimes their comprehension is distorted, when others point this out they can accept it, and if they see that someone else has a purer comprehension than themselves, they can readily accept it—this type of person has a pure comprehension. Fourthly, they must not be evil people. Is this easy to understand? Not being an evil person means having to do one thing at the very least, which is that after failing to achieve what was asked of them by God’s house, or having violated the principles and done something wrong, such people must be able to accept and submit when being pruned, without resistance and without spreading negativity or notions. In addition, no matter what group they are in, they can get along with most people and engage with them in harmony. Even when someone hurts them by saying something unpleasant, they can put up with it without keeping scores, and if anyone bullies them, they don’t punish evil with evil, but instead they just adopt wise ways to keep their distance and steer clear. Although such individuals fall short of being honest people, at the very least they are fairly guileless and don’t commit evil, and if anyone offends them they don’t retaliate or torment the other person, nor suppress them. Moreover, such people don’t try to establish their own independent kingdoms, act in opposition to the house of God, spread notions about God, try to pass judgment on Him, or do anything disruptive or cause disturbances. The four points above are the basic criteria for promoting and cultivating talented people who have some strengths and who understand some professional skills. As long as they fulfill these four criteria, they can basically shoulder certain duties and perform certain jobs in the proper manner.

Some people may ask: “How come the criteria that talented people should meet in order to be promoted and cultivated don’t include understanding the truth, possessing the truth reality, and being able to fear God and shun evil? How come they don’t include being able to know God, being able to submit to God, being loyal to God, and being an up-to-standard created being? Have these things been left behind?” Tell Me, if someone understands the truth and has entered the truth reality, and is able to submit to God, and is loyal to God, and has a God-fearing heart, and moreover, knows God, will not resist Him, and is an up-to-standard created being, do they still need to be cultivated? If they truly have achieved all this, isn’t the result of cultivation already accomplished? (Yes.) Therefore, the requirements for talented people to be promoted and cultivated don’t include these criteria. Because candidates are promoted and cultivated from among human beings who do not understand the truth and who are full of corrupt dispositions, it is therefore impossible for these candidates who are being promoted and cultivated to already have the truth reality, or to already fully submit to God, let alone to already be absolutely loyal to God, and they are certainly further still from knowing God and having a God-fearing heart. The criteria that all kinds of talented people should meet above all in order to be promoted and cultivated are the ones we just mentioned—these are the most realistic and specific ones. Some false leaders say, “We don’t have any talented people here who can be promoted and cultivated. So-and-so doesn’t understand the truth, So-and-so does things without a God-fearing heart, So-and-so cannot accept being pruned, So-and-so has no loyalty …” and so on, picking out a whole bunch of faults. What are these false leaders implying by saying these things? It’s as if those people cannot be promoted and cultivated because they don’t understand the truth, and don’t experience God’s work, and don’t yet have the truth reality, and so on, whereas the leaders themselves were able to become leaders because they already have some practical experience and possess the truth reality. Isn’t that what these false leaders mean? In their eyes, no one is as good as them, and no one besides themselves is suitable to be a leader. This is the arrogant disposition of false leaders; when it comes to the promotion and cultivation of people by God’s house, they are full of notions and imaginings.

III. The Required Criteria for General Affairs Work Personnel

I just mentioned two kinds of people that God’s house focuses on cultivating. One kind is people who can be leaders and workers, and the other kind is people who can undertake various professional jobs. There is also another type of person. They cannot be said to possess particular strengths or professional skills; their work does not involve any advanced technology, that is to say, these people perform certain general affairs work in the church, they deal with certain matters extraneous to the church’s substantive work. They are the type of people who carry out general affairs work. What are the house of God’s chief requirements for such people? The most critical requirement is that they are able to defend the interests of God’s house, do not help outsiders at the expense of God’s house, and do not sell out the interests of God’s house in order to ingratiate themselves with Satan. That is all. Regardless of whether they are a gifted communicator, the cream of society, or a special talent, they should be able to defend the interests of God’s house when handling external affairs for God’s house. What do the interests of God’s house include? Money, materials, the reputations of God’s house and the church, and the safety of the brothers and sisters—each of these aspects is very important. Whoever is capable of defending the interests of God’s house is possessed of normal humanity, and sufficiently upstanding, and someone who is willing to practice the truth. Some people have no discernment, and say, “There is a person with an evil humanity, but they can defend the work of God’s house.” Is that possible? (No, it isn’t.) How can evil people defend the work of God’s house? They can only defend their own interests. Thus, if someone is genuinely able to defend the interests of God’s house, they are certain to be of good character and humanity; this cannot be wrong. If someone helps outsiders at the expense of God’s house when doing things for God’s house, and betrays its interests, and not merely causes great economic and material losses to God’s house, but also wreaks huge damage to the reputations of God’s house and the church, are they a good person? Such people are most certainly not good things. They do not care how great material and financial losses God’s house suffers; what matters most to them is benefiting themselves and ingratiating themselves with nonbelievers; they not only send nonbelievers gifts, but even constantly make concessions to them during negotiations—it hasn’t occurred to them to fight for the interests of God’s house. And yet, they lie to God’s house, saying how they accomplished the work, and defended the interests of God’s house—when in fact, the church’s work has already suffered losses, and God’s house has been greatly taken advantage of by the nonbelievers. If, in every regard, a person is able to defend the interests of God’s house when handling external matters, is this person a good person? (Yes.) And so if this kind of person is incapable of doing any other work in God’s house, and is only suitable for this type of general affairs work, should they be promoted by God’s house? (Yes.) In addition to possessing work capability, and being able to carry out their work in accordance with the principles required by God’s house, they are also able to defend the interests of God’s house, so they are up to standard, and such people should be promoted. On the flip side, those who constantly cause harm to the interests of God’s house, who constantly pose a potential risk to the safety of the brothers and sisters, and who constantly cause adverse effects and consequences for the reputations of God’s house and the church—such people are not to be promoted or cultivated; if they are promoted and used, they must be quickly dismissed. There are also some people who always get into trouble while doing their jobs, such as by getting into accidents when driving, messing up the affairs they handle, or bringing about conflict that results in constant complaints, and if there are any flaws they don’t know how to fix them. Such people are feeble-minded, and also bringers of bad luck, and wastrels. If this type of person becomes a team leader, supervisor, leader or worker, not only must they be quickly dismissed, but they must also be cleared out of the church. This is because this kind of person is a recipe for disaster and a bringer of bad luck. As long as one or two of these people exist in the church, there can be no peace in the church. Such people seem to have evil spirits within them, or to have the plague. Whoever comes into contact with them will suffer misfortune, so this kind of person should be rooted out without delay. Even the facial characteristics of these people are all wrong, full of crafty or devilish features or hideously ugly, and anyone who comes into contact with them will feel as if something bad is about to happen. People of this type must be dismissed and cleared out, and only then can things go well for the church. Promoting and cultivating various people in the church requires adherence to principles and the exercise of discernment, so as to act in accordance with the principles. Among the various types of people who are promoted and cultivated, there are those who serve as church leaders and workers, those who are responsible for various professions in the church, and also those who handle general affairs for the church. The various criteria that these several types of talented people should meet have also been fellowshipped on clearly. When you are clear on the principles of how to elect leaders and workers and how to promote and cultivate people, then all of the church’s work will enter onto the right track.

Some people may ask, “Why are these people who are promoted and cultivated by God’s house called talented?” The talented people we talk about refer to candidates for promotion and cultivation. There are different requirements for people who can do different duties, and because they are in the process of being promoted and cultivated, it’s therefore quite enough that these so-called talented people can meet those criteria we just mentioned. It would be unrealistic to expect these people to already have the truth reality, to already be submissive and loyal, and to already fear God. Thus, the talented people we talk about are merely those who possess some of the qualities and integrity that people with normal humanity should have, and the caliber to comprehend the truth—as such they are considered qualified. It does not mean that they have already understood the truth and entered the truth reality, nor does it mean that they have already attained absolute submission to God after accepting His judgment and chastisement, and things like this. Of course, the term “talented people” does not refer to those who have attended university or pursued a Ph.D., or people with privileged family backgrounds or elevated social status, or people with special abilities or gifts—it does not refer to these people. Since they are to be promoted and cultivated, some of the people who are going to perform professional work may have never done that profession or studied it before, but as long as they meet those several criteria for promotion and cultivation, and are willing to learn and good at learning a particular profession, then God’s house can promote and cultivate them. What do I mean by this? I don’t mean that a person can be promoted and cultivated only if they naturally excel at a particular profession. Rather, it is that, if they have the inclination to learn and possess the conditions, or even if they just possess some basics in this profession, then they can be promoted and cultivated—this is the principle. Here ends our fellowship on the criteria that should be met by the various talented people that God’s house wants to promote and cultivate.

The Aims of God’s House in Promoting and Cultivating All Kinds of Talented People

Next we will fellowship about why God’s house promotes and cultivates all kinds of talented people. Some people don’t quite understand this, and think, “Wouldn’t it just suffice for God’s house to go straight ahead with promoting and using the various talented people? Why does it need to cultivate and train them for a period of time?” Do you understand this or not? Let’s first talk about the kind of people who become leaders and workers. Why does God’s house promote and cultivate those who have the comprehension ability, who carry a burden for the church, and who possess work capability? It is because although they are qualified in terms of their caliber and meeting the criteria, they have not yet had real experience and do not understand the truth, much less do they know how to practice the truth and do things according to principles. They must be trained for a period of time and given guidance, and only when they have mastered the principles of doing their duty and have real experience can they be formally used. If they were like the brothers and sisters in the church, eating and drinking God’s words, listening to sermons, living the life of the church, and training in doing a duty, and were only promoted and cultivated once their life had grown, then their progress would be too slow. In that case, how many years would it take for them to be fit for God’s use? Would this not affect the church’s work? Therefore, as long as someone has the ability to comprehend the truth, possesses work capability, and has a sense of burden, they should be promoted and cultivated and asked to train in doing the duty of a leader or a worker, and given a burden. In one regard, it gets them to make the most of their strengths. In another regard, when they encounter special situations, it is necessary to fellowship on the truth with them in order to resolve their difficulties. Sometimes they must also be pruned, and if necessary, they must also be disciplined and have to undergo numerous trials and refinement, and endure much suffering. Only by undergoing such practical training can they make real progress, and step by step understand the truth and master the principles, and then shoulder the work of leaders and workers as soon as possible. Cultivating and training leaders and workers this way will produce better results and be faster, which is beneficial to the work of God’s house and more beneficial to the life entry of God’s chosen people, because leaders and workers with practical experience can directly water and provide for God’s chosen people. When God’s house promotes and cultivates someone to be a leader, it gives them more of a burden to train them, to make them depend on God, and to make them strive toward the truth; only then will their stature grow as quickly as possible. The greater the burden that is placed on them, the more pressure they are put under, and the more they are forced to seek the truth and depend on God. Ultimately, they will be able to do their work properly and follow God’s will, and so will have set foot upon the right track of being saved and made perfect—this is the effect that is achieved when God’s house promotes and cultivates people. Without doing these specific tasks, they would not know what they are lacking, they would not know how to do things according to principles, and they would not know what it means to possess the truth reality. So doing specific work helps them discover their shortcomings and see that, apart from their gifts, they are devoid of the truth reality; it helps them sense how impoverished and pitiful they are, making them realize that if they do not depend on God and seek the truth, they will be incapable of any work; it makes them truly get to know themselves and see clearly that if they do not pursue the truth and changes in disposition, it will be impossible for them to be fit for God’s use. These are all the effects that must be achieved when leaders and workers are cultivated and trained. Only by understanding these aspects can people pursue the truth with both feet on the ground, comport themselves with a low profile, be guaranteed to no longer brag about themselves when doing their work, consistently exalt God and testify to God in doing their duty, and enter step by step into the truth reality. When someone is promoted and cultivated to be a leader, they are enabled to learn how to discern the states of different people, train in seeking the truth to solve different people’s difficulties, and supporting and providing for different kinds of people, and leading people into the truth reality. At the same time, they must also train in resolving various problems and difficulties encountered during work, and learn how to distinguish and deal with various types of antichrists, evil people, and disbelievers, and how to do the work of cleansing the church. In this way, compared with others, they can experience more people, events, and things, and more environments arranged by God, eat and drink more and more of the words of God, and enter into ever more truth realities. This is an opportunity to train themselves, is it not? The more the opportunities for training, the more plentiful people’s experiences, the broader their insights, and the more quickly they will grow. If people do not do the work of a leader, however, they will only encounter and undergo personal existence and personal experiences, and only recognize personal corrupt dispositions and various personal states—all of which only relate to themselves. Once they become a leader, they encounter more people, more events, and more environments, which encourages them to often come before God to seek the truth principles. For them, these people, events, and things form an invisible burden, and naturally also create highly favorable conditions for their entry into the truth reality, which is a good thing. And so, someone who is possessed of caliber, carries a burden, and has work capability will enter slowly as an ordinary believer, and faster as a leader or worker. For people, is it a good thing to enter the truth reality quickly, or slowly? (Quickly.) Therefore, when it comes to people who are possessed of caliber, carry a burden, and have work capability, God’s house makes an exception by promoting such people, unless they are not people who pursue the truth and they do not strive toward the truth, in which case, God’s house will not force them. As long as a person has the foundation of belief in God, meets the criteria for being a leader or worker, and is willing to pursue the truth and be used by God, then there is no question that God’s house will promote and cultivate them, give them the opportunity to train in being a leader or worker, and enable them to learn to do the church’s work, and learn to discern people, and learn to deal with all the various problems in the church, and learn to carry out various jobs according to work arrangements. During the period of being trained, if people can accept the truth and accept being pruned, can submit to God’s orchestration and arrangements, can seek the truth to resolve various problems, and learn to treat all kinds of people and distinguish and deal with all kinds of people according to God’s words, then they can get to grips with the relevant truth principles, and come to understand the truth and enter into reality—these are things that ordinary believers cannot experience or gain. So from this point of view, is it a good thing or a bad thing for God’s house to promote and cultivate someone? Is it of benefit to them, or is it a hardship that is forced upon them? It is of benefit to them. Of course, when some people have just been promoted, they don’t know what tasks they should do or how to do them, and are a little bewildered. This is normal; who was ever born able to do everything? If you could do everything, you would certainly be the most arrogant and conceited of people, and wouldn’t yield to anyone—in which case, could you still accept the truth? If you could do everything, would you still depend on God and look up to Him? Would you still seek the truth to resolve the problems of your own corruption? You certainly would not. On the contrary, you would be arrogant and conceited and walk the path of antichrists, you would fight for power and status and yield to no one, and you would mislead and ensnare people, and disrupt and disturb the church’s work—in which case, could you still be used by God’s house? If you know that you have many shortcomings, you should learn to obey and submit, and do the various tasks well according to the requirements of God’s house; this will allow you to gradually reach the point where you can do your duty in a way that is up to standard. But most people can’t do something so simple as obeying and submitting, so they shouldn’t blame God’s house for not promoting and cultivating them, because they are incapable of obeying. If even obeying is beyond you, would God’s house dare to promote and cultivate you? (No.) And why not? Using you would be too risky, too much trouble, too much of a worry! Because if ever God’s house used you, you might take control over people, and lead them onto the path of wickedness—that’s why it’s so risky. If you were used, you might recklessly commit misdeeds and throw the work into utter disarray, and God’s house would have to dismiss you and clean up all of the mess for you—that’s why it’s too much trouble. And if you were used, you would not know how to do any of the work, and you would have no effect at all in terms of your work; in all of the work you do, you would have to be urged, supervised, and tracked by the Above, who would have to intervene in all matters—so why should you be used? You’re too worrisome! This kind of person absolutely cannot be used. Even if they were cultivated, it would be of no avail, and would even cause a lot of trouble and also impact on the cultivation of others; wouldn’t the gains be outweighed by the losses? (Yes.)

Some people, because they are never promoted or used by God’s house, get ideas into their head and say, “Why doesn’t the Above ever notice me? Why doesn’t God’s house ever promote and cultivate me? It’s not fair!” Well, they should first weigh up whether they can obey, and whether they can submit to the arrangements of God’s house. Secondly, they should weigh up whether they meet the three criteria required for God’s house to promote and cultivate people to be leaders and workers—being able to comprehend the truth, carrying a burden, and possessing work capability. If they meet these criteria, then sooner or later they will have the opportunity to be promoted, cultivated, and used. For the house of God to promote them, there are things that are asked of them. And what are these things? They are required to act according to the principles and requirements of God’s house; they must do what is requested of them, and in the manner that is requested, thus cultivating them to first learn to act in a principled manner, and learn to seek the truth and submit to the truth, and learn to cooperate harmoniously. During the time that they are cultivated, at times God’s house will prune them; at times it will severely reprimand them; at times it will inquire as to the progress of their work; at times it will ask them exactly how the work is going, and will check up on their work; and at times, it will test what their point of view toward a certain thing is. The aim of these tests is not to make things hard for them, but to make them understand, in these matters, what the intentions of God are, and what attitude and principles they ought to possess. God’s house does this to train them and to get them to practice. And what is the aim and objective of training people? It is to enable them to understand the truth. The aim of understanding the truth is for people to be able to submit to the truth and act in accordance with principles, to keep to their place and loyally fulfill their duty, and, in the process of doing their duty, to enter into different truth realities and achieve changes in their disposition. God’s house trains leaders and workers in this way. As long as leaders and workers understand the truth, there is hope of them being able to lead God’s chosen people to understand the truth. However many truths leaders and workers understand, that is how many truths the people they lead have hope of understanding. When leaders and workers grasp the truth principles in their work, those they lead can also grasp the principles and enter the truth reality in their work. Therefore, leaders and workers who undergo training must possess better caliber than other people. They are enabled to understand the truth principles first and enter into the truth reality first, and then they lead more people in entering the truth reality and understanding the truth principles. What do you think of such an approach? (It is good.) Such people may not be well educated or highly articulate, or understand much about technology or current affairs and politics. They might not even be that proficient in some profession. But they are able to understand the truth, and after hearing God’s words, they are able to practice and experience them, and able to find the truth principles, and able to lead more people in entering into the reality of God’s words and abiding by the truth principles. This is who we mean when we talk about the kind of talented people who are promoted and cultivated to serve as leaders. Is this abstract? (No, it’s not.) Some people may ask: “You speak of talented people, so are they the cream of society? Must they have run some kind of business, or been some kind of CEO or entrepreneur out in society? Are they statesmen with a political background, or business talents, or talents in artistic and literary circles? Are they exceptionally gifted people?” The talented people that are spoken of in God’s house are different from those talented people out in the world. What is meant by this term “talented people” that we speak of? It means being able to understand the truth, and being able to lead people into the truth reality, and knowing how to discern various types of people, and how to resolve the various states and difficulties in which people find themselves, and having correct views and attitudes when encountering issues, and possessing the views and attitudes that people who believe in God and follow Him should have. It does not refer to people who have no spiritual understanding, or to hypocritical people, or to people who say high-sounding things and spout rhetoric. Rather, it refers to people who have the truth reality. This is what “talented people” means. Is this hollow? (No.) Aren’t these criteria that God’s house requires of this kind of talented people that it promotes and cultivates to be leaders and workers very practical? (Yes.) Extremely practical! Such candidates aren’t required to have advanced academic qualifications, but they must at the very least have the caliber to comprehend the truth. Some people may say: “If they aren’t required to have advanced academic qualifications, is it okay for them to be illiterate?” Reading God’s words wouldn’t be possible without some education. They need to understand the written word, but they don’t need advanced academic qualifications. Those who are promoted in God’s house include high school graduates, university graduates, and Ph.D. graduates, so there are no limits in terms of educational level. In addition, there are no limits on one’s social status either. From farmers and intellectuals, to businesspeople and housewives—all kinds of people are welcome. Besides there being no restrictions on educational level and social status, the required criteria are those several that I spoke of. Is that reasonable? (Yes.) Extremely reasonable! Now do you understand a little more about what I mean by “the talented people that God’s house promotes and cultivates”? (Yes.) People who meet these several criteria of being able to comprehend the truth, carrying a burden, and having work capability are candidates for promotion and cultivation by God’s house. If they meet these criteria, they are qualified. As for other things such as education, family background, social status, one’s appearance, and so on, the requirements aren’t that high. This is about promoting and cultivating people to be leaders and workers.

We just discussed several criteria that talented people with skills or professions should meet in order to be promoted and cultivated, which are that they should love positive things and be able to accept the truth, not be distorted in their comprehension, be able to loyally do their duty, suffer hardship and pay a price without complaining, and at the very least not do evil—these several criteria are essential when it comes to these people. So what is the aim of promoting and cultivating these people? Likewise, it is so that whenever these people encounter problems while performing their duty and doing specific work, they can seek the truth in order to resolve the problems, and act in accordance with principles. In the process of practicing entry, they are unknowingly being trained and regulated, and practice letting go of their own intentions, correcting their wrong and preposterous views of worldly people, letting go of some childish thoughts, and letting go of prejudices, notions, and imaginings regarding faith in God, and things like that. Of course, no matter what, this process of practicing is meant to enable people to gradually understand the truth, learn to submit, and learn to enter into the various truth realities. In the process of learning, they gradually master the truth principles, come to know what it means to believe in God, and what it means to practice the truth, and what it means to perform one’s duty, and finally, they gradually understand what they should do to perform their duty in a way that is up to standard, how they should do things as a believer ought to do, and so on—these are all things that people gradually enter into after they are promoted and cultivated. The process of people’s gradual entry is the process of being cultivated, and the process of being cultivated is actually the process of people practicing entering into the truth reality. But if you haven’t been promoted and cultivated, and you just act as an ordinary believer who attends gatherings, reads God’s words, fellowships about the truth, or learns hymns, by believing in God this way you are not truly fulfilling your duty as a created being, so you are far from doing your duty in an up-to-standard manner. You aren’t even clear what principles you should grasp in doing your duty, and can only speak some doctrines and slogans; therefore, you haven’t entered into truth reality yet, and your entry into life is slow. Similarly, the aim and objective of promoting and cultivating these people who engage in professional tasks is so that they enter the truth reality more quickly and gain a better and more accurate grasp of the truth principles. Those who can grasp the truth principles and enter into the truth reality—these are the talented people who are promoted and cultivated by God’s house. What does this kind of talented people refer to? It means those who—on the basis of loving positive things, and being able to suffer hardships and pay a price, and not being distorted in their comprehension, and not being evil people—have achieved understanding of the truth principles and entered into the truth reality, and are able to submit to God and the arrangements of God’s house, and have somewhat of a God-fearing heart. This is the second kind of talented people I speak of. The requirements for them are also practical, sufficiently specific, and not abstract. So is this kind of talented people required to be the cream of society, and socially experienced, and have certain academic qualifications, and a certain social status? (No.) God’s house never requires people to have social status, renown, academic qualifications or a high level of knowledge—these things are never required. When promoting and cultivating people, God’s house doesn’t look at their appearance, that is to say, how ugly or attractive they are. Apart from not promoting the kind of people who look like nonbelievers, or who are hideous or wicked in appearance, the other criteria are those I just mentioned—these are most practical. When nonbelievers promote someone, they first look at the person’s appearance; men should be handsome, like officials, and women should be beautiful, like fairies. In addition, they also compare people’s academic qualifications, social status, family background, and artifices. If you have advanced academic qualifications but no artifices, that will not do either, you will never be promoted and no one will think highly of you. If you have advanced academic qualifications and real talent, but aren’t particularly good-looking, and are short in height, and don’t know how to flatter or get close to your superiors, then you will never be promoted or cultivated as long as you live, and no one will discover you. Therefore, nonbelievers have this saying which goes, “There are many swift horses, but few who can recognize them.” Does this hold true in God’s house? (No, it doesn’t.) So does the expression “True gold is destined to glitter eventually” hold true? Is it valid? (No.) People who are cynical and yield to no one often say this. Always wanting to shine—this is a human ambition. The various kinds of talented people promoted and cultivated by God’s house are not gold, they are just ordinary people. The promotion and cultivation we talk about is just a manner of speaking; in fact, this refers to being elevated by God. Are you, a created being, gold before the Creator? You are merely dust, you are not even copper or iron. Why do I say that you are dust rather than gold? There is nothing commendable about people. Some may ask: “Isn’t what you said contradictory? Didn’t you just say that someone can be promoted if they meet the criterion of loving positive things?” As a person, shouldn’t you love positive things? If you love a few positive things, does that make you gold? Does that make you shine? If you love a few positive things, does it mean you have the truth? It is only by having the truth that one shines. If you do not have the truth, how can it be said that you shine? The fact is that a created being does not understand any truths. Being possessed of some humanity, and some ability and caliber to comprehend the truth does not mean that one is naturally possessed of the truth. People are not possessed of the truth, and even if their humanity is upstanding or kind, these things are not the truth, they are just qualities that normal humanity should possess. Therefore, speak not of shining. So, when can one shine a little? When they can utter the words of Job, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21), that is when they can be said to shine a little and live in the light. When you can use the truth reality you possess and the truth you understand to provide for, support, and lead others, through which they can be brought before God and into the truth reality, submit to God and worship God, only then can you shine a little.

The various kinds of talented people cultivated by God’s house are not supernaturally gifted, they are just ordinary, corrupt people. As long as they can accept the truth, obey and submit, and are possessed of a certain caliber, then God’s house will make an exception by promoting and cultivating them. When I talk about making an exception to promote and cultivate people, this is about being elevated by God, it is about giving you the opportunity to come before God and accept God’s leadership, and accept God cultivating and training you, so that during this period you can enter into the truth reality as quickly as possible and be able to accurately grasp the truth principles, do your duty in a way that is up to standard, and live with the likeness of a human. This is what the term “talented people” means in God’s house. Such people are not big and impressive in the slightest, they just understand the truth and are possessed of the truth reality, and can do their duty conscientiously and responsibly, and have a little sincerity and are able to pay a little price, and don’t act recklessly on the basis of their notions and imaginings. In making an exception by promoting and cultivating people who can meet these criteria, and training them up, is it appropriate for God’s house to do this? Is it beneficial to people? It’s extremely beneficial to people! Just like other believers, those who are promoted and cultivated believe in God, and read God’s words, and listen to sermons, and do their duty, but compared with other believers, they will grow faster and gain more. Would you like to gain more, or gain just a little? (Gain more.) Most people have this desire, which means that they love positive things. Sometimes I fellowship with some teams about entering into life, and quite a few people go along to listen, which shows that most people have a yearning desire for the truth, and are willing to understand more of the truth, and are also willing to enter into the truth reality. At the beginning, I fellowshipped with some people and they were really numb. I talked for a long time but they didn’t respond, or even show the slightest hint of a smile. After I had been in contact with them for a year or two, most of them became more natural in their facial expressions and responded, and in time their responses came somewhat quicker. That is, they turned from dead people into living people, and their spirits awakened. How was this achieved? If people don’t understand the truth, then no matter how much they love positive things, or how smart or brainy they are, they are still dead people. Some people start out stupid and dull-witted, no one out in the world has a high opinion of them, and neither are they very learned or well-informed. But after they come to believe in God, they can understand many truths and see many things clearly, and then live out the likeness of human beings, and thereby become living people. What does “living people” mean? It’s not about whether your physical body is alive or dead, or whether your body can move or draw breath, but whether your spirit is conscious of and sensitive to God’s words and the truth. Living people respond to the truth and to God’s words. After hearing God’s words, they have consciousness, a path, a plan, and a goal. Dead people do not have these manifestations. So, if God’s house promotes and cultivates someone, this person will gain relatively more. So how can people who don’t meet these criteria and don’t get promoted or cultivated gain sufficiently? How can they enter quickly into the truth reality? They must learn to practice and experience God’s words, attain understanding of many truths, and also be able to apply the truth to discern people and resolve problems—then they can enter into the truth reality.

Some people say: “Given that God’s house promotes and cultivates all kinds of talented people and allows them to enter into the truth reality as quickly as possible, doesn’t that mean that people who aren’t talented cannot enter into the truth reality?” Is it correct to say that? (No, it’s wrong.) So, after fellowshipping on this topic, has it made some people excited while making others despondent and disappointed? One should look at it this way: Those who have been promoted and cultivated shouldn’t be proud. You have nothing to boast about, this is God’s grace and blessing. When God gives you more, He also asks you to give more of yourself. If God’s house makes an exception by promoting and cultivating you, it means that you need to pay a higher price. If you can suffer this hardship, then of course you will gain more. If you say, “I am not willing to suffer this hardship,” then you will not gain the truth, nor gain God’s blessing. Some people say, “I want to gain those things but I don’t think I can, because God’s house won’t make an exception by promoting and cultivating me. I don’t meet the criteria.” It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet the criteria. As long as you pursue the truth and strive hard toward it, God will not treat you unfairly. These people who are promoted and cultivated can merely enter into the truth reality earlier because of their caliber and because of their various conditions. However, this early entry does not mean that they are the only ones who can enter into the truth reality. It just means that they can gain a little more earlier, and can enter into the truth reality a little earlier. Those who have not been promoted will lag behind them a little, but this doesn’t mean that they cannot enter the truth reality. Whether someone can enter into the truth reality or not depends on their pursuits. These people who are promoted and cultivated can grasp the truth principles more quickly and enter into the truth reality more quickly during the cultivation process, which benefits the work of God’s house. Therefore, it is right to promote and cultivate people who are found to have good caliber and to love the truth. If someone can find these people and promote and cultivate them without being envious of them or bringing them down, but instead offering them care, then they are being considerate of God’s intentions. On the contrary, if some people are envious and worry that these people are better than them and surpass them, so they exclude them and bring them down, this is clearly an evil act and something that antichrists often do. Only evil people and antichrists can attack and exclude the brothers and sisters.

The Understanding and Attitude That One Should Have With Regard to the Promotion and Cultivation of People by God’s House

What we fellowshipped on just now are the aims of God’s house in promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people. No matter the kind of work that those who are selected for promotion and cultivation do—whether it be technical work, ordinary work, or the general affairs of the church—in short, it is all for the sake of enabling them to understand the truth principles and enter into the truth reality, and so that they can do their duty in a way that is up to standard as quickly as possible in order to satisfy God’s intentions—this is what God requires of people, and of course, it is also what is needed for the church’s work. Do you now understand the significance of God’s house promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people? Are there still any misunderstandings? (No.) Some people say, “Now that this person has been promoted to leader, and has status, they are no longer an ordinary person.” Is it right or wrong to say this? (It’s wrong.) Others may say: “Those who become leaders have status, but it’s lonely at the top. The higher you climb, the harder you fall!” Is it right or wrong to say this? It’s clearly wrong. Which people does the saying “The higher you climb, the harder you fall” refer to? It refers to people with ambitions and desires, it refers to antichrists. When those who pursue the truth become leaders, that is not climbing high—it is God making an exception by elevating them, and it is God’s blessing that places this burden on them and allows them to do the work of a leader. “The higher you climb, the harder you fall” is a conclusion drawn by nonbelievers, and describes the consequences of nonbelievers pursuing a career in officialdom. Those disbelievers have no discernment and apply this saying to positive people, which is a grave mistake. Others may say: “He was born in a rural area, and now he has become a church leader—a high-flying phoenix from lowly beginnings.” Is it right or wrong to say this? These are the devilish words of nonbelievers and cannot be applied to God’s chosen people. In God’s house, God blesses those who pursue the truth, those who are honest, those who are kind-hearted, and those who defend the work of God’s house. Once these people understand the truth and gain some stature, they will be promoted for cultivation and practice sooner or later, to replace those who are false leaders and antichrists. In God’s house, positive people who have undergone many trials and tests and who have consistently defended the work of God’s house are people who meet with God’s approval, and it would be inappropriate for the devilish words of nonbelievers to be used to describe these people. Therefore, those who always use the devilish words of nonbelievers to describe matters in God’s house and to express their own views are people who do not understand the truth and who have preposterous views on things. Their views on things have not changed at all, and are still the views of nonbelievers, and they have believed in God for several years and yet have not gained any truth at all, and still can’t view things according to God’s words—so then, these people are disbelievers and nonbelievers. When someone is promoted to serve as a leader or worker, or they are cultivated to become the supervisor of some sort of technical work, this is nothing more than God’s house entrusting them with a burden. It is a commission, a responsibility, and of course, it is also a special duty, a special opportunity, and it is an exceptional elevation—there is nothing praiseworthy about them. When someone is promoted and cultivated by God’s house, it does not mean they have a special position or status in God’s house, so that they can enjoy special treatment and favor. Instead, after they have been exceptionally elevated by God’s house, they are given excellent conditions to receive training from God’s house, to practice doing some substantial church work, and at the same time God’s house will have higher required standards for this person, which is very beneficial for their life entry. When a person is promoted and cultivated in God’s house, it means they will be put under strict requirements and tightly supervised. God’s house will strictly inspect, supervise, and push forward the work they do, and will get to understand and give attention to their life entry. From these points of view, do the people promoted and cultivated by God’s house enjoy special treatment, special status, and special position? Absolutely not, and even less do they enjoy any special standing. For people who have been promoted and cultivated, if they feel that they have capital as a result of doing their duty somewhat effectively, and so stagnate and stop pursuing the truth, then they will be in danger when they encounter trials and tribulations. If people’s stature is too small, they will likely be incapable of standing firm. Some say, “If someone is promoted and cultivated as a leader, then they have standing. Even if they are not one of the firstborn sons, they at least have hope of becoming one of God’s people. I have never been promoted or cultivated, so do I not have hope of becoming one of God’s people?” It is wrong to think this way. To become one of God’s people, you must have life experience, and you must be someone who submits to God. No matter if you are a leader, worker, or an ordinary follower, anyone who possesses the truth realities is one of God’s people. Even if you are a leader or worker, if you lack the truth realities, you are still a laborer. In fact, there is nothing special about people who are promoted and cultivated. The only thing that is different from others is that they have a more favorable environment, more favorable opportunities, and better conditions to do specific work involving the truth principles. Even if most of the work they do involves a particular profession, if there are no truth principles to regulate and keep a firm grasp on it, then the duty they do will not accord with the principles, and they are just laboring, and they will definitely not receive God’s approval. What are the requirements of God’s house for the various talented people who are promoted and cultivated? In order to be promoted and cultivated by God’s house, at the very least they must be people with conscience and reason, people who can accept the truth, people who loyally do their duty, and people who can submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and at the very least they must be able to accept and submit when they face being pruned. The effect to be achieved by people undergoing cultivation and training by God’s house is not that they can become officials or bosses, or lead the pack, and it is not that they can work on people’s thoughts, and of course, much less is it that they have better professional skills or a higher level of education, or a greater reputation, or that they can be mentioned in the same breath as those renowned in the world for their professional skills or political exploits. Rather, the effect to be achieved is that they understand the truth and live out God’s words, and that they are people who fear God and shun evil. As they train, they are able to understand the truth and grasp the truth principles, and to know better exactly what faith in God is and how to follow God—this is extremely beneficial for those who pursue the truth to achieve perfection. This is the effect and standard that God’s house wishes to achieve in promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people, and it is also the greatest harvest reaped by those who are promoted and used.

Some people do their duty relatively responsibly and are approved by God’s chosen ones, so they are cultivated by the church to become leaders or workers. After attaining status, they start to feel they stand out from the masses and think, “Why has the house of God settled on me? Isn’t it because I’m better than all of you?” Doesn’t this sound like something a child would say? It is immature, ridiculous, and naive. Actually, they are not the slightest bit better than other people. It is just that they meet the criteria to be cultivated by the house of God. Whether or not they can shoulder this responsibility, do this duty well or complete this entrustment is another matter. When someone is elected to be a leader by the brothers and sisters, or is promoted by the house of God to do a certain piece of work or perform a certain duty, this does not mean that they have a special status or position, or that the truths they understand are deeper and more numerous than those of other people—much less that this person is able to submit to God, and will not betray Him. Certainly, it does not mean, either, that they know God, and are someone who fears God. They have attained none of this, in fact. The promotion and cultivation is merely promotion and cultivation in the straightforward sense, and is not equivalent to them having been predestined and approved of by God. Their promotion and cultivation simply means they have been promoted, and await cultivation. And the ultimate outcome of this cultivation depends on whether this person pursues the truth, and on whether they are capable of choosing the path of pursuing the truth. Thus, when someone in the church is promoted and cultivated to be a leader, they are merely promoted and cultivated in the straightforward sense; it does not mean that they are already an up-to-standard leader, or a competent one, that they are already capable of undertaking the work of a leader, and can do real work—that is not the case. Most people cannot see through to these things, and based on their own imaginings they look up to those who have been promoted. This is a mistake. No matter how many years they have believed in God for, do those who are promoted really possess the truth reality? Not necessarily. Are they able to implement the work arrangements of the house of God? Not necessarily. Do they have a sense of responsibility? Are they loyal? Are they able to submit? When they encounter an issue, are they able to seek the truth? All of this is unknown. Do these people have God-fearing hearts? And just how great are their God-fearing hearts? Are they able to avoid following their own will when they do things? Are they able to seek God? During the time that they perform the work of leaders, are they able to frequently come before God to seek the intentions of God? Are they able to lead people into the truth reality? They are certainly incapable of such things. They haven’t received training and they haven’t had enough experiences, so they are incapable of these things. This is why promoting and cultivating someone doesn’t mean they already understand the truth, nor is it saying that they are already capable of doing their duty in a way that is up to standard. So what is the aim and significance of promoting and cultivating someone? It is that this person is promoted, as an individual, in order for them to practice, and in order for them to be specially watered and trained, thus enabling them to understand the truth principles, and the principles, means, and methods of doing different things and solving various problems, as well as how to handle and deal with the various types of environments and people they encounter in accordance with God’s intentions, and in a way that protects the interests of the house of God. Judging based on these points, are the talented people promoted and cultivated by the house of God adequately capable of undertaking their work and doing their duty well during the promotion and cultivation period or prior to promotion and cultivation? Of course not. Thus, it is unavoidable that, during the cultivation period, these people will experience pruning, judgment and chastisement, exposure and even dismissal; this is normal, this is training and cultivation. People must not have any high expectations or unrealistic demands of those who are promoted and cultivated; that would be unreasonable, and unfair to them. You can supervise their work. If you discover problems or things that violate principles in the course of their work, you can raise the issue and seek the truth to resolve these matters. What you should not do is judge, condemn, attack, or exclude them, because they are just in the cultivation period, and should not be viewed as people who have been made perfect, much less as people who are blameless, or as people who are possessed of the truth reality. Like you, they are merely in a period of training. The difference is that they undertake more work and responsibilities than ordinary people. They have a responsibility and an obligation to do more work; they must pay a greater price, suffer more hardship, exert more mental effort, solve more problems, tolerate more censure from people, and of course they must also make a greater effort, and—compared with ordinary people doing their duties—they must have a bit less sleep, enjoy a bit less fine food, and not engage in so much gossip. This is what’s special about them; apart from this, they are the same as anyone else. What is the point of Me saying this? It is to let everyone know that they must correctly approach the various types of talented people promoted and cultivated in God’s house, that they must not be harsh in their demands of these people, and, of course, that they must not be unrealistic in their opinion of them either. It is foolish to excessively admire and look up to them; it is inhumane and unrealistic to make overly harsh demands of them. So what is the most reasonable way to treat them? To regard them as ordinary people and, when you need to seek someone out regarding a problem, to fellowship with them and learn from each other’s strengths and complement each other. In addition, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep an eye on whether leaders and workers are doing real work, whether they can use the truth to solve problems; these are the standards and principles for measuring whether a leader or worker is up to standard. If a leader or worker is capable of dealing with and solving general problems, then they are competent. But if they can’t even handle and fix ordinary problems, they are not fit to be a leader or worker, and must be quickly removed from their position. Someone else must be chosen, and the work of the house of God must not be delayed. Delaying the work of the house of God is hurting oneself and others, it is good for no one.

Some people are promoted and cultivated by the church, receiving a good chance to train. This is something good. It can be said they have been elevated and graced by God. So how, then, should they do their duty? The first principle they should abide by is to understand the truth—when they do not understand the truth, they must seek the truth, and if they still don’t understand after seeking on their own, they can find someone who does understand the truth to fellowship and seek with, which will make solving the problem faster and more timely. If you focus only on spending more time reading God’s words by yourself, and on spending more time pondering these words, in order to achieve understanding of the truth and solve the problem, this is too slow; as the saying goes, “Slow remedies can’t address urgent needs.” If, when it comes to the truth, you wish to make quick progress, then you must learn how to work in harmony with others, and to ask more questions and seek more. Only then will your life grow quickly, and will you be able to solve problems promptly, without any delay in either. Because you have only just been promoted and are still on probation, and do not truly understand the truth or possess the truth reality—because you still lack this stature—do not think that your promotion means you possess the truth reality; this is not the case. It is merely because you have a sense of burden toward the work and possess the caliber of a leader that you are selected for promotion and cultivation. You should have this reason. If, after being promoted and becoming a leader or worker, you start to assert your status, and believe that you are someone who pursues the truth and that you possess the truth reality—and if, regardless of what problems the brothers and sisters have, you pretend that you understand, and that you are spiritual—then this is a foolish way to be, and it is the same way as the hypocritical Pharisees. You must speak and act truthfully. When you don’t understand, you can ask others or seek fellowship from the Above—there is nothing shameful about any of this. Even if you don’t ask, the Above will still know your true stature, and will know that the truth reality is absent in you. Seeking and fellowshipping are what you ought to be doing; this is the reason that should be found in normal humanity, and the principle that should be adhered to by leaders and workers. It is not something to be embarrassed about. If you think that once you are a leader it is embarrassing to not understand the principles, or to constantly be asking other people or the Above questions, and you’re afraid that others will look down on you, and then you put on an act as a result, pretending that you understand everything, that you know everything, that you have work capability, that you can do any church work, and do not need anyone to remind you or fellowship with you, or anyone to provide for you or support you, then this is dangerous, and you are too arrogant and self-righteous, too lacking in reason. You don’t even know your own measure—does this not make you a muddleheaded person? Such people do not actually meet the criteria for being promoted and cultivated by the house of God, and sooner or later they will be dismissed and eliminated. And so, every leader or worker that has just been promoted should be clear that they do not have the truth reality, they should have this self-awareness. You are now a leader or worker not because you were appointed by God, but because you were promoted to be one by other leaders and workers, or were elected by God’s chosen people; this does not mean that you have the truth reality and true stature. When you understand this, you will have a little reason, which is the reason that leaders and workers must possess. Do you understand now? (Yes.) So, how exactly should you do work? How should you put harmonious cooperation into practice? How should you seek the truth to resolve problems whenever you encounter them? These things must be understood. If corrupt dispositions are revealed, seek the truth and resolve them as soon as possible. If they are not resolved in time and impact on your work, this is a problem. If you are not familiar with a profession, you should also get learning without delay. Because some duties involve professional knowledge, if you only understand the truth without grasping any professional knowledge, it will also affect your work results. At the very least, you must grasp and understand some basic professional knowledge, so that you can be effective in following up on and guiding people’s work. If you are only proficient in a profession but do not understand the truth, there will likewise be deficiencies in your work, so you will also need to pursue the truth and cooperate with people who understand the truth in order to do your duty properly. Just because you have proficiency in professional skills or a certain field of knowledge, it doesn’t mean that you are able to do things according to the principles, so it is essential to seek fellowship with people who understand the truth—this is a principle you should abide by. Whatever you do, you must not pretend. You are in the training and cultivation period, and you have a corrupt disposition, and you do not understand the truth at all. Tell Me, does God know about these things? (Yes.) So wouldn’t you look foolish if you pretended? Do you want to be foolish people? (No, we don’t.) If you don’t want to be foolish people, what kind of people should you be? Be people with reason, people who can humbly seek the truth and can accept the truth. Don’t pretend, don’t be hypocritical Pharisees. What you know is just some professional knowledge, it is not the truth principles. You must find a way to appropriately leverage your professional strengths and put your acquired knowledge and learning to use on the basis of understanding the truth principles. Is this not a principle? Is this not a path of practice? Once you learn to do this, you will have a path to follow and you will be able to enter into the truth reality. Whatever you do, don’t be stubborn, and don’t pretend. Being stubborn and pretending is not a rational way of doing things. Rather, it is the most foolish way of doing things. People who live by their corrupt dispositions are the most foolish people. Only those who seek the truth and handle matters according to the truth principles are the smartest people.

Through this fellowship, do you now have the correct understanding and view regarding the promotion and cultivation of all kinds of talented people by God’s house? (Yes.) Now that you have the correct view on this, can you take the correct approach toward these people? You must take the correct approach toward their strengths, as well as toward the shortcomings and deficiencies they have in terms of their humanity, work, profession, and various other aspects—all these things must be approached correctly. Furthermore, regardless of whether you are promoted and cultivated into leaders or workers, or whether you are talented individuals in various professions, you are all ordinary, you have all been corrupted by Satan, and none of you understand the truth. So, none of you should disguise or conceal yourselves; instead you should learn to open yourselves up in fellowship. If you don’t understand, then admit that you don’t understand. If you don’t know how to do something, then admit that you don’t know how to do it. No matter what problems or difficulties arise, everyone should fellowship and seek the truth together to find a solution. Before the truth every person is like an infant, every person is impoverished and pitiful and utterly lacking. What people need to do is be submissive before the truth, have a humble and yearning heart and seek and accept the truth, and then practice the truth and achieve submission to God. By doing this people can enter the reality of the truth of God’s words while performing their duties and in their real lives. Everyone is equal before the truth. Those who are promoted and cultivated are not very much better than others. Everyone has experienced God’s work for around the same time. Those who have not been promoted or cultivated should also pursue the truth while doing their duties. No one may deprive others of the right to pursue the truth. Some people are more eager in their pursuit of the truth and have some caliber, so they are promoted and cultivated. This is due to the needs of the work of God’s house. So why does God’s house have such principles for promoting and using people? Because there are differences in people’s caliber and character, and each person chooses a different path, this leads to different outcomes in people’s faith in God. Those who pursue the truth are saved and become people of the kingdom, while those who do not accept the truth at all, who are not loyal in doing their duty, are eliminated. God’s house cultivates and uses people based on whether they pursue the truth, and on whether they are loyal in doing their duty. Is there a distinction in the hierarchy of various people in God’s house? For the time being, there is no hierarchy in terms of various people’s positions, worth, status, or standing. At least during the period when God works to save and guide people, there is no difference between various people’s ranks, positions, worth, or status. The only things that are different are in the division of work and in the duty roles performed. Of course, during this period, some people, on exception, are promoted and cultivated to do some special jobs, while some people do not receive such opportunities due to various reasons such as problems with their caliber or family environment. But does God not save those who have not received such opportunities? This is not the case. Is their worth and position lower than others’? No. Everyone is equal before the truth, everyone has the opportunity to pursue and gain the truth, and God treats everyone fairly and reasonably. At what point are there noticeable distinctions in people’s positions, worth, and status? It is when people come to the end of their path, and God’s work is over, and a conclusion is finally formed on the attitudes and views that each person displayed in the process of pursuing salvation and while doing their duty, as well as on their various manifestations and attitudes toward God—that is, when there is a complete record in God’s notebook—at that time, because people’s outcomes and destinations will be different, there will also be distinctions in their worth, positions, and status. Only then can all these things be glimpsed and approximately ascertained, whereas now everyone is the same. Have you understood? Are you looking forward to that day? Are you looking forward to it and fearing it at the same time? What you look forward to is that on that day there will finally be a result, and you will have finally reached that day despite all the difficulty; and what you fear is that you won’t have walked the path properly, and that you will have fallen along the way and failed, and that the final outcome will be unsatisfactory, worse than you imagine and expect—how sad, how painful and how disappointing that would be! Don’t think so far ahead, it’s impractical to think so far ahead. First look at what is before your eyes, properly walk the path under your feet, do the work in hand well, and fulfill the duties and responsibilities that God has entrusted to you. This is what is most critical and most important. Understand the truth and the principles for doing your duty that ought to be understood right now, and fellowship on them until they are crystal-clear—so that you have them worked out in your mind, and you know clearly and accurately what the principles are in everything you do—and ensure that you do not violate the principles, or deviate from them, or cause disruptions or disturbances, or do anything that harms the interests of God’s house—all of this is what you should enter into right now. There is no need for us to talk about anything further ahead, and neither is there any need for you to ask or think about it. It is useless to think so far ahead—that is not what you should be thinking about. Some may ask: “Why shouldn’t we think about it? The state of disaster has gotten so great now, isn’t it time we thought about such things?” Is it time? Does the fact that the disaster is great influence your entry into the truth? (No, it doesn’t.) The state of disaster has gotten so great, yet when do I ever hold gatherings or preach sermons specifically with regard to disaster? I never focus on the matter of disaster, I always just talk about the truth, so that you can understand the truth and understand God’s intentions, and so that you understand how to do your duty well and how to enter into the truth reality. Nowadays, some people don’t even understand what the truth reality is and what doctrines are. They just spout the same few words and doctrines and empty talk every day and yet they feel that they have entered into the truth reality. I am worried for them, but they don’t worry about themselves. They still think about those distant things in the future—thinking about those things isn’t practical.

The aim of promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people is not to turn them into active people, nor to plan for them to become some kind of mainstay in future, but to give some people who, relatively speaking, pursue the truth more and who meet the criteria for promotion and cultivation the opportunity to train in suitable environments and under more favorable conditions. The most important thing is that they are able to understand God’s words, understand the truth and enter into the truth reality. Isn’t this what people should achieve by believing in God? Isn’t this what people should gain by believing in God? In order to enter into the truth reality, what is the main thing you should pursue right now? Do you have any plans or steps for doing it? I’ll tell you a trick that is simple, easy and quick. In simple terms, entering into the truth reality is actually practicing the truth. In order to practice the truth, it is necessary to first deal with one’s corrupt dispositions. What is the quickest starting point for resolving one’s corrupt dispositions? For you, the simplest, quickest and most trouble-free way is to first resolve the problem of being perfunctory in doing your duty, resolving your corrupt dispositions step by step. How long might it take for you to resolve it? Do you have a plan? Most people don’t have a plan, they just keep working it out in their minds, without knowing when to officially make a start on it. Although they know that they are perfunctory, they just don’t set about resolving it and don’t have any specific solution. Being lazy in doing one’s duty, and not meticulous, and irresponsible, and not taking it seriously—these are all manifestations of being perfunctory. The first step is to resolve the problem of being perfunctory. The second step is to resolve the problem of acting according to one’s own will. As for other things such as occasionally speaking dishonestly, or revealing deceitful or arrogant dispositions, do not concern yourselves with those things for now. Is it not more practical and effective to first deal with being perfunctory and acting according to one’s own will? Are these two issues not the easiest ones to spot? Are they not easy to resolve? (Yes.) Are you aware when you are being perfunctory? Do you realize when you are thinking about being lazy? Do you realize when you are thinking about playing tricks or being conniving and serving yourself through trickery? (Yes.) If you do realize, then it’s easy to resolve. Start by resolving the problems that you can easily detect and that you inwardly are aware of. Being perfunctory in one’s duty is a very obvious and common problem, but it is also a stubborn one that is really hard to resolve. When doing a duty, one must learn to be conscientious, rigorous, meticulous, and responsible, and to do it in a firmly grounded manner, that is, by planting one foot ahead of the other. One must exert all their strength to do that duty well, until they are satisfied with how they have performed it. If one does not understand the truth, they should seek the principles, and act according to them and to God’s requirements; they should willingly exert more effort to do their duty well, and never do it in a perfunctory manner. Only by practicing this way can one feel peace in their heart, without their conscience reproaching them. Is perfunctoriness easy to resolve? So long as you have conscience and reason, you can resolve it. First, you must pray to God: “God, I am beginning my duty. If I am perfunctory, I ask that You discipline me and rebuke me in my heart. I ask also that You lead me to do my duty well and to not be perfunctory.” Practice in this way each day and see how long it takes for the problem of your perfunctoriness to be resolved, for your perfunctory states to diminish, for the adulterations in your duty to grow fewer, and for your real results to improve and for your efficiency to increase in your performance of your duty. Performing your duty without being perfunctory—is this something you can achieve by relying on yourself? When you are being perfunctory, can you control it? (It isn’t easy.) That’s tricky, then. If it’s truly hard for you to control this, then you have a big problem on your hands! Which things, then, are you able to do without being perfunctory? Some people are very particular about what they eat; if a meal is not to their liking, they will not be in a good mood for the whole day. Some women love dressing up and doing their makeup; not a single strand of hair escapes their notice. Some people are good at doing business; they calculate carefully over every single cent. If you act with this kind of conscientious attitude, you can avoid being perfunctory. First, resolve the problem of being perfunctory, then resolve the problem of acting according to your own will. Acting according to one’s own will is a common problem, and it is another one that people can easily detect in themselves. With a bit of self-reflection, one can recognize that they act according to their own will, which is not in accordance with the truth principles. Problems that people can recognize are easy to resolve. Set yourselves first to resolving these two issues, one being the problem of perfunctoriness and the other of acting according to your own will. Strive, within a year or two to achieve results, to not be perfunctory, or act according to your own will or with the adulterations of your will in anything you do. Once these two problems are resolved, you will not be far from performing your duty in an up-to-standard manner. And if you cannot even resolve them, then you are still far from submitting to God or being considerate of His intentions—you have absolutely not scratched the surface of this.

We just fellowshipped on the criteria and aims of promoting and cultivating various kinds of qualified talents, as well as on the understanding and view that one should have with regard to the promotion and cultivation of various kinds of talented people by God’s house. Yet another aspect is the attitude and approach that one should have toward the various kinds of talented people who are promoted and cultivated. These are some issues that should be fellowshipped in item six. So, next, specifically with regard to item six, let us expose and dissect how false leaders carry out the work of promoting and cultivating various kinds of talented people. This is the main content we will be fellowshipping on.

The Attitudes and Manifestations of False Leaders With Regard to Promoting and Cultivating All Kinds of Talented People

False leaders do not understand the truth and do not seek the truth. Therefore, when it comes to the important work of promoting and cultivating all kinds of qualified talents in God’s house, they also make a hash of it, completely mess it up, and simply fail to meet the requirements of God’s house. Because they don’t understand the criteria, let alone God’s intentions, as regards the promotion and cultivation of various kinds of qualified talents, and neither do they understand the significance of promoting and cultivating various kinds of qualified talents, it is very difficult for them to do this work in an up-to-standard and principled way. The various kinds of “talented” people that false leaders cultivate in the course of doing their work are a decidedly mixed bag. Instead of promoting and cultivating qualified talents, false leaders promote people who should in no way be promoted and cultivated to serve as leaders or workers, and allow these people to live off the church and squander God’s offerings. False leaders all do things like this, causing some people who pursue the truth and have a sense of justice to be trodden underfoot and not promoted and used. Instead, those who are good-for-nothings become so-called talented people in the eyes of these false leaders, and are promoted by them and cultivated. So what are the manifestations of false leaders when doing this work? Let’s assume, for example, that due to the needs of its work, God’s house must find some people to handle external affairs. So, which people should it look for? I just listed several criteria, namely having work capability, being able to do one’s duties according to the principles required by God’s house, and being able to defend the interests of God’s house. Does a false leader know these principles? Obviously they don’t, so how do they find people to handle external affairs? They think to themselves: “Who can handle external affairs? There is one sister who is sharp-witted and has quick reactions, is a good talker and knows how to handle people. Her eyes dart around calculatingly when she speaks, and the average person can’t figure her out. She would be somewhat unsuitable as a church leader, but she’d be brilliant at handling external affairs, so I’ll pick her. It’s just that with her level of education being a bit low, I worry that nonbelievers will look down on her, so I’ll find a university graduate—who was president of her student union—to partner with her. This person is fairly clever but has relatively little experience in society and has seen comparatively little of the world, so she can learn from her partner. Of these two people, one has a low level of education and the other is highly educated, one has experience in society and the other has none—they make a suitable pairing, don’t they?” One is eloquent and articulate, sharp-witted, and very much a social hotshot; whenever she interacts with nonbelievers, they can’t tell that she is a believer. The other is highly educated and has social status; whenever she interacts with nonbelievers, they don’t look down on her. What do you think about the principles by which this false leader selects these two people? The false leader believes that as long as someone has the gift of the gab, a sharp wit, and quick reflexes, they can handle general affairs for God’s house. Is this a suitable way to select people? (No.) How isn’t it suitable? (Such people are often quite shrewd; although they can engage in philosophies for worldly dealings with others, and know how to handle people, they may not necessarily be able to defend the interests of God’s house.) That’s right. The most important thing is that no matter what affairs a person handles for God’s house, at the very least they must be upright and able to defend the interests of God’s house. Does being silver-tongued and able to talk the dead back to life mean that they can defend the interests of God’s house? Does being quick-witted, eloquent, and articulate mean that they can defend the interests of God’s house? (No, it doesn’t.) Even if they swear an oath, it’s useless, and it’s just as pointless if you place demands on them—they must have that character. But the false leader doesn’t investigate these things, they just look at who has experience in society, who is shrewd, quick-witted, eloquent and articulate, who knows how to act to suit the occasion, and who is like a chameleon, and a social hotshot. They think that such people can handle general affairs in God’s house. Is this not a mistake? This is a mistake in terms of the principles and standards for selecting people. The fact is that this kind of person is silver-tongued in the extreme: No matter who they are dealing with, everything they say is a lie, and they can’t change no matter how many oaths they swear. When doing things, they only defend their own interests, and particularly when faced with danger, they protect themselves first and foremost, and never once consider the interests of God’s house. As long as they have a good relationship with nonbelievers, that’s enough for them; as for whether the interests of God’s house are harmed or not, they couldn’t care less. Neither is the safety of the brothers and sisters something that they take into consideration, nor do they care whether God’s name is dishonored; they just look after their own back. The false leader can’t see through this kind of person and thinks that such people are the most suitable for handling the external affairs for God’s house. Isn’t this foolish? That person sells out the interests of God’s house but the false leader doesn’t even know that and yet assigns them important tasks, and depends on them for everything. Isn’t this the height of foolishness? Are people who are eloquent, articulate, and quick-witted people with upright intentions? If you haven’t had dealings with them or observed them carefully, you won’t know. When you have dealings and handle affairs with them, just watch whether what they say is consistent with what they do. This can be tested out through one event. Let’s say, for example, you are moving things. When they see this, they will not help you. Only when you finish the work will they come over and say, “How can you do such a tiring job by yourself? I would’ve helped you if you had just asked, no matter how busy I was. You look worn out. I’ll cook for you later, you don’t have to do it today.” After saying that, they disappear. You are totally worn out and yet you still have to cook. Then once you’ve finished cooking, they come over to eat and even say, “Why didn’t you call me when you were about to start cooking? You’re completely worn out and yet you’re still cooking a meal for me—how is that right? Since you’ve already made it now, I’ll just eat it. I’ll cook the next meal, and give me a shout whenever you have any work that needs doing in future.” This one event is all it takes to see right through them. They are very smooth-tongued, quick-witted, and know what to say. They know how to act to suit the occasion, and all they ever do is say nice-sounding things, without ever doing any real work. Are such people reliable? If you ask them to handle general affairs of God’s house, can they defend its interests? Can they uphold the reputation of the church and protect the safety of the brothers and sisters? (No.) Is the property of God’s house and all its interests their number-one priority? Far from it. The eyes and minds of false leaders are blind to such easily detectable problems, they just can’t see them. Instead, they can only speak words and doctrines. Who is loved by God and who isn’t loved by God, who loves the truth and who doesn’t love the truth, what it means to possess a foundation in one’s faith in God and what kind of people have no foundation, what kind of people are loyal in doing their duty and what kind of people aren’t loyal in doing their duty—they speak about these things in a reasonable and logical way, and they seem to really understand them, but it’s all empty talk and doctrines. Whenever they are asked to discern people, their eyes and minds are blind; they just don’t know how to read into people. No matter how long they interact with this kind of people, they still can’t see through them, and even assign them important tasks.

It is already an abominable thing for false leaders to use the wrong people, yet they also add to this misdeed by doing even more abominable things. Say, for example, that a false leader used the wrong person. This person isn’t at all suited to being a supervisor and doesn’t meet the criteria of God’s house for being promoted and cultivated. Yet the false leader still insisted on using them and never inspects this person’s work, believing, “One should neither doubt those they use nor use those they doubt. Since I’ve chosen you and promoted you, you will be able to do this work well, so just go ahead and do the work however you see fit. I’ll support you whatever you do, and there’s no point in anyone objecting to this!” They used the wrong person, and yet they let their mistake persist right to the end—that is how much they believe in themselves. False leaders are all blind. They cannot see any problems, they cannot tell which people are evil people or disbelievers, and no matter who disrupts and disturbs the church’s work, they don’t have any awareness of it, and they even assign important tasks to muddleheaded people. False leaders place great trust in whomever they promote, and blithely entrust important work to them. As a result, those people mess up the church’s work, seriously affecting the spread of the gospel and harming the interests of God’s house. False leaders even pretend that they don’t know anything about this. The Above asks them, “How is the person you promoted doing in their work? Are they suited to performing this work? Are they defending the church’s work and the interests of God’s house? At critical moments, will they protect themselves, or will they defend the church’s work?” These false leaders reply: “They swore an oath to defend the church’s work. Besides, they have believed in God for 20 years. How could they protect themselves and sell out the interests of God’s house? They will probably defend the interests of God’s house.” The Above replies: “Is what you say accurate? Have you inspected their work?” These false leaders reply, “I haven’t inspected their work, but I told them not to defend their own interests, and that they must defend the church’s work, and they promised me they would.” What was the use of that person making them a promise? That person can’t even fulfill the oath they swore before God. Do they think that just because that person made them a promise, they’re a safe bet? Can they definitely do what they promised? Since these false leaders haven’t inspected that person’s work, how do they know if they are someone who defends the interests of God’s house? How come they believe in themselves so much? Are such false leaders not scoundrels? In using the wrong person, they have already made a great mistake, and then they compound their error by never inquiring about, looking into, or inspecting this person’s work, and by not supervising or observing it. All they do is just keep tolerating this person acting recklessly and committing misdeeds. This is how false leaders work. Whenever an item of work is short of people, false leaders blithely arrange for someone to be responsible for it and that’s the end of it; they never inspect the work, or actually go on-site to interact with that person, observe them, and try to find out more about them. In some places the environment is not conducive to meeting and spending time with them, but those leaders must ask about that person’s work, and make indirect inquiries about what they’ve been doing, and how they’ve been doing it—they can ask the brothers and sisters, or someone who is close to them. Isn’t this achievable? But false leaders don’t even bother to ask any questions, that’s how confident they are. In their work, they just hold gatherings and preach doctrines, and when the gatherings are over and the work has been arranged, they do nothing else; they do not go on to follow up on or find out whether the person they selected is able to do real work. At the start, they didn’t understand that person, but based on their caliber and their surface-level manifestations and enthusiasm, they felt they were suitable for this work and so they used them. There is nothing wrong with this, because no one knows how people will turn out. But after promoting them, shouldn’t those leaders follow up and look into whether they do real work, how they work, and whether they have been perfunctory, slippery, or slacking off? This is exactly the work they should be doing, but they don’t do any of it, they don’t take any responsibility. They are false leaders, and they should be dismissed and eliminated.

False leaders make a serious mistake, which is that after they promote people, they explain the work to them, then spout a bit of doctrine, offer a few words of encouragement and leave it at that, without ever following up or getting involved in specific tasks. If they say that they have poor caliber and lack insight into people, then they could follow up and find out how the specific tasks are going, and they could fully get a handle on the situation. However, false leaders do not follow up and find out how the work is going at all. Take printing books, for instance, which is a specific piece of work. A false leader assigned someone to be in charge of this work, but didn’t check up on them even once in half a year. As a result, after six months, all the printed books turned out to be defective—what an utter shambles! This is how false leaders are—they don’t do any specific work at all. What should you do if you are arranging to have a book printed? You must first allocate a suitable supervisor, and then supervise and check up on how well they are doing the job, and whether they might make a mess of it. You must supervise and follow up on the work, and directly resolve problems if you discover any—only this can ensure that no issues arise. But false leaders don’t do this. They think that their responsibilities are just to spout doctrines at people, and get them to understand doctrines, and that as long as people understand doctrines, problems can be resolved. Therefore, they only pay attention to spouting doctrines and shouting slogans, and don’t get involved in specific tasks. As far as false leaders are concerned, they think that it isn’t their business to get involved in specific tasks, and that this should be the concern of the people beneath them. So, what do they themselves do? They command the overall situation from on high and become an ineffective official. No matter what the work is, they aren’t present or involved in it. After telling people the principles, if they’re asked about detailed issues or specific paths, they will say, “The specific work is up to you, I don’t understand this stuff.” Therefore, they don’t know how those beneath them go about doing the work. As for whether the supervisor is competent and up to the job, or what their humanity is like, or whether they are a person who pursues the truth, or whether they are responsible in doing their duty, or whether they are perfunctory or run amok doing bad things, or whether there are delays to the work, and so on—false leaders don’t know about any of this, they just saunter around like nonbelieving, pen-pushing officials, not doing any actual work. In the churches where they work, false leaders don’t know it when some supervisors have brought the work to a standstill, or when some supervisors are establishing their own independent kingdoms, or when some supervisors don’t attend to their proper duties and instead spend their days eating, drinking and having fun, and they’ll even turn a blind eye to it when some supervisors have caliber that is exceedingly poor, distorted comprehension, and can’t do the work at all. Such false leaders are just empty shells, they are leaders in name only, and they don’t do any of the substantive work of a leader. On the surface, these false leaders seem quite well-behaved. They assign supervisors for each item of work, convene these people for a gathering every once in a while, and spend the rest of their time in one place engaging in spiritual devotions, praying, reading God’s words, listening to sermons, learning hymns, and writing their own sermons. There are some false leaders who don’t even leave their rooms all week. There are also false leaders who do nothing but hold online gatherings, without ever going to the places of work to understand the situation. The brothers and sisters don’t see them in person for long periods, and have no idea about what the false leaders’ life experiences or stature are like. During gatherings, false leaders only handle some general affairs, but as for specifically what each supervisor is doing, and whether the people they promoted and cultivated are suitable for the given work, or what the attitude of these people is in doing their duty, or whether they are attentive and thorough in their work, or if they are negative and perfunctory, or whether these people are following the right path, or whether they are right people, false leaders don’t care or ask about any of these matters, and don’t want to know about them either. Isn’t the nature of this problem serious? (Yes.)

God’s house needs some talented people who understand certain professional fields and who possess certain skills, and it will cultivate these people to study those professions so that they can do a duty in God’s house. What kind of people do you think false leaders find? They gather together all the young people who have been to university and followed their parents into believing in God, and they look at who is articulate and who likes to be the center of attention, and say to them, “God’s house wants to cultivate you; you are the reserve army and the new forces.” Then, they assign these people to do a duty. In actual fact, these people have never performed a duty, they lack various sorts of experience, and they don’t understand the truth whatsoever. But false leaders favor them and like them, so they start cultivating them. They assign these people to do duties based on what their expertise makes them suited to learning; some are assigned to do text-based work, some are assigned to film production, some are assigned to make videos, and some are assigned to be actors. To false leaders, as long as these people have a duty to do, that’s enough. False leaders don’t investigate whether these people love the truth or whether they can accept the truth, nor do they look into what these people are pursuing or what their goals are. In the end, what happens? Some of those people are eliminated. This is because they are dissolute and unrestrained, and they pursue worldly trends, and spend their days dressing themselves up and hooking up with others, and they don’t understand any rules or have any manners at all—it is obvious that they are disbelievers and nonbelievers. They do not attend to their proper work while performing their duties, and they do everything in a perfunctory manner, but false leaders cannot see this at all. Aren’t false leaders blind of eye? (Yes.) What causes this blindness of eye? Isn’t it due to false leaders being blind of mind? Blindness of eye and blindness of mind are two characteristics of false leaders. Though their eyes are wide open, false leaders cannot understand anything or see through anyone—that is, their eyes are blind. In their minds, they have no discernment or views on anyone or anything, and no matter what they see, they have no ability to distinguish right from wrong, and they have no attitudes, no opinions, and no definitions—this is a serious case of being blind of mind. False leaders are all people who have believed in God for many years and often listen to sermons, so why is it that they cannot identify those disbelievers? This is further proof that false leaders are of very poor caliber, that they are incapable of comprehending the truth, and that no matter how many truths they hear, it is to no avail, and they do not understand them. They are blind of eye and mind, and they are completely incapable of discerning people. How could they be fit to be leaders or workers in the church? They believe that good talkers are talented people, and that people who can sing and dance are also talented individuals; when they see people who wear glasses or people who have been to university, they think them to be talented individuals, and when they see people of status in society, people who are rich, people who know how to do business and engage in deceptive practices, and people who do some sort of important work in society, false leaders think that they are talented individuals. They believe that God’s house should cultivate these kinds of people. They do not look at the character of these people or whether their belief in God has a foundation, and less still do they look at the attitude with which these people treat God and the truth. They look only at people’s social status and background. Is it not absurd for false leaders to view people and things in this way? False leaders view people and things in the same way as nonbelievers—theirs is the view that the nonbelievers have of things. This suffices to prove that false leaders are not people who love and understand the truth, and that they lack any discernment. Are they not extremely shallow? They are truly blind—very much so!

In the past, I met a false leader who would talk and laugh when I conversed with him, but as soon as I asked him about work, he stared into space in a numb and dull-witted manner, and was unresponsive to anything I said to him. This person’s caliber is too poor for him to be used. It’s no wonder he didn’t understand anything that I told him and couldn’t carry it out. Whatever I talked to him about, he kept saying, “I held a gathering and I checked up on the work a few days ago.” I said, “Don’t you have any other jobs besides holding gatherings? There is so much work to be done in the church, why don’t you find something else to do?” He said: “Isn’t being a leader or worker just about holding gatherings? There’s nothing else to do except hold gatherings, I don’t know how to do anything else!” This shows that he was destined to be a false leader when he took on that post, and that he cannot do any real work, because his caliber is exceedingly poor! Exceedingly poor caliber leads to blindness of eye and blindness of mind. What does blindness of eye mean? It means that no matter what a person sees, they are unable to spot specific problems, and so their eyes serve no purpose. What does blindness of mind mean? It means that no matter what happens, a person is not aware of and fails to understand the problem therein, and they cannot see where the essence of the problem lies—this is what it means to be blind of mind. If a person is blind of mind, then they are utterly finished. False leaders are blind of eye and mind in this way. Would you say that false leaders feel upset when they hear these words? They think, “My eyes are pretty big, but He says I am blind of eye; and I have good intentions in mind, yet He says I am blind of mind—His definition is not particularly accurate, surely? Why not just call me a false leader? Why add that I’m also blind of eye and mind?” If I didn’t phrase it like that, judging by the caliber of the false leaders, could they realize that they are poor of caliber? (No, they couldn’t.) Doesn’t saying that these false leaders are blind of eye and mind explain the matter perfectly? For example, let’s say that an antichrist is establishing their own independent kingdom in the church. But a false leader says, “This person is very capable. They used to be a university professor, and they speak clearly, methodically, and in a well-ordered and articulate manner. What’s more, they don’t get stage fright, no matter how big the audience.” It’s clear as day that the person they speak of is a Pharisee who is establishing their own independent kingdom, and yet the false leader still praises them. Is that not blindness of eye? (Yes.) If someone is singing out of tune and you don’t hear it, can that be considered blindness of eye? (No.) That is a professional issue, rather than an issue of caliber. But after they have listened to so many truths, false leaders can’t even discern antichrists for what they are, and they can’t tell whether a person’s humanity is good or bad, or whether someone is a candidate for promotion and cultivation by God’s house, or whether someone is a disbeliever or whether that person sincerely believes in God, and they can’t tell whether someone is loyal in doing their duty—what, then, have they gained from listening to sermons for all these years? They have not gained any truths, which means that they are blind fools; this is how blind false leaders are. They believe that the primary job of a leader is to be able to preach sermons, and to preach for two or three hours, and that as long as they can speak words and doctrines, shout slogans, and rouse people, they are an up-to-standard leader, they are able to shoulder the work, they have the truth reality, and God is satisfied with them. What kind of logic is this? Because false leaders do not understand the truth and are too poor of caliber, and blind of eye and mind, they possess absolutely no ability to discern various types of people, and cannot see through various types of people. So, are they able to use various kinds of people in a reasonable way? (No.) They just have one strategy: Those who used to be teachers are assigned to preach sermons, those who have been involved in foreign trade are assigned to handle general affairs, those who can speak English are assigned to be translators, and whoever is articulate and has a thick skin is assigned to preach the gospel; those who are timid are assigned to write experiential testimony articles at home, those who are daring and love to perform are appointed as actors, and those who want to become officials are appointed as leaders or directors. This is how false leaders use people, without any principles whatsoever.

Within the scope of the work that false leaders are responsible for, oftentimes there are some people who truly pursue the truth and meet the criteria for promotion and cultivation that get held back. Some of these people preach the gospel, and some are assigned to do hosting duties. The fact is that they all have caliber, and understand some truths, and are worthy of being cultivated as leaders and workers, it’s just that they don’t like to flaunt themselves or be the center of attention. And yet, false leaders don’t take any notice whatsoever of these people. They don’t engage with them or inquire about them, and they never cultivate talented people for God’s house. They only ever focus on ensnaring those who fawn over them, in order to satisfy their own selfish desires. As a result, those people who truly pursue the truth don’t get to be promoted and cultivated, whereas those who like to be the center of attention, who are articulate, who know how to butter people up, and who are fond of fame, gain, and status—they all get promoted, and even those who have been officials, company CEOs, or who have studied corporate management out in society are assigned to important positions. Regardless of whether those people are true believers or not, or whether they are people who pursue the truth or not, in any case, those are the people who get promoted and used within the scope of the work that false leaders are responsible for. Is this using people in accordance with the principles? Isn’t false leaders only promoting such people exactly what the society of nonbelievers is like? During the period that false leaders are working, those who can actually get stuff done when doing their duty, who have a sense of justice, and who love the truth and positive things—they don’t get to be promoted or cultivated, and it’s hard for them to get opportunities to train. Instead, it is those who are articulate, who love to flaunt themselves and who know how to butter people up, as well as those who are fond of fame, gain, and status, who get assigned to the important positions. Those people seem to be fairly smart, but in fact they have no comprehension ability, very bad caliber and poor humanity, they bear no real burden toward their duties, and they are not worthy of being cultivated at all. However, it is they who occupy the positions of leaders and workers in the church. The result is that much of the church’s work isn’t able to launch smoothly in a prompt manner, or makes slow progress, and the work arrangements of God’s house take too long to be implemented. These are the impacts and consequences caused to the church’s work by false leaders using people improperly.

Most false leaders are of poor caliber. Though they seem articulate, they have no ability at all to comprehend the truth, to such an extent that they do not have spiritual understanding. They are blind of eye and mind, they cannot see through any matter and do not understand the truth at all, which itself is a fatal problem. They have another, more serious problem still, which is that when they have understood and mastered a few words and doctrines and can shout out a few slogans, they think they have the truth reality. So whatever work they do and whomever they choose to put to use, they do not seek the truth principles, and they do not fellowship with others, and less still do they adhere to the work arrangements and the principles of God’s house. They are so confident, they always believe that their ideas are right and do whatever they wish. As a result, when they encounter some difficulty or exceptional circumstance, they are at a loss. Moreover, they often mistakenly believe that, as they’ve been working for many years in God’s house and have sufficient experience serving as a leader there, they know how to get the work of the church to operate and develop. They seem to have understood these things, but really, they absolutely do not know how to do any work. They do the work of the church in whatever way they please, following their own notions and imaginings, their experience and routines, and their regulations. This makes a mess and chaos of the various items of church work, and prevents them from producing any real results. If there are a couple of people in a team who understand the truth and can do a bit of real work, they can maintain normalcy in that team’s work. This, however, has nothing at all to do with their false leader. The reason the work could be done well is that there are a few good people in the team who can do a bit of real work and keep the work on course; it does not mean that their false leader has done real work. No piece of work can be done without there being a few good people like this in charge. False leaders are simply unable to do their job, and they serve no function whatsoever. Why would false leaders make a mess of the church’s work? The first reason is that false leaders do not understand the truth, they cannot fellowship about the truth to resolve problems, and they do not seek how to resolve problems, resulting in problems piling up and bringing the church’s work to a standstill. The second is that false leaders are blind, and they are unable to identify talented individuals. They cannot appoint team supervisors appropriately, which results in some work not having anyone suitable in charge, making it come to a standstill. The third is that false leaders act too much like officials. They do not supervise or guide the work, and where there is a weak link in the work, they do not proactively participate or provide guidance in the specifics of the work. Say, for instance, that in a certain item of work, several people performing the work are new believers without much of a foundation, they do not understand the truth, are not very familiar with the field of work, and have not quite grasped the principles of the work. A false leader, being blind, cannot see these problems. They believe that it is fine as long as someone is doing the work; it does not matter whether it is done well or badly. They do not know that wherever there is a weak link in the church’s work, they should be following up on it, doing inspections, and providing guidance, that they should personally participate in resolving problems and support those doing their duties until they understand the truth, can act according to the principles, and enter onto the right track. Only at this point do they not need to worry so much. False leaders do not work in this way. When they see someone is there to do the work, they pay it no more mind. They make no inquiries, no matter how the work is going. Where there is a weak link in the work, or a supervisor who has low caliber, they do not personally provide guidance on the work, and they do not participate in the work themselves. And when a supervisor is able to shoulder the job, even less do false leaders personally check up on things or provide guidance; they just take it easy, and even if someone reports an issue, they do not ask about it—they think there is no need. False leaders do not do any of this specific work. In summary, false leaders are degenerates that do not do a shred of real work. They believe that for any work, so long as someone is in charge and all hands are on deck to take on the work, things are over and done with. They think that all they have to do is hold a gathering every once in a while, and make inquiries if an issue arises. While working in this way, false leaders still believe they are doing a good job and are quite pleased with themselves. They think, “There are no problems with any of the items of work. The personnel are all completely arranged, and the supervisors are in place. I’m so good at this work, so talented!” Is this not shameless? They are so blind of eye and mind that they cannot see any tasks to be done and cannot discover any problems. In some places, the work has ground to a halt, yet there they are, contented, thinking, “The brothers and sisters are all young, they’re all new blood. They tackle their duties like human dynamos; they can definitely do the work well.” In actuality, these young people are novices, with no understanding of any professional skills. They must learn as they go. It is fair to say that they do not know how to do any work yet: Some may understand a little, but they are no experts, and they don’t grasp the principles, and when they have done a task, it requires repeated correction or even frequent redoing. There are also some young people who are untrained and have not experienced being pruned. They are exceedingly scummy and indolent, and greedy for comfort; they do not accept even a bit of the truth, and when they suffer a little, they grumble incessantly. Most of them are perfunctory, comfort-seeking degenerates. With these kinds of young people you absolutely must fellowship often with them on the truth, and even more so must you prune them. These young people must have someone taking charge of them and watching them. There must be a leader or worker there to take personal responsibility for their work and to provide personal supervision and guidance. Only then might their work bear a bit of fruit. If the leader or worker leaves the workplace and does not attend to the work or ask after it, these people will fragment into disarray, and their performance of their duty will bear no fruit at all. Yet false leaders have no insight into this. They see everyone as brothers and sisters, as people who are obedient and submissive, and so they have great confidence in them, and assign them jobs and then pay them no more mind—this is the best evidence of false leaders’ blindness of eye and mind. False leaders do not understand the truth at all, cannot see matters clearly, and are incapable of uncovering any problems, yet think they are doing just fine. What do they spend their days thinking about? They think about how to act like an official and enjoy the benefits of status. False leaders, just like thoughtless people, do not pay the least consideration to God’s intentions. They do no real work, yet they wait for God’s house to praise and promote them. Truly, they know no shame!

False leaders are completely useless at doing their jobs, and there is nothing commendable about them. They fail to grasp the principles in terms of the big picture, let alone the ones related to specific detailed work. For example, some people have strong professional abilities but exceedingly poor humanity, whereas others have no problems in terms of their humanity, but have poor caliber and poor professional abilities. When it comes to how these people should be used and allocated in a reasonable way, false leaders know even less about these more specific and detailed matters. So whenever false leaders are asked if they have found anyone of fairly good caliber who can be cultivated, they say they haven’t found anyone yet. False leaders are so blind—how could they find anyone? If you ask them what Sister So-and-so is like, they will say that she covets the comforts of the flesh; ask them what Brother So-and-so is like, and they will say that he is often negative; ask them what someone else is like, and they will tell you that person hasn’t believed in God for a long time and lacks a foundation. In their eyes, no one is up to scratch. They only look at other people’s faults, shortcomings, and transgressions; they aren’t able to look at whether a person conforms to the principles of God’s house for promotion and cultivation, or whether they are a good candidate for promotion and cultivation. They can’t tell who is genuinely suitable for promotion and cultivation, but they promote those who don’t meet the requirements and principles of God’s house with great enthusiasm and speed. They promote all the wealthy women, affluent men, and sons and daughters of rich families in the church, as well as those who have served as officials out in the world, those who are articulate, and those who know how to cheat and swindle—in any case, they promote whoever is well-known and distinguished out in the world and whoever loves being the center of attention. They believe that these people are the only talented ones, and they do not spot or promote a single person who truly possesses comprehension ability and can accept the truth. It would be harder for a false leader to provide a single, truly qualified talent for God’s house than it would be for them to put themselves on the moon. For example, say that God’s house currently needs talented individuals for text-based work—there is an individual of this sort in a church that a false leader is in charge of, but that false leader doesn’t put this person’s name forward. When the false leader is asked why they didn’t promote or cultivate that individual, they say: “That person engaged in fornication twice while at university, but they haven’t done it again since getting married. I didn’t know if they should be promoted or not.” What kind of statement is this? Can the false leader guarantee that the wealthy and powerful people they promote have never engaged in fornication? Don’t those people do it even more? How come they just don’t see that? False leaders are so falsely spiritual, making out that they know some principles, and finding excuses to justify not promoting those who should be promoted and cultivated. In their eyes, everyone is inferior to them. What happens in the end? Have the “elite” and “talented people” promoted by false leaders stood firm? We are not saying that these people are definitely not good people. What we are mainly exposing is that false leaders’ principle for how they treat people is to use human notions as their measure, rather than the truth, and that their principle for promoting and cultivating people is to go by their own notions, imaginings, and preferences, and entirely the viewpoint of nonbelievers, rather than using the required standards of God’s house as their measure. Why are false leaders able to do this? Because they don’t understand the truth or God’s intentions, they are able to promote those who simply don’t meet the requirements of God’s house, focus on cultivating them, and let them hold important jobs in God’s house. Such is the work that false leaders do. Take a look at the false leaders around you; is this not how they work and how they treat people?

There is a certain view that is often revealed in false leaders: They think that those with knowledge, those with status, and those who have served as officials in the outside world are all people of talent, and that such people should be cultivated and used by the house of God after they start believing in God. They really esteem and worship those people—they even treat them like their own kin and family members. When they introduce these people to others, they often speak about how in the outside world, they were the boss of some company, or the leader of some government department, or the editor of some newspaper, or some director in the department of public security, or they talk about how rich they are. False leaders think particularly highly of such people. What do you say, do false leaders have caliber? Is it not the case that they are falsely spiritual, and can’t see through to things? False leaders think that since these people were talented individuals in society, the house of God should cultivate them and give them an important role to play when they come here. Is this view correct? Is it in line with the truth principles? If these people have no love for the truth at all, and are devoid of conscience and reason, can they be cultivated and given an important role by the house of God? They are not qualified to be cultivated. The fact that they were talented individuals among the nonbelievers does not mean they are people of talent in the house of God, but these false leaders love being officials, and they particularly worship others who have been officials. Whenever they see people who have been officials or had status in the outside world, they bow and scrape and act very obsequious toward them, like slaves before their master; they desperately want to call them mother or father, or older sister or older brother, and they also wish to get these people promoted to be leaders or workers in the church. Tell Me, are these people who pursue the truth? Does them having a little status and enjoying some renown in the outside world mean they are fit to serve as a leader or worker in God’s house? If they do not understand the truth and are filled with arrogant and conceited dispositions, are they worthy of being a leader or worker in God’s house? Is it in line with the principles to promote people by only focusing on their status and renown, and ignoring their character? Do false leaders know what kind of people God likes, what kind of people He promotes and uses? Time and time again, the work arrangements of God’s house have stressed that people are to be promoted and cultivated according to three standards: Number one, they must possess humanity, conscience, and reason; number two, they must be someone who loves the truth and is able to accept the truth; and number three, they must have a certain degree of caliber and possess work capability. Only those who meet these three standards are able to be promoted and cultivated, and are qualified to be candidates and to be leaders or workers. Merely possessing caliber and talent won’t do at all. Character comes first, and secondly, it is essential to be able to accept the truth—these two are the most important standards. If evil people who have no love for the truth are promoted, the consequences will be disastrous, so those who lack humanity are absolutely not allowed to be promoted. But false leaders ignore the requirements of God’s house. When selecting and using people, they always focus on whether the person has status in society, what their background and position are, whether they have received a high level of education, and how elevated their reputation in society is—these are the aspects they focus on when promoting and cultivating people. Is this in keeping with the principles stipulated by God’s house? Is this in keeping with the truth of God’s words? Who are those people who have status in society? It can be said that they are all people who fight for power and status by any means, and that they belong to the category of Satans. If they wield power in God’s house, would God’s house still be the church of God? What is the aim of false leaders in promoting people who belong to the category of Satans to become leaders? Is acting thus in keeping with the principles of God’s house for cultivating and using people? Is it not blatantly disturbing and damaging the church’s work? The unprincipled promotion and cultivation of people by false leaders is what causes the greatest disruption and disturbance to the church’s work, and is a way of resisting God.

False leaders have exceedingly poor caliber and no ability to comprehend the truth. No matter how many sermons they listen to or how many of God’s words they read, they still do not comprehend purely, or understand the truth, and no matter how many years they have preached doctrines for, they do not understand what they are saying, it is all simply claptrap, and it is impossible to make head or tail of it! They can remember and preach a little bit of doctrine, so they think they have the truth reality, but nothing they do is related to the truth—these are archetypal Pharisees. Outwardly it appears that they often preach to people, and say nice-sounding things, as if they understood the truth, but what they do is antithetical to the truth and runs contrary to it. They also claim that they are serving God and doing the church’s work, whereas in fact everything they do is utterly hostile to God. False leaders never promote talented people who are useful to God’s house, and they ignore and turn a blind eye to relatively honest people who truly pursue the truth. Instead, they promote and cultivate those who engage in flattery, those who are slippery and deceitful, and those who have ambitions and desires to take on work in the church. The result of all this is that, once those people have been in the work for a certain period, various items of the church’s work grind to a halt and practically enter a state of paralysis, and thus the church’s work is ruined at the hands of these false leaders. Are they not detestable, the kind of people that these false leaders are? Should they be dismissed? They must be dismissed! Each day of delay impacts on the church’s work for a whole day. Some false leaders, even though they know that they are incapable of doing real work, are unwilling to resign voluntarily, and constantly covet the benefits of status, and would even go so far as to harm the church’s work. Do these people have even the slightest ounce of reason? False leaders have no comprehension ability, or any true talent and real knowledge, and are not people who pursue the truth, and they also covet the benefits of status—they are shameless people; so they absolutely must not be promoted and cultivated. If you think that your caliber is very poor, and that you have no ability to distinguish right from wrong, and that you have no ability to comprehend the truth, then whatever you do, do not indulge your ambitions and desires, and do not ponder how to strive toward becoming some official in the church—toward becoming a church leader—being a leader is not that easy. If you are not an honest person and have no love for the truth, then as soon as you become a leader, you will be either an antichrist or a false leader. Both antichrists and false leaders are people devoid of conscience and reason, and people who are capable of doing evil and disturbing the church’s work. While it is true to say that antichrists are devils and Satans, false leaders are not good people either; at the very least, they are brazenly shameless people devoid of conscience and reason. Is there anything glorious in being a false leader and getting dismissed? It is shameful, a stain, and there is absolutely nothing glorious about it. If you have a sense of burden toward church work, and wish to be involved in it, this is good; but you must reflect on whether you understand the truth, on whether you are able to fellowship the truth to resolve issues, on whether you are able to truly submit to the work of God, and on whether you are able to carry out church work properly according to work arrangements. If you meet these criteria, you may run to be a leader or a worker. What I mean by saying this is that at the very least, people must possess self-awareness. First look at if you are able to discern people, whether you can understand the truth and do things according to principle. If you meet these requirements, you are suitable to be a leader or a worker. If you are not capable of self-appraisal, you can ask the people around you who are familiar with you or close to you. If they all say that you are of insufficient caliber to be a leader, and that just doing your current job well is already good enough, then you should quickly come to know yourself. Since you are of poor caliber, don’t spend all your time wanting to be a leader—just do what you can, do your duty properly with both feet firmly on the ground, so that you can have peace of mind. This, too, is good. And if you are capable of being a leader, if you are truly possessed of such caliber and talent, if you possess work capability, and have a sense of burden, then you are precisely the kind of people of talent that the house of God lacks, and you are certain to be promoted and cultivated; but there is the time of God in all things. This wish—the wish to be promoted—is not ambition, but you must have the caliber, and meet the criteria, to be a leader. If you are of poor caliber yet still spend all your time wanting to be a leader, or to take on some important task, or to be responsible for overall work, or to do something that allows you to distinguish yourself, then I tell you: This is ambition. Ambition can bring disaster, so you should be wary of it. People all have a desire to make progress and are all willing to strive toward the truth, which is not a problem. Some people have caliber, meet the criteria for being leaders, and are able to strive toward the truth, and this is a good thing. Others are not possessed of caliber, so they should stick to their own duty, performing the duty that is right in front of them properly and doing it according to principle, and according to the requirements of God’s house; for them, that’s better, safer, more realistic.

Those who are elected to be leaders and workers or promoted and cultivated should not engage in wishful thinking, by feeling that, “The brothers and sisters chose me from among so many people, God’s house promoted me, so I do indeed have some talent, and I am better than ordinary people; true gold is destined to glitter eventually.” Is it good to think this way? Is it not the revelation of a corrupt disposition? (Yes.) Being promoted and cultivated is a good thing and a good opportunity, but whether or not you can walk this path well depends on how you approach this opportunity and whether you can value it. God has given you this chance, but that doesn’t mean you really are any better than anyone else; it may be that your caliber is a little better than others or that you have some gifts, but it is hard to say what your life entry is like and whether you have the truth reality—because everyone’s corrupt dispositions are the same, and you are also a member of the corrupted human race. If you can realize this, you will be able to correctly approach your promotion and cultivation by God’s house. You shouldn’t regard yourself as a talented person, nor should you think that you have the truth reality. It’s just that you have a bit of caliber and can also strive toward the truth, so you have been enabled to train yourself. This is a probationary period, and it is not yet certain whether you are truly someone who pursues the truth, or whether you are worthy of being cultivated. It’s hard to say whether you will be able to stand firm after being given a tryout during this period. It may be that you are retained to continue being cultivated, or it might be that you are eliminated—it all depends on how much effort you make. This is what promoting people to be leaders and workers is all about, and you should understand that. It’s pointless that you yourself think you are a talented person. If God’s house doesn’t promote you and cultivate you, then you are nothing. If you don’t pursue the truth and are unwilling to be used by God’s house, then you can’t accomplish anything. If you then say, “God’s house doesn’t use me, I’ll go out into society,” well then, go out into society and try it, see who promotes you, and see what you are able to accomplish. What I mean by saying this is to tell you that you must have the correct understanding and approach toward your promotion and cultivation by God’s house. Those who are of poor or mediocre caliber and who cannot meet the standard required for promotion and cultivation in God’s house need only to fulfill their duty compliantly and steadfastly. As long as they do their duty with all their hearts and minds, God will not treat them unfairly. Therefore, don’t fight over matters of promotion and cultivation, but don’t refuse them either, just let everything take its natural course; in one sense, you must obey the arrangements of God’s house, and in another sense, you must have a heart of submission to God—this is the right way. Is it simple to do this? (Yes, it is.) Is there any benefit in a person of poor caliber being a leader? In the end, when they are classified as a false leader and eliminated, how will they feel about this? Will it be what they had wanted? (No.) They will carry the title of “false leader” over their head, and wherever they go, people will say that this person was once a false leader. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It is not a good thing, and it is not something glorious. People must have the correct understanding and attitude toward promotion and cultivation; in these matters, they must seek the truth, and not follow their own will, or have ambitions and desires. If you feel that you are of good caliber but the house of God has never promoted you, nor has any plans to cultivate you, then don’t get frustrated or start complaining, just focus on pursuing the truth and striving forward. When you have some stature and are able to do real work, God’s chosen people will naturally select you to be leader. And if you feel that you are of poor caliber, and that you don’t stand any chance of being promoted or cultivated, and that it is impossible for your ambitions to be achieved, is this not something good? This will protect you! Since you are of poor caliber, if you encounter a group of blind muddlers who choose you to be their leader, are you not going to be walking over hot coals? You are incapable of doing any work and your eyes and mind are blind. Everything you do is a disruption; your every move is evildoing. You’d be better off doing the work of your current duty well; at least you won’t embarrass yourself, and it’s better than being a false leader and being the target of criticism behind the scenes. As a person, you must have the measure of yourself, you must have a little self-awareness; if you do, you will be able to avoid taking the wrong path and making serious mistakes.

Do you wish to be a false leader, or an ordinary follower? (An ordinary follower.) If the brothers and sisters elect you, give it a go; maybe their view of you is more accurate than your own feelings about yourself. If the brothers and sisters think you can do it, you should give it your all. If you really try your best but still fail in your work, and your heart burns with anxiety such that you can’t eat and you lose sleep over it, and you simply don’t know how to do it properly, then stop being a leader or worker—it’s too hard on you. If you carry on, you will likely become a false leader, so you should write a letter of resignation without delay, declaring: “Because I am of poor caliber and incapable of doing real work, if I continue to be a leader, before too long I will definitely end up becoming a false leader, so I request to resign, and willingly relinquish the position.” This is the wisest course of action, and the most suitable thing to do! It is rational, and better than occupying the position and being a false leader. If you know full well that you are of poor caliber and incapable of being a leader but cannot bear to give up status, and say to yourself, “Why can’t I do this? Who can give me some help? How great it would be if I were to maintain my status as leader with someone else devising all the plans and strategies for me! Right now there is no one suitable to take my place, so I can only continue being a leader and basking in the enjoyment of it each day that I am in the job; even if I can’t do the work, I’m still the leader, and being a leader is better than being an ordinary brother or sister. If God’s house does not dismiss me and I am not removed by the brothers and sisters, then I won’t resign.” Is this appropriate? (No.) Why isn’t it appropriate? (It’s unreasonable; if I am incapable of doing real work and yet I don't resign, this will only delay the church’s work.) Acting thus delays the church’s work—it hurts others, and it hurts yourself. Do you know what it means to be a leader? It means you have a direct relationship with many people’s entry into life, and your leadership has a direct relationship with how they walk the path before them. If you lead well and lead them onto the right path, they will be able to set foot on the right path. If you lead poorly and lead them into a ditch, and they become a Pharisee like you, then your sin is great! And after you commit this great sin, will that be the end of it? It will be recorded by God! You know full well that your caliber is poor, that you are a false leader, and incapable of doing real work, yet you do not admit your faults and resign, but brazenly cling to your position, and do not give it up to anyone else. This is a sin, and God will keep account of it. And will His keeping account be good or bad for you in the future? You’ll be in trouble! I’ll tell you the honest truth: God keeps account of such things for each and every person, and every item is clearly written down. If something so severe were to happen on your path to salvation, then the impact on you would be huge! Whatever you do, do not walk this path, and do not be this kind of person.

We have briefly fellowshipped on some of the practices and manifestations of false leaders with respect to promoting and cultivating various types of talented people. In summary, the type of person who is a false leader does not do real work, and is incapable of doing real work. Their caliber is poor, their eyes and mind are blind, they are incapable of discovering problems, and cannot see through various kinds of people, so they are unable to shoulder the important work of promoting and cultivating various types of talented people. Thus, they have no way to do the work of the church well, and will cause many difficulties for God’s chosen people in their life entry. Considering these factors, it is clear that false leaders are unfit to be church leaders. There are other false leaders who do no specific work of the church and do not make contact with the supervisors of specific work, so they do not know which talented individuals are capable of doing what work, nor which are suited to what work, nor whether their working accords with the principles. They are thus unable to promote and cultivate people of talent. How, then, could such people do the work of the church well? The main reason that false leaders cannot do real work is that their caliber is poor; they have no insight into anything and do not know what real work is. This leads to frequent states of stagnation or paralysis in the work of the church. These are directly related to the false leaders’ failure to do real work. For the past several years, the house of God has stressed, over and over, that evil people and disbelievers must be cleansed away and the false leaders and false workers dismissed. Why must the various evil people and disbelievers be cleansed away? Because after years of believing in God, these people still do not accept the truth at all, and have reached the point where they are beyond hope of salvation. And why must all false leaders and false workers be dismissed? Because they do not do real work, and never promote or cultivate those who pursue the truth; instead, they just engage in pointless efforts. This causes the work of the church to be thrown into chaos and paralysis, with existing problems lingering on, unresolved, and it also slows the life entry of God’s chosen ones. If all these false leaders and false workers were dismissed, and if all these evil people and disbelievers who disturb the church were cleared out, the work of the church would naturally come to flow smoothly, the life of the church would naturally grow much better, and God’s chosen ones would be able to normally eat and drink the words of God and do their duties, and to enter the right track of faith in God. This is what God would like to see.

February 27, 2021