By Lin Yinuo, China

Ever since I was little, my parents educated me on the importance of studying hard, saying that I’d only get a good job by getting a good degree, and only then could I live the rest of my life without having to worry about food and clothing and be held in high esteem. My dad often used himself as an example, saying he was the first in his village to go to university, which was what enabled him to leave the village and come to the city. Now he sat in an office with air conditioning, drinking tea, earning a high salary, and enjoying good benefits. All of this came about because of his degree. Later, my mom found God. She often told me Bible stories and had me read God’s words. I came to know that God has always been by our side, watching over and protecting us, and that He was now expressing the truth to save us. I felt very happy and I was willing to believe in God. My mom fellowshipped with me that believing in God is the most important thing in life, and that I should treat it seriously. But I couldn’t understand, and I found myself agreeing more with my dad’s view that “Other pursuits are small, books excel them all.” I believed that only by getting a higher degree could I have a good life, stand out from the crowd, and be envied and looked up to: Studying was the most important thing in my life. My life plan consisted of sailing into university, then studying for a master’s, a doctorate, and a post-doc, and finally becoming a professor, thereby making me the most outstanding person among my relatives and friends, and a role model for their children. Then I would bring honor to my family and I’d live a life without regrets. From elementary school onwards, I woke up almost every morning to the sound of English tapes, and during holidays, my dad never let me go out to play. He also enrolled me in tutoring classes on weekends and during the winter and summer vacations. Although I felt very tired, I felt that this was what I should do and whenever I did something that delayed my studies, I would feel guilty.

To get me into a better university, my dad spent a lot of money to transfer me from my high school in the county town to one in the provincial capital. At this school, if you ranked in the school’s top two hundred in the direct admission exams each semester, you could be directly admitted into top universities like Tsinghua, Peking, and Tongji. But this school wasn’t easy to get into; you needed to pass an entrance exam. For me to get into this school without issue, my dad again spent a lot of money to enroll me in one-on-one tutoring. I had classes from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until I went to bed at night. I even dreamed of formulas and letters crashing down on me. I felt repressed and helpless, but all I could do to vent my feelings was cry and then keep on forging ahead. I ended up getting into that school, just as I had wanted. After I transferred, I saw that the competition among students at this school was really fierce. Everyone was striving to get into the top two hundred to secure a direct admission place. In such an environment, I felt a lot of pressure and didn’t dare to relax at all. I’d stay up late studying every night, not daring to go to bed before one or two in the morning, and sleeping in a little on weekends felt like a sin. I often thought: Will these days of exhaustion ever end? But then I thought, “If I don’t work hard now and fail to get into a good university, and I end up being looked down on for not getting in, I will regret it even more. Once I get into a good university, things will be fine.” Some hope came into my heart when I thought of this. But to my surprise, I only managed to get into an ordinary undergraduate college. I was very disappointed. In particular, I felt so ashamed when I ran into several classmates at this college who had studied in my county town and had worse grades than me. “I even transferred to a good high school just to get into a good university, but in the end, I didn’t get in. They must be laughing at me, saying that this was all I was, and that I’m no better than them, right?” So, I set a new life goal: “I failed to get into a top university for my bachelor’s, so I’ll get into a top university for my master’s! When I have a higher degree, my friends and relatives will all approve of me. How glorious that will be!” Thinking of that filled me with motivation. After that, whenever I had time, I went to the library to study. When there were graduate school entrance exam tutoring classes at the school, I also signed up early. At that time, I was attending gatherings twice a week. I could gain something from every gathering, and I also liked attending them. A sister who attended gatherings with me was a junior schoolmate of mine. She had a great sense of burden in her duty and was even elected as a church leader. She used as much of her time as possible for gatherings and her duty, but I couldn’t. I felt that studying was the most important thing in life, so I dedicated more of my spare time to preparing for the graduate school entrance exam. Later, I was elected as a watering deacon, and the number of gatherings I attended each week also increased a bit. I earnestly completed every duty the leader arranged for me. However, because I was still attending graduate school entrance exam prep classes, I had less time for my duty. During gatherings, if my brothers and sisters had any problems, I’d want to fellowship to resolve them quickly so that I’d save myself more time to prepare for the exam. Sometimes, when a gathering was about to end, I would see that my brothers and sisters wanted to continue fellowshipping, and I also wanted to gather for a while longer, but then I would remember that I had already fallen behind in my studies for the day, and if I continued the gathering, I would fall even further behind and it would affect my success in the exam, so I would find an excuse to leave. Afterward, I would feel self-reproach in my heart, but then I would think about how others would look down on me if I failed the graduate school entrance exam, so I would suppress that feeling of self-reproach.

On August 26, 2016, I was elected as a church leader. When this result was announced, there was a mix of happiness and worry in my heart. I was happy because being elected as a church leader meant I would have more opportunities to train. I was worried because in the second half of the year, I would be in my fourth year of university, and the national graduate school entrance exam was just around the corner. I had studied hard for many years for this exam, and these last few months were the critical time for preparation. If I didn’t pass, I would be labeled a “failed candidate” or a “repeater.” How shameful that would be! Besides, getting into graduate school was an important step on the way to me achieving my glorious goal in life. If I couldn’t even get into graduate school, how could I ever obtain a higher degree? What had I stayed up late and studied hard for all these years? Wasn’t it to get a higher degree? If I accepted the duty of church leader at this time, I would need to participate in more church work, and I would have no time or energy to prepare for the graduate school entrance exam. It could be said that I would be giving up my future, and that I would forever have the title of “undergraduate” as a result. Now, university graduates are everywhere. I wouldn’t have any advantage in finding a job. If I couldn’t find a good job, how could I stand out and bring honor to my family? I didn’t want to be looked down upon forever, so I expressed my unwillingness to be a leader. The preacher, after hearing my misgivings, read me a passage of God’s words, which moved my heart. Almighty God says: “If you are someone who is considerate of God’s intentions, then you will develop a true burden for the church. In fact, instead of calling this a burden you bear for the church, it would be better to call it a burden you bear for your own life’s sake, because the purpose of this burden you develop for the church is to have you use such experiences to be perfected by God. Therefore, whoever carries the greatest burden for the church, whoever carries a burden for life entry—they will be the ones who are perfected by God. Have you seen this clearly? If the church you are with is scattered like sand, but you are neither worried nor anxious, and you even turn a blind eye when your brothers and sisters are not normally eating and drinking of God’s words, then you are not carrying any burdens. Such people are not the kind in whom God delights. The kind of people in whom God delights hunger and thirst for righteousness and are considerate of God’s intentions. Thus, you should become considerate of God’s burden, here and now; you should not wait for God to reveal His righteous disposition to the myriad people before becoming considerate of God’s burden. Would it not be too late by then? Now is a good opportunity to be perfected by God. If you allow this chance to slip through your fingers, you will regret it for the rest of your life, just as Moses was unable to enter the good land of Canaan and regretted it for the rest of his life, dying with remorse. Once God has revealed His righteous disposition to the myriad peoples, you will be filled with regret. Even if God does not chastise you, you will chastise yourself out of your own remorse. Some are not convinced by this, but if you do not believe it, just wait and see. There are some people whose sole purpose is to fulfill these words. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of these words?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Be Considerate of God’s Intentions in Order to Attain Perfection). Reading God’s words, I realized that now is the critical time in which God perfects people, and God perfects people through them doing their duty. As a leader, I would be able to interact with more brothers and sisters and encounter more problems. These problems would all need to be solved by seeking the truth, and the more problems I solved, the more truths I would understand. In the process of doing my duty, I would reveal many corrupt dispositions. By seeking the truth, the erroneous perspectives behind my pursuit would be corrected, and my corrupt dispositions would gradually be resolved. This process is also the process of being cleansed. Without doing duty, you cannot gain the truth, and you will also lose the opportunity to be cleansed and attain salvation. I realized that if I did not seize this opportunity, and by the time God’s work ended I had not equipped myself with much truth, and my corrupt disposition had not changed, I would ultimately be subject to destruction, and it would be too late for regrets then. I thought about how, during this period, by equipping myself with the truths regarding visions through doing my duty, I had understood the aim of God’s management work, the significance of God’s work of judgment, and gained some knowledge of God’s work. Also, when things befell me previously, I didn’t know how to reflect on myself. I had always thought my humanity was good, and that I was honest and kind. But through the exposure of God’s words and the revelation of the facts, I finally saw that I had ulterior motives for paying a price and expending myself, that I was trying to bargain with God, and that I was not an honest person at all. If I hadn’t done a duty, I would never have obtained this knowledge or made these gains. That day, I had been elected as a leader, and God hoped that I would understand more truths by doing my duty. God wanted to save me, but I didn’t know what was good for me. I only considered whether I could be held in high esteem by others in the future, and whether I could stand out from the crowd and bring honor to my family. I wanted to push away the opportunity God had given me to be perfected. I was truly so short-sighted, foolish, and ignorant! I then remembered how, during this period of doing watering duty, my brothers and sisters were hoping for more gatherings and fellowship, but I only thought about rushing back to prepare for my exams, and did not consider the church’s work at all. I was truly so selfish and lacking in humanity!

I always believed that having a high level of education and a higher degree would guarantee me a good future and a comfortable life. But is this viewpoint really tenable? One day, I read these words of God: “Some people choose a good major in college and end up finding a satisfactory job after graduation, making a triumphant first stride in the journey of their lives. Some people learn and master many different skills and yet never find a job that suits them or never find their position, much less have a career; at the outset of their life journey, they find themselves thwarted at every turn, beset by troubles, their prospects dismal and their lives uncertain. Some people apply themselves diligently to their studies, yet narrowly miss every chance to receive a higher education; they seem fated never to achieve success, their very first aspiration in the journey of their lives having dissolved into thin air. Not knowing whether the road ahead is smooth or rocky, they feel for the first time how full of variables human destiny is, and so regard life with expectation and dread. Some people, despite not being very well educated, write books and achieve a measure of fame; some, though almost totally illiterate, make money in business and are thereby able to support themselves…. What occupation one chooses, how one makes a living: do people have any control over whether they make a good choice or a bad choice in these things? Do these things accord with people’s desires and decisions? Most people have the following wishes: to work less and earn more, not to toil in the sun and rain, to dress well, to glow and shine everywhere, to tower above others, and to bring honor to their ancestors. People hope for perfection, but when they take their first steps in the journey of their lives, they gradually come to realize how imperfect human destiny is, and for the first time they truly grasp the fact that, though one can make bold plans for one’s future and though one may harbor audacious fantasies, no one has the ability or the power to realize their own dreams, and no one is in a position to control their own future. There will always be some distance between one’s dreams and the realities that one must confront; things are never as one would like them to be, and faced with such realities, people can never achieve satisfaction or contentment. Some people will go to any length imaginable, will put forth great efforts and make great sacrifices for the sake of their livelihoods and future, in an attempt to change their own fate. But in the end, even if they can realize their dreams and desires by means of their own hard work, they can never change their fates, and no matter how doggedly they try, they can never exceed what destiny has allotted them. Regardless of differences in ability, intelligence, and willpower, people are all equal before fate, which does not distinguish between the great and the small, the high and the low, the exalted and the mean. What occupation one pursues, what one does for a living, and how much wealth one amasses in life are not decided by one’s parents, one’s talents, one’s efforts or one’s ambitions, but are predetermined by the Creator” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III). After reading this passage of God’s words, I realized that the kind of prospects and destiny a person has is not determined by what they major in or what degree they have, but rather by God’s preordination. I looked at the people around me. Many had studied well and obtained higher degrees, but they ultimately did not find good jobs. Some of my schoolmates had poor academic grades, but when they graduated, they happened to get lucky with policy reforms and went to good employers. Some other schoolmates got into graduate school, but in the end, they were doing the same work as those with associate degrees. Also, whether you can get into a good school is not up to you to decide. Take me for example. To get into a good university, I specifically transferred to a good high school and burned the midnight oil studying every day. I thought that with a lot of effort, I could step through the doors of a top university, and from then on, stand out from the crowd and bring honor to my family. But I never expected that in the end, I would only get into an ordinary college. It was the same now. If I was destined to get into a top graduate school, I would. If I was not destined to, then no matter how much effort I put in, I would not pass the exam. All I could do was submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and experience things by letting them take their course while doing my duty well. Thinking of this, I felt relieved in my heart, and I accepted the duty of a leader. After becoming a leader, I saw that all matters in the church, big and small, needed to be solved with care. I had been training for a short time and did not grasp the principles, and did not know how to handle many things. So, I had to put in the effort to seek principles and fellowship with my brothers and sisters. I basically had no time or energy to study knowledge. At the same time, I increasingly felt that memorizing textbook knowledge was tedious and boring, and that this knowledge had no practical use. I always had to force myself to memorize those things. But doing my duty was different. Doing my duty could bring me practical gains, and my heart felt joy. For example, in implementing the work of cleansing the church, I needed to seek the truth in the aspect of discernment and correlate it with people’s manifestations, which could improve my discernment ability. I also often encountered difficulties in doing church work. I would turn to God to pray and seek, and receive God’s enlightenment and guidance. My faith in God also grew. Although I did not see God with my own eyes like Job, I could feel that God was by my side at all times and in all places, and was my only support. My heart was incredibly at ease, and that feeling of satisfaction in my heart was something that could not be obtained from studying knowledge. But every time I went back to university and saw my classmates all busy preparing for the graduate school entrance exam, and also heard the teachers, students, and parents all talking about the graduate school entrance exam, while I was busy with church work and had less and less time to prepare for the exam, I would worry about what they would think of me. Would they think I was not applying myself to my studies and not attending to my proper work? Then I thought about how, since I was young, I had been working hard to get a higher degree. Was I going to give up just like that? Then I would never have a chance to stand out from the crowd. Thinking of these things, my heart still couldn’t let go, so I prayed to God, “O God, I constantly want to pursue a higher degree, and I still want to take the graduate school entrance exam in my heart. I can’t completely let it go. Please guide me to understand the truth so that I won’t be affected by the matter of the graduate school entrance exam and can do my duty well.”

After praying, I looked for God’s words related to fame and gain. I read these words of God: “During the process of man’s learning of knowledge, Satan employs all manner of methods, whether it be telling stories, simply giving him some individual piece of knowledge, or allowing him to satisfy his desires or ambitions. What road does Satan want to lead him down? People think there is nothing wrong with learning knowledge, that it is entirely natural. To put it in a way that sounds appealing, to foster lofty aspirations or to have ambitions is to have drive, and this should be the right path in life. Is it not a more glorious way for people to live if they can realize their own aspirations, or successfully establish a career? By doing these things, one can not only honor one’s ancestors but also has the chance to leave one’s mark on history—is this not a good thing? This is a good thing in the eyes of worldly people, and to them it should be proper and positive. Does Satan, however, with its sinister motives, take people on to this kind of road and that’s all there is to it? Of course not. In fact, no matter how grand man’s aspirations are, no matter how realistic man’s desires are or how proper they may be, all that man wants to achieve, all that man seeks, is inextricably linked to two words. These two words are vitally important to every person throughout their life, and they are things Satan intends to instill in man. What are these two words? They are ‘fame’ and ‘gain.’ Satan uses a very mild method, a method that’s very much in line with people’s notions, and that isn’t very aggressive, to cause people to unknowingly accept its means and laws of survival, develop life goals and life directions, and come to possess life aspirations. No matter how high-sounding people’s descriptions of their life aspirations may be, these aspirations always revolve around fame and gain. Everything that any great or famous person—or, in fact, any person—chases throughout their life relates only to these two words: ‘fame’ and ‘gain.’ People think that once they have fame and gain, they have the capital to enjoy high status and great wealth, and to enjoy life. They think that once they have fame and gain, they have the capital to seek pleasure and to engage in wanton enjoyment of the flesh. For the sake of this fame and gain which they desire, people happily and unknowingly hand over their bodies, hearts, and even all that they have, including their prospects and fates, to Satan. They do so without reservation, without even a moment’s doubt, and without ever knowing to reclaim everything that they once had. Can people retain any control over themselves once they have given themselves over to Satan and become loyal to it in this way? Certainly not. They are completely and utterly controlled by Satan. They have completely and utterly sunk into this quagmire, and are unable to free themselves. Once someone is mired in fame and gain, they no longer seek that which is bright, that which is just, or those things that are beautiful and good. This is because the enticement of fame and gain is too great for people, and these are things that people can pursue without end throughout their lives and even for all eternity. Is this not the actual situation? Some people will say that learning knowledge is nothing more than reading books or learning some things that you do not know so as not to lag behind the times or be left behind by the world. Knowledge is only learned in order to put food on your table, for your own future, or to provide the basic necessities. Is there any person who would endure a decade of hard study just for the basic necessities, just to resolve the issue of food? No, there are none like this. So why does a person suffer these hardships for all these years? It is for fame and gain. Fame and gain are waiting for them in the distance, beckoning them, and they believe that only through their own diligence, hardships and struggles can they follow the road that will lead them to attain fame and gain. Such a person must suffer these hardships for their own future path, for their future enjoyment and to gain a better life. … These ideas and statements influence one generation after another; many people accept these ideas, and they pursue, struggle, and are even willing to sacrifice their lives in order to fulfill these ‘lofty aspirations.’ This is the means and method by which Satan uses knowledge to corrupt people. So after Satan leads people onto this path, are they able to submit to and worship God? And are they able to accept God’s words and pursue the truth? Absolutely not—because they have been led astray by Satan. Let’s now consider this: Within the knowledge, ideas, and views instilled in people by Satan, are there the truths of submission to God and worship of God? Are there the truths of fearing God and shunning evil? Are there any of the words of God? Is there anything in them that is of the truth? Not at all—these things are totally absent” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI). “For the sake of this fame and gain, mankind strays from God and betrays Him, and becomes increasingly wicked. In this way, one generation after another is destroyed in the midst of Satan’s fame and gain. Looking now at Satan’s actions, are its insidious motives not utterly hateful? Maybe today you still cannot see through to Satan’s insidious motives because you think that without fame and gain, life would have no meaning, and people would no longer be able to see the way ahead, no longer be able to see their goals, and their futures would become dark, dim and gloomy. But, slowly, you will all one day recognize that fame and gain are massive shackles that Satan places upon man. When that day comes, you will thoroughly resist Satan’s control and thoroughly resist the shackles brought to you by Satan. When you wish to free yourself from all these things that Satan has instilled in you, you will then make a clean break with Satan, and you will truly hate all that Satan has brought to you. Only then will you have a real love and yearning for God” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI).

Reading God’s words, I realized that on the surface, there is nothing wrong with pursuing knowledge, but behind it lies Satan’s sinister intentions. God created man. It is perfectly natural and justified for people to believe in and worship God, and to do their duty; these are positive things. But Satan, to contend with God for people, uses knowledge to mislead them, leading them down the path of pursuing fame and gain, making people regard the pursuit of fame and gain as a positive thing, so that they expend all their time and energy for fame and gain, and have no mind at all to do their duties or worship God, thus becoming distant from God, betraying God, and ultimately being devoured by Satan. I recalled how, from a young age, I had accepted the viewpoint instilled in me by my dad, that “Other pursuits are small, books excel them all.” I believed that to avoid being looked down upon, I had to study hard and obtain a higher degree. For the sake of entrance exams, I crammed knowledge into my brain like a robot from morning till night every day. I felt like my head was about to explode. Repressed and pained, I had no way to vent my feelings but to cry. Even so, I never thought of giving up, because I believed that obtaining fame and gain was equal to having a bright future. Standing out from the crowd and bringing honor to my family was like bait hanging before me, tempting me to expend all my time and energy. Later, although I also attended gatherings and did my duty, what I thought about in my mind was how to squeeze out more time for studying. I had no heart to solve the difficulties and problems of my brothers and sisters, fearing it would take up my study time. My brothers and sisters elected me as a leader, which was a God-given opportunity to train, so that I could gain the truth and grow in life. But I wanted to refuse. I regarded the pursuit of fame and gain as a positive thing, and was willing to pay any price to obtain them. Yet when I didn’t do my duty well, I felt no reproach from my conscience at all. I truly did not distinguish right from wrong! I saw that pursuing fame and gain would only lead me away from God and make me betray God, and ultimately, I would completely lose God’s salvation and be devoured by Satan. In the last days, God has become flesh to express words to save mankind. This is the critical moment for man’s salvation, yet I was wasting the best years of my life studying this useless knowledge, missing the best opportunity for God’s salvation. When God’s work ends and the great catastrophes come, no matter how much knowledge or money I have or how great my reputation, it will not be able to save my life. What meaning would there be in that? Thinking of this, I realized the serious consequences of pursuing fame and gain, and increasingly felt that preparing for the graduate school entrance exam would only waste my youth. I could not be deceived by Satan anymore. I had to give up the pursuit of fame and gain, and invest more time and energy in doing my duty.

In December 2016, as the exam date drew closer and closer, I looked at the graduate school entrance exam prep books on my desk that I hadn’t opened for several days, and my heart was still somewhat conflicted: “Should I go and take the exam or not? After all, I’ve worked hard for more than ten years. What if I pass? But if I pass, I’ll have to start a new round of arduous study, there will be more open and covert struggles among classmates, and an endless pursuit of various certificates. Just thinking about it makes me feel repressed and suffocated! It will also inevitably take time away from doing my duty. But if I don’t take the graduate school entrance exam, what can I do in the future? Society values degrees so much now. If I don’t have a higher degree, it won’t be easy to find a job. After all, this relates to my future!” Thinking of this, I paced back and forth in the study room. What should I choose? I remembered one of the last eleven requirements God has for man: “For My sake, are you able to forgo considering, planning, or preparing for your future path of survival?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)). I then read God’s words: “Those things which man hopes for and pursues are the yearnings arising from his pursuit of the extravagant desires of the flesh, rather than the destination due to man. What God has prepared for man, meanwhile, are the blessings and promises due to man once he has been purified, which God prepared for man after creating the world, and which are not tainted by the choices, notions, imaginings, or flesh of man. This destination is not prepared for a particular person, but is the place of rest of the whole of mankind. And so, this destination is the most suitable destination for mankind” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination). “Now is the time when My Spirit performs great work, and the time when I commence My work among the Gentile nations. More than that, it is the time when I classify all created beings, putting each one into their respective category, so that My work may proceed more swiftly and is more capable of achieving results. And so, what I ask of you is still that you offer up your whole being to all My work, and, even more so, that you clearly discern and see with accuracy all the work I have done in you, and expend all your energy so that My work can achieve greater results. This is what you must understand. Desist from vying with one another, looking for a contingency plan, or seeking comfort for your flesh, so as to avoid delaying My work, and impeding your wonderful future. Far from protecting you, doing so could only bring destruction upon you. Wouldn’t this be foolish of you? That which you indulge in today is the very thing that is ruining your future, whereas the pain you endure today is the very thing that is protecting you. You must be clearly aware of these things, so as to avoid falling prey to temptations from which you will find it hard to extricate yourself, and to avoid blundering into the dense fog and being unable to find the sun ever again. When the dense fog clears, you will find yourself amid the judgment of the great day” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Work of Spreading the Gospel Is Also the Work of Saving Man). I pondered God’s words over and over, and the more I pondered, the brighter my heart became. God’s intention is for people to be able to return before the Creator and do their duty, to accept God’s judgment and chastisement, and have their corrupt dispositions cleansed, thereby obtaining the beautiful destination God has prepared for them. In contrast, what I pursued—standing out from the crowd and bringing honor to my family—outwardly seemed to conform to the interests of my flesh, but in essence, it was leading me away from God and causing me to betray God, and would ultimately be my ruin. I thought of how my family of four had all believed in God before, but later my dad and my sister, fearing that their belief in God would be discovered by their employers and affect their futures, gradually stopped attending gatherings, and eventually stopped believing in God altogether. Although they did later obtain high status and a good material life, they were always on guard against people, had no true friends, and were afraid of being schemed against; they spent their days scheming and engaging in intrigue, so worried they couldn’t sleep at night. They were toyed with and tormented by Satan, and lived in great pain. The consequences of their pursuit of fame and gain also served as a reminder to me that pursuing fame and gain brings no benefit: it is a dead end. I could not follow their failed path. I should pursue doing the duty of a created being well, and pursue the true future that God has prepared for man. Thinking this through, I no longer felt the cold of the winter. Although I had paid the fee to register for the graduate school entrance exam, and my examination hall had been assigned, I decided not to take it, because even if I passed, it is not the right path in life, and that fame is meaningless.

After making this decision, I felt a sense of ease throughout my body. When I returned to school and saw my schoolmates worrying about the graduate school entrance exam, I knew this was Satan tormenting them, and my heart was no longer drawn to the graduate school entrance exam. From then on, I fully dedicated myself to doing my duty. A year later, my dad was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer, and he passed away six months later. Seeing that knowledge, fame, and gain were of no use in the face of death, I became even more certain in my heart that believing in God and pursuing the truth is the only way for people to live. Now I do my duty full-time, far from the clamor and strife of the world, and I feel very peaceful and at ease in my heart. Every day, I interact with my brothers and sisters, and we do our duties and fellowship on the truth together. I also focus on experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and have gained some knowledge of my own corrupt dispositions. These gains are something that years of schooling and obtaining great fame and gain could never have brought me. I thank the guidance of God’s words for allowing me to understand what a true future is, and to make a wise choice.