Now that we have finished fellowshipping on the aspect of not contending, let’s fellowship on the aspect of not fighting. Not fighting is somewhat similar to not contending, but there are also some differences. Besides having those manifestations of not contending, the incarnate God also has some practical living out and revelations in the aspect of not fighting. Through this living out and these revelations, people can also better understand an aspect of the humanity essence of the incarnate God. What does this aspect, not fighting, generally involve? It still involves interacting and associating with people. The incarnate God’s principle for interacting and associating with people is to treat people fairly, do things according to principles, and not play mind games or use tricks with people in His heart or in secret. When interacting with people and discussing certain topics, He will absolutely never ponder in His heart, “What do you mean by that? Are you deliberately targeting Me? Is there a hidden meaning in your words? Is there something else going on in secret? I have to think about how to speak to you, how to show you what I’m made of, or how to fight with you.” When I interact and talk with you, I do not have these thoughts. Even if the other party intentionally wants to fight, I will absolutely never fight with them. Even if the other party is a nonbeliever who wants to find out the real situation or seize upon something to use against Me, I still do things according to principles. I do not fight with them; I do what I should do and say what I should say. I act and speak according to My principles and My boundaries for conducting Myself. In short, no matter who it is, I do not fight with them. For example, I ask someone, “How are the results of preaching the gospel this month?” They think to themselves, “Why is He suddenly asking about the situation of preaching the gospel this month? What does this mean? Has someone reported some problem about me behind my back? Is He trying to find out the truth about my situation and dismiss me?” Why would they think this way? Do I have an ulterior motive in asking this? Is there a hidden meaning? (No.) They want to fight, so they feel that My words have a hidden meaning; or, because they have done some bad things behind the scenes and have a guilty conscience, they feel I must have an ulterior motive in speaking. Actually, when I ask how the gospel preaching is going this month, the sentence means exactly what it says on the surface; there is no other meaning. I have no intention of fighting, nor am I trying to make you give the game away, make you admit that the results this month are not good, or make you come clean about how preaching the gospel has been going recently, so that I can use this as an excuse to seize upon something to prune and dismiss you. Rather, I am trying, in a practical manner, to find out about the situation of the church’s work and help you resolve the problems that exist in doing your duty. But if you always want to read into My words, and always want to fight with Me, then I won’t ask you. I can ask other people. I will go to whoever I can find out the actual situation from, whoever can converse normally, speak like a normal human being, and tell the truth. You make an issue out of everything and are too much of a hassle. You are too suspicious and your mind is too complicated, so I won’t converse with you. This is My principle for interacting and talking with people. Would you say it is simple? (Yes, it is simple.) For example, someone bragged to Me about having been on a luxury cruise ship. I said, “I really haven’t been on a luxury cruise ship. You are rich people; you have seen the world.” These are not words spoken in anger, nor are they spoken out of impetuousness. I haven’t been on one, so I tell the honest truth; I do not make pretenses. When encountering such a person, I stand down and absolutely do not fight with them. Some Chinese people always speak English to Me, using some words I haven’t heard before. Seeing that I haven’t heard them, they show off even more vigorously: “I’ll specifically say things You don’t know. I’ll make sure You cannot understand me, make You envious and jealous, and make You mad!” Isn’t this fighting? (It is.) I say, “I haven’t heard the words you used. Your English is quite good.” Some people love to show off and look down on people, always acting superior, thinking they are something special, and feeling that they are capable and a cut above others. When encountering such people, I can treat them correctly too. If you love to show off, then I will let you show off to the fullest extent. I will not interrupt you, much less fight with you.

You can see people who like to fight everywhere; wherever there are groups of people, there will be those who like to fight. They often contend and fight with others, and will fight over a single word, a single item, or a single matter. I have seen too many people like this. I, however, do not fight with people. Why don’t I? Because fighting has simply never come naturally to Me. In the church, there are also many people who always play mind games when interacting and speaking with Me. They always speculate, “What are You getting at? Have You found out about some bad behavior of mine behind my back? Are You going to dismiss me?” “Why are You saying this? Are You dropping a hint? Is there some hidden meaning in what You’re saying? Are You trying to get me to do something?” For example, someone was wearing a T-shirt, and I said, “The color of your T-shirt is quite nice. Does it keep you cool? Is it cotton?” Isn’t this a very normal and ordinary thing to say? (Yes.) That person then thought to themselves, “Are You asking this because You want one too? Isn’t this how officials usually ask for things from regular folks? They don’t ask openly, but speak in a roundabout way, letting people take the hint and voluntarily deliver the items to their door. That way, if it comes up afterward, they can say they didn’t ask for it, and it wasn’t extortion. Is this what God was getting at? If that’s what He meant, then I must quickly buy a few T-shirts and send them over.” After thinking this, they bought a few T-shirts and sent them to Me. They thought that because I said the shirt was nice, I wanted one. Actually, I really didn’t want one; I was just chatting. If I really did want one, I would just say so directly; I would absolutely never make people read between the lines. So I couldn’t accept the shirts, and quickly had them returned. I am not short of clothes to wear. I have My own preferences for what I wear, and nobody else can figure it out. Is that clear? (Yes.) When I speak with people, even in casual conversation, I speak very specifically and seriously. Often, some people with complicated minds will interpret what I say in a twisted way, and speculate whether My words have some hidden meaning, becoming belligerent. Allow Me to clarify something for you: I have absolutely no intention of fighting with anyone. What I convey when I speak is exactly what the literal meaning of My words is; there is absolutely no hidden meaning in what I say. So when you chat with Me, whatever you hear Me say is exactly what it means. Do not over-interpret it, do not overthink it, and do not play mind games, let alone use any tricks to test Me or speculate about Me. The words I speak are the simplest and clearest; anyone with a bit of normal thinking can understand what I say. If you do not fight, it will be easy for us to get along and handle matters. When I instruct you to do something, I don’t obfuscate things; you just need to do exactly as I say. If you fight, it will instead delay things, and I will feel a sense of aversion toward you. I will say, “You like to fight, have an overly complicated mind, and are not straightforward. I do not like interacting or conversing with people like you. I would rather play with My pet dog than chat or interact with you. You fight with this person and that person all day long; that’s not something I like doing. By nature, I call it like it is when I say and do things; I do not fight with people.” You absolutely must not fight. If you’re always fighting, you will forfeit your integrity, and you will carry no weight in My heart. When asked about something, just tell the truth. Say whatever comes to mind at the time, and say however much you can remember. Do not always ponder why I want to find out about something, what the drawbacks would be if you told the truth about it, or whether it would affect your status or how the Above views you. If you always ponder these things, you will find yourself in trouble. I’m telling you, speak honestly, and do not play mind games or use tricks. Even if you have done something wrong, you should tell the truth and not conceal it. Even if you are not fit for your duties, God’s house will only dismiss you according to principles, and will not bear hatred toward you. But if you always conceal the real situation and always play mind games when speaking with Me, then even if you don’t get dismissed, I will be repulsed by you inside. Whenever I think of you, I will feel disgusted, and it will bring Me no joy if I have to use you. So which path do you choose? (We will speak truthfully.) That’s right. Never play mind games. No matter when, speaking honest words, doing honest things, and telling the truth should be the boundary for your self-conduct, and also the most fundamental principle you should abide by in conducting yourself. Do not always play mind games. Especially when speaking or handling matters with Me, you absolutely mustn’t play mind games. Do not beat around the bush or keep people in suspense when speaking, and do not play mind games when handling matters. If you try to be clever, thinking to yourself, “I will handle this matter in front of You to let You see how busy I am, and how rigorously and tightly my work is arranged, but behind Your back I won’t do anything”—if you ponder like this, you’re headed for trouble. I deal with you by the book and handle things according to principles. I will not fight with you; I will not fight with you using your methods or the tricks you use to fight. The church has administrative decrees, and God’s house has principles for handling people. Sooner or later, you will be held accountable and pay the price for these improper behaviors and even evil deeds of yours. Is that clear? (Yes.)

Sometimes we go to visit some Chinese churches in the US. As soon as we arrive and see the brothers and sisters, some people tip off the others, shouting, “God is here! The Brother is here!” They had been slacking off, but upon hearing this, the atmosphere suddenly changes. Some start the machines to mow the lawn, some clean up, and they get busy. I say, “Why did you start cleaning up when you saw Me coming? Are you doing this just to put on a show for Me? Are you acting with reason by doing this?” People can play mind games with other people and try to deceive them, and they do the same with God; this is human nature. What aspect of human nature does this reveal? Aren’t people like this of low character? (Yes.) People are too deceitful and severely scummy. They have become used to fighting with people, and they even want to fight with God. You are always guarded against Me and always resistant in your heart; what kind of person do you take Me for? Actually, I have no desire to see what you do when I’m not around. I just fellowship on the truth to lead you onto the right path in life and have you act according to principles in all things. If you can consciously walk the right path, then you are a human. If you do not walk the right path, but engage in petty tricks behind My back and fight with Me, then you are not a human; you are a devil, an animal. In that case, no matter how much I say, it is useless; God does not save people like you. You want to fight, but I really will not fight with you; I will stay far away from you. Not only will I try not to go to the places where you live and work, but you should also try not to enter the places where I personally live and work. Why? Because I do not like fighting with you. You like fighting so much; if you are always near Me, wouldn’t I feel exhausted? Some people say, “If You don’t fight, why do You feel exhausted?” If you always fight with Me, I will constantly have to fellowship on the truth with you. Even for a minor matter, I will have to fellowship on it with you for a long time. Don’t you think I would feel exhausted? If I didn’t talk things through with you and make you understand, you would always have a sense of resentment in your heart, always be negative, have misunderstandings, and complain, and your mind would be full of negative things. The nature essence of man is of Satan, and Satan’s disposition has become his life. Corrupt mankind is prone to fighting, and it is very difficult for man to refrain from fighting. So, when you no longer play mind games while interacting and speaking with Me, when you can treat whatever I say seriously and comprehend it purely, and when we can be open and honest with each other and talk about anything, then there will be a rapport between us. Even without speaking, we will be compatible in spirit, there will be no barriers or misunderstandings between us, and we will be able to communicate completely in our hearts. Then we will be able to live together and get along. Right now, I unilaterally do not fight with you, but you cannot stop yourselves from fighting. Therefore, even if you do not openly rise up to oppose, reject, judge, and condemn My words, you will still be resistant in your hearts and still fight with Me surreptitiously. This proves that man cannot have true submission without resolving his corrupt dispositions. In most matters, not only can you not achieve unity with Me, but you do not even have the most basic rapport with Me or understanding of Me; you cannot achieve this at all. Thus, it would be very difficult for us to live together in a way where everyone would be happy and feel joyful. If I were with you, I would always want to lead you onto the right path, so that you could have pure comprehension and make correct choices in all matters, so that you could walk the right path whether in life, in conducting yourselves, or on the path of believing in God, and so that whether I spoke or not, you would have a most basic trust in Me, as well as obedience and submission to Me, in your hearts. But right now, people cannot even achieve this most basic trust, obedience, and submission; people’s minds are too complicated. If I’m somewhat nice to you, you will think no one can compare with you and that you are high above everyone else, and will become bossy because of your association with Me and use My name to throw your weight around. If I treat you normally or somewhat coldly, you will feel that I have no love. If I’m somewhat strict with you or always prune and lecture you, you will feel wronged and unjustly treated, thinking that I have no love or tolerance for you. No matter what I do, you will have your own opinions on it, because your problems are too severe and your minds are too complicated. Therefore, even if I were to live together with you, problems would constantly arise as we communicate and interact. In the end, these problems would constantly lead to conflict, and once the conflict intensified, it would be hard to say whether you would be able to continue walking this path of believing in God. You thought you had great faith? Your stature is too small! Even now that I have been incarnated as a very ordinary person, and have spoken with you and done work on you for such a long time, interacting with you presents great difficulties. What is the root of these difficulties? (We are too deceitful and prone to fighting.) People’s minds are not pure, and people are not honest; they are full of corrupt dispositions. If, when I discover that you reveal corrupt dispositions or have some defects in your humanity, I don’t point them out to you, that would seem to be irresponsible on My part. If I pointed such things out to you and you could accept them, that would of course be better. But if you do not accept it, should I indulge you, or should I prune you and strictly discipline you? If I were to indulge you, I could not square that with My conscience. If I pruned you, you could not accept it and would feel wronged. If I always fellowshipped on the truth with you and you still did not accept it in your heart, then tell Me, would it be worth it for Me to do this? Wouldn’t I feel exhausted? (Yes.) If I preached to each of you every day, wouldn’t I become a robot? Wouldn’t I become a tool? That is not the work I am meant to do. I speak to all of humankind; this is My ministry. My words are not directed at any specific individual. I speak to all of humankind, and you are a member of humankind, so these words apply to you. Eat and drink them slowly yourself, slowly compare yourself against them, and slowly experience and change. But how long will this slow change take? Is it three to five years, or ten to twenty years? And to what extent will you change? That depends on your personal resolve and comprehension ability. During this period, when we interact together, you lie and deceive, contend and fight, and play tricks. So it really is not easy for us to achieve harmony, a rapport, and unity, or to feel happy and joyful in our interactions. At any rate, whether it’s people I have contact with up close or from a distance, up to now I have not felt sincerity or change from anyone, nor a sense of happiness or comfort from anyone. Moreover, having lived as long as I have, what is My deepest realization now? It can be accurately said that the one thing I am most unwilling to do is to have close contact with people and interact closely with them. I do not deceive, contend, or fight with anyone, but people always want to contend, fight, and deceive. What should I do? Should I cater to people’s deception, contention, and fighting, or should I change people’s deception, contention, and fighting? I cannot cater to people. I really do have some ability and some paths to change people, but this process of change is too long and too difficult. In the end, I settle for the next best thing: When coming into contact with people, I try My best to help those who can be helped. For those who do not accept help no matter what, I try to avoid contact and interaction with them, and spend time waiting!

Accepting the truth and submitting to the truth in order to cast off corrupt dispositions and attain purification is a process; this is not an easy thing. Over the years of interacting with people, no matter what group of people I find Myself in, and no matter how people differ in terms of their age, appearance, skin color, personality, and living background, I always feel that their nature essence is so familiar, like I’ve seen it all before. I feel that the disposition essence of all kinds of people is the same, and after I interact with them, they all turn out exactly as I expect. Under these circumstances, what kind of mood am I in? Is it a good mood? (No.) No one knows why I am in a bad mood. Do people have this awareness when they interact with Me? (No.) Living in corruption, humankind relies on means of survival like deception, contending, and fighting to live. They are completely in their element like this, living carefree and at ease. They live in sin, enjoying the pleasures of sin without any worries, and do not feel that this is something painful. Precisely because all people have a sinful nature, sin is people’s life, and the essence of people’s life is sin, they do not feel that living in sin is painful. It’s like a pig; a pig is a dirty thing, a filthy thing. It eats and sleeps in pits of mud and garbage dumps without feeling dirty or filthy. There are also maggots; they live in dung heaps and fetid ditches without ever feeling the slightest bit of filth—they even feel quite at home and comfortable. People live within their corrupt dispositions and amid contention and fighting, and they don’t find it painful or trying either. Some people even feel that if they were to go a single day without contending, fighting, or playing tricks, their lives would be too boring and uninteresting, so they have to find something to fight over or someone to play tricks on. In their eyes, living in the flesh and wearing human skin, people must contend and fight; if they don’t, their existence loses its value. For Me, the feeling is completely different. I feel that contending and fighting with people is a very exhausting thing, and also something annoying; it is the one major thing I most want to escape from in this life. I do not know how to contend or fight, nor am I willing to contend or fight. When I really encounter matters involving contending and fighting, I just want to back away, to bypass and avoid them, so I find these things particularly annoying. After many years of Me being annoyed, these emotions have built up and reached their limit, and ultimately I’ve come to feel that interacting with human beings is the most painful thing in the world. Every time I encounter someone who contends and fights with Me, it feels like being pushed through a meat grinder, like being toyed with; that is the feeling. After having these feelings, I ponder, “How is this aspect of their corrupt disposition revealed? What is the essence of this kind of person? If there is an opportunity, I will fellowship with them about it. If they can accept the truth, that would be for the best, and they are truly worth helping. If they do not accept the truth, then I’ll just let things take their natural course, and let fate do with them what it will.” People who do not accept the truth are people without humanity, and they are also people without blessings; they are the most foolish people, the most worthless people. Having interacted with many people, I have developed this thought and viewpoint about people and worldly affairs: Interacting with people has become a tiring thing. This is not physical exhaustion, but spiritual exhaustion. Within this exhaustion, there is also a sense of dullness, repression, and pain. If I do not interact with people, I encounter fewer instances of people contending and fighting with Me, and My spirit feels quite liberated and relaxed.

In recent years, when interacting with some brothers and sisters, I often hear some people say, “I misspoke just now; let me correct myself,” or “There’s a slight discrepancy in the situation I learned about earlier; let me rectify it.” Also, some people have a more proper attitude in handling matters than before, and are a bit more earnest and responsible. Moreover, they can endure hardship and pay a price, and they have fewer complaints. Most people can discuss things with each other and cooperate harmoniously when doing their duties together. Compared to a few years ago, they are much better and have changed a bit. Every time I notice this happening, I feel quite good. I feel that all these years of going over these things again and again have not been in vain—finally, a portion of people have taken these words seriously. After hearing these words, they can understand the truth and know to practice according to God’s words. Regardless of how much they’re able to put into practice, at the very least, they have life entry and have changed somewhat. In short, their attitudes and viewpoints toward the truth have become relatively proper and correct. Although some people have changed a bit, they have not changed enough. Sometimes, when encountering different matters, there are still instances of people contending and fighting; the problem has not been resolved at its root. You have only changed a bit, and have not yet reached the point of being able to submit completely. You still have to continue pursuing the truth, and continue experiencing pruning, trials, and refinement. Change is not an outward change—so what exactly changes? I have spoken for so many years, and you have come to recognize that you have quite a few corrupt dispositions, and that you actually have quite a few defects in your humanity as well. You should be clear on how to cast off your corrupt dispositions and do your duties properly, and how to practice the truth to do your duties up to standard, right? At the very least, you should all be clear on how to be honest people, and also know how to practice this. If, with regard to the problems that you understand and that are within your abilities, you can put effort into seeking the truth to resolve them one by one, endure a bit of suffering to overcome your various difficulties, and be able to practice the truth, then I might come to consider you as basically having a bit of human likeness. Even if you occasionally still show a slight inclination to fight when I interact with you, if I feel it’s not obvious, My view of you will be very different from before, and it will be much less difficult for us to get along. You must fellowship and make plans about this, about how to pursue in order to achieve change. You cannot just be content in the performance of your duty with putting in a bit of effort, laboring a bit, going through the motions, not doing wrong things, not causing disruptions and disturbances, or just not being dismissed or cleared out. Rather, you must put effort into the truth, into practicing the truth, and into accepting and submitting to the truth. In this regard, I have to commend most of the sisters; most of the sisters are doing well, while most of the brothers are doing poorly. From the experiential testimony videos, I see that in the various items of church work, most of those who play major roles and serve as supervisors are sisters; there are very few brothers. Most brothers do not take things seriously when it comes to the various items of professional work, nor do they take things seriously when it comes to the truth principles and life entry, or the various truths regarding submitting to God and attaining salvation. Even more so, many brothers simply have no spiritual life at all; they do not read God’s words, do not listen to sermons and fellowships, do not watch the movies and videos of God’s house, and when they encounter issues, they do not seek the truth or fellowship with brothers and sisters. Sisters do better than brothers in this regard. In particular, some sisters who currently serve as supervisors for important work in God’s house are more obedient and submissive than before. They can endure hardship, are willing to pay a price, do things meticulously, and are very serious, rigorous, and earnest. When pruned, they don’t abandon their duties or complain; they are still able to pray and submit, and can seek the truth to know and resolve their corrupt dispositions. Brothers, you can look at how the sisters around you do things. They are more meticulous than you, and more serious, responsible, and earnest in their actions than you are; moreover, they are obedient and submissive, and they focus on seeking the truth principles when doing things. Of course, there is also a portion of brothers who are relatively obedient and can be meticulous and earnest in the things they do, but most brothers are always a bit sloppy. Nonbelievers call this being rough-and-ready and uninhibited. God’s house doesn’t go in for “being rough-and-ready”; God’s house emphasizes fellowshipping on the truth and handling matters according to principles, and doing things earnestly and rigorously. Being inattentive and slipshod is absolutely unacceptable. Most brothers are careless in handling matters and are never earnest, always thinking, “‘Roughly’ or ‘close enough’ will do; this is good enough.” When they see some sisters putting effort into the truth and approaching it earnestly, and being serious and rigorous with their duties, they even look down on them, saying, “We are real men. Do those things have to be done in such minute, trivial detail? All this fellowshipping on the truth, all this praying and seeking—as long as we’re basically moving in the right direction, it’s fine. What’s the use of being so fastidious? Could we still call ourselves men if we were so fussy about everything? People would laugh at us!” This attitude of yours is wrong. Who would laugh at you for doing things seriously? Let them laugh if they want to. A true man must do things seriously; there is no shame in this. Doing things seriously is the attitude toward the truth, toward responsibilities, and toward duties that all humans—created beings—should have, regardless of gender. When it comes to doing strenuous physical labor or operating things like machinery, there is a distinction between men and women, but there is no such distinction in the pursuit of the truth. The truth is not directed solely at either men or women, but at humankind, which includes both men and women. Among all the truths we’ve fellowshipped on, only in matters involving marriage is there a distinction between men and women, requiring men to fulfill male responsibilities and women to fulfill female responsibilities. There are no distinctions between men and women in other aspects of the truth; they are all things that people should practice. Especially in matters involving truth principles, you must not go wrong, and your direction and goal must not be wrong either. In pursuing the truth, when one’s corrupt dispositions, the states one reveals, and one’s thoughts and ideas are involved, you must examine and discern them in detail. If you do not examine them, you will never find the root problem. If you cannot find it, you cannot resolve it, and you will always live within your corrupt dispositions, being troubled and manipulated by them—you will be unable to achieve change, and unable to cast off your corrupt dispositions.

Today we fellowshipped on several aspects involved in the topic of “not putting the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind.” This was mainly to tell you about the principles by which I conduct Myself and interact with people, as well as My inner disposition and essence when I interact with people. You cannot see, understand, or appreciate these things from the outside, so I shared My feelings and My principles for doing things with you. I am not testifying to Myself; I am just sharing these things with you so that you can know and understand the principles by which I conduct Myself and do things, and the life, disposition, and essence I live out. These are not secrets, nor are they mysteries. Once you understand and are clear about them, you will be able to know God and know God’s incarnate flesh more accurately. Otherwise, the statement “God’s incarnate flesh can represent the God in heaven, and He possesses God’s identity and essence” might forever be an empty phrase to you, or it might forever remain within your notions and imaginings, or it might forever be a mystery to you. Actually, this is a resolvable issue; it is not a theory, nor is it a formulaic saying. Although the form in which the life of the incarnate God exists is somewhat different from the form in which the God in heaven exists—it is God’s Spirit existing in the flesh—there is no difference in Their life, and no difference in Their life essence. So, where do these things we talked about—God’s incarnate flesh not deceiving, contending, or fighting with people—come from? They come from God’s own life; to be exact, they come from the expression of God’s own disposition. Therefore, telling you “I do not deceive, contend, or fight with anyone” is not a bureaucratic turn of phrase, nor is it a mystery. He is just such a person, He just lives within such a life, and His principles for conducting Himself, as well as the life, disposition, and essence He lives out, all contain the elements of not deceiving, not contending, and not fighting with people. Is that clear? (Yes.) We will end our fellowship here for today. Goodbye!

August 17, 2024