Starting Strong but Finishing Weak in Doing Things

Doing things with a strong start but a weak finish—what kind of issue does this fall under? (A defect of one’s humanity.) This is a defect of one’s humanity. Some people, when beginning an undertaking, plan it quite well, initiate some grand moves, gather a group of people, create reports, assign tasks, and even make big statements of resolve, but as they proceed, all this evaporates, and they don’t follow up, supervise, or inspect what’s going on. If no one who understands the truth is there to provide supervision and guidance, the undertaking may fizzle out entirely, or undesirable consequences may even arise, leaving the work in total disarray. There are also people who can speak doctrines quite lucidly and clearly, but when it comes to actually doing things, they have no idea how to proceed and no concrete plan. When special circumstances or unexpected situations emerge, they do not know how to handle them, nor do they fellowship with others, or seek from or consult those above them. When they begin doing something, they seem confident and they make a grand start, as if they are about to accomplish something significant, but as they proceed, they lose enthusiasm and run off—it’s as if they vanish into thin air. When someone asks them, “What are you working on now? How is that task coming along?” they reply, “It’s not going to get done.” Yet they fail to report in a timely manner that they cannot get things done, delaying things for two or three months with no results. Isn’t this infuriating? (It is.) Such people are truly detestable! This kind of person has another problem in addition to doing things with a strong start but a weak finish: Everything they do becomes increasingly chaotic the more they do it. At first, they may have some mental outline, some ideas, and a bit of structure, but as they continue, their thoughts become muddled. They lose sight of why they started the task or what results they are supposed to achieve. When someone advises them to do some seeking, they say, “There’s no need to seek anything. Let’s just keep doing it this way—in any case, no one is sitting idle.” You see, they start off doing things with great momentum, like rolling thunder. But as they proceed, things trail off into nothing. It’s just all thunder and no rain—no results at all. If you don’t ask about, follow up on, or inspect the task, they’ll let it fizzle out unfinished, without even giving a report. Where did the resolve they expressed at the beginning go? It’s been forgotten. What about the initial plan they wrote? Gone without a trace. And those ideas they had at first? They’ve disappeared; they’ve been forgotten. This is just the sort of creature they are! This type of person, when you see their initial enthusiasm, seems like a real doer. But in actuality, they are utterly useless; they are simply not someone who does things in a down-to-earth manner; they are a restless person. They are only willing to take the limelight, but do not want to endure hardship and fear taking responsibility. Everything they do is left unfinished. What kind of humanity do such people have? (Poor humanity.) Tell Me, can this kind of person accomplish anything? (They cannot.) They always start strong but finish weak, in complete chaos—this is their style. No matter what duty they are doing, they start off quite enthusiastically, listening to music and humming along. But after a while, they lose interest and just drop the work and quit. What sort of creatures are they? Aren’t such people detestable? (Yes.) They recklessly take on tasks they know they might not be capable of accomplishing, trying to display their competence, bragging, and making big claims—don’t they know their own capabilities? If they can’t do the job or deliver results, why don’t they just say so? They shouldn’t delay things! Instead, they stay silent, holding up your work while trying to hoodwink you. Aren’t they of low character? (Yes.) Their character is far too low! Can such people be entrusted with handling things? (No.) Are they worthy of trust? (No.) Such people are untrustworthy. If they give you their word, would you dare to believe them? (No.) What kind of people are they? Aren’t they frauds? (Yes.) Although they don’t deceive you for financial gain or for sexual purposes, their way of conducting themselves and handling things is so detestable and loathsome. So, what is the root cause of why these people are so loathsome? They are of low character, do not know their place in their self-conduct, love to talk big, love to display whatever competence they believe they have, love to take the limelight, and love to show themselves off. They never stick to anything they do. At the same time, they overestimate themselves, and are ignorant of their own stature and what kind of tasks they can handle. Yet they still try to display their competence, boldly taking on any kind of important work. After taking it on, even when they don’t do it well and delay major matters, they remain indifferent; as long as they have the limelight, it’s fine for them. Aren’t they base, low people? (Yes.) Then don’t these people have very poor humanity? (Yes.) If you encounter such a person, would you dare to entrust them with major or important things? (No.) For example, if you have to go out to preach the gospel and you need someone to look after your young child, what kind of person should you look for to help? Would you dare to choose someone like this, who has no sense of responsibility, cannot stay the course, and is untrustworthy? (No.) Why not? Because they might lose your child. If you ask them how your child got lost, they’ll say, “I don’t know. I just dozed off for a moment, and the child was gone. How can you blame me for that? The child has legs and can walk on their own—they weren’t tied to me. You can’t blame me!” They even shirk responsibility! Isn’t this a shameless scoundrel? (Yes.) Matters of life and death absolutely cannot be entrusted to such people. In their self-conduct, they are restless, and they have no integrity or dignity. When problems arise, they have the nerve to resort to shamelessness and deny things. Although doing things with a strong start but a weak finish is merely a defect of humanity, this particular defect is an extremely serious issue—it is an issue of integrity. Some people love to take the limelight, and eagerly take on tasks, but they do not dare to take responsibility. As soon as they encounter difficulties, they immediately shirk the responsibility and distance themselves from the situation. They are completely irresponsible. They are also particularly restless and cannot stick to anything they do. When it gets as bad as this, it is no longer merely a defect of humanity—it is a matter of having a truly low character and poor humanity. Why do I say that such people have poor humanity? It is because they are untrustworthy—you wouldn’t dare to entrust them with anything. No matter what task you entrust to them, they agree readily, but the moment you turn around, they disappear, and you have no idea what they’re up to. It might even be several days before you see them again. If you don’t ask them how the task is progressing, they won’t report back to you, acting as if nothing happened. What sort of creatures are they? They are utterly irresponsible! They even fail the test and cannot be trusted when it comes to something minor like this. What else do you think they could possibly accomplish? (Nothing at all.) If you entrust them with looking after a child, problems could arise at any moment. The child might fall and get injured, eat something they shouldn’t, or, when going outside to play, wander off or be abducted by bad people—all of these are possible outcomes. Because they are irresponsible and of extremely low character, and they observe no boundaries of conscience in everything they do and act solely to satisfy their own selfish desires, ignoring everything else. When you entrust them with a task, they feel that refusing might make you lose face; in consideration of their own pride and to satisfy their vanity, they agree, but afterward, they take no responsibility whatsoever. They talk the big talk while failing to carry out the task well. This is what it means to be untrustworthy. Are such people good? (No.) Can people who do things with a strong start but a weak finish be elected as leaders? (No.) Why not? (They could damage the work of God’s house.) Exactly. When they speak and make promises, they seem to have what it takes, and people are willing to trust those who can talk big. But when it comes to actually doing things, their actions are unpredictable. Even if they mess up, they won’t inform you; and if any problems arise, they won’t give you an explanation of what happened. You are eagerly hoping for them to handle things well, but they end up making a mess of it and are even completely indifferent about this, not regarding what you entrusted them with as a serious matter at all. In their actions, they tend to be restless. Some of them do things solely based on their own interests, hobbies, and curiosity; some of them love to attract attention and only do things to attract attention and be seen. Such people are restless and irresponsible, and they are incapable of doing things in a down-to-earth manner. This is quite troublesome. This still hasn’t touched on whether they have spiritual understanding, can accept the truth, are submissive, or are people who pursue the truth—this still hasn’t touched on these aspects. Purely in terms of their humanity, such people are untrustworthy. Can such people be elected as leaders? (No.) People whose humanity is not up to standard do not even have value for cultivation. Why not? Because their character is too low—they lack even basic integrity and dignity. Therefore, they are not qualified either to be leaders or to be cultivated as leaders.

Exercising Caution in Doing Things

Next, let’s discuss being cautious in doing things. What kind of manifestation is this? (It is a merit of humanity.) Being cautious in doing things, not being reckless, and when matters arise, being able to approach them calmly and seek the truth—this is a merit of humanity. In this evil society, amid various groups of people with complex backgrounds, you need to approach with caution the emergence of various people, events, and things. Even when you are doing your duty in God’s house, there are some complex situations among the various things that you encounter, and you should approach them with caution. For example, when you encounter evil people causing disturbances while you are doing your duty, you should first learn discernment, and then approach the situation according to the truth principles. This is an attitude you should have toward your duty. What does being cautious in doing things involve? It involves a person’s reason. When you encounter matters you cannot see through, you need to be cautious. Even if you understand some truths, when you still cannot see through to the underlying essence and root cause of certain special matters, do you need to be cautious? (Yes.) Such situations even more so require you to be cautious. Being cautious is not being conservative or taking little steps, nor is it not daring to act or being afraid to take responsibility—it doesn’t refer to these things. The caution spoken of here refers to a merit of humanity. What are the specific manifestations of caution? It is when, while doing something, you first seek the truth principles, and then seek the specific steps of practice, specific path of practice, and desired outcomes for that task or that work. That is, you approach important matters and your own duty with a careful and cautious heart. Of course, some people are also particularly cautious when they approach various issues that they encounter in their daily lives; they are not careless, but instead incredibly cautious. This is not a bad thing; it can also be called a merit of humanity, not a shortcoming. Caution can be said to be a merit of humanity; having a cautious attitude can only benefit people, and it will absolutely not constrain or bind people in any way. If you dare not speak when matters arise, if you dare not do anything or interact with anyone—if you’re afraid of a falling leaf hitting your head—then this is being excessively cautious. Living in your own little world all the time, passing your days in an overly wary fashion—is this caution? (No.) Being afraid that if you go out shopping you’ll be cheated, being afraid that if you open up a store you’ll lose money, being afraid that if you buy a house it’ll end up being a stigmatized property, being afraid that if you buy a computer it’ll have viruses—being so bound by excessive fear that you dare not do anything and find it difficult to take a single step—these are definitely not manifestations of the kind of caution we’re speaking about here. These manifestations indicate that a person is ignorant, useless and timid, immature, and devoid of the ability to live independently. They are manifestations of poor caliber. That is to say, when such individuals are faced with this evil society and complex groups of people, they have no countermeasures whatsoever. They are always worried, fearful, and so afraid that they shrink back and don’t dare move forward. Either they are afraid of being tricked and cheated, or they are afraid of being harmed or murdered. They dare not interact with anyone or handle any matters. When they go to work, they are afraid that they won’t be paid their wages. Some women even dare not work for fear of being mistreated. Some people dare not even leave their homes, fearing they might encounter bad people, and they are afraid that if they buy things they will be robbed of them. In short, they are afraid of everything. Isn’t this being excessively cautious? This is being overly wary. Aren’t they crazy? Some people have this kind of mindset, they worry all day about this and that, and the result is that they dare not handle any matters or go out to meet people, and they can only stay at home. What kind of person are they? (A crazy one.) They are crazy; they are abnormal, they are a non-human. Lacking any ability to make judgments, having no principles or minimum standards in anything they do, this kind of person is a beast reincarnated, they do not have normal humanity, and their being overly wary is not caution. What does caution refer to? Caution means doing things in a measured, methodical, and rule-abiding manner, and, on the foundation of this principle, acting quite rigorously, and, when things happen, being calm, not hasty, reckless, or impulsive, and being able to seek the truth principles and seek out wise methods. This is called caution, and only this caution is a merit of humanity.

Loving to Talk Big and Brag

Loving to talk big and brag—there are many such people. This is also a trend of evil society. Many people speak with exaggeration, heedlessly make things up, and shoot off at the mouth. What they say does not align with the facts at all and they talk a lot of hot air. They still believe themselves to be capable, not having any sense of integrity and shame. Are such people worthy of trust? (No.) Do such people have integrity or dignity? (No.) Such people have no integrity and dignity, are not worthy of respect, and are not trustworthy. Then, can they be entrusted with handling important matters? (No.) So, what kind of problem is loving to brag? (It is a defect of one’s humanity.) It is a defect of humanity, but you also have to look at this person’s humanity—whether their humanity is evil and whether they can accept positive things. If they are merely scummy and, influenced by their family life or the social environment over many years, have developed a bad habit of loving to brag and talk big, speaking irresponsibly and without considering consequences, then this is merely a defect of their humanity. They are not bad; they are just at the level of being severely scummy. If such a person, besides loving to brag, also acts in quite a domineering and vicious way in interacting with others, and their purpose in talking big and bragging is to suppress others and make the things they brag about and exaggerate seem loftier than, better than, and high above the things that other people have done or possess, then this is no longer a problem of them being scummy. What kind of problem is it? (It is the problem of evil humanity.) This is the problem of evil humanity. So, is there a corrupt disposition involved here? (Yes.) What kind of corrupt disposition? (A vicious one.) They have an arrogant, vicious disposition. Some people love to brag simply because they are severely scummy. This is caused by their living habits and living environment. They simply do not understand what it means to speak truthfully, speak from the heart, discuss real situations, or talk about life and proper matters. They lack this awareness. Such education is absent in their family and school environments, and even more absent after they enter society. As a result, their innate scumminess is very severe. They are flippant and lack a proper demeanor, and just love to talk big and brag to show off and get others to think highly of them. In their hearts, they have no other ambitions, desires, or needs. If they only exhibit these manifestations, this is merely scumminess; this is a defect of their humanity. But if their bragging has an aim, and through bragging they present themselves as being highly capable and exceptionally able, as well as superior to, distinct from, and high above ordinary people, then this is no longer a problem of being scummy. Their love of bragging is guided by specific thinking, driven by a craving for status, ambition, and desire. They use bragging as a way to suppress and impress others, making others feel inferior to and not as good as them, and be deferential toward and obey them. This is the evil of their humanity. Their love of bragging is aimed at gaining the upper hand: “Whatever you have, I have too. Whatever you can do, I can do too. Whatever you know, I know too. Whatever you have seen, I have seen too. I am not inferior to you!” It is even the case that if you have eaten a particular food, they, despite obviously never having eaten it, will claim they have—and not only that, they will say they have eaten more of it, and that the food they ate was better than the food you ate. They will brag even about things that just didn’t happen. What is the purpose of their bragging? It is to outshine you, to compete with you, and to make you feel that they are better than you, that they are every bit as good as you. They are driven by an ambition and desire. So, is the manifestation of humanity that is driven by such ambition and desire merely scumminess, or is it evil humanity? (It’s evil humanity.) Is there a corrupt disposition involved here? (Yes.) Being driven by ambition and desire—this is a corrupt disposition. What kind of corrupt disposition? (Arrogance and viciousness.) Exactly. There are these two types of corrupt disposition: arrogance and viciousness. Additionally, there is also a bit of wickedness. That is, whatever you say, they always mull it over in their hearts, always try to make something out of it, and always approach it with wicked thoughts and extreme ideas. For example, if you say, “My family’s car is a Toyota; it’s a Japanese car,” they say, “Japanese cars are no good. German cars are better. The German car I used to drive not only had excellent performance but also ran for over ten years without breaking down—that’s far better than your car!” They absolutely have to outdo you. You say, “I didn’t even graduate from high school,” they say, “I graduated from high school. You’re jealous of me, aren’t you?” In reality, they didn’t even graduate from middle school, but they still want to outdo you. They enjoy the feeling of others being jealous of them, thinking highly of them, and looking up to them. You see, their response to information they receive from anyone is always wicked and extreme. They lack the thinking of normal humanity. A normal person, upon hearing that someone else has something good, might say, “That’s great you have that. Could you tell me about its specific features and advantages? I’d like to learn more about it.” Someone with normal humanity would respond in this way. But people who love to brag do not have normal humanity. They think, “Why should you have that and I don’t? Even if I don’t have it, I still need to say I do, and what’s more, I need to say mine is better than yours!” If you ask them to take it out and show you, they’ll say, “I won’t let you see it!” when actually they don’t have it at all. Is this wicked? (Yes.) In other words, when anything happens to them, or when they see or receive any information, their response is always extreme, inconsistent with humanity, and wicked, so there is also some wickedness in their disposition. To put it another way, when you converse or fellowship with them normally, and you feel you haven’t said anything that could provoke an unwarranted mental reaction, their mind is already filled with a multitude of thoughts. They are already jealous of you, and defiant and hateful toward you, while also wanting to suppress you. Their mind is consumed with these things. Wouldn’t you say this is wicked? (Yes.) Wicked people are not pure. Most of the expressions, words, and actions they reveal are inconsistent with the conscience and reason of normal humanity. It is possible that there is some aggression in their words; aside from containing aggression, some of their words may be untrue, and some may be boasts. This is because they have wicked thoughts within them, and, driven by these wicked thoughts, the words they speak are all lies, all originating from Satan and devils. Such people have no humanity; they are non-human. People who love to brag and talk big can be divided into two types. They should be characterized based on the essence of their humanity. That is, one must look at whether they are scummy and whether their humanity is evil to judge what problem they have. If they have evil humanity and are severely scummy, capable of committing many evil deeds, then they are not good people and should be characterized as evil people. However, if they merely engage in a bit of talking big and have a bit of scumminess, but cannot bring themselves to do any bad things, still have some conscience and reason, and can also do some good things, then they can still be considered people with good humanity. This is not a major issue, and if their caliber is good, they may even be elected to be supervisors or leaders or workers. Even though these two types of people all talk big and love to brag, it comes down to whether their humanity is good or evil. If they are merely scummy, this is a defect of their humanity and does not involve a corrupt disposition. However, if their bragging has intent and ambition behind it, then it indicates evil humanity, and does involve a corrupt disposition. In terms of their humanity, it is evil; the corrupt dispositions this involves are arrogance, wickedness, or viciousness. It involves both poor character and corrupt dispositions, doesn’t it? (Yes.)

Carelessness

Let’s discuss another manifestation: carelessness. Being careless in everything one does—what aspect does this fall under? (A defect of one’s humanity.) Such people view everything in a rough and general way, unable to grasp the key points. Everything they do is slipshod. They cannot do meticulous work, such as text-based work or document management. They cannot handle tasks that require precision either. When making clothes, they sometimes sew pant legs where the sleeves should go, sometimes make long sleeves into short ones, or make a 26-inch waist into a 24-inch waist. They make the clothing either too large or too small. No matter what they do, they are always so careless, so reckless, and so clumsy that they can’t get anything done well. Just how careless can they be? When going out to take care of something, they can even forget the things they are supposed to bring. For instance, when meeting a lawyer for a lawsuit, they forget to bring their ID card, as well as the evidence the lawyer requested. They leave behind many things. Sometimes, they don’t even know where they’ve placed their important belongings and don’t make an effort to remember. As a result, they often lose and forget stuff, and the things they do and their daily life are a complete mess. Such people are never earnest in how they treat their work or their duty. Whatever they do is always cursory and slapdash—they only ever get a rough impression of matters they observe, only ever get a rough understanding of words they hear, only ever say things in rough and general terms, and only ever retain a rough outline of things in their memory. As a result, they are unable to handle important or confidential work; they are not suited for such tasks. If their carelessness only involves their personal life or hygiene, without affecting other people or any important matters, then it is merely a defect of their humanity—whatever problems arise, they can just take responsibility themselves and that’s that. However, if it involves duty, important work, someone’s fate and prospects, whether someone stays or leaves, and so on, then such people are unsuitable for handling these matters because they are too careless. For one thing, they are not meticulous in these matters; they only take a rough look, being too lazy to use their brains or put in the thought and energy to handle them. For another, their style and approach to doing things are consistently cursory and slapdash, and they often lose and forget stuff. If this only involves their personal life, it is not a major problem. However, if it involves important work or confidential matters, they can mess things up or even cause a major disaster. For example, someone urgently needs to go to Paris, but due to their carelessness, they buy a plane ticket to Rome instead. They even feel quite pleased, saying, “The ticket I bought today was so cheap!” Others look at it and say, “Of course it’s cheap—you were supposed to go to Paris, why did you buy a ticket to Rome?” This is being far too careless! Such people view everything with a dismissive and perfunctory attitude. They just take a single glance at something to get a rough idea of it and that’s the end of it. This is precisely the kind of irresponsible attitude they have. Of course, this attitude is also characterized by not wanting to put their hearts into anything and by laziness—they are too lazy to put their hearts into anything, to use their brains, or to apply thought when handling any matter. Careless people like this are unsuitable for important work, especially tasks involving text-based work, document management, or work involving confidential professional skills. Then, if such people become leaders, can they be up to the task? (No. Their work is never done properly; it’s always done roughly and in broad strokes, and it’s always left incomplete. They cannot do real work.) Such people lack detail in their work; they are always cursory and slapdash, handling things in a superficial, perfunctory manner. Their words are also always vague, and they tend to use terms like “roughly,” “perhaps,” “likely,” or “possibly.” Such people cannot accomplish anything. Many items of work in God’s house, such as administrative work, personnel work, work related to church life, and gospel work, involve specific details. When faced with detailed work, such careless people get a headache and feel confused, and they feel stifled; they are unwilling to engage in such detailed work. They have this lazy attitude, so when it comes to doing work, they always think, “Doing a rough job is fine; after all, this is close enough to what the work arrangements say.” They always maintain this “close enough is fine” attitude—can the work be done well like this? (No.) When they assess people, they also do so roughly—they assess leaders and workers roughly, and they assess the supervisors of each team roughly too. When someone asks, “How long has that supervisor believed in God?” they reply, “More than three years, it seems.” But a person who has believed in God for three years might not even have established a foundation yet—can such a person be reliable as a supervisor? Careless people simply cannot see through this. That’s why their speech is always peppered with terms like “roughly,” “likely,” “perhaps,” “possibly,” and “it seems”; they simply never use precise wording. When someone asks, “Has he ever served as a leader while believing in God?” they respond, “Seems like he hasn’t, because I haven’t heard him mention it.” You see, they never treat anything scrupulously. If you press them for details, they simply rely on feelings and impressions. They won’t say, “I’ll immediately go ask about it and confirm.” They just don’t treat it scrupulously. In everything, they consider it fine as long as it’s “roughly right” or “close enough.” Some people say, “Why should one have to live so meticulously?” While this is true in one regard—for matters related to fleshly life, you can be a bit rough—when it comes to church work, you cannot be rough. Being rough in work impacts its results. Good results in any item of work are only ever achieved because of specific planning, arrangements, follow-ups, supervision and urging. If tasks are carried out in a rough, cursory manner, no work can ever yield results. Therefore, carelessness is a defect of one’s humanity, and such careless people are not up to important work; in particular, they are not up to doing the work of leaders and workers. No matter what the matter is, such people only ever hear a rough outline and then assume they understand it. For example, in the work of establishing churches, how to establish a church, how many people are required to establish one church, how many churches form a district, how many districts form a region—the work arrangements of God’s house have specific rules for all of these, with additional specific rules for special circumstances too. However, careless people neither seek nor try to learn about these rules, yet still claim to know how to proceed. When asked to provide details, they respond, “It’s just establishing churches. Once there is a certain number of people, you establish one.” But when asked, “How specifically should it be established?” they don’t know and cannot provide the details. If they are a new leader and don’t yet know how to establish a church, that would be understandable. The problem is that they don’t know but they also aren’t scrupulous about it, and don’t study, and don’t seek either. Can such people do church work well? (No.) For such people, we have only two words—“step down!” They are not up to leadership work. No work is more complex than work involving people. If you lack a cautious and responsible heart, and your work is rough and not done meticulously, then no matter how good your caliber is, you will still not be up to the role. Being too careless, doing everything only roughly, focusing only on the outline, focusing only on going through the motions, not focusing on details, not knowing to treat things scrupulously—this all means you are absolutely not up to the work of leaders and workers. Understood? (Yes.)