How do you feel after hearing the statements and content about the qualities of humanity that were fellowshipped over this recent period? Are you a bit clearer on the qualities of people who truly possess humanity? (We are a bit clearer than before.) So, after hearing this, have you come to any conclusions about what the main characteristics are of people who possess the qualities of humanity? Are you able to see what the characteristics of someone’s humanity are based on the details and specifics that were fellowshipped? (Through God’s recent fellowship, I now understand that people with the qualities of humanity possess conscience and reason, and are able to discern right from wrong.) A person who possesses the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity views people and things, and conducts themselves and acts, on the foundation of their conscience and reason. Their views on people and their principles for self-conduct are built on this foundation of conscience and reason. This is very accurate, isn’t it? (Yes.) A person who does not possess conscience and reason has certain characteristics regarding their views on people and their principles for self-conduct. People who do possess conscience and reason, meanwhile, also have certain characteristics regarding their views on people and their principles for self-conduct, and these characteristics are not at all hollow; they are actually revealed and manifested in the daily lives of people with conscience and reason. No matter what era or what kind of social environment someone lives in, if they possess conscience and reason, they will live out some qualities of humanity. With every matter in their life, or with most matters involving thoughts and views and principles for self-conduct, they will clearly reveal the qualities of conscience and reason; this is not at all something hollow. Check this against the people around you—is this not the case? (It is.) When someone possesses conscience and reason, they will have manifestations of uprightness and kindness. Since their conscience compels and acts upon them, they will have certain boundaries in how they conduct themselves and act, and due to the function of their reason and the restraining effect it has on them—or, within the bounds of their reason—they will have specific manifestations and specific living out. So, to determine whether someone possesses conscience and reason, look at their actual manifestations; look at whether their usual viewpoints, principles, and boundaries for how they view people and things, and conduct themselves and act, conform to the standards of conscience and reason, and whether their lowest boundary is within the bounds of conscience and reason and is under the control of their conscience and reason. If, when viewing people and things, and conducting themselves and acting, a person’s conscience and reason don’t function, and they themselves are not controlled and restrained by their conscience and reason, then they will often show themselves to be going against conscience and reason, or to have lost their conscience and reason. In daily life, what this person manifests and lives out is simply a lack of conscience and an absence of reason. When they encounter matters, they only spout twisted reasoning, and their thoughts and views are particularly extreme, obstinate, and abnormal. They’re not particular about the way they speak, and they fail to distinguish between insiders and outsiders when speaking; everything they say is nonsensical and muddled. Their actions also, frequently, exceed the bounds of reason, are devoid of principles, boundaries, and even more so wisdom, and are particularly impetuous; they only do foolish and stupid things. Whether it’s associating with others or handling matters, they can never find the correct principles or direction, much less do they have any principles or boundaries in how they conduct themselves. They do not know how to conduct themselves; they do not know what it means to conduct oneself or what kind of person they should try to be, nor do they know what a true life is or what kind of path people should walk. They have absolutely no concept of these things in their heart; they go about their days in a haze, without any goals or any direction. Whenever they encounter something, they just muddle through it, unable to draw any experience or lessons from it, or come away with any correct paths of practice. No matter how long they live, they always remain addlebrained and muddleheaded. Do such people possess conscience and reason? (No.) They seem to live quite happily and easily every day, acting like a carefree fool, without experiencing any difficulties. But when they encounter matters, the more these matters involve thoughts, views, and principles for self-conduct, the more muddled and at a loss they become. Especially when they encounter complex people, events, and things, they lack even the most basic wisdom, intelligence, and principles for self-conduct. Whether in terms of IQ or principles for self-conduct, such people fall short of possessing the qualities of humanity. Living in this world, people will face all kinds of people, events, and things, as well as life’s major and minor matters. A true human being possesses conscience and reason; when they encounter these people, events, and things, they have principles, and they possess some relatively correct and positive thoughts and views. Furthermore, when handling these people, events, and things, they will make judgments within the bounds of rationality. Even if they have not accepted God’s work and do not understand the truth, they will still make judgments and handle these matters within the bounds of conscience and reason. They are not addlebrained or muddleheaded when they are faced with situations, but are rather driven and restrained by their conscience and reason, so they will have basic principles of self-conduct for handling these matters. Apart from uprightness and kindness, another most obvious characteristic of people who possess the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity is having a sense of shame. I fellowshipped a bit on having a sense of shame when fellowshipping on the manifestations of uprightness and kindness before. Apart from what I fellowshipped then, there is still lots of content that’s more specific, and that’s what we’ll proceed with today.

Since someone who possesses conscience and reason has a functioning conscience and also possesses reason, it’s certain that they will clearly possess the characteristic of having a sense of shame in how they conduct themselves. First, let’s talk about some manifestations or sayings about having a sense of shame that you have encountered in daily life. For example, there are certain dirty words you cannot bring yourself to say; the idea of saying such things strikes you as embarrassing—is this having a sense of shame? (Yes.) And there are some things that are ugly and wicked; they cannot be brought out into the open, and you cannot bring yourself to do them—is this having a sense of shame? When you do shameful things, you feel remorseful in your heart and hate yourself—is this having a sense of shame? (Yes.) What other manifestations are there? (People with a sense of shame care about their pride, and know to feel ashamed as necessary.) These are things anyone can think of. What is another way to put “having a sense of shame”? (Having a feeling of shame.) In daily life, don’t we often say, “Don’t you have any shame?” (Yes.) What does having a sense of shame mainly involve? Does it involve integrity and dignity? (Yes.) When a person has a sense of shame, they particularly care about their own integrity and dignity. They will not forfeit their integrity or use their dignity in exchange for things that people consider to be good or things that are beneficial to themselves. In a certain sense, having a sense of shame means safeguarding one’s integrity and dignity even if it means sacrificing personal interests. The conscience of people with a sense of shame functions when they act; that is, in the eyes of others, they have relatively more integrity and dignity. In their speech and actions they have nothing to hide and are open and aboveboard. They don’t do despicable and sordid things, and the principles they adhere to or the reasoning they express can stand up to people’s scrutiny; others don’t criticize them behind their backs or make gossipy remarks about them. That is to say, if a person has a sense of shame, their ways and methods of doing things will be relatively open and aboveboard. They don’t try to do anything shady, and they are not despicable or sordid. The boundaries for such people’s actions and the ways they act are basically within the bounds of conscience and reason. The principles and ways by which people with a sense of shame conduct themselves, and the goals they set for their self-conduct, are just like this. Apart from these things, people with a sense of shame certainly have some specific manifestations, and live out and reveal some specific things. Or, in some matters, they possess some relatively positive thoughts and views, and they conduct themselves and act under the guidance of these positive thoughts and views. For example, when the church is electing leaders at all levels, because people with a sense of shame have corrupt dispositions, they love status and have ambitions just like anyone else; they also want to be highly regarded, and want to have status and high prestige among people—they are the same as everyone else in this regard. However, the way a person with a sense of shame attains status is not by trying every means to show off and boast about themselves to gain the high regard of the brothers and sisters, or by shamelessly vying with others, using unusual means or dishonorable ways to do sordid things. Rather, they want to be elected as a leader based on their real abilities; for example, by achieving some results in a professional area via utilizing their strengths or enduring hardship and paying a price—or, by doing things that are beneficial to the brothers and sisters through living out their humanity well—so as to gain the recognition of the majority of the brothers and sisters, and thus be elected as a leader. If they don’t get elected, they also feel a bit of resentment inside. This resentment is a normal revelation of corruption, and a very natural manifestation of corrupt humankind. But they are able to treat this matter correctly: “The fact that people didn’t elect me shows that I still fall short. Perhaps I still have shortcomings in some areas. I wasn’t elected—I mustn’t try to stubbornly vie for it now. At the very least, I must have desirable traits in terms of caliber, humanity, or work capability for people to elect me. If I wasn’t elected due to not having any desirable traits, but still shamelessly insisted on being a leader, that would be so dishonorable!” Although they feel a bit disappointed and sad inside after losing the election, they are able to reflect on and know themselves, and see what shortcomings and inadequacies they have. Then they look at what strengths the elected person actually has, why the brothers and sisters elected that person, in what aspects they do the work better than them, and in what ways that person’s caliber is better than theirs. A person with a sense of shame will treat this matter rationally; after losing the election, they absolutely will not resist, complain, pass judgment, or hurl abuse. They absolutely will not do these things. Why won’t they do these things? Because this type of person possesses reason. Even when they encounter some setbacks and failures, they don’t lose their reason; they still live within the bounds of reason. Thus, they will treat the matter at hand rationally. Even if their corrupt dispositions drive or act upon them to feel upset, become negative, or even feel somewhat defiant, because they possess reason, they will quickly adjust their mentality and state in a short period of time, and then treat the matter of losing the election rationally. They will not vie for the position of leader, nor will they use underhanded means or ways to achieve their goal; they will not do things that go overboard. That is to say, in the eyes of others, this person is the same as other people with corrupt dispositions: They also love status and have the ambition and desire to gain it, but their love for status and their way of gaining it fall under the scope regulated by the quality of having a sense of shame within their humanity. They will not use unusual means to gain status, nor will they show off for the sake of status or to satisfy their ambition and desire, saying shameless things to gain high regard. They absolutely will not say or do such things. Instead, they quietly put effort into pursuing the truth and doing their duty. They do more and speak less, trying their best to keep their ambition and desire for status in check. They hope to achieve results and perform better through their own efforts, preparing sufficient stature for themselves to satisfy the conditions for serving as a leader or worker. They also hope that their efforts can be seen and recognized by the brothers and sisters, and that they can be elected as a leader in the future. Even if someone with a sense of shame has the ambition to be elected as a leader, they still do relatively rational things that are within the bounds of conscience and reason. In other words, even if they have the ambitions of corrupt humankind, they still care about their integrity and dignity; without forfeiting their integrity and dignity, they do things that are considered right, correct, and relatively positive according to the thoughts and notions of corrupt humankind. So, a person with a sense of shame exhibits this sense of shame particularly clearly even in the face of status and desire. Even if they love status and want to be a leader, they still care about their integrity and dignity; that is, their thoughts and views regarding such matters, as well as their ways and principles of acting, are relatively rational and positive. For starters, they do not fabricate facts to deceptively gain people’s trust or high regard; additionally, they do not use smooth talk or a false outward appearance that can trick people into taking a liking to them in order to gain their high regard. Even if they love status and want to be elected as a leader, they do not fabricate things, engage in deception, or use tactics. They believe that the basic principle they should abide by most is to do things in a down-to-earth manner, painstakingly applying themselves to do whatever God requires and whatever is right, striving to do it well, and putting more effort into the truth. They think to themselves, “If I understand the truth more and know how to fellowship the truth, won’t the brothers and sisters elect me as a leader?” They hope to gain recognition through their own efforts, by practically living out these manifestations of conscience and reason, rather than through fabrication. To put it in everyday language, they want to gain recognition by relying on their real abilities, actual talents, and practical work, and then have the opportunity to be elected as a leader. So, do you think such people possess a sense of shame? (Yes.) Would you say this is an objective evaluation of this type of person? (It is.) In what way is it objective? (Although this type of person also loves reputation and status, and has ambitions and desires, they can still use the standards of conscience to restrain themselves, and they care about their integrity and dignity. They do not engage in pretense or deception to gain people’s high regard and trust; rather, they want to gain recognition through genuinely paying a price and putting in effort. I feel that, relatively speaking, such people have some sense of shame.) If, in the face of status, someone doesn’t even have the manifestations of conscience and reason, yet people still say they have a sense of shame, aren’t these words hollow and impractical? (Yes.) Then under what circumstances is it objective and not hollow to say someone has a sense of shame? It is when they truly possess the manifestations of having conscience and reason when encountering matters, which includes the manifestation of a sense of shame found in normal humanity. Is a sense of shame something that people with normal humanity should possess? (Yes.)

What kind of manifestations does a person with a sense of shame have when they’re among other people? They take practical action. They do not rely on means such as fawning and flattering, forming cliques, inciting others, fabricating things, resorting to pretense, deceiving, lying, or acting one way to people’s faces and another behind their backs, to gain the prestige and status they want; instead, they keep their noses to the grindstone. What is the objective fact here? It’s that, because people with a sense of shame have corrupt dispositions, they will very naturally exhibit some qualities, thoughts and views, and ambitions and desires of corrupt humankind; this is very normal. But despite also having ambitions and loving status, people with a sense of shame will not use unusual means to gain status; rather, they want to rely on their real abilities to take practical action. Of course, if this type of person is up to standard in terms of their caliber, humanity, and all other aspects, it’s only a matter of time before they do get elected as a leader. But in a social group or in the workplace, what ends up happening to these people who have conscience and reason? Not only will they not be promoted or placed in important positions, but they will even be ostracized and suppressed. They do not fawn and flatter, nor do they curry favor with leaders or give them gifts, much less do they try to get in good with their colleagues. They do not make use of tactics or try to engage in deception, nor do they use shrewd philosophies for worldly dealings to play both sides. If you were to ask them to do these things, they would always feel embarrassed; they could not bring themselves to do them. If you were to ask them to fawn over the leaders and say nothing but good things about them, they could not bring themselves to do so, as they don’t see anything good in the leaders. If they went against how they really felt and uttered a fawning remark like, “The leaders deal with a myriad of matters every day and bend over backward for us,” they would feel embarrassed, smacking themselves in the face later after saying it. They think to themselves, “These leaders spend all day eating, drinking, and merrymaking; they are fat and ruddy-faced. How are they dealing with a myriad of matters every day? They’re all corrupt officials who do no proper work, but just eat, drink, whore, and gamble. They’re all devils who eat human flesh and drink human blood!” They deeply hate these people inside and don’t want to go against how they really feel and say a single fawning word to them. They feel that saying fawning things is sickening, and wouldn’t be caught dead saying them. Although they have been somewhat tainted by societal trends and can say some things that go against how they really feel, they have a limit; they will not go too far and become fulsome. If they actually do give gifts and ask for favors in order to get something done, it’s because they had no other choice. Only when they are truly forced into a corner and have no other options will they go against how they really feel and do such a thing. But after doing it, they will regret it, feeling that they’ve lost their dignity and are too ashamed to face anyone. It leaves a mark in their hearts, and they won’t be able to get over this matter for the rest of their lives. When people with a sense of shame find themselves in certain special circumstances where, owing to a sense of helplessness, the pressures of life, or outside pressure, they have no other choice but to do things that render their integrity and dignity forfeit, this becomes a source of humiliation for the rest of their lives. Whenever they think of it, they feel regret and a dull ache in their hearts, vowing never to do such a thing again.

Having a sense of shame is an obvious characteristic among the qualities of humanity. This characteristic can restrain people from doing things that render their integrity and dignity forfeit, or help them do such things less. It can also protect people from overstepping the boundaries of conscience and reason, and help them choose to do relatively positive and correct things. This is very important. Even in the face of status, self-interests, and money, and even for the sake of getting by and surviving, people with a sense of shame are still restrained by their conscience and reason in whatever they do, and will not overstep these boundaries. If they occasionally do overstep them, and do things that go against their conscience and reason, causing them to forfeit their dignity and lose their integrity, then their sense of shame will become even stronger, and the sense of reproach from their conscience will intensify. This is because once this type of person oversteps the boundaries established by their sense of shame, or breaks free from the control and restraint their sense of shame provides, they will feel even more uneasy and guilty, and blame themselves even more in their heart. Thus, you can see that when people who have a sense of shame are in the presence of people with status and standing, they appear very isolated and out of place, even giving others the impression that they are somewhat of an oddity. Those who are absolutely devoid of conscience and reason get along perfectly with each other, whereas people with conscience and reason feel particularly awkward when they are with such people. People without conscience and reason do not feel upset inside no matter how much their words run contrary to the facts, nor do they feel anything no matter how shameless the things they say are. By contrast, because people with conscience and reason have a sense of shame, not only can they not bring themselves to say these things, but they also feel uncomfortable and find it unbearable to hear such things. Thus, associating with people who have no sense of shame is a kind of torment for them. This torment stems from their own sense of shame on the one hand, and from being ostracized on the other. Because their principles for conducting themselves and handling matters make others feel that they are very peculiar and an oddity, as if they are completely detached from worldly affairs, and they’re viewed as being sanctimonious, people thus exclude them or stay away from them. Therefore, this type of person will be pushed aside among nonbelievers, especially in the workplace; in the words of nonbelievers, such people aren’t welcome anywhere. Nonbelievers all want to climb the ladder using all sorts of unusual means, resorting to any means necessary to get what they want. By contrast, people with a sense of shame always want to earn a living fairly, reasonably, and justly, relying on their abilities. This will not get them anywhere in any social group, because the rules of the game in any such group are not just; rather, everyone follows unspoken rules. Those who prosper and have prestige are adept at living by these unspoken rules, whereas people with a sense of shame, because they safeguard their integrity and dignity, can never accept those unspoken rules of society. They don’t get these rules, they don’t like them, and all the more so they refuse to use them. Thus, within groups of people, while others may get promoted or be highly regarded by leaders, because they have a sense of shame, they always speak and act rigidly by the book, saying whatever is on their mind; from time to time, then, they end up offending their colleagues and the leaders, hitting the leaders’ sore spots and saying the very words the leaders least want to hear. By the time they realize it, it’s already too late. And what happens in the end? No matter how many years they’ve strived or how long they’ve been on the job, they never get promoted or placed in important positions. For those with conscience, reason, and a sense of shame, is living among such people bliss or agony? (Agony.) When they cannot see through this society and this corrupt humankind, they try every means to integrate into this society and into the people they live among. However, because they have conscience and reason, they cannot bring themselves to do things that go against their integrity and dignity. Thus, no matter how hard they try, and no matter how much effort they put in or how many sacrifices they make, the end result is that they can never integrate into this society or into the people they live among; they’re always out of place among those people, and don’t even know why. They say to themselves, “This society is so unfair. If you don’t know how to make use of tactics or fawn and flatter, always wanting to safeguard your integrity and dignity or achieve your goals, you won’t get anywhere in any group of people.” This is the experience people with a sense of shame draw from surviving in society. What is the feeling they’re ultimately left with? Are they fond of this human society, or disappointed by it? (Disappointed.) They can only be disappointed. They throw themselves into society full of hope, feeling that good people still make up the majority in society, and that in society there is fairness, justice, and a place where people can argue their case. But after rushing about so arduously in society for so many years, what do they get for themselves in the end? What they get is the realization that not only is there no fairness or righteousness in the human world, but that it is also sinister. When a tiger pounces on you, you can at least try to avoid it; but when people go after you, you won’t even have an opportunity to try. This is what they ultimately walk away with; they end up disheartened and disappointed with society and humankind. They want to imitate these people by making use of tactics, fawning and flattering, getting close to leaders and superiors, giving gifts, and getting in good with people, but no matter how they try, they can never learn how to do these things; they cannot even say a few fawning words smoothly, and when they try they end up with egg on their face and become a laughingstock. However, living in this society, they have no choice but to act like this. Every day, their conscience is laden with self-accusation and a sense of unease. They feel they have no hope in life; everything is either stressful or agonizing, and they feel a sense of frustration every day. Being confronted with the various issues that crop up with this society and this group of people is agonizing for them, and this agony gives them a tremendous sense of unease in their hearts. Although they learn to say some shameless things, or imitate others in doing things that go against their conscience and reason, inside they feel a sense of unease, as well as self-reproach and self-accusation. The more ill-at-ease they feel inside, the more they hate this society and humankind in their hearts, don’t they? (Yes. They will feel that this society is unfair and come to hate it.) They will hate humankind and hate this society. They hope for fairness and righteousness to emerge, hoping for someone to appear who can uphold justice and fairness, and for there to be a place where people can argue their case. But these are merely wishes; they cannot be realized in real life; there’s no place in society for people to argue their case. Although the influence of this society and living among various wicked groups of people cause them to unwittingly become tainted by things that are popularized and advocated by evil trends, or that are relatively trendy, the sense of shame deep in their hearts and their yearning for justice and positive things never disappear or change. In their hearts, they still hope for fairness and righteousness to emerge, so they do not have to conduct themselves in a way that’s contrary to how they really feel, do not have to betray their own integrity and dignity, and do not have to forfeit their sense of shame for the sake of making a living and surviving, living and conducting themselves so shamelessly. Although mingling in society and among corrupt people for so long has caused them to become tainted by some bad habits and has led them to adapt to societal trends, making it seem as if their conscience and reason have been eroded and obscured, if they are true human beings, their conscience and reason will never go away. Since their conscience and reason will not go away, their sense of shame will always be there. It’s just that, having been in society for so long, and having acquired a lot of knowledge and learned many philosophies for worldly dealings, they have picked up some bad habits in their humanity and acquired some things of Satan and devils in their disposition, so their conscience and reason are relatively numb and sluggish. But as long as they are human beings, and they possess the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity, their sense of shame will always be there—people like this are ones who can be saved.

When a person possesses conscience and reason, they also possess a sense of shame. Someone with a sense of shame is a person who has integrity and dignity, and such a person will love fairness and righteousness, and positive things. That is to say, judging by their nature essence, they love positive things; it’s just that before they understand what positive things are, they do not know what they should or should not like. Once they understand what positive things and negative things are, their preference for positive things becomes more specific and precise. If someone possesses conscience and reason, a basic manifestation of their qualities of humanity is a love for fairness and righteousness. They hope that, while living among others, they can be treated fairly, without needing to use tactics or ruses, and without having to follow any unspoken rules. They hope that interactions between people can be fair and that people can be treated justly. That is, they hope things can be straightforward and clear-cut: If you did something wrong, you did something wrong, and you should receive the punishment you deserve, while if you haven’t done anything wrong and have made a contribution, you should be rewarded. If people have skills and real knowledge and practical learning, they should be respected, promoted, and placed in important positions. If they lack real knowledge and practical learning, they should not be placed in important positions. Those with conscience and reason enjoy people like this, and they like this kind of living environment. Even if, after spending a long time in society, they have developed some bad habits or accepted some fallacious thoughts and views under the influence of evil trends, and have suffered setbacks and hit brick walls, they ultimately feel that it is only proper to go back to having a sense of shame. In their actions, they will unconsciously return to the principle of safeguarding their own integrity and dignity. When this type of person spends a long time in society and among others and is influenced by them, it is like a piece of fine jade being thrown into a garbage dump and covered in filth. Even if the filth is very thick and dirty, the essence of the jade remains unchanged; once the filth is removed, what is revealed is still a piece of jade. Therefore, when people who possess conscience, reason, and a sense of shame come to God’s house, the living environment there, as well as the work God does and the words He expresses, perfectly meet the needs deep within their hearts. What are the needs deep within their hearts? They love fairness and righteousness, love positive things, detest wickedness, detest the unspoken rules of society, and detest the infighting and backstabbing between people. If such people come to God’s house, and through experiencing the exposure, judgment, and chastisement of God’s words, and then undergoing God’s trials and refinement, and ultimately, submitting to God’s words and accepting the judgment and chastisement of His words, they little by little cast off the various corrupt dispositions revealed from their humanity, as well as the commonplace filth and bad habits within them, then they will become new human beings. That is to say, once people with a sense of shame meet this basic standard of humanity—accepting the truth, submitting to God’s words, and viewing people and things, and conducting themselves and acting, according to God’s words—they can, based on God’s words, know their corrupt dispositions and various incorrect thoughts and views, as well as their erroneous ways of conducting themselves and the wrong paths they have chosen. Regardless of whether one learned these things from society or they came directly from Satan’s corruption, if they possess a sense of shame, then after accepting God’s words, they will be able to practice the truth and gradually cast off these corrupt dispositions, and will thus have a great hope of attaining salvation.

If someone has no sense of shame, then they simply do not possess this basic condition of humanity—accepting God’s words, submitting to God’s words, and viewing people and things, and conducting themselves and acting, according to God’s words. Why do they not meet this basic condition? Because people without a sense of shame are not averse to negative things, to the various evil trends of society, or to Satan’s philosophies; rather, they are keen on these things, and can even accept, advocate, and propagate these viewpoints. They do not feel this is shameful, nor do they feel it goes against conscience and reason. That is, they do not have any feeling of shame whatsoever. No matter how they make use of tactics or do things that go against how they really feel, they do not feel ashamed. People with humanity and a sense of shame feel embarrassed for them, but not only are people without a sense of shame not the least bit repulsed by doing these things, they actually revel in them. People without a sense of shame are right in their element in the giant cesspool that is society, without any feelings of repulsion or hatred—it’s exactly where they play around. They hate fairness and righteousness, and they also hate it when others treat them in a just way. They simply like these unfair and unjust ways in society, as this gives them the opportunity to get what they want through various improper means. They feel that injustice is great, and that these evil trends and unspoken rules are wonderful. Why do they find them so great? Because the various trends and unspoken rules of this wicked human world allow them to get whatever they want, satisfying their ambitions and desires, as well as their various wicked demands. Thus, they feel this world is wonderful. If fairness and righteousness were to emerge in society, they would have no room to survive and would be unable to realize their ambitions and desires. Precisely because society is unfair and has unspoken rules, they have the opportunity to prosper and become a cut above the rest. If this world had fairness and righteousness, these wicked people without a sense of shame would not be able to stand out. Therefore, when they hear words of fairness and righteousness, they are highly repulsed by them and fly into a rage. In contrast, when people with a sense of shame hear words of fairness and righteousness, they feel in their hearts that life is full of light, and they have hope. Seeing the light, their hearts are liberated. If they see that society is full of wickedness, and that people all live by Satan’s philosophies and act according to unspoken rules, they feel that the road ahead is bleak and devoid of light. Therefore, for people with a sense of shame, God’s appearance and work, and the truths expressed by God, are exactly what their inner worlds need, and are also what they thirst and hope for in their hearts. God’s appearance, God’s work, and the fact that the truth reigns in God’s house allow people with a sense of shame and the qualities of humanity to see hope and to see the light. After coming to God’s house, although their corrupt dispositions are still in charge when they speak and act, they yearn for positive things in their hearts and are willing to accept the truth. In terms of the needs of their humanity, they are governed by conscience and reason, their words and actions can be restrained, and they can know themselves when they reveal corruption. If they can come to understand the truth and act according to principles, they can gain God’s approval. Living in God’s house, they feel hopeful; they see a bright future ahead, and their hearts are filled with hope. Whenever it is said that “the truth reigns in God’s house, God is righteous, and wherever God reigns there is fairness and righteousness,” people with conscience and reason feel joyful and comforted in their hearts, and of course, they also yearn for it. What does “yearning” mean? It means that when it is said that “the truth reigns in God’s house,” they feel happy and liberated in their hearts; deep down, they say amen to these words, and they feel a kind of pleasure. When it is said that “the truth reigns in God’s house, and wherever God works, fairness and righteousness reign,” people who possess the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity feel particularly satisfied inside. These two statements bring direction to their lives and also satisfy the needs of their humanity. They may not necessarily understand much of the truth, and they may not necessarily be able to practice many of God’s words, but just hearing the phrase “the truth reigns in God’s house” makes them feel particularly comforted and satisfied in their hearts. This phrase resonates with them strongly and stirs their hearts; this is a manifestation of the needs of their humanity. One’s attitude toward this phrase and what they feel deep down in their heart says a great deal about their essence and classification. You see, when Satans and devils hear “the truth reigns in God’s house,” they feel repulsed: “What do you mean ‘the truth reigns’? I haven’t seen the truth reigning!” When they hear “the truth reigns in God’s house,” they feel as if it is condemning them and threatening their lives, so they are repulsed by it; this is how Satans and devils react when they hear these words. In contrast, when muddled people and those who are of animals hear these words, they verbally acknowledge that the truth reigns in God’s house, but feel absolutely nothing in their hearts. They feel no happiness or joy, nor do they feel any resonance. Although they can agree with this statement and do not oppose it, it is not something they need in their hearts. But a true human being is different. They yearn and thirst for fairness and righteousness, so when they hear that the truth reigns in God’s house, their hearts brim with hope. Even if they encounter some special difficulties and setbacks, or suffer unfair treatment from antichrists and evil people, when they think of how the truth reigns in God’s house, their hearts brim with hope, their state gets better and better, and some even become filled with boundless joy. The feelings a true human being has when hearing the words “the truth reigns in God’s house” are different from those of people who are of Satan and devils, or who are of animals. You see, when a rabbit sees carrots and grass, it likes them and munches on them endlessly. But when a wolf sees carrots and grass, it feels repulsed, saying, “What’s so tasty about this? I think rabbits and chickens are much tastier!” No matter how much you tell it that carrots and grass are nutritious, the wolf remains completely unmoved. So, when people who are reincarnated from animals hear the words “the truth reigns in God’s house,” although they acknowledge in terms of doctrine that these words are correct, they are repulsed by them in their hearts. They do not accept these words in the slightest, and will never acknowledge that they are factual. In contrast, when a true human being hears “the truth reigns in God’s house, and there is fairness and righteousness with God,” they feel particularly fulfilled in their heart. They feel that they now have a path, and that there is hope for them as a person. You see, people of different classifications have different manifestations in how they treat the same matter. Since a true human being has such obvious feelings toward the phrase “the truth reigns in God’s house,” when it comes to other truths—involving some specific practices and God’s specific teachings to people—those with conscience and reason will particularly thirst for them. Even if currently, while their corrupt dispositions remain completely unchanged, practicing the truth is somewhat difficult for them because their stature is small and they have been corrupted too deeply by Satan, whenever they read these words of God, they are moved in their hearts and feel inspired. They will make up their minds to submit to God’s words and practice them. To them, God’s words are the driving force that inspires them to stay the course, and of course, they also constitute the practical path for them to pursue becoming someone God loves. For example, when God speaks of the stories of Noah, Job, Abraham, and Peter, people with qualities of humanity will first feel envious after hearing them. How envious do they get? To use an inappropriate expression, they “drool over” them. That is, when they hear that these people could possess such fear of and submission to God, they also want to be that kind of person, thinking, “I want to worship God like Job and Noah, and I hope to achieve absolute submission to God like Abraham, without any personal adulteration.” They have a kind of yearning; that is, when they hear the stories and testimonies of these figures, their hearts are stirred, and they feel inspired. What does it mean for their hearts to be stirred? It means they want to be this kind of person. They feel that being this kind of person is good and that it is their inner need; they feel that being this kind of person enables them to satisfy God, submit to God, and bear witness for God, and that this is the most wonderful, meaningful, and valuable thing. In their view, these things are the most precious and worthy of cherishing. So, when they hear about these positive things, they are touched in their hearts; they particularly love them, are especially interested in them, and are deeply impressed by them. Because these things perfectly meet their inner need for fairness and righteousness, and their thirst for positive things, these things are what they’re interested in, and are what they cannot do without in their lives. As for things that are valueless and meaningless, they are not interested in them. Before coming into contact with the truth and God’s words, they might have read some worldly literary works or articles about outlooks on life and philosophies of life, but after coming to believe in God and encountering God’s words, when they compare those things to the stories of the figures mentioned in God’s words or the truths of God’s words, they no longer like those things of the nonbelieving world; what they like most is this content involving the truth. That is to say, they have a thirst and a yearning in their hearts for positive things, for God’s words, and for the stories of figures that involve the truth. It is on this foundation that people can, step by step, understand the truth and enter the truth reality. For starters, positive things, the truth, and fairness and righteousness are the needs of their humanity. With these needs in their humanity, when they hear the truth, they are able to exhibit a thirst and a yearning for it, and it is only then that they can go a step further to accept it, submit to it, and enter into it. Only such people have hope of being purified and saved. Therefore, it is very important to have a sense of shame in one’s humanity.

If you were to ask someone with a sense of shame to go against their integrity and dignity, they would feel tormented inside; living with dignity and integrity is a need of their humanity. Building upon this, it can be said that it’s a very natural thing for them to accept the truth; we could also say it’s a matter of course and, naturally, something that’s relatively easy for them. The reason we could say it’s relatively easy is that people still have corrupt dispositions within them, but just in terms of humanity, it’s easier for people with a sense of shame to accept the truth. Additionally, if people with a sense of shame have some strong points, merits, and gifts, once they make some contributions and have some gains while doing their duty in the church, they will very normally share them with others in light of their conscience and reason. All people have been corrupted by Satan, and when people with a sense of shame share their experiences, understanding, and gains, they occasionally show off their strong points and merits. However, because they have a sense of shame, they are restrained and measured in their actions. What is it that allows them to be measured? It comes from their conscience and reason. Although they sometimes show off and unconsciously want to be highly regarded by others, because of their sense of shame and the restraint of the reason of their humanity, even if they do show off, they will not be so excessive or so dissolute and unrestrained. So, their speech is relatively objective and rational. For example, when their showing off reaches the point of contravening their sense of shame, they will rein themselves in and stop, rather than brazenly and unscrupulously flaunting themselves, showing off, and exalting and testifying to themselves, or shamelessly seeking people’s high regard, admiration, and veneration by any means necessary. Despite also having the revelations and manifestations of corrupt dispositions, and the thoughts or desires dictated by corrupt dispositions, people with a sense of shame will act based on conscience and reason when doing their duty, and on the foundation of safeguarding their own integrity and dignity. Even if they reveal a corrupt disposition, there are limits to it. In contrast, people without a sense of shame try every possible means to show off and exalt themselves under any circumstances and in any setting. They speak without a filter, saying all manner of things. They even claim credit for the good things done by others, or use talk of others’ shortcomings and mistakes to show off that they are superior to and better than others, talking about how good they are and how they are superior to others on the basis of suppressing and belittling them. For some people, the more people there are, the greater their desire to show off becomes; when there are few people, they feel their desire cannot be satisfied. So, the more people there are, the more they want to show off and perform; the more people there are, the more brazen they become and the less sense of shame they have—they go on endless monologues, unable to control themselves. They look for every opportunity to show off and flaunt themselves, flaunting how noble their status and position are, how high their educational qualifications are, how rich their knowledge is, how high their status in society is, what level of leader they have been in God’s house, what contributions they have made, and so on. They look for every opportunity to flaunt their outstanding qualities and show off that they are different from the rest. They show off endlessly, and the more they talk, the more worked up they get. If you ask them to fellowship on their knowledge of the truth or their experiences of life entry, their words are uninspired and they say only a few things. But when it comes to flaunting themselves, talking about how they are different from the rest, and what contributions they have made, they talk incessantly and endlessly, going on and on without the slightest sense of shame. When they finish saying these things and have nothing left to say, they talk about how they were the toughest fighters when they were young, how no one could beat them up, and how they even blinded another child in one eye. They even say, “The adults all said, ‘This child is not ordinary; they won’t be an ordinary person when they grow up!’” Aren’t people who say these things devoid of a sense of shame? They have no sense of shame; this is speaking bombastically and showing off. People without a sense of shame seize every opportunity to show off and exalt themselves, and they’re willing to pay any cost to do so. Regardless of how others view them, they have no shame at all. In contrast, people who do have a sense of shame will also show off and exalt themselves, but even if they do not understand the truth and have not undergone chastisement and judgment, they are measured when doing such things. Their words are, at the very least, objective. They will not say they can do things they cannot do, they will not talk big or brag, much less will they claim credit for the good things done by others. They will not say things that are fabricated out of thin air or invent facts. Why is this? They cannot bring themselves to say such things. They think, “If I didn’t do it, why should I say I did?” They would feel accused by their conscience. For example, if someone with conscience and reason and a sense of shame had poor grades in school, although they would want to boast that they have good caliber and are no worse than the average person, at most they will say, “I studied hard. I passed the entrance exams for junior high and high school on my own without spending any money to grease the wheels, and later I barely managed to get into a junior college.” They only say, “I also went to college,” and do not boast about anything. This cannot be considered showing off, because what they say is objective and true. They may omit things that embarrass them or cause them to lose face, but they absolutely will not say, “I was a great student; I was always in the top ten in my class.” They will not fabricate facts, make things up out of nothing, or say things that never happened. What is the reason they don’t say these things? It’s because they have a conscience and a sense of shame within them. Some people say, “Is it because someone around them knows the real truth about them?” Even if no one knows the real truth about them, they still cannot bring themselves to say these things, because they have a sense of shame and care about their pride. They feel that making things up out of nothing and fabricating facts is too shameful, and is without integrity and dignity. Some people say, “If others don’t know the real truth about them, they could fake it a little. What’s the big deal about faking it?” But they still wouldn’t. This is a matter of a person’s nature; it comes down to one’s classification. If you are someone with a sense of shame, your speech and actions will always remain within the bounds of having a sense of shame. You cannot overstep those bounds; if you occasionally do go one step over them, that is a very special circumstance. Once you overstep them, you feel a sense of uneasiness and self-accusation in your conscience; you feel uncomfortable inside. Therefore, even if people with a sense of shame show off and boast, there is a limit and a boundary at play. They absolutely will not shamelessly and brazenly speak empty words or talk big to boast and show off, nor will they make things up out of nothing and fabricate facts to claim credit for all the good work for themselves. They are absolutely not this kind of person. Speaking of having a sense of shame, this sense of shame serves a function within people; it is not something hollow. Since a sense of shame is a quality of humanity, it is something innate within people; it is absolutely not an effect brought about by the restraint of external people, events, and things. External things cannot restrain your thoughts and actions; one’s thoughts, their inner needs, and their essence and classification, are internal matters for them. Even if someone with a sense of shame wants to show off or exalt and testify to themselves to gain a bit of prestige among people, because they have a sense of shame, there is a limit and a boundary in effect when they do these things. That is, their conscience constantly warns them in their heart, “Doing this is going too far and is shameless. Do not do this! If you do this, it will be so embarrassing and undignified when people expose your true colors later! If you conduct yourself like this, are you still a human being?” These thoughts and views are always restraining them, so there is a limit in effect when they do such things. You see, when people with a sense of shame get dressed, even if they think a piece of clothing looks good, if they look in the mirror and see that it’s a bit see-through, they feel it wouldn’t be good to wear it outside. Others say, “What does it matter if it’s see-through? People nowadays all dress like this. It’s only a little revealing and you feel embarrassed—others wear much more revealing clothes and don’t even care.” They say, “No way; I can’t wear it out.” They wouldn’t be caught dead going out like that. Why is this? They just cannot clear it with their sense of shame; their sense of shame restrains them. People with a sense of shame will be measured in how they conduct themselves and handle matters or in their dress and grooming, whereas people without a sense of shame are different. It’s just like how some people dress properly when they are with the brothers and sisters, but dress differently after they get home, wearing whatever nonbelievers like to wear—some even tear off the clothes they wore to the gathering as soon as they get home, saying, “I really don’t like wearing these clothes. They’re too frumpy; I look like a total country bumpkin. Who would want to wear this outfit!” Regardless of whether they are with the brothers and sisters or not, the dress and grooming of people who truly have a sense of shame are always dignified and decent. Even if they did not believe in God, they would still dress this way and would not go too overboard.

When fellowshipping and sharing their experiential understanding in gatherings, if someone with integrity and dignity shows off and exalts themselves, they will feel ashamed inside, as if lots of people are watching them, and this feeling prompts them, “It’s not good to say this, is it? It’s not good to do this, is it?” They will feel shamefaced. That is to say, no matter what they say or do, or how far their words or actions go, the sense of shame deep in their heart constantly prompts, restrains, and controls them. Thus, to a certain extent, the words they speak and the things they do reflect a relative degree of integrity and dignity. Even if this type of person has corrupt dispositions or certain defects in their humanity, or is influenced by evil trends, because of their innate classification, they are still able to subconsciously match themselves against God’s words when hearing His words that expose and judge people. They think, “God is talking about me with this statement. I’ve had this kind of state and revelation, and I’ve also had this kind of manifestation.” They will exhibit a state and manifestation of consciously matching themselves against God’s words. In other words, when a person with a sense of shame hears God’s words that expose and judge people, they will subconsciously accept them and subconsciously match themselves against them. They will reflect on themselves based on God’s words, and admit that they are corrupt in this way and that they have these revelations and manifestations. They will feel uneasy deep down: “It turns out I also have corruption. It turns out I am someone with an arrogant disposition as exposed by God’s words. I am also defiant and disobedient, and I am not a good person. How can I be so corrupt? I used to think I was decent, that I was a good person with conscience and reason who liked to give to others, and who was prone to sympathizing with and pitying others. I thought I could be directly caught up after accepting God’s work. I didn’t even think that I was also a member of corrupt humankind.” Because they possess this basic condition of having a sense of shame, they will naturally and normally accept the actual facts about people exposed by God’s words, and then match themselves against them to reflect on and know themselves. This gives them a great opportunity to correctly face God’s words, accept God’s words without friction, and then achieve submission little by little. What is all this based on? It is based on their having a sense of shame. Thus, they are able to realize that there are some disgraceful and wicked revelations of corruption within themselves, and then, with their sense of shame acting upon them, they are able to proactively reject what they consider to be negative and disgraceful things. When they hear the statements, states, specific revelations, and even specific events in God’s words that expose humankind’s corrupt dispositions, they are able to realize that they have these corrupt dispositions within themselves. They will accept them to reflect on and know themselves. Afterward, when encountering such matters again, if they go against God’s words or once again reveal the states exposed in God’s words, their sense of shame will still prompt them in their heart, “By doing this, aren’t you going against God’s words? You are not a good person, nor are you someone who submits to God’s words or loves the truth!” Because they possess a sense of shame, they are able to accept the exposure and judgment of God’s words. God’s words then have a restraining effect on them and can correct their thoughts and views. You see, isn’t the function of a sense of shame very great? (Yes.) When they do not understand the truth, they have a basic moral boundary. When they understand the truth principles or grasp the details of God’s words, the standard by which their sense of shame restrains them is no longer their moral boundary, nor is it merely the boundary of their conscience and reason; rather, the truth principles become their boundary. Isn’t this boundary superior to the boundary of one’s conscience and reason? Hasn’t the standard of this boundary been elevated? (Yes.) Originally, when people with a sense of shame do not understand the truth, they have a basic moral boundary in their thoughts and views. After they understand the truth, their moral boundary is elevated and gradually tends toward the truth principles. Don’t you think this type of person has changed? I’ll give an example and you will understand. For instance, originally, when interacting with others, they did not take advantage of people, did not hit or swear at people, did not intentionally do things to cheat and harm others, and did not deceive and swindle others. They thought acting this way was pretty good. Is refraining from hitting or swearing at people, and from cheating or harming them, a truth principle for treating people? (This is just a rudimentary manifestation of humanity; it is not a truth principle.) This is merely the moral boundary for how people with conscience and reason conduct themselves: trying their best to not hit or swear at people, and to not do things that cheat or harm others. It’s merely refraining from evildoing. However, the truth principles are higher than one’s moral boundary. Treating people according to the truth principles is no longer just adhering to your moral boundary; it’s more elevated than that. Then what do God’s words require when it comes to this principle for treating people which is more elevated than one’s moral boundary? (To treat people fairly according to principles.) That is right, treating people fairly. This is a truth principle. Then is this truth principle a moral boundary? (No, this principle is superior to a moral boundary.) This is not a moral boundary; it is a truth principle that is based on a moral boundary and which is also superior to it. This is the true principle for how to treat people. Refraining from hitting or swearing at people, and from doing things that cheat or harm others, is not a truth principle; it is merely refraining from doing things in a negative sense. But just because you refrain from doing them does not mean you have principles for how you treat people; not hitting or swearing at people does not mean your principles for treating people are right. Does refraining from hitting or swearing at them, and from cheating or harming them, equate to treating them fairly? It doesn’t, right? If it’s someone who once offended you or with whom you did not get along, or it’s someone you don’t like, but based on their humanity and caliber, they’re fit to be a leader, would you elect them? If you measure this by the principle of not hitting or swearing at people, and not cheating or harming them, what would you do? You would have no path to follow. As a corrupt human being, without accurate principles for treating people, at most you would say, “I didn’t hit or swear at them, nor did I say whether they were good or bad. I didn’t hold them back, so you can’t say I cheated or harmed them. Anyway, I don’t like them, so I won’t elect them.” Is not electing them treating people fairly? (No.) In fact, if they are a suitable candidate for a leader, you should elect them; only this is treating people fairly. Electing them isn’t based on the principle of not hitting or swearing at people, and not cheating or harming them, but on what? It’s based on the principle of treating people fairly as required by God’s words; only this is a truth principle. So, some people think, “I don’t hit or swear at people, nor do I cheat or harm them, so doesn’t that make me a good person?” to which I say, “You are not a good person. At best, you’re fortunate enough to even be considered a human.” A truly good person is someone who can practice according to the truth principles. That is, when it comes to how to treat people, besides refraining from hitting, swearing at, cheating, or harming them, you can also treat them fairly and justly; only then are you a good person. Does fellowshipping it this way make it clear? (Yes.) A moral boundary is a basic principle for self-conduct for people who possess conscience and reason in their humanity. Although this principle for self-conduct conforms to the conscience and reason of humanity, it cannot replace the truth principles; compared to the truth principles, there is still a gap. At best, someone who has a moral boundary is a standard person, but they cannot be called a good person. Only those who can conduct themselves and act according to the truth principles are good people. For example, it is already quite good if an average person can manage to not cheat or harm others, and to not hit or swear at people when it comes to how they treat others. However, a good person’s principles for treating people are elevated above this: They are able to treat people fairly and according to the truth principles. That is, a true human being has a moral boundary and a sense of shame, and they possess the basic conditions for how to conduct oneself properly. Thus, such a person has the opportunity to achieve treating people fairly, conducting themselves according to the truth principles, and practicing according to the truth principles. Is there a difference between a moral boundary and the truth principles? (Yes.)

If someone has a sense of shame in their humanity, then they have integrity and dignity in how they conduct themselves and act. Their boundary is that they must safeguard their integrity and dignity and not forfeit them. To put it in everyday language, such a person has basically not forfeited their conscience; they are particular about how they do things, they value integrity and character, and they have a human touch. No matter what they do, when it comes to personal interests, status, or money, they have a boundary. This boundary safeguards their integrity and dignity; that is, they will not go beyond what their integrity and dignity allow to unscrupulously do things that are unjustifiable in terms of moral justice or human ethics. This is having a sense of shame. Additionally, people with the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity have their own views and choices regarding eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and regarding the various evil trends in society. They absolutely will not follow evil trends to live a befuddled and debauched life, arbitrarily indulging themselves and acting depraved. They have their own choices regarding the affairs of the human world or evil trends. These choices may be based on their uprightness and kindness, or they may be based on their sense of shame; it depends on the matter at hand. No matter how popular the various things that appear in the world are, and no matter how much they are approved of by society and the public, deep down such people still have their own thoughts and views about these things, and they will still make their own correct choices. In their hearts they believe, “No matter the circumstances, you cannot forfeit your humanity. At all times, you are a human being. You can’t do things beasts do. You can’t do things devils do. You can’t make yourself the same as beasts and devils.” So, no matter what they do, they are restrained by their conscience and reason. Specifically, this restraint means being constantly prompted and controlled by their conscience and reason. For example, say that someone like this and another person are both doing business. The other person constantly deceives and swindles people, selling a ten-yuan item for three to five hundred yuan, but they only sell it for fifty yuan, earning just enough to barely maintain a living. Seeing the other person make huge profits while they’ve worked with such assiduousness for so many years just to earn enough to keep themselves fed, they always feel unreconciled in their heart. They also want to be unscrupulous like the other person, but then they think, “Doing that would go too much against my conscience. I cannot bring myself to do it! What if I were to be exposed after doing it? Would doing it be breaking the law? Would I go to jail?” You see, they think a lot about this, and mulling it over like this, they feel a constant sense of self-accusation from their conscience. Although they are misled and influenced by the various evil trends of the world and also want to make more money to enjoy a good material life, after mulling it over, they ultimately still cannot bring themselves to deceive and swindle others. Some people say, “Such people are just timid, no?” Some of them are timid, but some are not; they are simply restrained by their conscience and reason and feel they cannot deceive and swindle others. Even if they occasionally do it, they regret it afterward, living in fear every day that something will go wrong and that someone will come knocking at their door. They think to themselves, “I didn’t earn this money honorably. If people find out, will they criticize me behind my back? I definitely won’t do this again. Only when the money I spend was earned through my own hard work does my mind feel at peace, and only then is my sleep free of nightmares.” After deceiving someone once like this, things are difficult for them for a long while; they don’t sleep well, they can’t get any food down, and they always feel uneasy in their hearts. Of course, this type of person is basically non-existent in society. Society is full of people who are of devils and of animals; they feel nothing when it comes to deceiving and swindling others like this.

Even if someone with conscience and reason frequently comes into contact with various matters involving eating, drinking, and merrymaking, their conscience and reason will still serve their function. They will not follow the flesh or evil trends to indulge their various desires to the fullest. Instead, no matter what they eat, drink, or enjoy, there is a limit. They think, “Eating good food, wearing nice clothes, and having the best physical pleasures is all vanity. Is this really what people live for?” In the heart of this type of person, physical pleasures, eating, drinking, and merrymaking cannot satisfy the needs of their inner world. They think to themselves, “People always pursue enjoying good things. I’ve now enjoyed them myself, and I don’t feel any happiness. Just what is happiness? How should one live to have true happiness? I have enjoyed all this eating, drinking, and merrymaking, as well as various physical pleasures—isn’t that what human life consists of? Is this what life is? If someone lives their whole life like this, just to pursue eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and to pursue physical pleasures, how are they any different from an animal? If humans, like animals, also live just for three meals a day, do not understand what life is about, remain unfulfilled in their thoughts, their spiritual world, and their hearts, and do not understand many things about life, what’s the point of generation after generation living like this?” When people are young, they are full of curiosity about the world. There are a lot of things they don’t know about and haven’t seen, and many things they haven’t experienced, and they feel that if they go out and brave the world, their life might be very happy and fulfilling, or they might live a marvelous and unique life. But after truly experiencing society, they see that humankind lives like this generation after generation. From being foolish and ignorant in their youth to suffering a lot and gaining some life experience after going through some things in society, this is how everyone passes their life. They all go through the process of pursuing prospects, fame and gain, and focusing on eating, drinking, merrymaking, and physical pleasures. In their later years, although they have gained some life experience, they seem to have reaped nothing, nor do they understand what life is about. Isn’t it rather meaningless for someone to live their whole life like this? People often feel an inexplicable emptiness. That is, when they truly ponder life in their hearts and try to think of something meaningful and valuable, they can’t think of anything, and their hearts feel totally empty. They don’t know why this is, nor do they know what their hearts should need or where their hearts should rest. They feel they have nothing to rely on, and they feel deeply perplexed, thinking to themselves, “I have experienced quite a few things in this life, and I have tasted various hardships and pains. Is this actually how life ends?” When they look at older people, it seems they have also gone through life this way. They then feel that people’s lives are meaningless. They have always been pursuing fame and gain, status, and physical pleasures. When they do not have them, they are bent on getting them; when they get them, they feel a bit of happiness and rejoice a bit for a time, but in the long run, they have no happiness to speak of. After rushing about for most of their lives, they still feel empty, with nothing worth holding on to. They always feel like they’re grasping at the air with both hands yet hoping to get something from it. Would you say this feeling is good? (No.) Then how does this feeling come about? (It’s that all that eating, drinking, and merrymaking in the world cannot satisfy people’s inner needs.) Does everyone think this way? What kind of people think this way? (People with conscience and reason think this way.) Tell Me, would people without thoughts, without logical thinking, and who are mindless, think this way? (No.) Mindless people are those without conscience and reason; they are of beasts. They do not think about these matters of humanity, nor do they consider human life, the future, or what path to walk. They give no consideration to these things. As long as they can eat and drink, they’re satisfied. They just muddle through each day as it comes, making merry each day they live, and enjoying each day they can. They do not consider these matters involving life. Then what do these things have to do with the conscience and reason of humanity? If someone has conscience and reason, they will exhibit rationality in what they do. Having rationality is very important for people. When people have rationality, much of the time they do not live by sentiment, but live rationally, living rationally in the present moment. They will consider, “Have I actually gained anything in this life? Has this life been worth living? Have I done anything meaningful and valuable? Are the things I pursue what I need inside? Have my inner needs been satisfied? They haven’t been satisfied, and I feel very empty. Not a single material thing, nor family affection or friendship, can satisfy me deep down. None of these things are what my humanity needs.” They will think about these things rationally. That is, the further they get into adulthood, the more rationally they will view these things, and the more they fail to get answers, the more pain they feel. Before experiencing these things, people will judge and imagine some things within the scope of reason in a way that’s planned and uses normal rationality. But when they have gone through the process of these things and look back, they become more rational. They will rationally view the things they have experienced and the things they have lived through, and they will see that these things are all vanity, and that not a single one is meaningful. Why do I say this? Because everything people do is for food and clothing, for maintaining three meals a day for their flesh, and for safeguarding physical pleasures. They vie for fame and gain, and compete with one another. If someone lives their whole life just for these things, living like an animal, then they are not much more advanced than an animal; living like this has no value. People with human reason will ponder these things in their hearts. Therefore, when they reach a certain age, these constantly repeating modes of living, rules of the game, and ways of handling matters will make them feel tired, averse, disgusted, and fed up. Ultimately, they will develop a feeling of emptiness, feeling that they have enjoyed and experienced all these things yet haven’t reaped anything, and have not gained any real, tangible things that truly satisfy the needs of their humanity. Under these circumstances, people with conscience and reason will further explore, seek, and grope: What exactly is a true human life? How exactly should one live their life? Some smart people will search for a path in life and try to find religious faith. It is in this context that some people come to the house of God. They discover that only God’s words, and the truth, the way, and the life that God provides to humankind, can satisfy their needs. When they explore questions like what the value and meaning of life are, only God’s words can give them the answers. Only then do they develop a thirst for God’s words, and subsequently accept God’s words and then go a step further to submitting to them. Their thirst for, acceptance of, and submission to God’s words are all based on their life experience, and are produced from their reflections on some of the things they have experienced in life.

Do you feel that what we fellowshipped just now is abstract? Can you understand it? (It’s not abstract. We can understand it.) This content is neither abstract nor hollow; it’s all things that people can see and come into contact with in real life. If someone thinks that fellowshipping on the conscience and reason of humanity is out of touch with real life, and feels that this content is very hollow and abstract, as if it were something happening in another world and too far removed from people, then that person has a problem, right? You don’t understand matters involving self-conduct, and in your self-conduct you don’t have any conscience or reason. So just what are you—a devil or an animal? It’s hard to say, but in any case, you’re not a human being. People with conscience and reason can perceive and relate to the thoughts or manifestations involving the conscience and reason of humanity. If someone cannot relate to these positive thoughts or manifestations, but can relate to the negative ones, it shows that they have no conscience or reason within them. Some people who don’t have conscience and reason are even deeply repulsed by the thoughts and views and ways of conducting oneself that involve the conscience and reason of humanity, feeling they are disgraceful, loathsome, or disdainful—these are people who don’t have qualities of humanity. People who don’t have qualities of humanity are strongly repulsed by the manifestations of the conscience and reason of humanity, and they also cannot perceive the various specific thoughts, behaviors, and principles of practice exhibited by the humanity of people who do have conscience and reason. Because they are not of the same kind, they cannot perceive them. Tell Me, can animals understand what principles people act on or why they act that way? (No.) Animals do not know. What do animals know? They know what to do and when to do it—just those fixed things: when to eat, how long to play, and where their owners usually take them. As for why their owners take them there or why they don’t, these are things they don’t know. They also don’t know why the amount of food they get differs between winter and summer, nor do they know their owners’ intentions behind everything they do for them. They only know, “Anyway, my owner is good to me. My owner gives me delicious food every day, and also keeps me company and protects me. He is good to me, so he is my owner. Other people don’t feed me or treat me well, so they are not my owner, and I’m not close with them either.” Animals only know these simple things. Similarly, people who are of animals will never be able to understand or grasp these matters involving humanity, self-conduct, and thoughts and views. Even if you teach them, all they’ll be learning from you is doctrines. But understanding something in terms of doctrine is not truly understanding it; they do not understand the implications, nor do they understand the value of the things you teach them about. Therefore, people who are of animals cannot understand when matters involving the conscience and reason of humanity are spoken of. Devils can understand these things doctrinally, but they do not accept them. They are repulsed and detested by these statements, thinking that you are spouting high-sounding words, and that these are statements detached from the real life of humankind. Regardless of whether it’s that they don’t accept them or that they can’t understand them, I don’t say these things about self-conduct for those who are of devils or of animals to hear. If they are willing to accept them as doctrines, that’s fine; if they’re unwilling, I have no objections. People are sorted according to their kind—they cannot be forced. Whatever your classification is, that decides the things you like. If you have no humanity and are not of humankind, then you won’t understand the words involving the truth, and you’ll be unwilling to walk the path that humans ought to walk. Only people who are of the human classification will be willing to listen to these topics involving self-conduct and the truth. If some people are unwilling to listen and cannot take it in, they don’t have to listen. Such people are not of the human classification, and the truth is not spoken for them to hear.

We just mentioned that, for people who have conscience and reason in their humanity, when it comes to their physical needs in life—such as eating, drinking, and merrymaking—as they experience and encounter more of these things, they will constantly reflect on them. The more they experience eating, drinking, merrymaking, and fleshly pleasures in life, the more they feel in their hearts that these things are meaningless and empty. Even if they cannot quit living like this, they do not find joy in it; rather, they feel very helpless. This condition further spurs them to seek to understand questions like the meaning of life and why people live. Therefore, when they accept God’s work and get the answers to these questions, they feel a great sense of satisfaction in their hearts, and think that this is truly the right path in human life. When such a person accepts the provision of the truth of God’s words, they feel that the various positive things and the various requirements for people mentioned in God’s words perfectly satisfy, or to some extent align with, the needs within their humanity. Therefore, they will readily accept God’s words and God’s requirements for people; they believe that this is truly the path people should walk, and that these are truly the principles for self-conduct that people should possess. Because they have such needs and such considerations, God’s words are their provision and can become their well-timed aid. When they have accepted the provision of God’s words, they will have the wish and the resolve to satisfy God, and to become a true human being according to God’s requirements. For example, the righteous people mentioned by God, such as Noah, Abraham, Job, and Peter—the stories of how they submitted to God and accepted His commissions are what this kind of person particularly yearns for and admires in their heart. They hope that one day they can also have true and absolute submission to God, just like Noah, Abraham, and the others, and they also expect that one day they will be able to gain God’s approval and become one of the righteous people God speaks of. They yearn to be a good person, a righteous person. The stories of these righteous people told by God move them deeply, and their heart is often touched and inspired by their stories and by their attitudes toward God. Because they possess the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity, they are able to take these figures mentioned in God’s words as role models and examples to emulate; this is also a sign that they have conscience and reason. Of course, this kind of manifestation is also a basic condition for a person to be able to accept and submit to God’s words, and to be cleansed and saved. At the very least, judging from such a person’s manifestations and what they reveal during the process of experiencing life, they are not numb and unfeeling. They are not someone without thoughts, nor are they someone who doesn’t have any views on living, reality, or things like eating, drinking, and merrymaking. They have opinions, they have views of their own, and what’s more they have positive thoughts and views. That is, they are not numb and unfeeling toward the various things in life, but rather they think about them. Especially after experiencing all kinds of rough patches, setbacks, and failures, and tasting the joys and sorrows of life, they feel even more that their life is empty and worthless if it continues on like this; that if they just pass through this world and conduct themselves like this, it is of no value and meaningless; and that they will ultimately gain nothing by conducting themselves in this way. They will feel unwilling to resign themselves to this and find it inconceivable: “Is this really how people should live, passing their whole lives like this? What is the point of generation after generation living like this?” You see, although they ultimately don’t reach a conclusion on how people should live, at the very least they think about it. They are not immersed in eating, drinking, merrymaking, and enjoying fleshly comfort, the affection of their family, or the happiness of family life, just muddling through their days in a haze. Their attitude toward life is absolutely not one of just muddling through, because, governed by reason, they often reflect. Things like eating, drinking, merrymaking, and fleshly pleasures will absolutely not satisfy the needs of their heart. Under these circumstances, they will search for things that can satisfy the needs of their heart. Ultimately, only God’s words and God’s work can provide the answers to these questions about life that they ponder, and satisfy the needs of their heart.

If someone just passes their days like this day after day, year after year, never considering what path they should walk or how they should live; if, after experiencing setbacks, failures, rough patches, and tribulations, and tasting the joys and sorrows of life, they still do not consider these things at all, have no views on life or how to conduct themselves, and continue pursuing fame, gain, status, and pleasure, even being particularly keen on throwing themselves into various evil trends—and they have no awareness, do not feel distressed or pained, and don’t feel that living like this is empty—then such a person is definitely not a human being. If they were a human being, once they reached a certain age they would think about these questions regarding life. Some people start pondering the matters of life in their twenties: “My grandparents’ generation and my parents’ generation all lived like that. Will I also live like them, getting married and having children at a certain age, and that’s it for my whole life? Do I really live just to raise children and reproduce? If a person lives their whole life like this, it’s meaningless. If generation after generation lives like this, is it not still empty?” They faintly feel in their hearts that the future is empty and uncertain. They feel, “If a person just pursues eating, drinking, merrymaking, and fleshly pleasures their whole life, and then has and raises children, getting them to care for them in their old age and give them a proper burial, and they can enjoy their later years in peace—if they chase after this goal, then their life would be so devoid of meaning!” Before they have even really begun to experience life, they already see that the road ahead is dark and devoid of light; they’ve already seen each preplanned stage of life that lies ahead of them. They vaguely feel inside that living like this is meaningless and that there is nothing to look forward to! Some people, when they reach their twenties, begin to think about starting a family, establishing a career, and living a good life, and letting their parents enjoy a good life. And there are also some people who always have ambitions; they always want to make a fortune or become an official, to become a cut above the rest and bring honor to their ancestors. Whether they are influenced by their parents or by society, in short, they do not know to reflect on life. They firmly believe that life is just about good food, nice clothes, and living a good life, and they don’t consider anything else. Some people experience many setbacks before they see clearly that this society and humankind are not as good as people imagine, and they begin to consider how to live a life that’s valuable and meaningful, and which is not lived in vain. Such people form a very small minority. In short, all those who ponder the value of life and realize that people have to tend to practical affairs while they’re alive, are people who have conscience and reason. The fact that they can ponder these things shows that their values are different from those of others. Their values are not about eating well and enjoying nice things, and prospering, standing out above the rest, and having good prospects in this life, and leaving it at that. There are many people with good prospects, like those high-ranking officials—is there anything good waiting for them in the end? Do they live happily? If you look closely at their lives behind the scenes, they’re not happy either. This makes you feel that if you also seek status and prospects, you’ll also be unhappy, just like them. People with the thoughts of normal humanity will ponder, “Those high-ranking officials are not happy, which proves that the path they walk is wrong. Then what is the correct path for people to walk that can truly bring comfort to their hearts?” People’s hearts need something to comfort them. This source of comfort is not material pleasures like money, luxury homes, or fancy cars, nor is it a confidant who can brave tribulations with them, much less is it a perfect marriage or filial children. None of these things can truly bring comfort to people’s hearts. What can truly bring comfort to people’s hearts are the things their hearts need. They need to get some answers; that is, there are some things people want to understand in the course of life: Where do people come from? When will they die? Who controls death? Is there such a thing as fate in life? Who is in charge of fate? If one’s parents are in charge of it, then who is in charge of the fates of one’s parents? Parents cannot even control their own fates, so can they control the fates of their children? Also, how should people conduct themselves? How should they conduct themselves so that their lives are worthwhile, and they don’t pass through this world in vain? If people have souls, then after they die, do their souls have a place to go? If souls have a place to go, is it related to this life? What must people do in this life so their souls can go someplace good after death? How can they avoid or change course from going someplace bad? These are all questions people should think about. When people think about these questions but cannot get answers, do they feel tormented inside? (Yes.) The more you fail to get answers, the more tormented you feel inside, and the less you are in the mood to enjoy life, family affection, or romantic love, because no matter how you enjoy them, these things can only temporarily fill the emptiness in your heart. Once you have finished enjoying these things, deep down you will feel even more empty, because the things you temporarily possess or enjoy only numb your heart and satisfy your temporary needs; they cannot provide answers to the questions you ponder. Ultimately, no matter how much money you have, how good a material life you enjoy, or how many children you have by your side honoring you, none of it can answer those questions deep in your heart, nor can any of it help you find the answers you want. That is, the things you enjoy in this life, the things you have already obtained, cannot tell you what your future will be like, where you will go after this life ends, or whether you will be punished or rewarded. No one can give you an accurate answer to these questions, and you cannot find accurate answers in books or resources of any kind. If, when pondering these questions, you can faintly feel that life is empty—that enjoying family affection is empty, that enjoying romantic love, marriage, and one’s family is empty, that enjoying the filial piety of one’s children is empty, and that enjoying things like eating, drinking, and merrymaking is all empty—and the more you enjoy and gain these things, the stronger and heavier this feeling of emptiness becomes—then you will increasingly feel that your heart needs something other than these things for comfort. This will further spur you to seek things that can bring comfort to your heart, and to search for the answers to life and the path of life. When these things cannot be obtained, people adopt a helpless, perfunctory attitude toward worldly affairs: “I’ll just live like this. At any rate, this is how people live their whole lives.” No matter how nice the things someone with conscience and reason possesses or enjoys are, it’s all empty for them. They’re not like those people who are the ilk of beasts, who are never sated no matter how much they eat and never satisfied no matter how much they enjoy, and who even think, “It’s best for people to enjoy themselves like this their whole lives. In this life, illness is the worst thing to have, and money is the worst thing to lack.” This is the logic of people who are reincarnated from animals. This saying—“Illness is the worst thing to have, and money is the worst thing to lack”—is the life philosophy they derive after experiencing life. However, when someone who has conscience and reason hears these words, they think, “Being poor does seem bad; when you need money but don’t have it, that puts you in a tight spot. But can having money resolve the problem of emptiness? It cannot resolve it in the slightest. Having too much money is also a hassle. There are always people coveting it, and you won’t know where it’s safe to keep it. It doesn’t seem secure putting it in the bank, you don’t feel any assurance investing it, and you can’t spend that much anyway. If you spend the money on the pleasures of eating, drinking, and merrymaking, living in a luxury home, driving fancy cars, and enjoying people’s fawning, admiration, and high regard, with people following and surrounding you wherever you go, like a swarm of blowflies constantly buzzing around you without leaving you for even a moment—after enjoying these things over time, you’ll feel averse to them inside, and think how wonderful it would be to find a place to be quiet for a while and calm your mind. Even if you can travel around the world and broaden your horizons, afterward, when you grow quiet inside, you’ll still feel that living like this is meaningless, and you’ll feel even more empty.” In fact, when people feel empty toward all this, their hearts need comfort. That is, when they reach a certain age and reach a certain stage in the path of life, they’ll have many questions and perplexities about life they don’t understand, which they’ll need to get answered and resolved. If these questions cannot be resolved, they can only live like a walking corpse, dealing with everything reluctantly, and their viewpoints on everything will be particularly negative and passive, rather than proactive. These are some of the feelings about living held by people who possess conscience and reason in their humanity.

For people with conscience and reason, aside from having some feelings about living, when they reach a certain age they will have some realizations about human life and will ponder various questions. Because they have a conscience—or to be exact, because such people have heart and spirit—under the continuous effect of their conscience and reason, they will ponder various questions at different stages of life: How should all kinds of people be treated? How should one treat one’s parents and children? What is life really all about? In life, what are eating, drinking, and pleasure, as well as fame, gain, status, and prospects, really all about? After experiencing the various stages of life, even if they do not understand the truth, they will draw some conclusions about life. Because they ponder, they will draw conclusions. These conclusions might be objective, or they might just be personal realizations. But at the very least, people with conscience and reason have already gone through certain things in the process of experiencing life. With a certain amount of life experience, they will feel, “In this life, many things do not go the way one wants them to; many things are beyond one’s control. It’s as though, somewhere in the unseen, Heaven has arranged it all.” This is a realization they draw from experiencing life, and it is also one of their gains. In terms of humanity, this gain is a very positive and natural kind of reflection brought about by the function of conscience and reason. Why do they have this kind of reflection? It’s because in the process of experiencing life, there are many things that go as they wish and things that do not, things that align with their desires and things that do not. In the process of experiencing these things, they will constantly draw lessons and ultimately reach a conclusion: People have fates. Regardless of whether one’s life goes smoothly and as they wish or is full of rough patches and disappointments, whether it entails suffering or bliss, there is such a thing as fate. On this basis, they will ponder some questions: “It is certain that people have fates, but do people choose their own fates? Are they shaped by people’s parents? It doesn’t seem like this is how it is. If children’s fates are shaped and decided by their parents, then every parent would hope for their children to prosper and stand out above the rest, and to have a happy life that goes as they wish. But why has my life not gone according to my parents’ wishes, nor according to my own desires? Clearly, fate is not decided by people. To say that people’s fates are shaped by nature is empty talk; this is absolutely impossible. There is definitely a Sovereign, Heaven, arranging this matter in the unseen world.” After experiencing some of the stages of life, they have some realizations. Or, for some stages of life they have not yet experienced, they draw some understanding and insights from their parents or predecessors; of course, these are also realizations about life. First of all, they believe in fate, and on this basis, they believe that Heaven exists. Is this objective? (Yes.) Perhaps some people will say, “What you say is not objective. We are also human beings, but we do not think that way.” When we say that people with conscience and reason ponder the questions of life, it does not mean they just sit there with nothing to do and think about it for forty-five minutes as if they were in class, and then come up with an answer. Rather, as they grow older and experience more and more things, without even being aware of it they gain realizations about life. These realizations don’t happen overnight, nor do they come after a year. Perhaps starting from the age of thirty, they begin to experience life and engage with society and other people; after gradually experiencing various things, they accumulate little by little, leading them to such a conclusion. That is, upon reaching a certain age, after going through some of the journeys of life, people with conscience and reason will first of all believe that people have fates, and that their fates are under the sovereignty and arrangements of Heaven; they draw this conclusion. What else do they conclude? “Whether a person enjoys blessings or suffers hardships in this life, whether they are poor or rich, whether they become a high-ranking official or are just a common person, none of it is up to them.” If you think about it from a human perspective, who doesn’t want to be an official, enjoy a good material life, and have a happy, difficulty-free life where everything goes as they wish? But such aspirations may not necessarily be realized; everyone’s fate is different. For example, some people look unremarkable and scruffy when they’re young, but they find success when they grow up; people can’t wrap their heads around this. For instance, say there’s a girl who’s been particularly driven to excel from a young age; she does well in her studies and has exceptionally outstanding looks. But what ends up happening to her? She marries a hooligan, gets beaten every day, and the children she has are not as good-looking as she imagined; they’re all odd-looking and unattractive. She is so driven, has such good looks, and has so many suitors, yet after going through all her options, she ultimately chose a hooligan; this is something people would never expect. Or let’s say there’s someone else who is particularly ambitious and dreams of becoming a general or a provincial governor when he grows up. And what happens to him? When he grows up, he makes a living by farming. He’s quite highly educated, wearing glasses all day and being able to speak eloquently. Wherever he goes, he tells historical tales and stories to others. He even knows everything from astronomy to geography, and can tell fortunes. But in the end, he accomplishes nothing and remains a farmer his whole life. From these things, it can be seen that one’s fate throughout their life is arranged by Heaven. Even if you have good aspirations and wishes, they may not necessarily be realized; and even if you do not, perhaps good luck will unexpectedly come your way. This fulfills the nonbelievers’ saying that Heaven has eyes. This is entirely under the sovereignty and arrangements of the Creator. Furthermore, anyone who is poor now will not necessarily be poor their whole life. When someone is poor, his wife might look down on him and leave him. Yet a few years later, his business prospers and he becomes a millionaire, driving luxury cars, living in a mansion, and donning gold and silver. His wife then wants to come back, but he would rather never marry again than take her back. You see, his wife simply doesn’t have good fortune; she’s destined to be poor. Whether one is poor or rich in this life is beyond their control. You never know when you might become rich, and you never know what might cause you to become poor. Some rich people think they will be wealthy their whole lives, so they look down on poor people and ignore them. Yet a few years later, they become poor, and those they used to bully and ignore are now richer than them, and don’t feel like paying them any mind. Aside from realizing that whether one is rich or poor is beyond one’s control, what other realizations about life do people with conscience and reason arrive at? Some people say, “In this life, even if you do not do good things, do not commit evil. Heaven has eyes! Look at that family; they’ve been rotten since their grandparents’ generation, always cheating and harming others. And what ended up happening to them? Their grandson was met with retribution; he was born disabled. So, don’t commit evil. Heaven has eyes; you’ll face retribution sooner or later if you commit evil!” People with conscience and reason experience many things and suffer a lot when they don’t understand the truth. By the time they reach their fifties or sixties, they will have various realizations about life. These realizations ultimately come down to the existence of fate and Heaven, that in the unseen world, people’s fates are under the sovereignty and arrangements of Heaven, that people face retribution after they die, that one should not commit evil, and that no matter what evil one commits, Heaven has eyes and is watching. Do not think that others have no idea that you’ve committed evil; people may not know, but Heaven definitely knows. The debts a person owes in this life must be repaid in the next life, and it might even take several lifetimes to repay them. You see, from ancient times to the present, all those who have committed too much evil have met bad ends and faced retribution. Some committed too much murder and were punished; for hundreds of years, they were not reincarnated as humans even once. They were constantly reincarnated as cows and pigs, and after being slaughtered, they were reincarnated as pigs and cows again, going through this cycle generation after generation. This is facing retribution. Even if people with conscience and reason do not understand the truth, they can still have some feelings about the matters of life, realize some positive things, and ultimately get some positive answers. These positive answers enable them to derive some principles for self-conduct that people should possess, and the path of self-conduct people should walk. Living their whole lives this way, they can at least commit less evil and be spared some punishment. The more life experience people have and the more realizations about life they gain, the more correctly they can face their prospects and futures, and the more they can let things take their natural course, allowing everything to happen as it will, rather than forcefully and intentionally trying to control all these things. For example, regarding things like the prospects and marriage of one’s children, or how one’s children treat the elderly, parents will let things take their natural course and face these things correctly, rather than using manufactured means or extreme behaviors to manipulate it all. So, when someone has these realizations about life, to a certain extent, they can comply with Heaven’s arrangements and the arrangements of fate, and do fewer foolish things or none at all.

There are many realizations to be had about life. Aside from those we just fellowshipped about, what other realizations have you had? (That birth, aging, sickness, and death are also beyond people’s control.) Yes, birth, aging, sickness, and death are beyond people’s control. You see, some people are in great health, but then they catch a cold and die in a few days. Meanwhile, some people are sickly, taking medicine all year round, yet they live well into their eighties. When one dies is also beyond one’s control; it’s not something one can choose. What other realizations about life are there? (That romantic love and marriage are also beyond one’s control.) People cannot see through many things at the time, but when they reach a certain age, they will arrive at some realizations. For example, there are many things that can’t be manufactured by humans; they do not shift according to human will, nor are they decided by it. Tell Me, for a person who can ponder these questions and have these realizations about life, when they hear God’s words, doesn’t their heart brighten considerably? (Yes.) If they can get answers from God’s words, then can they accept God’s words? Will they acknowledge the veracity of God’s words? (They will.) After people with conscience and reason experience some of the stages of life, they will arrive at some realizations about life. The most basic point among these realizations is a belief in fate and a belief that God exists. On this basis, when they come before God, God’s words give them answers and also give them a path, confirming the realizations they gained in the process of experiencing life, and also providing them with specific answers. That is, God’s words perfectly supplement some specific details that they failed to realize in the process of experiencing life, help them better understand and more firmly believe that God exists, and that it is beyond all doubt that God holds sovereignty over people’s fates. They had this foundation in the first place, and had already obtained such answers in the process of experiencing life. When they come before God and understand the truth from God’s words, God’s words make them more firmly believe in His existence and the fact that He holds sovereignty over people’s fates. That is, God’s words allow them to confirm that their realizations are right and accurate. Therefore, on the basis of having realizations about life, they believe even more firmly that God truly exists, and that although He cannot be seen or touched, His existence is undeniable. They actually already had an awareness and feeling of this prior to coming before God. When they receive confirmation from God’s words, their faith naturally increases; rather than becoming more doubtful, they have more faith in God and a firmer belief in His existence. Consequently, they have less difficulty accepting God’s words than most people do. Just like Job—what was his realization about life? “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). Before God tried him, and before God came face to face with him, he had already felt this. So when God tried him, he believed more firmly in his heart that this was God’s doing, and that it was unmistakable. That is, when God tried him, he did not start from scratch in knowing God, coming into contact with and knowing God’s deeds, and knowing God’s sovereignty; rather, he had already understood and apprehended God’s deeds and God’s sovereignty. On this basis, he further confirmed that his knowledge and realizations were right, and that God indeed acts this way. As for people with conscience and reason, when they come before God after gaining realizations about life, they have almost no difficulty accepting God’s words. They can believe even more firmly that God’s words are right. It’s just that many of the details are lacking from their realizations about life, and this makes them believe even more firmly and confirm that their knowledge is right, leaving them with no doubts about God. Since they have no doubts about God and firmly believe in His existence, is it difficult for them to accept God’s sovereignty and His words? Compared to those who do not believe in or acknowledge God’s existence at all, or who question it, is it less difficult for them? (Yes.) Even if they are hindered by their corrupt dispositions, at the very least, their attitude toward God’s words and the truth is built on the foundation of them firmly believing, without any doubts, that God is the Sovereign of humankind. That is, when God tries them or chastises and judges them, first, they at the very least do not deny God’s existence; second, they do not question God’s sovereignty; and third, they do not reject God’s sovereignty. Instead, they just focus on resolving their own corrupt dispositions. This state is different from that of people who do not believe that God exists at all or who are skeptical of God. As for those who do not believe in God’s existence at all, when God’s chastisement and judgment come upon them or God sets up environments to discipline them, they are first of all resistant to God. They deny God’s existence, saying, “This is not god’s doing; god would never act this way!” or “Where is god? This is people’s doing!” They exhibit behaviors and make statements typical of disbelievers. Meanwhile, those who are skeptical of God always wonder, “Is this God’s doing? I just don’t believe God would act this way. God loves and shows concern for people; would He exercise His sovereignty like this? I don’t think He would. Anyway, I don’t want to accept this; if something doesn’t conform to my notions, I don’t accept it!” You see, the attitudes of these two types of people toward God’s chastisement and judgment, discipline, and trials are different. As for people who possess the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity and truly believe in God’s existence, when God sets up environments to try them, they first of all treat the environments arranged by God from the perspective of created humankind. They treat the Creator and God with an attitude of submission in their hearts. Their attitude is not one of questioning, rejecting, or denying; rather, they believe, “This is God’s doing; it is under God’s sovereignty.” Although they might also develop rebelliousness and notions, and try to argue, at the very least, their attitude toward the environments is: “This is God’s doing; God holds sovereignty over everything.” Furthermore, at the very least, they will not doubt whether God actually exists; this is something that simply will not happen. Therefore, no matter what work God does on them, their attitude toward God is that of a created human being toward God, rather than that toward an ordinary person. Doesn’t the attitude toward God of people with conscience and reason differ from that of disbelievers and people who doubt Him? (Yes.)

Disbelievers treat God as if He were thin air, and even treat Him as an ordinary person on the same level as themselves. Those who doubt God have empty and vague imaginings of God when nothing happens to them; when they encounter issues, they harbor all kinds of suspicions, doubts, and even skepticism toward God. For those with conscience and reason, however, because they’re certain in their hearts that God exists, and are certain of God’s identity and essence, no matter what rebelliousness or notions they develop toward God, at the very least, they treat God with the attitude of a created being toward the Creator. Is the difference between this kind of person and the previous two kinds a large one? (Yes.) They will not be skeptical of God, nor will they treat God as an ordinary person. Why do we talk about this difference? It’s because, for a person with humanity, no matter what corrupt dispositions they reveal, and no matter whether they develop notions or rebelliousness toward God, these all come about within the scope of the conscience and reason of their humanity. First, they will not curse God; second, they will not pass judgment on God or blaspheme God; and third, they will not resist the work God does on them. At most, they may try to argue, or be unwilling to accept the situation at hand, or unwilling to accept such work of God. But at the very least, they treat God as God, and even if they have some manifestations of rebelliousness, these are limited to the scope of conscience and reason. By contrast, people who deny God have no awareness of whether God exists when they’re not confronted with any situations. When they do encounter some situation, however, they believe that God has done something unfavorable to them—perhaps He’s disciplining them, or depriving them of something so that they lose some personal interests—and they will unscrupulously pass judgment on God, curse God, and blaspheme God in their hearts, not having God-fearing hearts whatsoever. Their attitude toward God is different from that of people with conscience and reason. They dare to curse God, and this cursing is not merely rebelliousness; they curse God without any restraint or holding back. Why do they not exercise restraint or hold back? Because they are not humans and have no conscience and reason; they treat God just as if He were the most ordinary person around. And if God’s words touch upon their problems, they treat God like an enemy, thinking, “If your words are unfavorable to me, I’ll get angry and strike back at you! As long as your words and actions don’t involve me, I will have no issue with you. If something happens that harms my interests or if I face being arrested, then I will deny and reject god at a moment’s notice!” They will also say in their hearts, “Believing in god is pointless—we even have to suffer persecution and oppression. I, for one, won’t suffer this hardship!” You see, at all times they harbor thoughts of giving up their belief in God and forsaking Him. When they encounter things that do not go as they wish, they have these thoughts and want to distance themselves from God. This is the most common state of devils and disbelievers. Once these people encounter things that are unfavorable to them, they want to deny God, stop believing in God, and reject God’s name and make a getaway. Not only do they forsake God’s name, but they also complain that God cannot protect them or safeguard their interests. Some people even say, “Does God really exist? Can He really hold sovereignty over everything?” And others say, “Serving God is not easy; being close to a king is as dangerous as lying with a tiger!” You see, they dare to say outrageously rebellious things. If you truly treat God as God and truly believe that there is a God, considering it from the conscience and reason of a normal person, would you judge God and blaspheme Him like this when you encounter things that are unfavorable to you? You would not, because your conscience simply wouldn’t allow it, and thus you would not develop these thoughts at all. Then would you still say such things? Such words would never escape your mouth. When those devils and disbelievers encounter things that are unfavorable to them, they will curse and blaspheme God, and ultimately forsake God and stop believing. There are also some people who, when they encounter things that do not go as they wish, protest by going on strike, throwing down their work, and refusing to do their duties. There was once a disbeliever who committed evil and brought severe losses to God’s house. God’s house dismissed them, and when they were assigned to an ordinary church, they refused, saying, “If you assign me to an ordinary church, I won’t eat. I’ll die right here!” Some brothers and sisters then pruned them and fellowshipped with them. I said, “Aren’t you foolish to stoop to the level of such a person? This is a devil showing its true colors, so why are you taking them so seriously?” If they were a human being, could they do such a thing? Who are they opposing? Setting aside the fact that they committed so much evil and brought such severe losses to God’s house—in which case it’s perfectly justified and proper for God’s house to handle them—even if they had not committed any evil, wouldn’t it also be proper for God’s house to dismiss them because they were incapable of doing the work? This is acting according to principles, so just what kind of shameless maneuver were they trying to pull? By trying to pull that shameless stunt, they were revealed, and this was all the more reason to send them away. They can go wherever they want; the church just needs to remove their name, and that will be the end of it. This is a devil, so why are you taking them so seriously? Taking them seriously is idiotic; can you reason with a devil? This disbeliever has no conscience and reason, does all kinds of sordid things, and tries to pull shameless stunts, thinking that if they do so, God’s house wouldn’t be able to respond. Such a person is easy to handle; just send them away and that’s that—out of sight, out of mind. Isn’t it foolish to treat a disbeliever who is a devil as a normal person? A devil does not accept the truth in the slightest, and no matter how they believe, they will not gain the truth. If you fellowship on the truth with them, isn’t that a waste of effort? If you want them to be cleansed and saved, that’s impossible. They are simply a devil showing its true colors, and they should be cleared out. This is how disbelievers should be handled.

Those muddleheaded people who are of the animal classification do not acknowledge God from the bottom of their hearts and treat God as God, nor do they have respect for God’s flesh or fear of the God in heaven; for them, only personal profit matters. If today they get blessings that are beneficial to them, they say, “God is good, god is great, god is righteous, god is noble!” But if one day God takes away their benefits and has them suffer, they will deny and betray God, even saying, “It’s not necessarily true that god is all good; I don’t believe in god anymore!” If God’s house distributes some benefits and lets them gain something for free, they feel happy and say, “God loves people so much, god is so lovely! I praise god in my heart!” They become so happy that they jump for joy, and can even wake up laughing from their dreams at night. If they are told it’s no longer free, they immediately change their tune and become unhappy. They no longer say God is lovely or that God is concerned for people, and instead pass judgment that God’s house is too stingy and has no love; their demeanor changes so quickly. Do such people have conscience and rationality? (No.) People without conscience and reason have no sense of shame. When they benefit, they say God is good; when they cannot benefit, they change their tune and say, “God is not good, there is no god.” They can actually say such things. They speak out of both sides of their mouth, as if they have a split personality; they are the ones who say God is good, and they are also the ones who say God is not good. What are their words based on? They are based purely on whether they stand to gain something; if they do not stand to gain something, they say God is not good—they can actually say such things. Generally, if someone with conscience and reason says such things, they will feel guilty inside: “Oh, I have no conscience. What I just said was inappropriate. I cannot say that in the future. Once you say something, you can’t take it back; saying that has revealed my humanity.” They will then reflect on and know themselves. People who are reincarnated from animals will not reflect on and know themselves. They think they are justified no matter what they say; they say one thing when they are happy, and another when they are unhappy. They have no sense of shame and no integrity or dignity, and they do not care how others view them. So do they actually have God in their hearts? Accurately speaking, they do not. Objectively speaking, when they need Him, they say there is a God, that God is with them, that God bestows grace upon them and helps them, and that God watches over and protects them. However, when God reproves and disciplines them, making them lose face and feel disgraced, and they feel that what God does is unfavorable to them, they say God is not good and begin to be skeptical of God. Tell Me, what conscience and reason do such people have? They treat God just like they treat people, not observing any boundaries of conscience whatsoever. They even dare to quarrel and argue with God, and dare to hurl abuse at Him, without the slightest dread or fear of God. Afterward, they regret it: “Oh, I have let God down!” But when they encounter such things again, they still act the same way. They will never have true fear of God in their hearts; God has no place in their hearts. However, someone who truly has conscience and reason has a fixed place for God in their heart, and this fixed place makes them more sincere, earnest, and respectful toward God than toward anyone else. This sincerity, earnestness, and respect constitute their attitude toward God due to the effect of the basic conscience and reason they have. So, at any time, whether they’re weak or negative, or they’ve failed or have been disciplined, they will not overstep this boundary. No matter how great the difficulties they encounter or how much pain they suffer, they will not overstep this boundary, because they are a true human being. They believe that God exists and that He holds sovereignty over people’s fates, so they will not overstep the boundary of conscience to commit an offense against God, nor will they deliberately curse God, resist God, or rebel against God while being aware that they’re doing so. That they refrain from doing so deliberately means they are restrained by their conscience and reason. Of course, under the effect of their conscience and reason, they can also do some things that someone with normal humanity should do. For example, no matter what work God does or what words God speaks that do not conform to their notions, they will not intentionally pass judgment or make comments. They can treat these things correctly or seek the truth to resolve their own notions; they have a basic boundary in their subconscious. Because they believe that God exists, they will have these reflections due to the effect of their conscience and reason. After reflecting, they will have a basic attitude and basic principles for how they treat God. Only on the foundation of these basic principles can people maintain their relationship with God as that of a created being to the Creator, maintaining such a correct, normal, and proper relationship. Only with this relationship in place can people accept God’s words normally, and submit to and practice God’s words normally. Tell Me, can people who often curse God, people who want to stop believing in God at the drop of a hat, and people who complain about and hate God just like that, accept God’s words? Can they practice God’s words? (No.) The attitude these people have toward God is the attitude devils have toward God. Since devils have such an attitude toward God, can they treat God’s words as the truth? Never. Only created human beings can treat God’s words as the truth. Only by treating God’s words as the truth can people be willing to accept God’s words, and then further submit to, practice, and enter into them, and ultimately be cleansed and saved.

Someone who possesses the qualities of conscience and reason in their humanity has a basic principle in how they treat God, which is to have the intention of submitting. No matter what happens to them, they will absolutely not pass judgment arbitrarily, but will pray to God and seek the truth; this is the manifestation a normal person should have. If a person’s manifestations conform to the conscience and reason of normal humanity, or if they have the regulation, restraint, and control of conscience and reason, then this person is a true human being, and is someone God intends to save. If they act without the regulation, much less the restraint, of conscience and reason, and are muddleheaded; if they want to have a good attitude toward God but are never able to, do not know just how they should treat God, and do not know what principles people should abide by before God to be correct—if they know none of these things, but are just muddleheaded and confused, acting good around good people and evil around evil people, what kind of person are they? When they’re around people who have conscience and reason, they do not do any evil things, but that does not mean they are someone with humanity. If they are around evil people, they will do evil things. When evil people curse God, they also become skeptical of God; when evil people deny and pass judgment on God, they are not repulsed, they don’t exercise any discernment, and they continue to associate with evil people all the same. They never safeguard the work of God’s house, God’s testimony, or the church’s interests, but act as an onlooker, not even knowing what’s correct and incorrect. Such a person is one of those reincarnated from an animal; they’re absolutely not a human being. By contrast, before a person with conscience and reason encounters God’s work, they have a basic respect, dread, or reverence for Heaven that humans can attain to. At the very least, Heaven is sacred, just, and lofty to them. After they accept God’s work and understand some truths that God requires people to possess, due to the effect of their conscience and reason, even if they do not understand so many truths, they can figure out the reason and attitude that people should have toward God. Whether it involves God’s identity or the various aspects of His flesh, they will have a measure of respect, reverence, and dread. Even better, on the basis of understanding some truths, they can possess a fear of God. They do not treat God in a casual, nonchalant, arbitrary, or irreverent manner, but treat Him with great care and caution. Especially when it involves God’s work, His testimony, His name, His identity and status, and His offerings, as well as God’s words, God’s requirements, and a specific instruction from God, they are particularly careful and cautious. They treat these things with a God-fearing heart and a respectful attitude. They do not deal with them perfunctorily, nor do they go through the motions and do things for show, but are able to treat them seriously, with a humble heart and attitude toward all visible or invisible things involving God. This is the attitude someone with conscience and reason ought to have toward God above all else. When you do not understand the truth, you might not have a very exact understanding of the word “God,” nor do you understand God’s identity and essence or God’s disposition, but you have a measure of respect and dread for Heaven. After you understand God’s work, experience God’s work, and accept God’s words, what will your reverence and dread of God turn into? They will turn into sincerity, earnestness, and fear, or terror and trembling; this is the attitude toward God that a person with the conscience and reason of normal humanity should develop. If someone has believed in God for many years and claims to believe that God exists and verbally acknowledges God, yet has never, due to the effect of conscience and reason, developed the attitude they should have toward God, then it’s easy to imagine what this person lacks inside. If they merely lack sincerity and earnestness toward God, but still possess a bit of dread and fear of God, then it can only be said that this person is not very good; they may be a human being, but they’re not a very good one. It might be that they have been too severely polluted and influenced by Satan’s evil trends in society, or that they have been poisoned too profoundly and brainwashed too severely. Nevertheless, if you possess a fear of God, then at the very least, you are still a human being. If you do not have the slightest sincerity or dread toward God, and do not have the slightest fear of God, then it can be said that you are not a human being; you are unworthy of being called a human being and fall short of the standard of a human being. When it comes to all visible or invisible things involving God, if you treat them carelessly, nonchalantly, and cursorily, or even treat them in a crude and barbaric manner, then you are not a human being. This is because you lack even the regulation and restraint of conscience and reason in how you treat God, which is enough to illustrate the problem, and is enough to characterize someone like you as not being a human being. When you did not believe in God and had not come to God’s house, it was excusable that you lacked clear respect or a correct attitude toward God, and there were no strict judgments passed on you; but now that you believe in God, if, during the time you follow God and accept the provision of His words of life, you still cannot develop sincerity, earnestness, and fear toward God, and your attitude toward Him remains crude and barbaric—not only lacking fear but being so casual and nonchalant, just like Satan’s attitude toward God—then it can only be said that one such as you has no conscience and reason. If such a person even treats God like this, without the restraint of conscience and reason, are they still a human being? They are not a human being.

That is more or less all that we’ll fellowship on regarding the various aspects of human conscience and reason. Regardless of which manifestations of conscience and reason we are talking about, they all involve certain human thoughts, views, and behavior. None of these aspects are empty—some involve how to treat people, events, and things; some involve how to approach philosophies for worldly dealings and the various aspects of life; and others involve how to treat the truth and God. No matter which aspect you focus on, a prominent trait of someone with conscience and reason is that their self-conduct and actions are restrained and controlled by conscience and reason. They have limits and boundaries in their actions—this is their defining trait. Only by possessing this trait do they meet the basic condition for attaining salvation. Do you understand? (Yes.) Is there anything you do not understand? Regarding the three aspects fellowshipped today—that people with conscience and reason possess a sense of shame, are able to reflect on life, and have a basic respect and dread toward God—do you feel that there’s one you can’t match up to yourselves? Do you feel that any one of them is empty? (No. We feel we can match ourselves up to all of them.) Then let’s end our fellowship here for today. Goodbye!

June 1, 2024