People reincarnated from animals also lie just like devils because they have corrupt dispositions, but when reproached, they will admit it to some degree in their hearts. Although they can admit it, because of their animal quality they cannot comprehend the truth, so they never understand exactly what it means not to lie or what it means to act according to principles. Even if they say, “I will never lie again, I want to speak the truth,” when they try to put this into practice, they seem very clumsy and stupid. Others find the sight of this laughable, saying, “Who practices the truth like this? This is the first time I’ve seen it—it has really broadened my horizons!” It’s like an animal standing up and walking upright like a human; it looks very awkward and strange. Some people reincarnated from animals also want to be honest and do some good things, but they cannot find the accurate principles of practice. When they practice, it is very absurd and becomes a joke. Others find the sight of this laughable, yet these people still think they are being honest. Isn’t this ridiculous? Suppose you tell them, “If you want to be an honest person, you should make sure not to lie, make excuses, try and justify yourself, or argue unreasonably. Doing this is enough. This is being honest. If you do things that violate the truth and thus transgress, you can open up and lay yourself bare. Just accept whatever anyone says that accords with the truth. Don’t do things lacking reason or ridiculous.” But they don’t understand this. When they put this into practice, they err. What would you say is the biggest problem with this type of person? It is that they do not meet the standard of normal humans. Is there a difference between people reincarnated from animals and people reincarnated from devils? (Yes.) Where does the difference lie? (Their distorted practice is not because they are devils with a devilish nature, but mainly because they lack caliber and cannot achieve the normal thinking and reason that humans should possess.) That’s right, their caliber falls short. People of poor caliber may subjectively want to practice the truth, but they cannot grasp the principles; they can only hold to regulations. So their practice is radical, foolish, and stupid. People want to help them, but their disposition is like a hedgehog covered in spines, leaving people at a loss for where to begin. No matter how the truth is fellowshipped to them, they seem unable to understand or grasp it. After five or six years of help and support, they only understand a few words and doctrines and still cannot practice the truth. Their caliber is too poor. Yet these stupid people are always doing disgusting things. When it doesn’t concern major or proper matters, out of etiquette or concern for face, you can still bring yourself to talk with them. But once proper matters are involved, for example, when discussing the performance of duties or work, you get an awkward, uncomfortable feeling, fearing they will resist or object in some way and make you embarrassed. This type of person is unworthy of discussing proper matters with. You just can’t engage with them; engaging with them brings too many problems and will also affect the proper matters. They are always spouting skewed arguments and off-topic remarks, which are simply disgusting to hear. What other distorted things has this type of person done? If they develop feelings for someone of the opposite sex and have wicked lust, they think they must be an honest person, and that they must open up about this and it can’t be kept bottled up inside, so during a gathering, they publicly talk about this matter. The person of the opposite sex they have feelings for feels awkward and uncomfortable upon hearing this, and feels embarrassed. If you try to stop them, they feel upset, saying, “I’m speaking from the heart and being honest. What right do you have to stop me from practicing the truth? This is my right! I finally worked up the courage to speak about this, yet you restrict me! God doesn’t even restrict me, so what right do you have to do so? God even gives me the chance to be an honest person; it’s just you who looks down on me and won’t let me be honest. If I keep this matter bottled up inside and don’t speak out about it, isn’t that concealing the facts? Isn’t that being a deceitful person? Then I wouldn’t be an honest person. If I’m not an honest person, will God still save me?” As you can see, everyone listening feels awkward and embarrassed, yet this person insists on going into detail, and you can’t even restrict them. Tell Me, regarding this matter, should one be tolerant and patient, or should one fellowship the truth principles to restrict them? (We should fellowship the truth principles to restrict them.) If one first tries helping out of love, exhorting them not to say such things that don’t edify others in the future, will they be able to understand and accept this? (No.) Then this type of person is prone to distortions, somewhat foolish, and their reason is not very sound, so one can only resort to restricting them. Everyone has wicked lust, and occasionally one might have some feelings for or harbor some thoughts toward someone of the opposite sex. It’s enough to recognize this oneself privately. If things are heading in a bad direction, one should minimize contact with that person or avoid being alone with them in the future. People with normal humanity will use wise methods and act according to principles when dealing with such matters. They know that this kind of matter cannot be handled solely by applying the principles of practice for being an honest person, and that some principles of wisdom must also be applied. But people reincarnated from animals don’t know how to handle such matters, and they even regard publicly opening up about such things as being honest. They don’t know what consequences this will bring. When they try to be honest, they just adhere to a regulation and a formality. And what is the result? They bring trouble upon themselves, the person they have feelings for, and everyone else. The person they have feelings for is affected and constrained by this matter, feeling unable to face the situation. Everyone else also feels a bit embarrassed upon hearing it, thinking, “If we listen, it’s like we’re prying into someone’s privacy; but if we don’t, they’ll still insist on talking, believing they’re being honest.” You see, everyone finds this matter thorny and troublesome. Wouldn’t you say this type of person is a great trouble? If you fellowship the principles, they don’t accept them, saying: “When you are being honest and opening up, you can say anything, but when I say something, it’s not okay. Am I not also being honest? Why don’t I have the right to speak?” They don’t even pay attention to what others are saying. Is that matter of theirs suitable for fellowshipping publicly? This type of person just can’t see through this and doesn’t understand the principles of being honest. In the end, they make everyone feel the situation is quite difficult to handle. People of the same type will imitate them, saying, “Look, they can even fellowship about things like that. They truly have resolve, they are truly being honest!” Those with pure comprehension know upon hearing that their practice is wrong, and that it has deviated. If you want to help them, they simply won’t accept it. What will they say? “You won’t be able to help me. My comprehension is different from yours. I’m just going to practice this way.” What can be done then? Are you able to help them? (No.) If you really try to help them, you’ll just end up making things worse; not only will they not accept it, but they will also argue and get entangled with you. Isn’t this troublesome? (Yes.)

Those reincarnated from animals also exhibit manifestations of lying, but their lying does not manifest exactly the same as those reincarnated from devils. Their attitudes toward lying and the methods they adopt in lying are also different. When the lies told by those who are devils are exposed, even if, having no alternative, they outwardly admit they lied, they still feel perfectly justified. They think that it’s no big deal. Or even if they express their stance and admit in front of everyone that they were wrong to lie, behind the scenes they still lie and deceive just the same, without changing in the slightest. They simply do not regard lying as a wicked matter or a negative thing. It is their weapon for surviving—how could they give it up? Those who lie inveterately believe, “Living in this human world, if one didn’t lie, if they opened up and laid everything bare to others, and if everything were known and grasped by others, would they still have a self? Would life still have any point? Would they still have dignity? Besides, if one always spoke the plain truth about everything, how bland and dull life would be! One simply has to lie, whether there’s a reason or not.” From any perspective, whether they lie intentionally or unintentionally, it is a natural revelation of their nature. In short, inveterate lying is a prominent characteristic of devils—this is certain beyond doubt. Considering it from this point alone, it is absolutely impossible for people of this type to accept the truth and be honest people; they absolutely cannot do it. Moreover, they feel contemptuous of God’s requirement to be an honest person. Whether or not they are faced with a specific matter, their attitude toward God’s requirement for people to be honest is always one of contempt, mockery, repulsion, and detestation. They view God’s requirement and the principle of self-conduct concerning being an honest person with disdain. From the depths of their hearts, they are averse to and unaccepting of the truth; they even outright oppose being, and refuse to be, honest people.

Inveterate lying is a very obvious characteristic in those who are reincarnated from devils. As long as you have close contact with them, as long as you interact, communicate, and associate with them in work or life, this characteristic or true face of their inveterate lying will be exposed little by little. Therefore, discerning this type of person is very easy. You don’t need to look at someone’s thoughts and views about other people, events, or things. As long as you discover they are an inveterate liar, based on this point alone, you can say with one hundred percent certainty that they are a devil, not human. Some people ask, “Is there even a one percent chance that someone who lies inveterately is not a devil and still has hope of attaining salvation?” I tell you, there is absolutely no possibility. Anyone who lies inveterately is one hundred percent a devil; there isn’t even a one percent chance otherwise. Understood? Some people say, “Could it be that some people lie inveterately because they’ve been corrupted too deeply, they’ve been too severely influenced by society’s evil trends, and the conscience and reason of their humanity have been buried, or they have been completely assimilated by devils, which is why they lie inveterately? If, after a period of help and support from the brothers and sisters, and after being watered and fed with God’s words, their conscience can gradually awaken and their reason can gradually recover, won’t they change and stop lying inveterately?” I tell you, there is no such possibility, not even a one-in-ten-million chance. Therefore, anyone who lies inveterately is a devil, absolutely not human, lacking the slightest normal humanity. Understood? (Understood.) This is certain; there are no exceptions and no special circumstances. You must see clearly on this matter. Perhaps you see someone who, when handling a matter, says something untrue to nonbelievers—something like a lie—in order to safeguard the interests of God’s house and protect the brothers and sisters. You then feel doubtful about this matter, thinking, “I previously thought he was someone who pursues the truth, so how could he lie about such a major issue? If he can lie about this major issue, is he a devil? Is his pursuit of the truth a facade?” Is this way of understanding correct? (No.) What’s wrong with it? How should this matter be viewed correctly? (They haven’t discerned the intent behind that person’s actions or the effect achieved. If someone says something untrue, but does so to achieve a positive effect—to safeguard the interests of God’s house and protect the brothers and sisters—this isn’t lying; it’s a kind of wisdom. They haven’t discerned the difference between lying and exercising wisdom.) You must see clearly the nature of lying. Look at what principle a lie is based on and what purpose it aims to achieve. If someone says something untrue to achieve a positive effect and uphold principles, this isn’t lying—it’s wisdom. In addition, observe whether they are someone who lies inveterately in daily life. If they only lied in one instance, you cannot determine that they are a liar or that they lie inveterately, right? (Yes.) If, in a major matter, they said something untrue to safeguard the interests of God’s house, and you define them as someone who lies inveterately, this is being distorted. Characterizing and viewing people this way is not in accord with principles. If they lied in one instance to protect their own face and reputation, but do not generally lie in most matters, and even if they do lie, they can correct it afterward, then such a person cannot be determined to lie inveterately either. Only those reincarnated from devils lie inveterately. Some people say, “You say they lie inveterately, but sometimes they also tell the truth. For example, they bought something, and when someone asked the price, they stated it truthfully; they didn’t lie about that. How can you say they lie inveterately?” When privacy, interests, status, or face are not involved, they have no need to lie. Lying is tiring for them too, so to save trouble, they don’t lie about minor things. However, just because they don’t lie on one occasion or don’t lie about minor things doesn’t mean they don’t lie inveterately. You just need to observe whether they lie when communicating with others, describing or recounting major events, when their own interests, fame and gain, status, prospects, or responsibilities are involved, or when their own viewpoints are involved. In such a situation, observe how much untruthfulness is in their words, how much veracity, and how much credibility. If their words contain too much untruthfulness, practically turning black into white, fabricating things out of thin air, shifting blame onto others; if they attribute the bad things they did to others, and take credit for the good things others did; if they made a mistake in a matter and should be responsible, but they talked their way out of it, completely shirking their responsibility and pinning it onto others; if they didn’t do their work well, or didn’t pay a price or fulfill their responsibility, or they didn’t do it because they feared danger, and they lied, giving a relatively reasonable excuse to conceal the truth and absolve themselves of responsibility—are these not lies? (Yes.) These are all lies. This is inveterate lying. That is, whenever matters involve their personal interests, responsibilities, face, status, and so on, they lie in all of them. For example, someone bought a chair for a host family that cost seventy yuan. When reporting the expense after returning, they thought, “This trip was quite tiring, and I can’t have run around for nothing. I must make thirty yuan somehow. This thirty is for labor, for running the errand.” So, they said the chair cost one hundred yuan. See, they lied, didn’t they? Why did they lie? (They wanted to benefit a bit.) They wanted to make a little profit. Say they are doing duty together with brothers and sisters, and seeing two people get along well, they think, “No one is friends with me, everyone looks down on me, and no one gets along with me. Let me stir things up between you two and sow some discord in your relationship.” So, they say to one person, “So-and-so said you think you’re well educated, and that if you’re so educated, how come you can’t write articles?” Then they go to the other person and say, “So-and-so said although you’re tall, your figure isn’t well-proportioned, and your upper and lower body are out of proportion.” With these few words, they sow discord between the two. When the two meet again, remembering the divisive words, they view each other with dislike and feel awkward. What benefit did the instigator gain? Outwardly, it seems they gained nothing, but seeing the two become distant and their relationship sour makes them feel comfortable inside and no longer jealous. They then believe they have gained an advantage. Therefore, they even lie in this matter. Someone might say, “Isn’t this harming others without benefiting oneself? If those two talk with each other, won’t they know you instigated things between them? Won’t you have brought disaster upon yourself?” Do they care about this? They don’t care. As long as the two are separated, they no longer feel jealous and believe they have gained an advantage. Isn’t this something devils do? (Yes.) This is just how devils act.

Those reincarnated from devils might speak truthfully about trivial, insignificant matters, but this doesn’t mean they don’t have a lying nature. In all matters, whether significant or unremarkable, as long as they believe their image is involved, as long as they feel uncomfortable, or they want to obtain some benefit or achieve some goal—as long as they have an intention and want to act—their approach will certainly be to use lies to accomplish it. This is inveterate lying. Perhaps they don’t lie when it comes to matters of food, clothing, or shelter; ordinarily, they wouldn’t bother exerting mental energy to lie for the sake of minor things. Furthermore, in their eyes, some people are simply not on the same level or tier as them, they don’t even care to acknowledge them, and they derive no sense of accomplishment from toying with or manipulating them, so they don’t care to act against them in any way. If they are going to act against someone, it must be someone they consider to be on their level, someone they can play games with, and their rival—only then will they acknowledge that person. This is another characteristic of devils. If you are an ordinary person, they think you lack intelligence, that you’re not capable or worthy of playing games with them, and they find this uninteresting, so they ignore you. Devils are selective about whom they toy with. When they live alongside you, perhaps you never see them lie or never notice them intentionally lying about anything, but as long as they are devils, they will certainly lie; this is the innate nature of devils. If they don’t lie to you, it may be because they don’t see you as worthy. They think, “Humph! I won’t even bother to lie to you, and yet you’re afraid I’ll toy with you. Who are you? You think you’re somebody?” They simply have no regard for you; forget lying to you, they can’t even be bothered to speak to you. It’s like when you ask a muddleheaded person about their relationship with someone, and they say, “I’m not in their league. They have better caliber than me, they have a good head on their shoulders. I’m a lowly person, not as noble as them. They don’t want to engage with me.” Even muddleheaded people feel this way. Now let’s look at whom devils like to toy with, whom they like to contend with, whom they like to mislead, exploit, and manipulate. Don’t they also have standards and a certain scope? (Yes.) When they choose a group of people, those people must be ones who engage in mind games and play tricks like them. Only when interacting with such people do they feel happy and find it fun, and only then can they get some sense of accomplishment from their games. Therefore, when it comes to those who are reincarnated from devils, one must see through to their characteristic and essence of inveterate lying. Just because they haven’t lied to you doesn’t mean they don’t lie, and it doesn’t mean they don’t have a lying nature. If they haven’t associated closely with you, and don’t even acknowledge you, and they just think that you are an ordinary believer, that you are not a highly educated person—just a housewife or a farmer—and they don’t have any regard for you, then they will think that lying to you would mean lowering themselves, that it would mean wasting their brain cells, and they won’t even bother to lie to you. How, then, can you see through this type of person? Since they are devils who lie inveterately, their nature will be revealed in other suitable situations even if it’s not revealed in this one. Just because they haven’t lied to you doesn’t mean they won’t lie. As long as they have the essence of a devil, their lying nature will certainly be exposed; it cannot stay hidden. Whether they hide it well or not, regardless of how much of it is exposed, as long as they have a lying nature, and they frequently lie, then they are devils; they are absolutely not humans. True humans do not lie frequently; that is to say, those reincarnated from humans do not lie frequently. Why do I say they don’t lie frequently? Because as soon as they lie, their conscience reproaches and accuses them. If they tell one big lie that leads to consequences, they will feel disgusted with themselves for their whole lives; they will begin to feel repulsion toward lying in their hearts and won’t lie about unnecessary things. Thus, they will lie less and less. Because their conscience reproaches them, they will restrain themselves so that they commit fewer similar wrongs, eventually reaching the point of not committing them at all. This is something humans can achieve. But devils cannot achieve this. After they lie, they feel no reproach, so when they want to lie, there are no restraints; nothing can restrain them—no environment can restrain them, nor can any person with standing or status, and the truth, of course, has no restraining power over them either. Other people exposing them cannot possibly restrain them, to say nothing of the truth, which to them is just text written on paper, just doctrines and regulations, and cannot restrain them at all. Without restraints, them lying is their natural revelation; anytime, anywhere, they can tell various different lies as needed. This is their nature; it will never change at any time. How, then, can one see through to their nature? Look at how those around them evaluate them. If people familiar with them say, “That guy lies inveterately, everything that comes through their mouth is a lie, they lie without their face growing red or their heart skipping a beat, and they can lie about anything; no one dares believe a word they say,” then it can be determined that they are devils, not humans. Now that I’ve said so much, can you see through to this characteristic of inveterate lying in those who are reincarnated from devils and confirm its presence in them? At all times, this rule, this conclusion—“Those who lie inveterately are equivalent to devils”—remains unchanged. Understood? (Understood.)

Has the first characteristic of those who are reincarnated from devils—inveterate lying—been fellowshipped clearly? (Yes, it’s clear.) This content should be easy to accept and understand. Why? Because you often see this type of person in your daily life; it’s just that previously, you considered their manifestations of lying as normal revelations of corruption. Now, through fellowship, you have learned why their lying nature and manifestations of lying never change—it turns out this is determined by their attribute, so this type of person cannot change. What should be done when encountering such people in the future? (There’s no need to fellowship with or help such people. If they are supervisors, they must be dismissed. If they have already shown some manifestations of evil deeds and begun to disrupt and disturb the church’s work, then they should be cleansed away as needed, and not allowed to remain in the church for one more day.) Devils lie inveterately; it’s certain they cannot change. However, there is a type of devil that has some gifts or strengths in certain areas. If they are willing to render service, they can be utilized for service. God utilizes all things to render service in His work; the great red dragon is one such service object and foil. To work in God’s house, one must have wisdom; this is also a principle. If those reincarnated from devils are willing or suitable to render service, utilize them for service. If they cannot even render service, or their service does more harm than good and causes too much damage, and God’s house gains no positive effect from using them but instead has to worry about them, then they are not suitable for rendering service, so their eligibility to render service should be revoked. Is doing this appropriate? (Yes, doing this is principled.) They must be treated according to the principles. Discernment is one thing, but when it comes to how to handle them, you must have wisdom and principles, and do so based on the actual situation. The aim of fellowshipping these matters is for you to gain discernment, to clearly know what the essences of various types of people are, and through a person’s essence, determine whether they can accept the truth and attain salvation. However, it is not for you to apply a one-size-fits-all approach, handling all those characterized as devils by clearing them out. Rather, it is to get you to effectively utilize devils for service according to the principles and to the needs of the work of God’s house. Suppose that some devils say, “Seeing that I am a devil, you want to utilize me for service. If I cannot attain salvation, I won’t render service!” What should be done in this situation? (If they are unwilling to render service, let them go.) If they are not even willing to render service, then let them leave quickly. Some devils say, “You want to utilize me for service? No way! I won’t render service for you! I won’t do anything bad, I’ll just muddle along in God’s house. When it’s time to work, I’ll just be perfunctory, just go through the motions; I won’t do it conscientiously for you!” What should be done when such people are discovered? (They should be cleansed away.) Once a devil is clearly identified, just quickly cleanse them away; show no mercy. If some devils are well-behaved, and they know that they lie inveterately and are devils, and that they cannot be honest people and cannot attain salvation because their nature dictates it, but after listening to the truth for so many years, they also want to follow God and ultimately gain blessings, and they do whatever God’s house asks them to do—if such people do not cause disturbances and there is suitable work for them, they can be given the opportunity to render service. When it comes to the duty given by the Creator, all created beings, regardless of the attribute of the category they belong to, should treat it as their own duty; this is something unshirkable. Even if someone is a devil and a Satan, if they willingly render service for God, God will not treat them unfairly; this is God’s principle for His treatment of all created beings. If you consider yourself a created being, and regardless of your attribute, you are willing to worship the Creator, willing to surrender under the Creator’s dominion, and fulfill your duty as a created being, and you are willing to render service even if there will be no good outcome or destination for you in the end, this is also permissible. God does not reject this; God gives people the opportunity to render service. It just depends on how people approach this matter. Some people say, “Since my innate attribute isn’t good, and there’s no hope of me attaining salvation no matter what duty I do, I won’t do a duty anymore, I won’t render service! You want to utilize me for service, and in the end, you guys will gain blessings and enter the kingdom of heaven, but there will be no share for me, so I’m not going to believe anymore!” That’s perfect. If devils want to leave, let them leave. If they don’t leave, clearing them out is entirely in accordance with the principles. Some devils say, “I can’t deny it that I lie inveterately, I lie to everyone, even to God. But, no matter if God’s house gets me to render service, or if it gets me to act as a foil—no matter how I’m treated, even if I’m not treated as human, I have no complaints. The fact that I’m a devil can’t be helped, can it? Whatever service I’m asked to render, whatever effort I’m asked to exert, I am willing to do it.” Should such people be accepted? (Yes.) In principle, they can also be accepted. As long as there is a glimmer of hope for their salvation, they should be accepted. Regardless of whether they admit they are devils, they at least have some self-knowledge, are willing to render service, and have a bit of submission; that is enough to meet the conditions for acceptance. As for whether they can do their duty in a way that is up to standard, that remains to be seen, right? (Yes.) In short, no matter what type of person someone is, even if their attribute has been discerned, one should still act according to the principles in their treatment of that person. Of course, there isn’t just one principle here—it’s not that all devils should be rejected and cleared out, that all devils should be cast into hell; that is not the sole principle. God holds sovereignty over all things and utilizes all things to render service. Which things can render service, which things render what service and how they render service, at which stage they render service, how long they render service for, how much service they render, under what circumstances they are no longer used, and under what circumstances they can continue to be used—there are principles for all this, and there is God’s wisdom in all of it. People cannot approach this matter impetuously; they must seek the principles. If everyone believes acting in a certain way is right and conforms to the principles, then act in that way; act in whatever way you ought to. Violating the principles, blindly and groundlessly handling a person based on momentary anger, is an attitude of not being rigorous toward the truth and God’s words; strictly speaking, it is also a manifestation of lacking a God-fearing heart, so absolutely do not act in this way. That is basically what there is to fellowship on the first characteristic of those reincarnated from devils—inveterate lying; the principles in all aspects have been clearly explained.