6. How to resolve the problem of treating people according to one’s feelings

Truth Realities That Believers in God Must Enter Into
6. How to resolve the problem of treating people according to one’s feelings

Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

What is the essence of feelings? It is putting fleshly feelings first, and brushing the truth principles aside. The manifestations of feelings can be described using several words and phrases: favoritism, unprincipled protection of others, maintenance of fleshly relationships, and an absence of fairness. These are what feelings are. What are the likely consequences of people’s having feelings and living by them? Why does God most detest people’s feelings? Some people are always constrained by their feelings, they cannot put the truth into practice, and though they wish to submit to God, they cannot, so they feel tormented by their feelings. There are many people who understand the truth but cannot put it into practice; this, too, is because they are constrained by feelings. For example, some people leave home to do their duties, but they are always thinking about their family, day and night, and cannot even do their duties well. Is this not a problem? Some people have a secret crush, and that person is the only thing in their heart, which affects their performance of their duties. Is this not a problem? Some people admire and idolize a certain person; they won’t listen to anyone except that person, to the extent that they don’t even listen to what God says. Even if someone else fellowships the truth with them, they won’t accept it; they only listen to that person’s words, to their idol’s words. Some people have an idol in their heart, and they do not permit other people to criticize or cross their idol. If anyone talks about their idol’s problems, they become angry and insist on defending their idol and turning that person’s words around. They won’t allow their idol to suffer an “unredressed grievance,” and they do everything in their power to protect their idol’s reputation. Through their words, they make their idol’s wrongs out to be right, and they do not let people speak the truth or expose them. This is an absence of fairness; these are called feelings. Are feelings only directed toward one’s family? (No.) Feelings are quite broad; they are a kind of corrupt disposition, they are not just about fleshly relationships between family members, they are not limited to that scope. They can also involve your superior, or someone who has shown you favor or helped you, or someone who has the closest relationship with you or who gets along with you, or your fellow townsman or friend, or even someone you admire—this is not fixed. Then is casting off feelings merely as simple as not thinking about your parents or family? (No.) Is it so easy to cast off feelings? When most people reach their 30s and can live independently, they don’t miss home as much, and by their 40s, this becomes completely normal. When people have not yet reached adulthood, they feel very homesick and cannot leave their parents because they do not yet possess the ability to survive independently. Missing your family and missing your parents is normal. It’s not a matter of feelings. It’s when your attitude and viewpoint about doing things get adulterated with feelings that it becomes a matter of feelings.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Truth Reality?

What issues relate to feelings? First is how you evaluate your own family members, and how you approach the things they do. “The things they do” here naturally include when they disrupt and disturb the church’s work, when they pass judgment on people behind their backs, when they engage in some of the practices of disbelievers, and so on. Can you approach these things impartially? When it is necessary for you to write an evaluation of your family members, can you do so objectively and impartially, putting your own feelings aside? This relates to how you approach your family members. Furthermore, do you harbor feelings toward those who you get along with or who previously helped you? Are you able to view their actions and conduct in an objective, impartial, and accurate way? If they disrupt and disturb the work of the church, will you be able to promptly report or expose them after you find out about it? Also, do you harbor feelings toward those who are relatively close to you, or who share similar interests with you? Do you possess an impartial and objective evaluation, definition, and way of dealing with their actions and behavior? Suppose that these people, who you have a sentimental connection with, are handled by the church according to the principles, and the outcome of this isn’t in line with your own notions—how would you approach this? Would you be able to obey? Would you secretly continue to be entangled with them, and would you be misled by them and even incited by them to make excuses for them, justify them, and defend them? Would you come to the aid of and take a bullet for those who have helped you, while disregarding the truth principles and ignoring the interests of God’s house? Aren’t these various issues to do with feelings? Some people say, “Don’t feelings only relate to relatives and family members? Isn’t the scope of feelings just your parents, brothers and sisters, and other family members?” No, feelings include a wide scope of people. Forget about impartially evaluating their own family members—some people aren’t even capable of evaluating their good friends and buddies impartially, and they twist the facts when they speak about these people. For example, if their buddy doesn’t attend to his proper work and always engages in crooked and wicked practices in his duty, they will describe him as quite playful, and say that his humanity is immature and not yet stable. Aren’t there feelings within these words? This is speaking words that are laden with feelings. If someone who has no connection to them doesn’t attend to their proper work and engages in crooked and wicked practices, they will have harsher things to say about them, and may even condemn them. Is this not a manifestation of speaking and acting based on feelings? Are people who live by their feelings impartial? Are they upstanding? (No.) What is wrong with people who speak according to their feelings? Why can’t they treat others fairly? Why can’t they speak based on the truth principles? People who are double-tongued and never base their words on facts are wicked. Not being impartial when one speaks, always speaking according to one’s feelings and for one’s own sake, and not according to the truth principles, not thinking of the work of God’s house, and just protecting one’s personal feelings, fame, gain, and status—this is the character of antichrists. This is how antichrists speak; everything they say is wicked, disturbing, and disruptive. People who live among the preferences and interests of the flesh live among their feelings. People who live by their feelings are those who do not accept or practice the truth at all. Those who speak and act based on their feelings have no truth reality at all. If such people become leaders, they will undoubtedly be false leaders or antichrists. Not only are they incapable of doing real work, they may also engage in various evil deeds. They will definitely be eliminated and punished.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (2)

How does acting based on one’s feelings manifest? The most common manifestation is when people always defend and stick up for anyone who has been kind to them, or that they are close with. For instance, say that your friend is exposed for doing something bad and you defend them by saying: “He wouldn’t do something like that, he’s a good person! He must have been framed.” Is this statement fair? (No.) This is acting and speaking based on one’s feelings. To give another example, suppose that you get into a bit of a conflict with someone and you come to dislike them, and when they say something that is correct and in line with the principles, you don’t want to listen, what is this a manifestation of? (Not accepting the truth.) Why can’t you accept the truth? You know in your heart that what they said was right, but because you have a bias against them, you don’t want to listen, even though you know that they’re correct. What problem is this? (Being dominated by one’s feelings.) This is laden with feelings. Some people are easily swayed by their personal preferences and emotions. If they do not get along with someone, no matter how well or correctly that person speaks, they won’t listen. And if they get along well with someone, they are willing to listen to whatever they have to say, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, or whether it accords with the truth. Is this not being easily swayed by one’s personal preferences and emotions? With such a disposition, can a person speak and act rationally? Can they accept the truth and submit to it? (No.) Because they are constrained by feelings and easily swayed by their emotions, it affects their adherence to the truth principles in their actions. It also affects them accepting and submitting to the truth. So, what is affecting their ability to practice and submit to the truth? By what are they constrained? Their feelings and emotions. It is these things that constrain and bind them. If you put personal relationships and self-interest first instead of the truth, then feelings are obstructing you from accepting the truth. Therefore, you must not act or speak based on feelings. Regardless of whether your relationship with someone is good or bad, or whether their words are gentle or stern, as long as what they say aligns with the truth, you should listen and accept it. This is the attitude of accepting the truth. If you say, “His fellowship accords with the truth and he also has experience, but he is too brash and arrogant, and it’s unpleasant and uncomfortable to watch. So, even if he is right, I won’t accept it,” what kind of disposition is this? Specifically speaking, it is a feeling. When you approach people and things based upon your own preferences and emotions, this is a feeling, and this all falls under the category of feelings. Things to do with feelings belong to corrupt dispositions. Corrupt human beings all have feelings, and they are all constrained by their feelings to varying degrees. If a person cannot accept the truth, it will be difficult for them to resolve the problem of feelings. Some people shield false leaders, protect antichrists, and speak up for and defend evil people. There are feelings involved in all of these cases. Of course, in some cases, those people are just acting in that way due to their evil nature. These problems need to be fellowshipped about frequently in order for you to gain clarity on them. Some people may say, “I just have some feelings toward my family and friends, but not toward anyone else.” This statement is not accurate. If others show you even some small favor, you will develop feelings toward them. There will be varying degrees of closeness and depth, but they are feelings nonetheless. If people do not resolve their feelings, it will be difficult for them to practice the truth and achieve submission to God.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Path of Resolving Corrupt Dispositions

Some people are extremely sentimental. Every day, in all that they say, and in how they conduct themselves and handle matters, they live by their feelings. They feel things for this person and that person, and they spend their days attending to matters of relationships and feelings. In everything they encounter, they live in the realm of feelings. When such a person’s nonbelieving relative dies, they will cry for three days and not allow the body to be buried, still harboring feelings for the deceased. They are overly sentimental. You could say that feelings are this person’s fatal flaw. They are constrained by their feelings in all matters, they are incapable of practicing the truth or acting according to principle, and they often rebel against God. Feelings are their greatest weakness, their fatal flaw, and their feelings are entirely able to bring them to ruin and destroy them. People who are overly sentimental are incapable of putting the truth into practice or submitting to God. With such strong feelings, all they can do is cater to the flesh; they’re foolish and muddleheaded people. The nature of such people is to be very sentimental. They live by their feelings.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Know Man’s Nature

Normal interpersonal relationships are established upon the foundation of turning one’s heart toward God, not through human effort. If God is absent from a person’s heart, then their relationships with other people are merely relationships of the flesh. They are not normal, they are lustful indulgences, and they are hated and loathed by God. If you say that your spirit has been moved, but you are only willing to fellowship with people whom you like and respect, and you are biased against and refuse to speak with people whom you dislike when they come to seek from you, this is even more proof that you are ruled by your feelings and that you do not have a normal relationship with God at all. It shows that you are attempting to fool God and cover up your own ugliness. You may be able to share some of your knowledge, but if your intents are wrong, then everything you do is only good by human standards, and God will not approve of you. Your actions will be driven by your flesh, not by God’s burden. You are only fit for God’s use if you are able to quiet your heart before Him and have normal interactions with all those who love Him. If you can do that, then no matter how you interact with others, you will not be acting out a philosophy for worldly dealings, you will be considering God’s burden and living before Him.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God

In everything you do, you must examine whether your intentions are correct. If you are able to act according to the requirements of God, then your relationship with God is normal. This is the minimum standard. If, through inspecting your intentions, you find that you’ve developed incorrect ones, and you’re able to rebel against them and act according to the words of God, then you will become a right person before God. This demonstrates that your relationship with God is normal, and that all that you do is for God’s sake, not your own. In all you do and all you say, be able to set your heart right and be just in your actions, and do not be led by your feelings, nor act according to your own will. These are principles by which believers in God must act.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How Is Your Relationship With God?

How does God require people to treat others? (He asks that we treat people fairly.) What does fairness mean? It means treating people according to the truth principles, not according to their appearance, identity, status, how knowledgeable they are, or one’s own preferences or feelings toward them. Then why is it fair to treat people according to the truth principles? There are many who do not understand this, and they need to understand the truth in order to do so. Is fairness as understood by nonbelievers true fairness? Absolutely not. Only with God can there be righteousness and fairness. Only in the requirements the Creator has of His created beings is there fairness, can God’s righteousness be revealed. Therefore, fairness can only come from treating people according to the truth principles. What should you require of people in the church and how should you treat them? Whatever duty they can perform is what should be arranged for them to perform—and if they are incapable of performing a duty, and even cause disturbances, then, if they merit being cleared out, they should be cleared out, even if they have a good relationship with you. This is fairness, this is what is included in the principles of treating others fairly. This has to do with the principles of conduct.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Those Who Understand the Truth Have Spiritual Understanding

By what principle do God’s words ask that people treat others? Love what God loves, and hate what God hates: This is the principle that people should adhere to. God loves those who pursue the truth and are able to follow His will; these are the people that we should love too. Those who are not able to follow God’s will, who hate and rebel against God—these people are detested by God, and we should detest them, too. This is what God asks of man. If your parents do not believe in God, if they know full well that faith in God is the right path, and that it can lead to salvation, and they not only are unreceptive, but also judge and condemn believers in God, then they are undoubtedly people who are averse to and hate the truth, and they are undoubtedly people who resist and hate God—and God, of course, detests and hates them. Could you detest such parents? They oppose and revile God—in which case they are surely demons and Satans. Could you hate and curse them? These are all practical issues. If your parents prevent you from believing in God, how should you treat them? You should follow God’s requirement: Love what God loves, and hate what God hates. During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus said, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?” “Whoever shall follow the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” These words already existed back in the Age of Grace, and now God’s words are even more clear: “Love what God loves, and hate what God hates.” These words cut straight to the point, yet people are often unable to grasp their true meaning.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Knowing One’s Own Wrong Views Can One Truly Transform

How did Job treat his children? He just fulfilled his responsibility as a father, preaching the gospel to them and fellowshipping on the truth with them. However, whether or not they listened to him, whether or not they obeyed, Job didn’t force them to believe in God—he didn’t drag them kicking and screaming, or interfere in their lives. Their ideas and opinions were different to his own, so he did not interfere with what they did, and did not interfere with what sort of path they were taking. Did Job seldom speak to his children about believing in God? He certainly would have had enough words with them about this, but they refused to listen, and did not accept them. What was Job’s attitude toward that? “I have fulfilled my responsibility; as for what kind of path they take, that is up to what they choose, and it is up to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. If God does not work on them, or move them, I will not try to force them.” Therefore, Job did not pray for them before God, or cry tears of anguish over them, or fast for them or suffer in any way at all. He did not do these things. Why did Job not do any of these things? Because none of these were ways of submitting to God’s sovereignty and arrangements; they all came out of human ideas and were ways of actively forcing matters. When Job’s children would not take the same path as he did, this was his attitude; so when his children died, what was his attitude? Did he cry or not? Did he vent his feelings? Did he feel hurt? The Bible contains no record of any of these things. When Job saw his children die, did he feel heartbroken or sad? (He did.) Speaking in terms of the affection he felt for his children, he certainly did feel that little bit of sadness, but he still submitted to God. How was his submission expressed? He said: “These children were given to me by God. Whether or not they believed in God, their lives are in God’s hands. If they had believed in God, and God wanted to take them away, He would still have done so; if they had not believed in God, they still would have been taken away if God had said they would be taken away. All of this is in God’s hands; otherwise, who could take people’s lives away?” In short, what is this to be taken to mean? “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). He maintained this attitude in the way he treated his children. Whether they were alive or dead, he continued to have this attitude. His method of practice was correct; in every way he practiced, in the viewpoint, attitude and state with which he treated everything, he was always in a position and state of submitting, waiting, seeking, and then achieving knowledge. This attitude is very important. If people never have this kind of attitude in anything they do, and have especially strong personal ideas and place personal intentions and benefit before all else, then are they really submitting? (No.) In such people genuine submission cannot be seen; they are unable to achieve genuine submission.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Principles of the Practice of Submitting to God

You must show strength and backbone, and stand firm in your testimony to Me; rise up and speak for Me, and fear not what other people might say. Just satisfy My intentions, and do not let anyone constrain you. What I reveal to you must be followed in accordance with My intentions, and cannot be delayed. How do you feel deep down? You are uncomfortable, are you not? You will understand. Why are you unable to stand up and speak on My behalf, while taking My burden into consideration? You insist on engaging in petty scheming, but I see everything clearly. I am your support and your shield, and all is in My hands. What, then, are you afraid of? Are you not being too sentimental? You must cast off your feelings as soon as you can; I do not act out of feelings, but exercise righteousness instead. If anyone does something that is of no benefit to the church, even if it’s your parents, that is unacceptable! My intentions have been revealed to you, and you may not ignore them. Rather, you must focus all of your attention on them, and cast everything else aside to follow wholeheartedly. I will always keep you in My hands. Do not always be timid and subject to the constraints of your husband or wife; you must allow My will to be carried out.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 9

All countries are in great chaos, because God’s rod has begun to perform its function on earth. God’s work can be seen in the state of the earth. When God says, “The waters will roar, the mountains will topple, the great rivers will disintegrate,” this is the rod’s initial work on earth, with the result that “all households upon earth will be torn apart, and all countries on earth will be rent asunder; gone will be the days of reunions between husband and wife, no more will mother and son meet again, never again will there be the coming together of father and daughter. All the ways things used to be on earth will be shattered by Me.” Such will be the general state of families on earth. Naturally, it could not possibly be the state of all of them; it’s just how it will be for the most part. On the other hand, it is referring to the circumstances experienced in the future by all of the people of this stream. It foretells that, once they have undergone the chastisement of words and the nonbelievers have been subjected to disasters, there will no longer be familial relations among the people on earth; they will all be the people of Sinim, and will all be devoted in God’s kingdom. Thus, gone will be the days of reunions between husband and wife, no more will mother and son meet again, never again will there be the coming together of father and daughter. And so, the families of people on earth will be torn apart, ripped to pieces, and this will be the final work that God does in man. And because God shall spread this work throughout the universe, He takes the opportunity to clarify the word “feelings” for people, thus allowing them to see that God’s intention is to tear apart all people’s families, and showing that God uses chastisement to resolve all the “family disputes” among mankind. If not, there would be no way of bringing the final part of God’s work on earth to a close. The final part of God’s words lays bare mankind’s greatest weakness—they all live in a state of feelings—and so God does not avoid a single one of them, and exposes the secrets hidden in the hearts of all mankind. Why is it so hard for people to cast off their feelings? Does doing so surpass the standards of conscience? Can conscience fulfill God’s will? Can feelings help people through adversity? In God’s eyes, feelings are His enemy—has this not been clearly stated in God’s words?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Revelations of the Mysteries of “God’s Words to the Entire Universe,” Chapter 28

Nowadays, those who pursue and those who do not are two types of people, whose destinations are different. Those who pursue knowing the truth and practicing the truth are the ones to whom God will bring salvation. Those who do not know the true way are demons and enemies; they are the descendants of the archangel and will be objects of destruction. Even those who are pious believers of a vague God—are they not also demons? People who possess good consciences but do not accept the true way are demons; their essence is one of resistance to God. Those who do not accept the true way are those who resist God, and even if such people endure much suffering, they will still be destroyed. All those who are unwilling to forsake the world, who cannot bear to part with their parents, and who cannot bear to rid themselves of their own enjoyments of the flesh are rebellious against God, and all will be objects of destruction. Anyone who does not believe in God incarnate is a demon and, moreover, will be destroyed. Those who believe but do not practice the truth, those who do not believe in the incarnation of God, and those who do not at all believe in God’s existence will all be objects of destruction. All those who can remain are people who have undergone the suffering of refinement and stood firm; these are people who have truly gone through trials. Anyone who does not recognize God is an enemy; that is, anyone who does not recognize God’s incarnation—whether or not they are inside or outside this stream—is an antichrist! Who are Satans, who are demons, and who are God’s enemies if not resisters who do not believe in God? Are they not those people who are rebellious against God? Are they not those who claim to have faith, yet who have no truth? Are they not those who merely seek to obtain blessings while being unable to bear witness for God? You still mingle with those demons today and treat them with conscience and love, but doesn’t this amount to extending kindness toward Satan? Are you not in league with demons? If people have made it to this point and are still unable to distinguish between good and evil, and continue to blindly be loving and merciful without any desire to seek God’s heart or being able in any way to take God’s heart as their own, then their outcomes will be all the more wretched. Anyone who does not believe in the God in the flesh is an enemy of God. If you can treat God’s enemies with conscience and love, are you not devoid of a sense of justice? If you are compatible with those which I detest and which I oppose, and still treat them with love or show them personal feelings, then are you not rebellious? Are you not intentionally resisting God? Does such a person actually possess the truth? If people treat God’s enemies with conscience, demons with love, and Satan with mercy, then are they not intentionally disrupting God’s work? Those people who believe only in Jesus and do not believe in God incarnate during the last days, as well as those who verbally claim to believe in God incarnate but do evil, are all antichrists, without even mentioning those who do not even believe in God. All these people will be objects of destruction.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together

Those words spoken in the past, “When one believes in the Lord, fortune smiles upon one’s entire family,” are suitable for the Age of Grace, but are unrelated to humanity’s destination. They were only appropriate for a stage during the Age of Grace. The connotation of those words was directed at the peace and material blessings that people enjoyed; they did not mean that the entire family of one who believes in the Lord will be saved, nor did they mean that when one receives blessings, one’s entire family can also be brought into rest. Whether one receives blessings or suffers misfortune is determined according to one’s essence, not according to any common essence one might share with others. That sort of saying or rule simply has no place in the kingdom. If a person is ultimately able to survive, it is because they have met God’s requirements, and if they are ultimately unable to remain until the time of rest, it is because they have been rebellious against God and have not satisfied God’s requirements. Everyone has a suitable destination, which is determined according to each individual’s essence, and has absolutely nothing to do with other people. A child’s evil deeds cannot be transferred to their parents, nor can a child’s righteousness be shared with their parents. A parent’s evil deeds cannot be transferred to their children, nor can a parent’s righteousness be shared with their children. Everyone bears their respective sins, and everyone enjoys their respective blessings. No one can be a substitute for another person; this is righteousness. From man’s perspective, if parents receive blessings, then their children should be able to, too, and if children commit evil, then their parents must atone for those sins. This is a human perspective and a human way of doing things; it is not God’s perspective. Everyone’s outcome is determined according to the essence of their deeds, and it is always determined appropriately. No one can bear the sins of another; even more so, no one can receive punishment in another’s stead. This is absolute. A parent’s doting care for their children does not indicate that they can perform righteous deeds in their children’s stead, nor does the dutiful affection of a child to their parents mean that they can perform righteous deeds in their parents’ stead. This is what is truly meant by the words, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” People cannot take their evildoing children into rest on the basis of their deep love for them, nor can anyone take their wife (or husband) into rest on the basis of their own righteous deeds. This is an administrative rule; there can be no exceptions for anyone. Doers of righteousness are ultimately doers of righteousness, and evildoers are ultimately evildoers. The doers of righteousness will ultimately be able to survive, while the evildoers will be destroyed. The holy are holy; they are not filthy. The filthy are filthy, and not one part of them is holy. The people who will be destroyed are all the evil ones, and the ones who will survive are all the righteous—even if the children of the evil ones are doers of righteous deeds, and even if the parents of the righteous ones are doers of evil deeds. There is intrinsically no relationship between a believing husband and a nonbelieving wife, and there is no relationship between believing children and nonbelieving parents; these two types of people are incompatible. Prior to entering into rest, people have fleshly, familial affection, but once they have entered into rest, there will no longer be any fleshly, familial affection to speak of. Those who do their duty are inherently enemies of those who do not; those who love God and those who hate Him are intrinsically opposed to one another. Those who will enter into rest and those who will have been destroyed are two incompatible types of created beings. Created beings that perform their duties will be able to survive, while those that do not perform their duties will be objects of destruction; what is more, this shall last through eternity. Do you love your husband in order to perform your duty as a created being? Do you love your wife in order to perform your duty as a created being? Are you dutiful to your nonbelieving parents in order to perform your duty as a created being? Are people’s views on belief in God actually right or wrong? What exactly do you believe in God for? What exactly do you wish to gain? How exactly do you love God? Those who cannot fulfill their duties as created beings, and who cannot make an all-out effort, will become objects of destruction. There are fleshly relationships that exist between the people of today, as well as blood ties, but in the future, these will all be severed. Believers and nonbelievers are inherently not compatible; rather, they are opposed to one another. Those in rest will all be people who believe there is a God and submit to God, whereas those who are rebellious against God will all have been destroyed. Families will no longer exist upon earth; how could there be parents or children or spousal relationships? The very incompatibility of belief and unbelief will have utterly severed such fleshly relationships!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together