By Lin Qing, China

I was born into an ordinary farming family. My parents were uneducated and could only support our family by doing manual labor. We were extremely hard up. My parents were already in their forties when they had me, and they pinned all their expectations on me. My parents always guided me by saying, “We have little education and spend our lives toiling outdoors. We have been struggling all our lives, but have no prospects at all. You must study hard and find a good job in the future, so you can sit in an office without being exposed to the sun or wind, with no worries about food and clothing. We will also be able to bask in your reflected glory.” The teachers also often taught us that “Knowledge can change your fate” and “One must endure the greatest hardships in order to become the greatest of men.” I grew up under the conditioning effects of these sayings. In particular, when I saw people who had achieved academic success and fame, and who were admired wherever they went, I thought that they were really prestigious, and became even more convinced that knowledge would lead to a good future where I would be able to enjoy a better material life and be admired. I made a secret resolution in my heart that I would definitely get into a good university and find a respectable job in the future. I would help my parents live a good life and make relatives and neighbors look at our family with new eyes.

When I was in school, I devoted all my time and energy to studying: While others were having fun during the holidays, I read books and did homework. My senior year in high school was the busiest time for me, and I dedicated all my energy to preparing for the university entrance exam. However, my results in the university entrance examination were not ideal, and I felt really disappointed. I never imagined my life would hit rock bottom just as I was starting out. My family had no money and no power, and so if I wanted to have a good life that others would respect in the future, my only option was to get into a good university. I made the decision to repeat the year. Afterward, I studied harder than ever before. Although I was not as smart as my gifted classmates, I had to be more determined than them. I often used the sayings “A slow bird must take flight first” and “Heaven rewards hard work” to motivate myself. In order to save time, I didn’t go home on weekends, and stayed at school to study. Whenever I had time, I did difficult sample questions. Sometimes, if I couldn’t finish them during the day, I would take them back to the dormitory and continue to work on them under the covers with a flashlight. Even though my shortsightedness worsened, I didn’t pay it any heed. My heart was like a coiled spring every day, terrified that I would not do well on the exam and lose my chance to change my destiny. In 2014, I was admitted to university and was able to choose my preferred major. At that moment, I was full of hope for my future, and felt that my efforts had not been in vain this time. If I continued to study hard and find a respectable job after graduation, my elders would definitely praise me for having good prospects.

The year I went to university, my aunt preached Almighty God’s gospel of the last days to me, and I started to lead a church life. Through gatherings, I understood that the heavens and earth and all things were created by God, and God is sovereign over and controls everything. After people were corrupted by Satan, they became increasingly wicked and depraved, and, in order to save mankind, God has been undertaking three stages of work. In the last days, He also personally became flesh to express words to judge and chastise people, saving people from the bondage of sin, and bringing them to a wonderful destination. I thought about how out of millions of people, I was one of those fortunate enough to hear God’s voice and receive God’s salvation. I felt very honored and excited. This was the greatest blessing in my life! At gatherings, I would tell my sisters about the things that came upon me at university, and they would fellowship on God’s words with me regarding my problems. Sometimes, they would also take me to water the newcomers. I felt especially liberated and free when I gathered with my sisters, and my heart felt very at ease.

Later, I heard that Sister Muchen had started doing duties full-time after she graduated from university. I was shocked at the time, and thought to myself, “Though my sister is very young, her resolve to expend herself for God is very great. I don’t have such resolve. If I do my duty full-time, I won’t have a good job in the future. Will my relatives and friends say that I have accomplished nothing? I will believe in God and go to university at the same time. Not only will I be able to find a good job, but I will also be able to receive God’s blessings. I will have the best of both worlds.” However, then I saw that my sister had not believed in God for a long time but was making very fast progress, and she was able to fellowship and help us with any of our states or difficulties. In particular, when I heard her discuss how, when the police had come to the door to arrest them during a gathering, she had relied on God and seen God’s marvelous protection, I felt admiration and envy from the bottom of my heart. I began to reflect, thinking, “My sister does her duties in the church every day and understands so many truths. Her life progress is so fast! I am both studying and attending gatherings at the same time, and I can’t talk about any experiences. It seems that if I want to make progress in life, I need to do more duties. However, if I do duties full-time like my sister does, I won’t have energy to study. I have studied hard for so many years so that I will be able to find a good job after graduation, have no worries about food and clothing, help my parents live a good life in the future, and also appear respectable and prestigious amongst my relatives. If I choose to devote all my time to doing my duty, while my classmates all find good jobs when they graduate, it will only be me who is unremarkable, without a respectable job. What will my relatives and friends think of me?” When I thought this, I no longer wanted to do my duty full-time.

One month before the holiday, a sister asked me, “The holiday is coming soon. What are your plans next? Are you willing to train and do your duty?” At first I was very excited to hear this. I understood too little of the truth, so this was a perfect opportunity to train in doing a duty and obtain the truth. However, then I thought, “Once I start doing my duty, I cannot just abandon it when university starts again. That would not be in accordance with God’s intention. But if I continue to do my duty after school starts, my studies will definitely be affected. If my roommates find out that I believe in God and report it to the school, I might get expelled, and then I’ll really have no future. Then how will I be able to repay my parents? If I don’t do as well as others, what will my relatives think of me? How should I choose?” On the way back, my heart was in turmoil. On one side was my dream of going to university that I had been pursuing so hard for so many years; on the other, doing my duty as a created being. I didn’t want to lose either. During that time, my heart was very heavy, and I didn’t know how to choose. Realizing that my state was wrong, I prayed silently to God, “Dear God, I know that doing my duty is meaningful, and I want to do my duty. But my stature is too small, and I am worried that if I do my duty, my studies will be affected. I feel weak inside, but I don’t want to lose this opportunity. Dear God, may You lead me to understand Your intention in this situation.”

That night, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. I turned on my phone and happened to hear a hymn of God’s words titled “You Must Place Belief in God Above All Else”:

1  If you wish to believe in God, and if you wish to gain God and gain His satisfaction, then unless you endure a certain degree of pain and put in a certain amount of effort, you will not be able to achieve these things. You have heard much preaching, but simply having heard it does not mean that this sermon is yours; you must absorb it and transform it into something that belongs to you. You must assimilate it into your life and bring it into your existence, allowing these words and preaching to guide the way you live and bring existential value and meaning to your life. When that happens, your hearing these words will have been worth it.

2  If the words I speak do not bring about any upturn in your lives or add any value to your existences, then there is no point in your listening to them. You must treat believing in God as the most significant matter in your life, more important than even food, clothing, or anything else—in this way, you will reap results. If you only believe when you have the time, and are incapable of devoting your entire attention to your faith, and if you are always muddled in your faith, then you will gain nothing.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique X

As I listened to the hymn of God’s words, I was so deeply moved I couldn’t help but shed tears. I felt like God was right beside me, hearing my prayers, and using His words to guide and inspire me. I understood that believing in God is the most important thing in life, more important than food, clothing, and enjoyment, and more important than any fame, gain, or future I might have. Everything that is of the flesh is temporary. Only by pursuing the truth and achieving a change in disposition can one be saved and survive. Doing our duty is the way for us to enter into the truth reality. In doing our duties, we will encounter various difficulties and problems, and reveal various corrupt dispositions. However, this also prompts us to seek the truth principles more to resolve our own corruption. If I only attend gatherings in my spare time, and don’t do a duty, instead spending most of my time on studying, then I will experience fewer things and will seek the truth to resolve my own problems less. All I will understand are some superficial words and doctrines, and I will be unable to enter into reality. This makes it very difficult to be saved. Sister Muchen and I were a stark contrast. Muchen had not believed in God for long, but she had experienced many things in doing her duty, and had sought the truth many times. When fellowshipping on the truth in gatherings, she was able to incorporate her own experiences, and spoke in a practical way. Moreover, the more truths she understood, the greater her faith in God became, and the stronger her motivation to do her duty was. On the other hand, I treated belief in God as a hobby for my spare time, so as not to interfere with my studies. I was content with simply attending gatherings, and didn’t think about doing the duty of a created being. If I continued to believe in such a muddled way, and missed the critical period in which to pursue the truth, ultimately failing to obtain the truth, would I not then be eliminated? I thought about how this had happened to coincide with the holidays. I couldn’t let this opportunity to do my duty and obtain the truth slip by, and so, not thinking for the moment about what would happen after the new term started, I told my sister that I was willing to train to do a duty.

During the holidays, we hosted group gatherings together, and when our brothers and sisters gathered together, everyone was able to innocently open up and communicate with each other. I felt particularly liberated and free in my heart. I saw my classmates eating, drinking and having fun all day in university, addicted to cellphones and online games, dating, and leading a depraved and decadent life, and I thought back to how I used to be just like them. Whenever I had free time, I would play with my phone or watch a TV series, with nothing proper in my heart. Now, through gatherings, and eating and drinking the words of God, I had realized that these evil trends would only consume my heart and take it far away from God, and they were of absolutely no benefit to my life at all. Gradually, I developed the resolve to stay away from these evil trends, and was able to quiet my heart before God, eating and drinking His words and doing my duty. I no longer wasted my days meaninglessly. I realized that only by believing in God, pursuing the truth, and doing my duty could I stay away from these evil trends and live a valuable and meaningful life.

Later, as the start of the term was approaching, I was a little hesitant. Should I give up my studies and do my duties full-time? I sought from Muchen, asking, “During this time, I have experienced that I can gain more truths by doing my duty. I also want to eat and drink God’s words more and fulfill my duty. But when I think about not having a good job and no one admiring me in the future, and not being able to repay my parents in a better way, I lose the resolve to let go of my studies.” My sister fellowshipped about her experience with me and found relevant words of God to help me. Almighty God says: “During the process of man’s learning of knowledge, Satan employs all manner of methods, whether it be telling stories, simply giving them some individual piece of knowledge, or allowing them to satisfy their desires or ambitions. What road does Satan want to lead you 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 ideals 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 ideals, 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 lofty man’s ideals 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 for, is inextricably linked to two words. These two words are vitally important to the life of every person, 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 the words which people use to talk about their life aspirations may seem, these aspirations are inextricably linked to ‘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 capital that they can use to enjoy high status and great wealth, and to enjoy life. They think that once they have fame and gain, they have capital that they can use to seek pleasure and to engage in wanton enjoyment of the flesh. For the sake of this fame and gain which they desire, people willingly, albeit 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 a 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, for people, the enticement of fame and gain is too great; these are things that people can pursue without end throughout their lives and even for all eternity. Is this not the actual situation?” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI). From God’s words, I realized that Satan uses fame and gain as bait to get people to work hard to learn knowledge and pursue standing out from the crowd, regard fame and gain as their goal in life, deny God’s sovereignty, and unconsciously stray from the Creator’s care and protection so that they live in Satan’s snare and are ultimately devoured by it. I had been deeply harmed by Satan. From a young age, I had been educated at home and at school that “Knowledge can change your fate” and “One must endure the greatest hardships in order to become the greatest of men.” I believed that academic achievement could bring honor to the family, and make one stand out from the crowd and be admired by others. I saw how my parents had no education and could only support the family through hard physical labor. Not only was it exhausting, nobody looked up to them either. I felt that there was no value in living my life like this, and that only by gaining academic knowledge and getting a respectable job in the future would I be able to change my life and be admired by my relatives and friends. To achieve my aspirations, I studied round the clock, and when my first shot at the university entrance examination didn’t go ideally, I chose to repeat the year and worked even harder than before. Even when the lights were turned off in the dormitory, I still used a flashlight to read study materials under the covers. Even though my shortsightedness worsened, I didn’t pay it any heed. For the sake of a piece of paper with good grades on it, I was constantly worried and anxious. As the university entrance exam approached, I was constantly tense, like a coiled spring, terrified of losing my only “lifeline.” I also felt confused and in pain, but was powerless to escape. All I could do was go with these trends. Now I understood that Satan uses fame and gain to mislead people, causing their hearts to drift further and further away from God. I thought about how my relative preached the gospel to me after I was admitted to university and brought me before God, but I still regarded the pursuit of a good future as my top priority. I just wanted to believe in God in my spare time, providing it did not affect my studies, and was unwilling to give up my studies and expend myself for God full-time. I realized that fame and gain were the biggest obstacles to me practicing the truth and doing my duty. Now I had heard the voice of God, but couldn’t pursue the truth and do my duty, instead living by satanic rules of existence and valuing fame and gain over the truth and life. I really couldn’t tell right from wrong! Even if I graduated with a diploma and found a good job, if I did not obtain the truth and life, I would eventually be eliminated by God. In the past, I had always thought that going to university while believing in God could bring me fame and gain as well as God’s blessings. This was just my wishful thinking and is simply not in accordance with the truth at all. God says: “If you only believe when you have the time, and are incapable of devoting your entire attention to your faith, and if you are always muddled in your faith, then you will gain nothing” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique X). The Lord Jesus also said: “Whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). I understood that to follow God you must have a dedicated heart, and not be constrained or bound by family, the flesh, money, fame, or gain. You should dedicate all your time to your duty, pursue the truth, obtain the truth, and ultimately be saved by God. Take the disciples of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace as an example. Some of them forsook status and wealth, and some forsook their families to follow the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly, traveling all around to preach the gospel and bear testimony to the Lord. These were meaningful lives, worthy of emulation. In addition, I used to think that gaining academic knowledge would lead to a good job, enabling me to live a good life with no worries about food and clothing, and be admired by my relatives and friends; I thought that only fame and gain could bring happiness. Now I thought about it, though many intellectuals and people with wealth and power look glamorous and beautiful on the surface, and enjoy prestige wherever they go, they do not believe in God and do not understand the truth. They live in Satan’s snare, competing for fame and gain, and fighting both openly and secretly. To obtain status and reputation, they compromise their health and sell out their own integrity and dignity. Their lives are dark, not happy. If a person loses God’s care and protection, and is without God’s blessing or salvation, what happiness is there to speak of? No matter how much knowledge they have, how much admiration they get from others, or how lavish their material enjoyments are, in the end they will fall into catastrophes, suffer perdition, and perish. This is not a real future. Now, it is the last days. God is going to end this age and do His work of rewarding good and punishing evil. Only by pursuing the truth and achieving a change in disposition can you be saved and survive, and be led by God into the next age. This is the real future.

Later, I read about Peter’s experience, which gave me some inspiration and motivation. Almighty God says: “Peter was blessed to have been born into such favorable social conditions. Clever and quick on the uptake, he readily assimilated new ideas. After beginning his studies, he was able to deduce many things from a single piece of information very easily during lessons. His parents were proud to have such a bright son, and made every effort to allow him to go to school, hoping that he would be able to distinguish himself and secure some sort of official post in society. Without realizing it, Peter had become interested in God, which meant that, at fourteen, when he was in high school, he felt averse toward the curriculum of Ancient Greek Culture he was studying, especially with regard to the fictional people and made-up events in ancient Greek history. From then on, Peter—who had just entered the springtime of his youth—started trying to find out more about the human life and the wider world. His conscience did not compel him to repay the pains his parents had taken, because he clearly saw that people were all living in a state of self-deception, they were all living within meaningless lives, ruining their own lives in their struggle for wealth and recognition. His insight was largely to do with the social environment he inhabited. The more knowledge people have, the more complex their interpersonal relationships and internal worlds are, and therefore the more they exist in a void. Under these circumstances, Peter spent his free time making wide-ranging visits, most of which were to religious figures. In his heart, there seemed the vague feeling that religion might be able to account for all that was inexplicable in the human world, and so he would often go to a nearby synagogue to attend services. His parents were unaware of this, and before long Peter, who had always been of good character and fine scholarship, began to hate going to school. Under the supervision of his parents, he barely completed high school. Swimming ashore from the ocean of knowledge, he took a deep breath; from then on, no one would educate or restrict him any longer” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Interpretations of the Mysteries of “God’s Words to the Entire Universe,” On the Life of Peter). From Peter’s experience, I saw that Peter’s heart was innocent, and he loved positive things; he started thinking about life at a young age. Through his dealings with society, he realized that people lived their lives for fame and gain, and that the more knowledge a person acquires, the more complicated and corrupt their mind becomes. He also saw clearly the darkness and evil of society, and the emptiness of pursuing fame, gain and status. He did not follow his parents’ wishes to pursue standing out from the crowd, and try hard to land some kind of official position in society. Instead, he resolutely gave up his studies and followed the path of faith in God, and later followed the Lord Jesus. He spent his life pursuing an understanding of God, sought God’s intention in everything, and understood his own shortcomings and deficiencies through God’s words. Ultimately, he was able to submit to God to the point of death and love Him to the extreme. He gained God’s approval and lived out a meaningful life. In contrast, I couldn’t penetrate things, and due to my pursuit of fame and gain, I was unwilling to do the duty of a created being, content with believing in my spare time. If I continued to believe like this, it would all be in vain in the end! I had to follow Peter’s example and let go of my personal future to actively pursue positive things. During my time at university, I saw the darkness and evil of this society. Universities under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party are bases for atheist education. Everyone pursues vanity and yearns for evil, and no one cares about the students eating, drinking, having fun or fighting. However, people who believe in God and walk the right path are blocked at every turn. The university also spreads baseless rumors to condemn and slander God, making people turn away from Him and betray Him. If I continued to attend university there, I would only be swept away by the evil trends, drifting further and further away from God. Ultimately, I would fall into the great catastrophes and be destroyed. Only God can show people the correct path, and only by understanding the truth can one live out more of a human likeness. I was willing to choose to do my duty and satisfy God.

However, when I really decided to let go of my studies, I still had some misgivings. Once I chose to spend all my time on my duties, I would no longer be able to earn money to take care of my parents. My parents had worked so hard to raise me and support my education, and now they were old, their health was not as good as before. If they got sick in the future, then my conditions wouldn’t permit me to take care of them. I would always feel like I owed them. When my sister learned about my state, she looked up some of God’s words for me. I read the words of God: “I will always comfort all those who perceive My intentions, and I will not allow them to suffer or come to harm. The crucial thing now is to be able to take action in accordance with My intentions. Those who do this will certainly receive My blessings and come under My protection. Who can truly and completely expend themselves for Me and offer up their all for My sake? You are all half-hearted; your thoughts go around and around, thinking of home, of the outside world, of food and clothing. Despite the fact that you are here before Me, doing things for Me, deep down you are still thinking of your wife, children, and parents at home. Are all these things your property? Why do you not entrust them into My hands? Do you not trust Me? Or is it that you are afraid I will make inappropriate arrangements for you?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 59). Those who sincerely expend themselves for God have loyalty and submission to Him; they do their duty without considering personal gains and losses, and fulfill their responsibilities to complete God’s commission. However, when I was faced with a choice, I always considered my own future, my family and my parents. I could not truly put everything I had into God’s hands. The destiny of our parents is under God’s sovereignty: How much suffering they will bear and how much happiness they will enjoy has been preordained by God long ago. If they are beset by illness, as children, even if we stay with our parents or pay for them to have medical treatment, we cannot suffer for them, and cannot change anything. Take my uncle, who has loads of children. My cousins’ families are relatively well-off, and they are quite filial to my uncle. When my uncle got lung cancer, they all paid for his surgery and took turns to take care of him. They had thought that he would recover after the surgery, but, unexpectedly, he passed away within a few months. My family is not well-off, and my parents mostly do manual labor. However, they are still in good health and rarely get sick throughout the year. I realized that I did not understand God’s authority, and my faith in God was still too small. My parents and I have independent destinies, and my parents’ destiny will not be affected at all by whether I do my duty full-time or not. I should submit to the Creator’s orchestration and arrangements, and entrust everything to do with my parents to God. When I understood this, I no longer lived in distress and anxiety, and my heart felt much more liberated.

Later, I read God’s words: “God seeks those who long for Him to appear. He seeks those who are able to hear His words, those who have not forgotten His commission and offer up their hearts and bodies to Him. He seeks those who are as submissive as babes before Him and do not resist Him. If you devote yourself to God, unimpeded by any power or force, then God shall look upon you with favor and shall bestow His blessings upon you. If you are of high station, of honorable reputation, possessed of abundant knowledge, the owner of plentiful assets, and supported by many people, yet these things do not prevent you from coming before God to accept His calling and His commission and to do what God asks of you, then all that you do shall be the most meaningful cause on earth and the most just undertaking of mankind” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Holds Sovereignty Over the Fate of All Mankind). From God’s words I understood God’s eager intention to save mankind. God is searching for people who can listen to His words and submit to Him, and wants to save those who long for His appearance. If people can let go of their reputation, status, money and interests, and come before God to do their duty, this is approved of by Him, and is also the most meaningful thing there is. I thought about how Peter was able to obey God’s call and do his duty, ultimately bearing a beautiful and resounding testimony to comfort God’s heart. I should also fulfill the responsibilities of a created being and fulfill my duty; only then can I be a person with conscience and humanity. That I was fortunate enough to be able to do duties in the church was God’s grace to me, and I was willing to let go of my studies and do my duty.

Later I told my father about my choice and he supported me. He even said, “Belief in God is the right path in life. You are an adult now, and since you have chosen this path, you must have the resolve and perseverance to keep going. No matter what setbacks or difficulties you encounter, don’t be discouraged. Just pursue your goals earnestly!” I was a little surprised by my father’s support. I knew his thoughts and ideas were also in God’s hands, and I was very grateful to God in my heart. My faith in following God also became even stronger. After the new term started, I applied to drop out to my teacher. My teacher didn’t understand why I would set a good university aside, and kept trying to talk me out of it, saying, “You have to think about it carefully. Your parents worked hard to send you to university and it was not easy for you to get in. If you give up now, you will never have a stable job in the future. You have to have vision, and not be short-sighted!” When I heard the teacher say that I should have vision, my heart skipped a beat. I thought, “Yes. Once I make this decision, I will never have a respectable job. Then, I will probably never win the admiration of others or enjoy pleasures of the flesh.” I realized that my mentality was not right, so I quickly prayed to God in my heart. At this moment, I clearly remembered the words of God: “At all times, My people should be on guard against the cunning schemes of Satan….” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 3). I knew this was God reminding and leading me. From the outside, I seemed to be just interacting with my teacher, but actually, there was Satan’s scheme hiding behind it. Satan used the teacher to say some things that seemed to be in my interest, tempting me to stray away from God and abandon my duty. Satan is truly so despicable! I also pondered, “The teacher said that I should not be short-sighted but have vision; what exactly does having vision mean? If I pursue graduation with a high-level degree, a good job and being admired by others, but cannot fulfill my duty and cannot obtain the truth, then when God’s work is at an end, I will gain nothing. However, if I follow God and fulfill the duties of a created being, I can be saved. This is the most correct choice; this is true vision.” Therefore, I answered firmly, “My decision to drop out of university was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. I considered it for a long time and I will not regret it.” The teacher saw that he couldn’t persuade me and shook his head helplessly. He had no choice but to process my withdrawal from university. The moment I stepped out of the campus, I felt extremely cheerful, as I wouldn’t have to be constrained by my teachers or classmates when attending gatherings or doing my duty anymore. It felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt like a bird escaping a cage, returning to the embrace of the blue sky.

After that, I spent all of my time throwing myself into my duties. With my brothers and sisters, I attended gatherings and did my duty every day, feeling very at ease and peaceful. In the process of doing my duty, I revealed many corrupt dispositions. For example, in doing my duty I was eager for quick gains, was perfunctory, and indulged in fleshly comforts; I also experienced some pruning, chastening, and discipline. I gained some understanding of my own corrupt dispositions, and achieved some changes. These gains were not ones I could have achieved while I was still studying at university. I thank God for pulling me out of the quagmire of the pursuit of fame and gain, and leading me onto the right path in life!