Number 7: The Ability to Identify Things

Now that we’ve finished discussing the ability to make judgments, let’s next talk about the ability to identify things. What does the ability to identify things refer to? It mainly refers to identifying whether people, events, and things are positive or negative, correct or incorrect, and right or wrong; it refers to characterizing or classifying people, events, and things—categorizing the people, events, and things you face into various categories. The intention and the purpose of identifying are to sort people according to their kind and sort positive and negative things according to their kind. Classifying, of course, does not mean grouping birds into the bird category, animals into the animal category, or plants into the plant category. The ability to identify things does not refer to the ability to identify these but refers to the ability to identify the attributes of various people, events, and things. For example, can you categorize the manifestations, revelations, and essence of various people? Can you define the attributes of the various people, events, and things you encounter? For instance, in identifying disbelievers, can you identify the revelations of disbelievers which allow you to be able to recognize clearly that they are disbelievers? If you know what characteristics and traits disbelievers have, what revelations of humanity they display, what words they say, what actions they take, and what thoughts and viewpoints they possess, then you should be able to identify disbelievers. A person with good caliber, when various people, events, and things appear, can identify whether they are positive things or negative things, positive people or negative people, whether they are just or evil, and whether they are correct or incorrect. They can define the attributes of various people, events, and things and identify whether they align with humanity and with the truth. This is someone with good caliber. Then what about people with average caliber? They can identify the various people, events, and things with obvious attributes. For example, some people say, “How could there be a god? Where is he? Why can’t I confirm he exists?” For words like these that obviously deny God, they have some discernment and can identify that such people are disbelievers and negative characters. They can identify obvious evil, and obviously negative, unjust, wicked things, but for some things which are specious, and which are rarely heard of by anyone and fall into a middle ground or gray area, they cannot differentiate them, nor are they able to treat them differently. They do have the ability to discern evil people who commit obvious misdeeds. They know such a person is evil, and that if an evil person like them became a leader and gained status, he would be an antichrist. But if this person has poor character and yet has not committed evil deeds, they would not be able to identify whether he can be categorized as an evil person and what evil deeds he might commit, nor would they be able to define this person’s attributes. This is having average caliber. Some people’s behavior is quite obvious, such as engaging in licentiousness, worshiping idols, following worldly things, loving to gossip, frequently suppressing and bullying others, or committing murder and arson, and they would say these people are not good people and are people detested by God; they can make this differentiation. But as for some people whose external behavior appears quite good—often giving alms and helping others, showing patience toward people, getting along reasonably well with others—whose humanity appears quite good from the outside, yet whose words and actions most of the time do not accord with the truth, and whose actions often violate the truth principles, they would not be able to discern whether such people are those who pursue the truth, or which category, exactly, they belong to. For those people, events, and things that are obvious and easily labeled, they can discern whether they are correct or incorrect, right or wrong, whether they are just or wicked, and whether they are positive things or negative things. They can differentiate such external matters, but they cannot differentiate when it comes to those people, events, and things that really involve the principles and are related to the truth. They cannot discern which are obviously in accordance with the truth and which violate the truth. This is having average caliber. For example, some people wear clothes made of relatively good fabric, which look elegant and high-quality, and make them resemble those high-level figures or white-collar elites in the world. Seeing this, people with average caliber say, “These clothes are what nonbelievers like. As people who believe in God, we shouldn’t like them; these are not positive things.” Saying this is incorrect. These clothes do not look seductive or alluring, instead they look elegant, dignified, and decent, making the wearer appear noble. But these people regard such pieces of clothing—which make the wearer appear noble and elegant and are also currently fashionable—as negative things and say they are wicked. This is being unable to identify these things, right? (Yes.) So how is such people’s ability to identify things? At most, it is average. This is having average caliber. Such people aren’t even able to differentiate some things that nonbelievers can—nonbelievers with good caliber can discern good and bad humanity, but these people cannot. Despite understanding some doctrines after believing in God, such people cannot differentiate between positive and negative things. They can discern things that are obvious, but they cannot discern things that are not. They are able to discern obviously evil people, obvious incidents of disruptions and disturbances being caused, and obvious incidents of the principles being violated, but when it comes to certain people, events, and things that are relatively special, sinister and bizarre, and hidden in the shadows, they cannot identify them. It is only through others’ fellowship and prompts, or through the people themselves doing something obvious, that they can identify them. Otherwise, they cannot. This indicates that their ability to identify things is average. There are also some people who, no matter what the circumstances, cannot identify any people, events, or things, nor define their attributes. For example, when it comes to evaluating what exactly the attributes of a certain category of people are—whether they are true believers or disbelievers, whether they are people who pursue the truth, or whether they are suitable to be cultivated—they do not know and cannot see these things. Even when such people exhibit many manifestations and have very obvious problems, they still cannot identify these people or define their attributes. This is lacking the ability to identify things. Even if some common and easily discernible people, events, and things emerge, they cannot clearly say whether these people are good people or evil people, or whether these are just or wicked matters. They do not know how to differentiate or categorize them, nor do they know how to classify them. Even after reading God’s words and fellowshipping with others, they still cannot identify them. In the end, they get others to decide for them, saying, “Whatever you characterize them as, that’s what they are. If you characterize them as just, then they are just; if you characterize them as wicked, then they are wicked.” In short, they themselves cannot make definitions or draw conclusions. No matter the situation, whenever it comes to drawing a conclusion, they are at a loss and have nothing to say. Isn’t this lacking the ability to identify things? (Yes.) Even with the simplest external phenomenon, if you ask them to identify what its nature is and what its attributes are, they do not know. However, they do have one trick: They can ramble on, recounting what a person has said and done. But if you ask them, “Is this person actually a true believer or not? Is he someone who has a tremendous aspiration for God?” they respond, “Well, he’s believed in God for more than ten years and he has forsaken his family and career. When his child was three or four years old, he entrusted her to the brothers and sisters and left home to do his duty.” They do have their calculations; they avoid drawing conclusions themselves, instead letting you decide. If you ask them, “Then is this person someone who accepts the truth?” they reply, “Well, ever since he became a church leader, he’s been getting up very early and going to bed very late. As for whether he is someone who accepts the truth, when the brothers and sisters pointed out some of his issues to him once, he cried on the spot, saying he was indebted to God and hadn’t done well.” “And did he repent afterward?” “Well, at that time, his attitude was pretty good.” They like to pile information on you, showing you that there’s something to them, that they know everything and know how to view people, and stopping you from underestimating them. In actuality, they cannot discern people, nor can they draw conclusions. They simply tell you a bunch of phenomena and information, leaving it to you to identify what kind of person this is, and to draw conclusions about this person and define their attributes. You say, “This person can basically be considered someone who accepts the truth. He has drive in his belief in God and he is a true believer. It’s just that, because he has poor caliber and lacks comprehension ability, he is never able to find the principles of practice, and cannot practice the truth, despite the fact that he is willing to accept the truth.” They respond, “He doesn’t seem like someone with comprehension ability to me. Whenever he talks about something unpleasant, he cries—it’s always the same attitude.” See? They themselves have no ability to identify things, yet they are quite good at piggybacking on others’ remarks. Isn’t that troublesome? The most common manifestation of people who lack the ability to identify things is that they like to tell you about a whole bunch of phenomena, information, difficult problems, courses of events, or everything they’ve observed about some situation, then they wait for you to define it, and after you define it, they think your definition is good and can accept it. After accepting it, they still don’t know why you defined it this way. They don’t know the basis or principles behind your conclusion, nor how to treat or handle the type of person in question. They know nothing about any of these things. Even after fellowship and studying, they still don’t understand. This shows that they have no ability to identify things; this is a manifestation of having no caliber. They also frequently make the error of distorting facts and confusing one thing for another. No matter what issue they comment on, they fail to grasp the root or essence of the matter and instead draw conclusions based only on external phenomena. For example, they describe the evildoing of an antichrist as a transgression, believing that as long as the antichrist recognizes it, they can turn themselves around. If they see an honest person telling a lie, they characterize them as a deceitful person. If they see someone being arrogant and self-righteous, they characterize them as an evil person. These are the kinds of errors commonly made by people who lack the ability to identify things. For every person, the ability to identify things is one kind of caliber that they should possess when faced with various people, events, and things in life. The ability to identify things involves not only identifying the essence of various people, events, and things, but also determining their attributes. The more accurately you can determine these attributes, the higher ability to identify things you’re proved to possess. If your determinations are not very accurate and there is a gap between your determinations and the essence and root of the matter, it proves your ability to identify things is average. If you cannot determine the attributes of people, events, and things, nor see through to these attributes, it proves that you have no ability to identify things. For example, let’s say that, when it comes to a person, you can only describe their many manifestations and revelations but cannot see through to their essence. That is, you can only talk about how this person tends to be negative or what strengths they have, you can only speak about many things that have happened to this person, yet you do not know their character, caliber, or attitude toward the truth, you cannot see through to these essential issues, and you have no definition for the people, events, and things that appear or occur around them. Regardless of whether such things are correct or incorrect, just or wicked, positive things or negative things, manifestations of good humanity or evil humanity, you cannot see through to or discern any of these things. No matter how many truths you have heard or how many experiential testimonies you have listened to, you still cannot identify or differentiate various people, events, and things; in your heart, you have no definition for any category of people, events, or things. This is lacking the ability to identify things, and it is also a manifestation of having no caliber.

If people who lack the ability to identify things do not have self-awareness and are also arrogant and self-righteous, what is the mistake that they are most likely to make? It is to seize upon a few manifestations displayed by other people and then arbitrarily label them and define them. For example, they see that some people are a bit willful and then say that they are like evil people, that they are devils—isn’t this a huge mistake? Those people are just a bit willful, and because of family conditions or the environment in which they grew up, they formed some poor life habits or developed some bad habits and flaws. Overall, the character of these people is not kind, but it is not evil either, so they cannot be called evil people. Yet those who lack the ability to identify things seize upon a couple of things that one of these people says or one or two things they do, and then blindly define them, saying, “This person has an odd, unsociable, and willful personality. They are an evil person.” This definition is wrong. Truly evil people will speak pleasant words and cajole people; they have tactics, they will conceal and deceive, and they will toy with people. Some evil people can even give alms, help others, and show patience. Those who lack the ability to identify things will say of a person like this, “This person is so good, they are a true believer,” but in reality, that person is a hypocritical Pharisee. Those who lack the ability to identify things cannot see through to the essence of people—during elections, they even vote for evil people to become leaders. What is this equivalent to? It’s equivalent to aiding and abetting evil. Some evil people do not display their evil in their behavior, and they do not reveal it. Their evil is in their hearts. The things they do are all purposeful, and their intentions all have a covert quality to them. The things they do that you can see do not actually reflect their real intentions. Their true intentions, purposes, and their wickedness are all hidden in their hearts. If a person lacks the ability to identify things and cannot discern such people, they’re likely to regard them as good people, as people who pursue the truth. Some people have straightforward personalities and do not employ any tactics when they associate with others. They speak in a direct manner, and are somewhat irritable in terms of personality and temperament. There actually aren’t major problems with their humanity, it’s just that sometimes their tone of speech is blunt. However, what they reveal is exactly what they think internally—whatever they think internally is what they reveal outwardly. Others often think that these people do not know how to interact with everyone or how to socialize, and they are unaccustomed to the manner of speaking used by these people. Such people speak particularly bluntly and directly, and they are always unintentionally hurting others. Over time, they end up hurting everyone, and people do not harbor good feelings toward them. Some who lack discernment say that a person like this is evil, but in fact, they are not evil. You say that they are evil—then bring out the facts of how they have tormented others: Whom have they tormented or suppressed? Whom have they harmed or deceived? If there truly is a factual basis proving that this person is an evil person—that they do not merely harm others with their words, that there is also evil in the depths of their heart, and that they truly are harmful to others—then they can be characterized as an evil person. If they have no intention of harming others, then they are not an evil person. They simply have a straightforward personality and speak in a blunt manner—this is innate. Speaking bluntly, at most, is a flaw and defect of their humanity. They do not know how to be tactful and to put themselves on equal footing with others when they speak, they do not know how to show tolerance toward other people, to be accommodating and forbearing toward others, to be mindful of others’ feelings. They do not know any of this. There are things missing from their humanity. Yet some people who lack discernment regard such individuals as evil people. In fact, when these individuals do things, they safeguard the interests of God’s house most of the time. Although their tone is a bit blunt when they speak to others, they have not harmed anyone, nor do they have the intention to harm people. It is just that they lack tact in their speech and do not consider the situation when speaking. Because of certain defects and flaws in such individuals’ humanity, many other people mistakenly think that they are evil people, yet cannot produce any evidence of them doing evil. This is a misjudgment, a mischaracterization of such individuals. Truly evil individuals may not outwardly harm others, they may give alms and help others, and their words may show understanding, solicitude, care, and accommodation, and these individuals may even show tolerance and love toward others—their words and actions may seem quite good—but in certain special circumstances or special matters, and in matters that involve their own interests, they can suppress, harm, and secretly scheme against others, and they even will not safeguard the interests of God’s house at all. Even if something does not involve their own interests, even if they would only have to lift a finger, they still won’t safeguard the interests of God’s house. That which such individuals externally live out seems exceptionally good, and from the outside, no flaws or defects can be seen in their humanity, but they truly are out-and-out evil people. Many people fail to discern such individuals and are blinded by their tactics, their philosophies for worldly dealings, and their plots and schemes. If the nature essence of an individual of this sort and the facts of their evildoing are exposed, not only do these people not accept it, but they also consider that individual to be good, to be someone that God’s house should cultivate and give an important role to. They lack discernment of such individuals. Let’s not talk about whether these people can evaluate a person according to God’s word or the truth principles, and just look at their caliber—they regard even these obviously evil individuals as good people, and even when there are facts of these individuals’ evildoing, they still consider them to be good people—this means that they are utterly muddleheaded. People who lack the ability to identify things are not only mentally deficient and idiotic, but also muddleheaded. These evil individuals have suppressed and tormented others, and used various tactics to toy with people, yet these people do not consider this to be evil and cannot see that it is evil. In addition, there is one obvious manifestation of evil people, which is that they never safeguard the interests of God’s house—not even once. Even if they would only have to say a single word or lift a finger, they still will not safeguard them, let alone when it comes to matters involving their personal safety, or their status and reputation—in such cases, they even more so will not safeguard the interests of God’s house. Some people cannot see through these obviously evil individuals. Tell Me, do such people have caliber? Evil people have an evil essence; they will suppress anyone. No matter who it is, as long as a person affects their status or interests, then that person becomes the target of their suppression. Those who lack discernment cannot see through these matters. Aren’t people who lack discernment muddleheaded? (Yes.) They don’t even know whether evil people will suppress them—tell Me, to what extent are such people muddleheaded? Aren’t they utterly muddleheaded? (Yes.) After some evil individuals are dismissed, certain people with absolutely no ability to identify things even come forward to speak up for them, to defend them and to cry out about the injustice they have suffered, just because those evil individuals have believed in God for many years, possess some gifts, are eloquent, have tactics, and outwardly forsake things, expend themselves, and endure hardship. These people do not talk about how much evil these evil individuals have done. Instead, they say, “They have believed in God for many years, followed God with single-minded devotion, and endured much hardship. They even got arrested by the great red dragon and endured torture and served time in prison, and they also helped Brother or Sister So-and-so.” They look only at these things and ignore those individuals’ evil deeds, not mentioning how much evil they have done. Aren’t they so muddleheaded? (Yes.) Those who are utterly muddleheaded are beyond redemption, they are incurable. People who do not possess the ability to identify things are people with no caliber—they have no abilities whatsoever. Such people do not know and cannot identify whether something is correct or incorrect, or whether a person is a positive figure or a negative figure. They cannot see a person’s essence and nature clearly, or sum up that person’s attributes, through their behavior, manifestations, revelations of corruption, and the many facts of their evildoing. As long as that person is still in the church, these people will treat them as a brother or sister, and treat them with love from the heart. They have no discernment of anyone and they cannot treat anyone according to the principles. Such people have no ability to identify things. They do not know and cannot identify whether various matters are just or wicked, whether they have a positive or negative effect on people, and whether they should be regarded as correct and accepted, or regarded as incorrect and discerned, rejected, and resisted. When you give them an example to explain some matter, they know that such matters are not good, that they do not conform to the truth principles, and that they are not applicable in God’s house. But the next time a similar matter arises, they still do not know how to approach it and cannot apply the principles—they only understand if you give them another example. You have to explain matters to them one by one, using the method of teaching a child to learn, for them to understand. This is lacking the ability to identify things. No matter if it is a person or a thing, they do not know whether it is just or wicked, correct or incorrect, a positive thing or a negative thing, whether it conforms to the truth and to the needs of humanity or not, nor how believers in God should view it—they do not know any of this. This is lacking the ability to identify things. Then, what is the basis for evaluating the level of a person’s ability to identify things? It is based on whether your definitions of the attributes of various things are accurate. If your definitions are accurate, then you have the ability to identify things. If the accuracy of your definitions of the attributes of various things is above fifty percent, then your ability to identify things is average or above average. If it does not reach fifty percent, then your ability to identify things is poor. If the accuracy is not even one percent, then you have no ability to identify things and are a person with no caliber. Whether someone has the ability to identify things is discerned in this way. I will not give any more examples about this ability. You can fellowship about it yourselves, I’ll leave this topic to you.