As you walk the path of today, what is the most suitable kind of pursuit? In your pursuit, what kind of person should you see yourself as? You should know how you should approach all that befalls you today, whether it be trials or hardship, or merciless chastisement and cursing. You should give it careful consideration in all cases. Why do I say this? I say it because what befall you today are, after all, short trials that occur over and over again; perhaps you do not consider them very mentally taxing, and so you let things drift, and do not regard them as a precious asset in the pursuit of progress. How careless you are! It turns out you think of this precious asset as a cloud drifting before your eyes; you do not treasure these harsh blows that rain down time and again—blows that are brief, and to you, seemingly soft—but look upon them coolly, not taking them to heart, treating them simply as occasional knocks. You are so arrogant! Toward these fierce attacks, attacks akin to storms that come time and time again, you show only lightheartedness; sometimes you even give a cold smile, revealing your indifference—for you have never thought to yourself why you keep suffering such “misfortunes.” Am I greatly unfair to man? Am I finding fault with you? Though the problems with your mentality might not be as serious as I have described, you have, through your outward composure, long since created a perfect image of your inner world. There is no point in Me telling you that the only thing that is hidden in the depths of your heart is crude invective and barely detectable sadness. Because you feel it so unfair to have suffered such trials, you curse; the trials make you feel the desolation of the world, and because of this, you are filled with melancholy. Instead of viewing these repeated blows and discipline as the very best protection, you see them as the senseless trouble-making of Heaven, or else as suitable retribution upon you. You are so ignorant! You mercilessly confine the good times in the darkness; time after time, you view wonderful trials and discipline as attacks from your enemies. You are incapable of adapting to your environment; and much less are you willing to do so, for you are unwilling to gain anything from this repeated—and, to you, cruel—chastisement. You neither search nor explore, you simply resign yourself to your fate, and accept the place where you are. What seem to you to be savage chastenings have not changed your heart, nor have they taken over your heart; instead, they stab you in the heart. You see this “cruel chastisement” as nothing more than your enemy in this life, and you have gained nothing. You are so self-righteous! Seldom do you believe that you suffer such trials because you are so contemptible; instead, you think yourself so unfortunate, and say that I am always finding fault with you. As of today, how much knowledge do you truly have of what I say and do? Do not think that you are a natural talent, only slightly lower than the heavens but far higher than the earth. You are not smarter than anyone else—and it could even be said that you are more adorably silly than any of the people on earth possessed of reason, for you think so highly of yourself, and have never had a sense of inferiority; it seems that you perceive My actions in the tiniest detail. In fact, you are someone who is fundamentally lacking in reason, for you have no idea of what I will do, and much less are you aware of what I am doing now. Thus do I say that you are not even the equal of an old farmer toiling on the land, a farmer who has not the slightest perception of human life and yet depends on the blessings of Heaven as he cultivates the land. You do not spare a second’s thought to your life, you know nothing of renown, and much less have you any self-knowledge. You are so “elevated”! Truly, I worry for you fops and you delicate young madams: How will you be able to stand the greater onslaught of tempests? The fops are utterly indifferent to the environment they find themselves in. To them, it appears trivial, they think nothing of it, they are not negative, and nor do they think themselves contemptible and lowly; instead, they go on swanning about the streets wafting their fans. These ignorant “people of note,” who never learn, know not why I say such things to them; their faces filled with anger, they only try to know themselves, and afterward carry on with their evil habits; once they leave Me, they again start running wild in the world, getting up to their old tricks. How quickly the expression on your face changes. So, once again, you are trying to deceive Me in this way—how bold you are! Even more laughable are those dainty little madams. Hearing My urgent utterances, and seeing the environment they are in, tears—unbidden—come streaming down their faces, they are wracked by sobs, and they seem to be making a scene—how disgusting! Seeing their own stature, they flop onto their beds and lie there, weeping without cease, as if they were almost out of breath. These words have shown them their childishness, contemptibility and lowliness, and afterward they become weighed down by negativity, the light goes out from their eyes, and they do not complain about or hate Me, but just remain unmoving, negative, and are likewise ignorant and without learning; after leaving Me, they frolic and play about, their pealing laughter like that of “princess’s silver bell.” How fragile and lacking in self-love they are! You, the damaged goods of humankind—how lacking in humanity you are! You do not know how to love yourselves, or how to protect yourselves, you have no sense, you do not seek the true way, you do not love the true light, and, moreover, you do not know how to treasure yourselves. You have long since put My repeated teachings to the back of your mind. You even treat them like playthings for your free time, and always consider them to be your own “guardian amulet.” When accused by Satan, you pray; when negative, you slumber; when happy, you run about; when I reproach you, you bow and scrape; and when you leave Me, you laugh manically. In a crowd, there is no one higher than you, but you never think yourself the most arrogant of all. Ever are you lofty, complacent and haughty beyond words. How could such “young gentlemen and maidens” and “lords and ladies” who know nothing and never learn treat My words as a precious treasure? Now I will continue to question you: Just what have you learned from My words and work over such a long time? Have you not become more artful in your deception? More sophisticated in your flesh? More casual in your attitude toward Me? I tell you straight: I have done so much work, yet it has increased your courage, courage which used to be like that of a mouse. Your trepidation toward Me decreases by the day, for I am too kind, and never sanctioned your flesh using violence; perhaps, you think that I am merely making rude remarks—but more often I smile at you, and I almost never censure you to your face. Moreover, I am ever forgiving of your weakness, and it is only because of this that you treat Me as the snake treats the good farmer. How I admire the skill, the accomplishment of man’s observational powers! To tell you the truth, today it matters not whether or not yours is a heart without reverence. I am neither anxious nor worried. But I must also tell you this: You “person of talent,” ignorant and unwilling to learn as you are, will ultimately be brought down by your self-satisfied, petty cleverness—you will be the one who suffers and is chastised. I would not be so stupid as to accompany you as you continue to suffer in hell, for I am not the same kind as you. Do not forget that you are a created being who is cursed by Me, and yet taught and saved by Me. You have nothing for Me that I would be unwilling to part with. Whenever I work, I am unconstrained by any people, occurrences, or objects. My attitudes and opinions toward mankind have always remained the same: I do not like you very much, for you are an appendage to My management, and there is nothing better about you than about any other thing. This is My advice to you: At all times, remember that you are nothing more than a creature of God! You may live with Me, but you should know your identity; do not think too highly of yourself. Even if I do not reproach you, or deal with you, and face you with a smile, this does not prove that you are of the same kind as Me; you should know that you are one of those who pursue the truth, not the truth itself! You should never stop changing along with My words. You cannot escape this. I advise you to try and learn something during this great time, when this rare opportunity comes. Do not fool Me; I do not need you to use flattery to try and deceive Me. When you search for Me, it is not all for My sake, but for your own!