By Li Hui, China

I grew up in the countryside with eight brothers and sisters. My mom’s health was poor and she couldn’t work, while my dad didn’t look after the house or make any money. We could only make a living off doing farm work. Everyone around us laughed at my mom and dad for having no skills, and even our relatives looked down on us and refused to have anything to do with us. As time went on, I felt that since I was living in this family, my social status was low and I was a low-class individual. Even going out I usually didn’t dare to exchange words with other people. After I was married, my husband was an ordinary laborer—all of his peers were more promising than he was, and whenever they saw us they would give themselves airs; sometimes they spoke sarcastically or even scolded us. It was very hard on me, and I thought little of myself. That is, until I believed in God and read His words—that’s when I recognized my wrong viewpoints and my heart found release.

In 2021, I started spreading the gospel. Later, I met some potential gospel recipients who were either bosses or cadres: They were all people with some status and standing. I felt constrained, I thought that my family’s conditions were poor, that I had no knowledge or status, and that I was no match for dealing with these people with high status and standing. But I realized that this was my duty, that I couldn’t put it off, so I prayed to God saying that I was willing to do.

One time, I was preparing to spread the gospel to a female boss. When she found out that I was a laborer, she flatly refused, saying, “Don’t let her come here—I only meet people with status and prestige.” When I heard these words, I took it pretty hard, thinking, “My status and standing are low; I’m not even worthy to see a potential gospel recipient. How can I spread the gospel? If I had some status and standing, and if my family background were a bit better, maybe other people wouldn’t look down on me like this.” When I thought of this, I wasn’t very willing to spread the gospel to her. I wanted to return to the place where I used to live. A lot of people there were outside laborers, and their status and standing were about the same as mine—they wouldn’t look down on me. I told the leader that spreading the gospel was difficult here, that people here had money and influence, but I was just an outside laborer, so it was difficult for me to make connections with them, plus the pandemic was serious and there was no way for me to cooperate. The leader agreed. After I returned, I didn’t do any self-reflection, so the matter was left unsettled.

In the summer of 2022, someone who had been cleared out provided me with a potential gospel recipient from a religious denomination. When I met with the person who had been cleared out, she thought I was unrefined and my clothing was plain, so she asked me, “Can you spread the gospel? Do you understand the Bible?” Back then, I didn’t yet realize the meaning of what she said, so I told her truthfully, “I have spread the gospel to religious people, and I understand the Bible a little.” She continued, “It’s not that I look down on you; the potential gospel recipient does—her family conditions are good and her status and standing are high!” I took it pretty hard then, thinking, “I am suitably and generously dressed; it’s just that I’m not wearing lavish clothing, so she looks down on me. If this were the potential gospel recipient, she would definitely look down on me. My status and standing are no match, and it’ll be hard to spread the gospel!” I thought that if I had a good background, if my status and standing were a bit higher, and if I had money and influence, then spreading the gospel wouldn’t necessarily be this difficult. I was feeling pretty depressed, so I prayed and sought after God, asking Him to guide me so that I could learn a lesson. While seeking, I read a passage of God’s words: “While spreading the gospel, one will often encounter such ridicule, mockery, sneers, and slander, or even find themselves in dangerous situations. Some brothers and sisters, for instance, are denounced or abducted by evil people, and the police are called on others, who are handed over to the government. Some may be arrested and jailed, while others may even be beaten to death. These are all things that happen. But now that we know about these things, should we change our attitude toward the work of spreading the gospel? (No.) Spreading the gospel is everyone’s responsibility and obligation. At any time, regardless of what we hear, or what we see, or what kind of treatment we encounter, we must always uphold this responsibility of spreading the gospel. Under no circumstances can we give up on this duty because of negativity or weakness. The duty to spread the gospel is not smooth sailing, but fraught with danger. When you spread the gospel, you will not face angels, or aliens, or robots. You will face only evil and corrupt humanity, living demons, beasts—they are all humans surviving in this evil space, this evil world, who have been deeply corrupted by Satan, and resist God. Therefore, in the process of spreading the gospel, there are certainly all sorts of dangers, to say nothing of petty slander, sneers, and misunderstandings, which are common occurrences. If you truly regard spreading the gospel as a responsibility, as an obligation, and as your duty, then you will be able to regard these things correctly and even handle them correctly. You will not give up on your responsibility and your obligation, nor will you deviate from your original intention to spread the gospel and testify to God because of these things, and you will never put this responsibility aside, for this is your duty. How should this duty be understood? It is the value and primary obligation of human life. Spreading the good news of God’s work in the last days and the gospel of God’s work is the value of human life” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Spreading the Gospel Is the Duty to Which All Believers Are Honor-Bound). God’s words tell us that in the course of spreading the gospel, it is normal to be mocked, ridiculed, sneered against, and humiliated, because those whom we face while spreading the gospel are all humans corrupted by Satan. But no matter what circumstances or difficulties we encounter, we must uphold this responsibility to spread the gospel. Back then, when I found out that the potential gospel recipient didn’t want to see me, I felt that since my status and standing were no match for her, and she would look down on me and put me to shame, it would be better that I didn’t spread the gospel to her, so that I could avoid humiliation. It was the same today. My clothes were ordinary, and I didn’t have any status or standing; other people looked down on me, and I felt that if I spread the gospel to the potential gospel recipient, she would look down on me and put me to shame. So I started to withdraw, afraid that my face and pride might be negatively affected—I blamed it on my poor background. I didn’t realize that this was vain, that my desire for reputation and status was the one causing trouble. I thought about those brothers and sisters who were arrested and tortured by the satanic regime because of spreading the gospel. They endured many hardships, and some nearly lost their lives, but they could rely on God and stand firm in their testimony. When they were released from prison, they still spread the gospel and bore witness to God. Compared to them, my hardships were nothing at all. I lost the willingness to spread the gospel after only a little loss of face. I found that I wasn’t doing my duty sincerely—I didn’t have any testimony at all. God has expressed millions of words during His work in the last days in order to save those who sincerely believe in Him and seek His appearance. As a created being, I should be considerate of God’s will, spreading the gospel and bearing witness to God, letting people hear God’s voice and see His appearance. This is the most just thing, and it is my mission and responsibility. Although we may suffer some hardships and be put to shame during this time, all this is valuable and meaningful. Now that I understood God’s will, I was no longer willing to escape or withdraw. No matter how the potential gospel recipient looked down on me or put me to shame, I should let go of my own face and fulfill my duty. At the same time, I also realized that after humanity was corrupted by Satan, they only look at a person’s outward appearance, whether they have status and standing: If they do, then people look up to and respect them, but if they lack status and standing, money and influence, then they are looked down upon. All this is caused by Satan’s corruption of humanity. The person who was cleared out and the potential gospel recipient looked down on me because of my status and standing—this was normal. When I realized this, my state took something of a turn. And later I got in touch again with the person who had been cleared out and she was willing to cooperate. I got in contact with her and discovered that she had very absurd understandings and especially clung to her own notions and imaginings. We had to give up. But I gained some knowledge about myself through these circumstances—this is God’s love.

Afterward, I read a passage in God’s words and gained some knowledge about my own state. Almighty God says: “No matter what your identity or status, it is all preordained by God. No matter what kind of family or family background God has preordained for you, the identity you inherit from it is neither shameful nor honorable. The principle for how you treat your identity should not be based on the principle of honor and shame. No matter what kind of family God puts you in, no matter what kind of family He allows you to come from, you have only one identity before God, and that is the identity of a created being. Before God, you are a created being, so in the eyes of God, you are equal to anyone in society who has a different identity and social status. You are all members of corrupt mankind, and you are all people whom God wants to save. And of course, before God, you all have the same opportunity to perform your duties as created beings, and you all have the same opportunity to pursue the truth and attain salvation. On this level, based on the identity of a created being as given to you by God, you should not think highly of your own identity, nor should you look down on it. Instead, you should treat your identity that comes from God—which is that of a created being—correctly, and be able to get along harmoniously with anyone on an equal footing, and according to the principles that God teaches to people and admonishes them with. No matter what other people’s social status or social identity is, and no matter what your own social status or social identity is, whoever comes into God’s house and comes before God has only one identity, which is that of a created being. Therefore, those with a lowly social status and identity should not feel inferior. No matter whether or not you have talent, no matter how high your caliber is, and no matter whether or not you have ability, you should let go of your social status. You should also let go of ideas or views about ranking and grading people or classifying them as distinguished or humble based on their family background and family history. You should not feel inferior because of your own lowly social identity and status. You should be glad that although your family background is not so powerful and spectacular, and the status you have inherited is lowly, God has not abandoned you. God raises humble people up from the dunghill and the dust, and gives you the same identity, that of a created being, as other people. In God’s house and before God, your identity and status are equal to those of all the other people who have been chosen by God. Once you realize this, you should let go of your inferiority complex and stop clinging to it” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (13)). After reading God’s words, I felt pretty moved. In the past, I thought that people with social status and good family conditions had a noble standing, that they belonged to a higher class of people, and that those without status and standing were base and low-class. This view wasn’t in line with the truth. Since I was young, my family’s conditions were poor. I didn’t have a good education or learn any skills, and I was looked down on by others throughout my childhood and into adulthood. After I was married, as my husband was also poor and lacked any social status, I felt that my status and standing were too low, and I felt especially inferior. And I particularly envied and revered those with status and standing. After I believed in God, because I was a laborer, the potential gospel recipient would not let me spread the gospel to her, so I felt even more constrained. I believed that my background was poor, my status was low, and I would only be put to shame by others, and it would be difficult to spread the gospel, so I wished to escape and withdraw. Actually, in God’s eyes everybody is a created being, they have the same status and standing, and no distinction exists between high and low. Humans place themselves into different classes based on family background and social status, but God treats everyone fairly. People only need to accept the truth for God to save them. I am a created being, so I should fulfill my duty, not be constrained by status and standing.

Afterward, a brother showed me a passage of God’s words, and I was rather touched by it. Almighty God says: “Think about it—how should you approach man’s worth, social status, and family background? What is the correct attitude you should have? First of all, you should see from God’s words how He approaches this matter; only in this way will you come to understand the truth and not do anything that goes against the truth. So, how does God regard someone’s family background, social status, their future education and the wealth they possess in society? If you don’t see things based on God’s words and cannot stand on God’s side and accept things from God, then the way you see things will certainly be a far cry from what God intends. If there is not much difference, with only a little discrepancy, then that’s not a problem; if the way you see things goes completely against what God intends, then it is at odds with the truth. As far as God is concerned, what He gives people and how much He gives is up to Him, and the status people have in society is also ordained by God and is absolutely not contrived by people themselves. If God causes someone to suffer pain and poverty, does that mean they have no hope of being saved? If they are of low worth and low social position, will God not save them? If they have a low status in society, are they then of low status in the eyes of God? Not necessarily. What does this depend on? It depends on the path this person walks, on what they pursue, and on their attitude toward the truth and God. If someone’s social status is very low, their family is very poor, and they have a low level of education, yet they believe in God in a down-to-earth manner, and they love the truth and positive things, then in God’s eyes do they have a high or low worth, are they valuable or worthless? They are valuable. Looking at it from this perspective, what does someone’s worth—whether high or low, noble or lowly—depend on? It depends on how God sees you. If God sees you as someone who pursues the truth, then you have worth and are valuable—you are a valuable vessel. If God sees that you do not pursue the truth and you do not sincerely expend yourself for Him, then you are worthless and are not valuable—you are a lowly vessel. No matter how highly educated you are or how high your status in society is, if you don’t pursue or understand the truth, then your worth can never be high; even if many people support you, praise you, and adore you, you are still a contemptible wretch. So, why does God see people this way? Why is such a ‘noble’ person, with such a high status in society, with so many people praising and admiring them, with even their prestige being so high, seen by God as lowly? Why is the way God sees people totally contrary to the views people have of others? Is God setting Himself against people on purpose? Absolutely not. It’s because God is truth, God is righteousness, whereas man is corrupt and has no truth or righteousness, and God measures man by His own standard, and His standard for measuring man is the truth” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part One)). I understood from God’s words that the places and families in which people are born are all ordained by God, not something humans can choose, so people should submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements. God doesn’t look at people’s social status or education, whether high or low; He looks at whether people can practice His words and do their duty according to the truth principles. If someone has a high social status and their family background is good, but they don’t pursue or accept the truth, God will not save them. If someone has no knowledge or status, but they love positive things, can accept the truth, and act according to God’s words, then God will value them. God looks at people’s hearts and their attitude toward the truth. No matter how high someone’s social status may be, if they can come before God, read His words, seek to know Him, and fulfill the duty of a created being, they are noble in the eyes of God. All those who don’t come before God are low and worthless. Since I could be uplifted by God and receive His grace, fulfilling the duty of a created being, I should treasure the opportunity given by God to fulfill my own duty.

Later, I read another passage of God’s words: “No matter whether your family brings you glory or shame, or whether the identity and social status you inherit from your family are noble or humble, as far as you are concerned, this family is nothing more than that. It doesn’t determine whether you can understand the truth, whether you can pursue the truth, or whether you can embark on the path of pursuing the truth. Therefore, people should not regard it as a very important matter, because it does not determine a person’s fate, nor a person’s future, and less still does it determine the path that a person takes. The identity that you inherit from your family can only determine your own feelings and perceptions among others. Regardless of whether the identity that you inherit from your family is something you despise or is worth bragging about, it cannot determine whether you will be able to embark on the path of pursuing the truth. So when it comes to pursuing the truth, it doesn’t matter what kind of identity or social status you inherit from your family. Even if the identity you inherit makes you feel superior and honored, it is not worth mentioning. Or, if it gives you feelings of shame, inferiority, and low self-esteem, it will not affect your pursuit of the truth. Is it not so? (Yes.) It will not affect your pursuit of the truth in the slightest, nor will it affect your identity as a created being before God. On the contrary, no matter what identity and social status you inherit from your family, from God’s point of view, everyone has the same opportunity to be saved, and performs their duty and pursues the truth with the same status and identity. The identity that you inherit from your family, whether it be honorable or shameful, does not determine your humanity, nor does it determine the path you take. However, if you attach a great deal of importance to it, and regard it as an essential part of your life and being, then you will hold onto it tightly, never let go of it, and take pride in it. If the identity you inherit from your family is noble, then you will regard it as a kind of capital, whereas if the identity you inherit from your family is lowly, you will regard it as a shameful thing. No matter whether the identity you inherit from your family is noble, glorious, or shameful, that is just your personal understanding, and merely the result of looking at the issue from the perspective of your corrupt humanity. It is just your own feeling, perception and understanding, which is not in line with the truth and has nothing to do with the truth. It is not capital for your pursuit of the truth and, of course, it is not a hindrance to your pursuit of the truth. If your social status is noble and elevated, that does not mean it is capital for your salvation. If your social status is lowly and humble, that does not mean it is a hindrance to your pursuit of the truth, let alone a hindrance to your pursuit of salvation” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (12)). After reading God’s words, I realized that family and social status have nothing to do with people believing in God, pursuing the truth, and receiving salvation. Moreover, spreading the gospel has nothing to do with one’s status and standing, but has to do with their attitude toward their duty, as well as whether they can clearly fellowship about and bear witness to God’s work while spreading the gospel, and whether the potential gospel recipients sincerely believe in God, because only those who sincerely believe in God are God’s sheep, and only they can hear and understand God’s voice. I thought of a brother in a gospel movie who was a Catholic priest with a pretty high status and standing. When the brothers and sisters spread the gospel to him, he didn’t look at what their status and standing were, but heard God’s words and was willing to seek and investigate. He determined that it was God’s voice and accepted. I found that what those sincere believers want to hear is God’s words and the truth. The reason that I often felt constrained by my low status and standing was because there was no place for God in my heart, and I didn’t view things based on God’s words. At this point, I understood that I was a created being, and spreading the gospel was my responsibility and obligation. No matter whether the status and standing of a potential gospel recipient were high or low, they were all corrupted people in need of God’s salvation. My responsibility was to bear witness to what God says and does; as for whether or not they could accept it, that depended on if they were God’s sheep. If they were, they would naturally be able to hear and understand God’s voice.

In August of 2023, a sister asked me to spread the gospel to a potential gospel recipient. When I found out that the family of this gospel recipient was wealthy and influential, and one of her family members was a military official, my first thought was that my own status and standing were low, that there was too much distance in between us, and that I couldn’t cooperate. What if she looked down on me and was unwilling to listen to me bear witness? I thought about the feeling when I was mocked and looked down upon, so I didn’t really wish to get in touch with those who had a high status. Then I thought of these words of God: “So, how does God regard someone’s family background, social status, their future education and the wealth they possess in society? If you don’t see things based on God’s words and cannot stand on God’s side and accept things from God, then the way you see things will certainly be a far cry from what God intends” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part One)). I realized that I still felt constrained by status and standing, that I should view matters based on God’s words. Regardless of how high the potential gospel recipient’s status and standing may be, in God’s eyes we are all created beings, our corrupt disposition is all the same, and we all need God’s salvation. I only needed to rely on God and do my best to cooperate. As for whether or not the potential gospel recipient could accept the gospel, that was in God’s hands. When I thought of this, I no longer felt constrained. Later, when I went to spread the gospel to this gospel recipient, I felt very much at peace, only thinking how to win her over. Who could have thought that she welcomed us very hospitably. I read Almighty God’s words to her, fellowshipping about and bearing witness to His work in the last days. She listened and was able to understand. When I fellowshipped for the fourth time, she said, “Sister, I enjoy listening to your preaching; you are welcome to come every day to my house. If you are bringing people for a gathering then come to my house on the fifth floor. I’ll show you around right now.” When I saw that she not only didn’t give me the cold shoulder, and was even willing to investigate God’s work, I felt very moved. I saw that those who sincerely believe in God hear God’s words and the truth, and that we need only to clearly fellowship and bear witness to God’s work for them to achieve results. If they are God’s sheep, then they can hear and understand God’s voice, and they can come before God. It doesn’t matter what their status and standing in society may be. Later, when I encountered potential gospel recipients with high status and standing while spreading the gospel, based on God’s words and the principles, I assessed whether they were someone to whom the gospel could be spread. If they were someone who sincerely believed in God, I cooperated wholeheartedly, fellowshipping about and bearing witness to God’s work. I no longer felt constrained by status and standing, and my heart found release. Thank God!