By Pat, Spain

Ever since I can remember, I often heard my parents say that my mother gave birth to me when she was already 33 years old, and had suffered heavy bleeding during childbirth. The hospital had even issued a critical illness notice saying that neither my mother’s survival nor mine could be guaranteed. It took three days and three nights for the two of us to be saved. Later, my mother often said that many of her recurring health problems were caused when she gave birth to me. Every time I thought about the pain my mother went through when she gave birth to me, I felt that I owed her too much. When I was in junior high school, my parents retired early from their public sector jobs, planning to start their own business to earn more money. In the end, my father set up a factory, but he was defrauded and was left with a lot of debt. When I got home from school, I often saw debt collectors at our home. At that time, I made up my mind to study hard, get into college, find a good job, and earn a lot of money, so that my parents would no longer have to live a life of being chased by creditors. Later, I was admitted to an undergraduate college. My father borrowed and scraped together enough money to pay for my first year’s tuition. Afterward, my parents followed me to the city where my college was and worked as coal briquette carriers to make money to pay for my studies. When I saw how hard my parents were working, it pained my heart. During those four years at college, I had only one goal: to graduate quickly and earn money to pay off my parents’ debts and repay their kindness. They had suffered so much for me, and whenever I thought of their suffering, my heart felt unbearably heavy, as if it was being crushed by a huge boulder. In 2006, I graduated from college and landed a job at a newspaper with good benefits and remuneration. It took me two years to pay off the money my parents owed, including the principal and interest. Although it was hard and tiring, I finally saw smiles on my parents’ faces, and they could hold their heads high and stand tall again. This brought me some happiness and satisfaction. Later, I basically reserved all my monthly salary to buy clothes and nutritional supplements for my parents. Whenever I brought home these bags full of things and saw the happy smiles on my parents’ faces, I felt that my efforts had been worthwhile and that I was a filial daughter who knew how to repay kindness. After I got married, I often gave most of my salary and bonuses to my parents. My parents meant the world to me. However, after helping my parents pay off their debts, I constantly felt empty inside, as if something had hollowed me out and I had lost my support. I felt like I had no aim or direction in life, and I often asked myself, “What is the purpose of life? Is getting married, having children, and making and spending money until I get old and die really all there is?”

In 2008, my parents-in-law preached Almighty God’s gospel of the last days to me. I read the words of God: “You are a created being—you should of course worship God and pursue a life of meaning. If you do not worship God but live within your filthy flesh, then are you not just a beast in human attire? Since you are a human being, you should expend yourself for God and endure all suffering! You should gladly and assuredly accept the little suffering you are subjected to today and live a meaningful life, like Job and Peter” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (2)). When I read the term “created being,” it felt very novel to me. I had never heard of this term before. I came to realize that I am a created being and that my life comes from God; I should live to worship God and do my duty. For so many years, I only knew that I was born and raised by my parents, but now I knew that my life comes from God, and that it is not just my parents who take care of me in my life; God is also watching over me. I was very excited, and felt like I finally had support, a place I belonged, and a sense of security. To be honest, in all those years, my life goal had been to make money to pay off my parents’ debts and repay their kindness. When the debts were paid off, my heart felt hollowed out, and suddenly I felt that my life had no direction and no purpose. Now the words of Almighty God gave me the answer. I should live to fulfill my duty as a created being and pursue the truth; this is God’s intention and requirement. Soon, I was watering newcomers in the church. I also preached God’s gospel of the last days to my parents, and they accepted it with joy. In the winter of 2009, I was elected to be a leader in the church. However, at the time I immediately refused without even thinking about it, as I was still working. I could manage to take time off occasionally to attend gatherings or preach the gospel, but being busy with the leadership duties would affect my work and mean I couldn’t earn more money to give to my parents. Their lives were a bit better than before, but I still had not achieved my goal. I had to save even more money for my parents’ future life. Later, the leaders fellowshipped with me several times about the significance of doing a duty, but I refused and made excuses every time. It wasn’t until early 2010 that I experienced something that made me start to wake up. I had used pretty much all my savings from over half the year to buy retirement insurance for my father, but I had been tricked. Overnight, my savings from the better part of the year had been wiped out. At that time, I felt very regretful. I had repeatedly refused the leadership duty in the past six months or more just to make money for my parents, but in the end it had all been in vain. I felt quite lost at that time, and thought, “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have done this for the past six months. If I had accepted leadership duty to start off with, just think how much more truth I would have obtained and how many more good deeds I would have prepared!” After that, I wanted to find a suitable opportunity to do my duty as soon as possible.

Not long after, my father fell headfirst from the second floor of the rental house. My dad was over 60 years old. Even though he fell from such a height and landed on his head, he escaped with only a minor scratch on his head and was still conscious. The place where my father landed was only a few centimeters away from some upright steel bars. Only the very spot where my father’s head landed had soft soil; just next to it was a concrete floor. If he had fallen only slightly to one side, his head would have been pierced by a steel bar or he would have suffered a severe concussion. This truly was God’s wonderful protection! After a few days, my father was able to walk normally again. My father’s accident had a profound impact on me. I had always wanted to protect my parents, keep them from suffering any misfortunes, and protect them from being bullied by bad people. However, I simply couldn’t stop my dad from having a sudden accident. I wanted to protect them but I just didn’t have the ability to do so. Besides, when my dad had the accident, I wasn’t able to rush home in time, and it was our brothers and sisters who dashed around taking care of him. I was moved to tears when I learned this. I thought of God’s words: “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? Why do you always worry about the family of your flesh and feel concerned for your loved ones?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 59). My parents and I are created beings in God’s hands, and our fates are orchestrated and arranged by His hands. However, I constantly wanted to protect them by relying on my own abilities, and arrogantly thought I could take care of them by relying on my own abilities. However, it simply wasn’t the case. After understanding this, I was willing to entrust my parents to God. I quit my job in May 2010, and started to do my duty as a leader in the church.

In 2012, the CCP intensified its persecution of believers in God, and my parents were so afraid of being arrested that they didn’t dare to believe in God anymore. Later, due to the CCP’s arrests and persecution, I fled overseas where I was free to believe in God and do my duty. At the beginning of 2015, I called my parents. I heard my mother crying and saying, “You are our only daughter. We have both suffered our whole lives. We’re old now, and we’re both sick. It is time for you to take care of us. You can’t be so lacking in conscience and so selfish! If you don’t come back, you won’t be able to see us for one final time before we die. Our relatives will rip you to shreds behind your back, and you will regret it for the rest of your life!” After I hung up the phone, I returned home with heavy, complicated feelings. For many days on end, I kept thinking about what my mother said, “You can’t be so lacking in conscience and so selfish! You won’t be able to see us for one final time before we die. Our relatives will rip you to shreds behind your back, and you will regret it for the rest of your life!” These words lingered in my ears, and I felt like I was going to collapse. During that time I didn’t want to talk, and I even kept silent during gatherings. I saw that the work of the church was very busy, but I just couldn’t put my heart into it. Although I did my duty every day, my heart wasn’t in it, and I just went through the motions. As a result, there was no progress in the gospel work, which I was responsible for. Since the CCP monitors phone calls, I didn’t dare to call my parents after that. Nine years passed in a flash, and during these nine years, I constantly lived with guilt and worry about my parents. I prayed for them all the time, that God may watch over and protect them so that they could be healthy and free from disease and misfortunes. I knew this was an unreasonable demand of God, but for my parents’ sake, I still prayed like this. Sometimes I wanted to cry when I pictured my parents suffering. In particular, the last words my mom said on the phone were engraved in my mind for so many years. I always felt that I owed them a lot. My parents are now in their seventies, and I don’t know how their health has been in recent years. I am their only daughter, and I should have been by their side to take care of them. However, because of the threat of arrest by the CCP, I didn’t dare to go back home and didn’t even dare to call them. I felt very guilty. My parents pinned all their hopes on me, but I haven’t contacted them in years. Would my mother be psychologically traumatized? My dad is so overweight—would he suffer from high blood sugar or high blood pressure? People often say that “Daughters are like warm cozy jackets for their parents,” but when my parents were old and sick, I couldn’t be there for them at their bedside. How our relatives would laugh at them! Although I also knew that believing in God and doing my duty is walking the right path, and that my heaven-sent vocation was doing the duty of a created being well, there was always a knot in my heart, and I felt that I was lacking in conscience for not being able to be filial to my parents, that I was an ungrateful person. I even regretted coming overseas, because if I had stayed in China, I might have had opportunities to take care of them. The knot in my heart only slowly started to loosen when I read a passage of God’s words.

Almighty God says: “First of all, most people choose to leave home to perform their duties in part because of the overarching objective circumstances, which necessitate them leaving their parents; they cannot stay by their parents’ side to take care of them and accompany them. It’s not that they willingly choose to leave their parents; this is the objective reason. For another thing, subjectively speaking, you go out to perform your duties not because you wanted to leave your parents and escape your responsibilities, but because of God’s calling. In order to cooperate with God’s work, accept His calling, and perform the duties of a created being, you had no choice but to leave your parents; you could not stay by their side to accompany them and take care of them. You didn’t leave them to avoid responsibilities, right? Leaving them to avoid your responsibilities and having to leave them to answer God’s calling and perform your duties—aren’t these of two different natures? (Yes.) In your heart, you do have emotional attachments and thoughts for your parents; your feelings are not empty. If objective circumstances allow, and you are able to stay by their side while also performing your duties, then you would be willing to stay by their side, regularly taking care of them and fulfilling your responsibilities. But because of objective circumstances, you must leave them; you cannot remain at their side. It’s not that you don’t want to fulfill your responsibilities as their child, but that you can’t. Isn’t this different in nature? (Yes.) If you left home to avoid being filial and fulfilling your responsibilities, that is unfilial and lacks humanity. Your parents raised you, but you can’t wait to spread your wings and quickly go off on your own. You don’t want to see your parents, and you don’t pay any regard when you hear about some difficulty they’ve encountered. Even if you have the means to help, you don’t; you just pretend not to hear and let others say whatever they want about you—you simply don’t want to fulfill your responsibilities. This is being unfilial. But is this the case now? (No.) Many people have left their counties, cities, provinces, or even their countries to perform their duties; they are already far away from their hometowns. Furthermore, it’s not convenient for them to stay in touch with their families for various reasons. Occasionally, they inquire about their parents’ current situation from people who came from the same hometown and feel relieved when they hear that their parents are still healthy and getting by okay. In fact, you are not unfilial; you haven’t reached the point of lacking humanity, where you don’t even want to care about your parents or fulfill your responsibilities toward them. It’s because of various objective reasons that you have to make this choice, so you’re not unfilial” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (16)). From God’s words I understood that genuine unfilial behavior is not wanting to help your parents no matter what difficulties they face and not wanting to fulfill your responsibilities, paying no heed to your parents even though the conditions permit you to take care of them by their side. This is being unfilial. If you want to take care of your parents in your heart but cannot go back home due to the environment, this is not being unfilial. Still less is it being unfilial if you cannot stay with your parents to take care of them because you must do your duty as a created being. This is submitting to God’s words and practicing the truth; it is not being an ungrateful wretch. I thought back to when I was at home. When I got paid, I bought nutritional supplements and clothes for my parents and went home to help them with their work and chat with them. I am not a person with no conscience, nor am I a cold-hearted, unfeeling person. God’s words untied the knot in my heart, and I no longer lived in self-reproach.

Later, I read a passage of God’s words quoted in an experiential testimony video, which touched me deeply and enabled me to let go of some of the guilt I felt toward my parents. Almighty God says: “Let’s look at the matter of your parents giving birth to you. Who was it that chose for them to give birth to you: you or your parents? Who chose whom? If you look at this from God’s perspective, the answer is: neither of you. Neither you nor your parents chose for them to give birth to you. If you look at the root of this matter, this was ordained by God. We’ll put this topic to one side for now, as this matter is easy for people to understand. From your perspective, you were passively born to your parents, without having any choice in the matter. From the perspective of your parents, they gave birth to you through their own independent will, right? In other words, putting aside God’s ordination, when it comes to the matter of giving birth to you, it was your parents who had all the power. They chose to give birth to you, and they called all the shots. You did not choose for them to give birth to you, you were passively born to them, and you didn’t have any choice in the matter. So, since your parents had all the power, and they chose to give birth to you, they have an obligation and a responsibility to bring you up, to raise you into an adult, to supply you with an education, with food, clothes, and money—this is their responsibility and obligation, and it is what they ought to do. Whereas you were always passive during the period that they were raising you, you didn’t have the right to choose—you had to be raised by them. Because you were young, you didn’t have the capacity to raise yourself, you had no choice but to be passively brought up by your parents. You were raised in the way that your parents chose, if they gave you nice food and drinks, then you ate and drank nice food and drinks. If your parents provided you with a living environment where you survived off chaff and wild plants, then you survived off chaff and wild plants. In any case, when you were being raised, you were passive, and your parents were fulfilling their responsibility. … In any case, by raising you your parents are fulfilling a responsibility and an obligation. Raising you into an adult is their obligation and responsibility, and this cannot be called kindness. If it cannot be called kindness, then is it not something that you ought to enjoy? (It is.) This is a kind of right that you should enjoy. You should be raised by your parents, because before you reach adulthood, the role that you play is that of a child being brought up. Therefore, your parents are just fulfilling a kind of responsibility toward you, and you are just receiving it, but you are certainly not receiving grace or kindness from them. For any living creature, bearing and looking after children, reproducing, and raising the next generation is a kind of responsibility. For example, birds, cows, sheep, and even tigers have to take care of their offspring after they reproduce. There are no living creatures that do not raise their offspring. It’s possible that there are some exceptions, but there are not many of them. It’s a natural phenomenon in the existence of living creatures, it’s an instinct for living creatures, and it cannot be attributed to kindness. They are just abiding by a law that the Creator set out for animals and for mankind. Therefore, your parents raising you isn’t a kind of kindness. Based on this, it can be said that your parents are not your creditors. They are fulfilling their responsibility to you. No matter how much effort and money they spend on you, they should not ask you to recompense them, because this is their responsibility as parents. Since it is a responsibility and an obligation, it should be free, and they should not ask for compensation. By raising you, your parents were just fulfilling their responsibility and obligation, and this should be unpaid, and it should not be a transaction. So, you do not need to approach your parents or handle your relationship with them according to the idea of recompensing them” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (17)). God’s words are very clear. My parents chose to give birth to me and raise me. All the hard work they put in throughout this process was part of their responsibility and obligation to raise their child. Because they chose to give birth to me, they had to take responsibility for me. Just like animals reproducing and raising offspring, this is just an instinct and cannot be called kindness. It’s even the same as keeping a pet cat or dog. Since you choose to keep pets, you cannot let them go hungry or mistreat them; that is your responsibility and obligation. I thought back to how my mother almost died giving birth to me, and when I was in junior high school, my father was defrauded out of a lot of money when he opened a factory. Later, my parents moved to the city where I went to college to toil as laborers carrying coal briquettes to pay for my college education. They were looked down upon and got sick from the exhaustion. I felt that all of this constituted a debt I owed to my parents. I owed them not only money, but a debt of gratitude that I could never repay; the more they had suffered in their lives, the more I felt that I owed them. When I compared this with God’s words, I finally understood that this view of mine was mistaken. My parents chose to give birth to me, so, in the period in which they were raising me, all the work they did, all the difficulties that came upon them, and all that they lacked in their lives were things that they had to experience in order to survive, and were due to God’s sovereignty and preordination. The ups and downs, hardships, and sufferings they experienced in their lives should not be borne by me and are not a debt I owe to them. God says: “The amount an individual must suffer and the distance they must walk on their path is ordained by God, and no one can really help anyone else” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Path … (6)). All the things that my parents experienced in their lives were ordained for them by God, and had nothing to do with me. My previous views were so absurd!

I continued to seek: For so many years, I had been living in a state of being indebted to my parents. How could I solve this problem? I read a passage of God’s words and found the root cause of the problem. Almighty God says: “Due to the conditioning of Chinese traditional culture, in Chinese people’s traditional notions they believe that one must observe filial piety toward their parents. Whoever does not observe filial piety is an unfilial child. These ideas have been instilled in people since childhood, and they are taught in practically every household, as well as in every school and in society at large. When a person’s head has been filled with such stuff, they think, ‘Filial piety is more important than anything. If I weren’t to observe it, I wouldn’t be a good person—I’d be an unfilial child and I’d be denounced by society. I’d be a person who lacks conscience.’ Is this view correct? People have seen so many truths expressed by God—has God demanded that one show filial piety toward their parents? Is this one of the truths that believers in God must understand? No, it is not. God has only fellowshipped on some principles. … Satan uses this kind of traditional culture and notions of morality to bind your thoughts, your mind, and your heart, leaving you unable to accept God’s words; you have been possessed by these things of Satan, and rendered incapable of accepting God’s words. When you want to practice God’s words, these things cause disturbance within you, cause you to oppose the truth and God’s requirements, and make you powerless to rid yourself of the yoke of traditional culture. After struggling for a while, you compromise: You prefer to believe traditional notions of morality are correct and in line with the truth, and so you reject or forsake God’s words. You do not accept God’s words as the truth and you think nothing of being saved, feeling that you still live in this world, and can only survive by relying on these things. Unable to endure society’s recrimination, you would rather choose to give up the truth and God’s words, abandoning yourself to traditional notions of morality and the influence of Satan, preferring to offend God and not practice the truth. Tell Me, is man not pitiful? Do they not have need of God’s salvation? Some people have believed in God for many years, but still have no insight into the matter of filial piety. They really do not understand the truth. They can never break through this barrier of worldly relationships; they do not have the courage, nor the faith, let alone the determination, so they cannot love and obey God” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Recognizing One’s Own Misguided Views Can One Truly Transform). What God exposed was exactly my state. From a young age, I had been inculcated with traditional thoughts and ideas such as “Filial piety is a virtue to be held above all else” and “Filial piety is greater than heaven.” I believed that these were a criterion for measuring the quality of a person’s character and whether they had a conscience, and believed that people who were unfilial to their parents were beasts and should be spurned by the people of the world. I also always looked down on and even despised those who were not filial to their parents. Influenced by this traditional thinking, so as not to add to the burden on my parents, when I was in senior high school, I only ate pickled vegetables and steamed buns for two months on end, and often had stomachaches but didn’t tell them in case they worried. When I went to college, in order to reduce the burden on my parents, I would rather suffer more and work to earn money than let them work more, and I rarely told them about the difficulties I encountered, bearing them all alone. When I saw them getting hurt or sick, I felt helpless and scared, and even wanted to be with them all the time. Later, I was pursued by the police for my belief in God and had to leave home to do my duty, so I couldn’t be with my parents to take care of them. As a result, I lived in a state of deep self-blame and guilt. In particular, when I heard my mother say that I had no conscience and that if I didn’t get to see them one last time before they died, I would regret it for the rest of my life, I also came to believe that I was an unfilial daughter, with no conscience and no humanity. Living in this state meant that my heart was not in my duty and the work of the church was affected. Although I knew that pursuing the truth and fulfilling my duty as a created being is my obligation and responsibility, in my heart, I still couldn’t break free of the shackles of traditional notions such as “Filial piety is greater than heaven” and “Be filial to your parents.” They were like iron chains, firmly fastened around my neck, causing me to refuse my duty time and time again in order to be filial to my parents and even making me regret coming overseas. God protected me as I escaped from the country of the great red dragon and came to a democratic and free country so I could believe in Him, do my duty, and enjoy more favorable conditions for pursuing the truth. This was God’s love, but I didn’t know what was good for me and was ungrateful to God, and I regretted leaving the country instead. I truly was absolutely lacking in conscience! Only then did I realize that these traditional thoughts and ideas are Satan’s despicable means of harming people and ruining their salvation. They are negative things that are in opposition to God. Living by these views would only take me further and further away from God and make me resist God even more. I thought of how Peter resolutely left his parents behind in order to follow the Lord. Even though he hadn’t heard so many truths at that time, he was able to follow God wholeheartedly. In contrast, I have heard so many truths expressed by Almighty God, but I never entrusted my heart to Him. On the outside, I was doing my duty, but in my heart, I was still thinking about my parents. If God had not exposed the essence of the traditional thoughts and ideas of “being filial to your parents,” I think I would have lived my entire life for the satanic phrase “Filial piety is greater than heaven.” When I thought this, I suddenly felt that my life was very pitiable. I am 41 years old, and for nearly 30 years, since I was 13, I had been living to repay my parents’ kindness. What a pitiable life I had led! These traditional thoughts and ideas that Satan had instilled in me made me feel miserable and repressed. I lived in indebtedness and guilt toward my parents all year round, and I could not dedicate more of my heart to pursuing the truth and doing my duty. I really regretted that I had not sought the truth and resolved these deep-rooted traditional thoughts and ideas much sooner, missing many opportunities to gain the truth as a result. From that point on, I no longer wanted to live by the view that “Filial piety is greater than heaven.” I wanted to cherish my remaining time and dedicate my whole being and heart to my duty to repay God’s love for me.

Later, I read more of God’s words: “Is showing filial piety toward one’s parents the truth? (No, it’s not.) Being filial to one’s parents is a correct and positive thing, but why do we say that it is not the truth? (Because people do not show filial piety to their parents with principles and they are not able to discern what kind of people their parents truly are.) How a person should treat their parents relates to the truth. If your parents believe in God and treat you well, should you be filial to them? (Yes.) How are you filial? You treat them differently from brothers and sisters. You do everything they say, and if they are old, you must stay by their side to care for them, which stops you from going out to perform your duty. Is it right to do this? (No.) What should you do at such times? This depends on the circumstances. If you are still able to look after them whilst performing your duty near your home, and your parents do not object to your faith in God, then you should fulfill your responsibility as a son or daughter and help your parents with some work. If they are ill, look after them; if something is troubling them, comfort them; if your financial circumstances allow, buy them the nutritional supplements that suit your budget. However, what should you choose to do if you are busy with your duty, there is no one to look after your parents, and they, too, believe in God? What truth should you practice? Since being filial to one’s parents is not the truth, but only a human responsibility and obligation, what then should you do if your obligation conflicts with your duty? (Prioritize my duty; put duty first.) An obligation is not necessarily one’s duty. Choosing to perform one’s duty is practicing the truth, whereas fulfilling an obligation is not. If you have this condition, you may fulfill this responsibility or obligation, but if the current environment does not allow it, what should you do? You should say, ‘I must do my duty—that is practicing the truth. Being filial to my parents is living by my conscience and it falls short of the practice of the truth.’ So, you should prioritize your duty and uphold it. If you have no duty now, and don’t work far from home, and live close to your parents, then find ways to take care of them. Do your best to help them live a little better and lessen their suffering. But this also depends on what kind of people your parents are. What should you do if your parents are of poor humanity, if they constantly hinder you from believing in God, and if they keep dragging you away from believing in God and performing your duty? What is the truth that you should practice? (Rejection.) At this time, you must reject them. You have fulfilled your obligation. Your parents don’t believe in God, so you have no obligation to show filial respect to them. If they believe in God, then they are family, your parents. If they do not, then you are walking different paths: They believe in Satan and worship the devil king, and they walk the path of Satan; they are people who are walking different paths to those who believe in God. You are no longer a family. They regard believers in God as their adversaries and enemies, so you have no more obligation to take care of them and must cut them off completely. Which is the truth: being filial to one’s parents or performing one’s duty? Of course, performing one’s duty is the truth. Performing one’s duty in God’s house is not simply about fulfilling one’s obligation and doing what one is supposed to do. It is about performing the duty of a created being. Herein is God’s commission; it is your obligation, your responsibility. This is a true responsibility, which is to fulfill your responsibility and obligation before the Creator. This is the Creator’s requirement of people, and it is the great matter of life. But showing filial respect to one’s parents is merely the responsibility and obligation of a son or daughter. It is certainly not commissioned by God, and less still does it accord with God’s requirement. Therefore, between showing filial respect to one’s parents and performing one’s duty, there is no doubt that performing one’s duty, and that alone, is practicing the truth. Performing one’s duty as a created being is the truth, and it is a bounden duty. Showing filial respect to one’s parents is about being filial to people. It does not mean that one is performing their duty, nor does it mean that they are practicing the truth” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Truth Reality?). God’s words are very clear. Being filial to one’s parents is a positive thing, and it is what those with normal humanity should do. If our parents have good humanity, believe in God, or support our belief in God, as their children, we should help them with chores to the best of our ability, take care of them, and keep them company. If we have the financial means, we can buy some nutritional supplements for our parents to improve their lives a bit; but if we are too busy with our duty and the environment does not allow us to do so, we should choose to do our duty. This is practicing the truth. Being filial to our parents is merely fulfilling our responsibilities and obligations; it falls short of the practice of the truth. My parents used to believe in God, but they stopped believing in God because they were timid and afraid of being arrested by the CCP. However, they didn’t object to my belief in God, and if I were with them, all I would need to do is to fulfill my obligations as their daughter. I thought of the time before I came out to do my duty. I went home every week to help my parents with laundry and chores, bought them some tasty treats, and took them to the doctor when they felt unwell. I had fulfilled my obligations as their daughter. Now I can’t go back. All I can do is entrust them to God’s hands, and have faith that God will make suitable arrangements for them. Now, catastrophes are getting bigger and bigger, and wars and plagues are springing up all around. Bringing more people before God to accept Almighty God’s gospel of the last days and receive His salvation is God’s urgent intention, and the duty I must do. I must do my utmost to fulfill my duty; this is practicing the truth. I thank God for His words, which led and guided me step by step, and finally rid me of the burden that had been weighing on my heart for such a long time. Now I no longer feel that all the suffering my parents endured in raising me is a debt I should repay, and I can finally let go of my burdens and do my duty with all my heart. Thank God!