Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Arrogant and headstrong people find it hard to accept the truth. They can’t accept it when they hear something that doesn’t align with their own perspectives, opinions, and thoughts. They don’t care about whether what others say is right or wrong, or who said it, or the context in which it was said, or whether it relates to their own responsibilities and duties. They don’t care about these things; what’s urgent to them is first to satisfy their own feelings. Isn’t this being headstrong? What are the losses which being headstrong will ultimately bring on people? It is difficult for them to gain the truth. Not accepting the truth is caused by man’s corrupt disposition, and the final outcome is that they can’t easily attain the truth. Anything that naturally pours forth from man’s nature essence is in opposition to the truth and has nothing to do with it; not one such thing aligns with or approaches the truth. Therefore, to achieve salvation, one must accept and practice the truth. If one cannot accept the truth and always wants to act according to their own preferences, that person cannot achieve salvation. If you want to follow God and perform your duty well, you must first avoid being impulsive when things do not go your way. Calm down first and be quiet before God, and in your heart, pray to Him and seek from Him. Do not be headstrong; submit first. Only with such a mindset can you bring better resolutions to problems. If you can persevere in living before God, and whatever befalls you, you are able to pray to Him and seek from Him, and face it with a mentality of submission, then it does not matter how many expressions there are of your corrupt disposition, or what transgressions you have previously committed—they can be resolved so long as you seek the truth. No matter what trials befall you, you will be able to stand firm. As long as you have the right mentality, are able to accept the truth, and obey God in accordance with His requirements, then you are entirely capable of putting the truth into practice. Though you may be a little rebellious and resistant at times, and sometimes display defensive reasoning and are unable to submit, if you can pray to God and turn your rebellious state around, then you can accept the truth. Having done so, reflect on why such rebelliousness and resistance arose in you. Find the reason, then seek the truth to resolve it, and that aspect of your corrupt disposition can be purified. After several recoveries from such stumbles and falls, until you can put the truth into practice, your corrupt disposition will gradually be cast off.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Some people, in the course of performing their duties, often act arbitrarily and recklessly. They are extremely capricious: When they are happy, they do a bit of their duty, and when they are not, they sulk and say, “I’m in a bad mood today. I won’t eat anything and I won’t perform my duty.” Others then have to negotiate with them, and say: “That won’t do. You can’t be so capricious.” And what will those people say to that? “I know it won’t do, but I grew up in a rich, privileged family. My grandparents and aunts all spoiled me, and my parents were even worse. I was their sweetheart, the apple of their eye, and they acquiesced to me in everything and spoiled me. That upbringing left me with this capricious temperament, so when I perform a duty in God’s house, I won’t discuss things with others, or seek the truth, or submit to God. Am I to blame for that?” Is their understanding correct? Is their attitude one of pursuing the truth? (No.) Whenever anyone brings up a slight fault of theirs, like how they take the best pieces of food at meals, how they only care for themselves, and give no thought to others, they will say, “I’ve been like this since I was a child. I’m accustomed to it. I’ve never thought about other people. I’ve always lived a privileged life, with parents who adore me and grandparents who dote on me. I’m the apple of my whole family’s eye.” This is a pile of drivel and fallacy. Is this not a bit shameless and impudent? Your parents dote on you—does that mean everyone else must, too? Your relatives adore you and dote on you—does that give you reason to act recklessly and arbitrarily in God’s house? Is that a valid reason? Is this the correct attitude to have toward your corrupt disposition? Is it an attitude of pursuing the truth? (No.) When anything befalls these people, when they have any problem to do with their corrupt disposition or their lives, they seek objective justifications to answer for it, to explain it, to justify it. They never seek the truth or pray to God, and they do not come before God to reflect on themselves. Without self-reflection, can one know their problems and their corruption? (No.) And can they repent without knowing their corruption? (No.) If someone cannot repent, what condition is it that they will invariably be living in? Will it not be one of self-forgiveness? Of feeling that though they have poured forth corruption, they have not done evil or violated the administrative decrees—that though doing so was not in accordance with the truth principles, this was not intentional, and it is pardonable? (Yes.) Well, is that the sort of condition that someone who pursues the truth ought to have? … People who are particularly capricious and often behave recklessly and arbitrarily do not accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, nor do they accept being pruned and dealt with. They also often make excuses for their failure to pursue the truth and their inability to accept being pruned and dealt with. What disposition is that? Obviously, it is a disposition that is sick of the truth—the disposition of Satan. Man is possessed of Satan’s nature and its disposition, so without a doubt, people are of Satan. They are devils, the progeny of Satan, and the offspring of the great red dragon. Some people are able to admit that they are devils, Satans, and the offspring of the great red dragon, and they speak very prettily about their self-knowledge. But when they reveal a corrupt disposition and someone exposes them, deals with them, and prunes them, they will try with all their might to justify themselves and they will not accept the truth at all. What is the issue here? In this, these people are exposed utterly. They speak so prettily when they talk about knowing themselves, so why is it that when faced with being pruned and dealt with, they cannot accept the truth? There is a problem here. Is this sort of thing not quite common? Is it easy to discern? It is, in fact. There are quite a few people who admit that they are devils and Satans when they speak of their self-knowledge, but do not repent or change afterward. So, is the self-knowledge they speak of true or false? Do they have sincere knowledge of themselves, or is it just a ruse meant to trick others? The answer is self-evident. Therefore, to see whether a person has true self-knowledge, you should not merely listen to them talk about it—you should look at the attitude they have toward being pruned and dealt with, and whether they can accept the truth. That is the most crucial thing. Whoever does not accept being pruned and dealt with has an essence of not accepting the truth, of refusing to accept it, and their disposition is sick of the truth. That is beyond doubt. Some people do not permit others to deal with them, no matter how much corruption they have revealed—no one may prune or deal with them. They are allowed to talk about their own self-knowledge, in any way that they please, but if someone else exposes them, criticizes them, or deals with them, no matter how objective or in accordance with the facts it is, they will not accept it. No matter what kind of outpouring of a corrupt disposition another person exposes in them, they will be extremely antagonistic and keep giving specious justifications for themselves, without even the slightest bit of true submission. If such people do not pursue the truth, there will be trouble. In the church, they are untouchable and irreproachable. When people say something good about them, it will make them happy; when people point out something bad about them, they will grow angry. Should someone expose them and say: “You’re a good person, but you’re very capricious. You’re always acting arbitrarily and recklessly. You need to accept being pruned and dealt with. Wouldn’t it be better for you to be rid of these deficiencies and corrupt dispositions?” in response, they will say, “I haven’t done anything evil. I haven’t sinned. Why are you dealing with me? I’ve been doted on at home since I was a child, by both my parents and grandparents. I’m their sweetheart, the apple of their eye. Now, here in God’s house, no one dotes on me at all—it’s no fun living here! You’re always picking at some fault of mine or another and trying to deal with me. How am I supposed to live like that?” What is the problem here? The clear-sighted can tell at once that these people have been spoiled by their parents and family, and that even now, they do not know how to comport themselves or live independently. Your family has doted on you like an idol, and you do not know your place in the universe. You have developed the vices of arrogance, self-righteousness, and extreme capriciousness, which you are not aware of and do not know to reflect on. You believe in God but do not listen to His words or practice the truth. Can you gain the truth with such a belief in God? Can you enter into the truth reality? Can you live out the true likeness of a human being? Certainly not.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (1)

There is another group of people who do not pursue physical comfort. They seek to do things according to their own whims and to follow their own moods. When they are happy, they are able to endure more suffering, they can work continuously throughout the day, and if you ask them if they feel tired, they will say, “I’m not tired, how could fulfilling my duty make me tired!” But if they are unhappy one day, they will be disgruntled even if you just ask them to spend an extra minute on something, and if you reprimand them a little, they will say, “Stop talking! I feel repressed. If you keep talking, I won’t fulfill my duty, and that’ll be your fault. If I don’t receive blessings in the future it will be on your head, and you will bear all the responsibility for it!” People are volatile when they are in an abnormal state. Sometimes they will be capable of suffering and paying a price, but other times they will complain about just a little suffering, and even a minor issue will upset them. When they are in a bad mood, they will no longer want to fulfill their duties, read God’s words, sing hymns, or attend gatherings and listen to sermons. They will just want to be alone for a while, and it will be impossible for anyone to help or support them. After a few days, they might get over it and feel better. Anything that fails to satisfy them makes them feel repressed. Is this kind of person not particularly willful? (Yes.) They are particularly willful. For example, if they want to go to sleep right away, they will insist on doing so. They will say, “I’m tired, and I want to go to sleep right now. When I don’t have any energy I have to sleep!” If someone says, “Can’t you hold on for ten more minutes? This task will be finished really soon, and then we can all rest, how about that?” they will reply, “No, I have to go to sleep right now!” If someone persuades them, they will reluctantly hold on for a while, but they will feel repressed and annoyed. They often feel repressed about these matters and are unwilling to accept help from their brothers and sisters or to be supervised by leaders. If they make a mistake, they will not allow others to deal with or prune them. They do not wish to be restrained in any way. They think, “I believe in God so that I can find happiness, so why should I make things difficult for myself? Why should my life be so exhausting? People ought to live happily. They shouldn’t pay so much attention to these regulations and those systems. What’s the use of always abiding by them? Right now, in this moment, I am going to do whatever I want. None of you should have anything to say about that.” This kind of person is particularly willful and dissolute: They do not allow themselves to suffer any constraint, nor do they wish to feel constrained in any work environment. They do not wish to adhere to the regulations and principles of God’s house, they are unwilling to accept the principles that people should hold to in their comportment, and they do not even wish to abide by what conscience and reason say that they should do. They want to do as they please, do whatever makes them happy, whatever will benefit them and make them comfortable. They believe that to live under these constraints would violate their will, that it would be a kind of self-abuse, that it would be too hard on themselves, and that people should not live like that. They think that people should live free and liberated, indulging their flesh and desires with abandon, as well as their ideals and wishes. They think that they should indulge all of their ideas, say whatever they want, do whatever they want, and go wherever they want, without having to consider the consequences or other people’s feelings, and especially without having to consider their own responsibilities and obligations, or the duties that believers ought to perform, or the truth realities that they ought to uphold and live out, or the life path they should follow. This group of people always wants to do as they please in society and among other people, but no matter where they go, they can never obtain that. They believe that God’s house emphasizes human rights, grants people complete freedom, and that it cares about humanity, and about tolerating and forbearing with people. They think that after they come to God’s house they should be able to freely indulge in their flesh and desires, but because God’s house has administrative decrees and regulations, they still cannot do as they please. Therefore, this negative repressive emotion of theirs cannot be resolved even after they join God’s house. They do not live to fulfill any kind of responsibilities or to complete any missions, or to become a true person. Their belief in God is not to fulfill the duty of a created being, complete their mission, and attain salvation. Regardless of the people they are among, the environments they are in, or the profession they engage in, their ultimate goal is to find and gratify themselves. The aim of everything they do revolves around this, and self-gratification is their lifelong desire and the goal of their pursuit.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (5)

One sort of person is enthusiastic at heart in their belief in God. Any duty is fine for them, and so is a bit of hardship, but their temperament is unstable—they’re emotional and capricious, inconsistent. They act by their mood alone. When they’re happy, they do the job they’re tasked with well, and they get along well with whomever they’re partnered with and whomever they associate with. They’re willing to take on more of the duty, too—whatever duty they’re performing, they have a sense of responsibility for it. That’s how they act when they’re in a good state. There may be a reason that they’re in a good state: Maybe they were praised for doing a good job with their duty, and won the group’s esteem and approval. Or, maybe lots of people appreciate the work they produced, so they’re puffed up like a balloon that gets fuller with every puff of praise. And so, they go on performing the same duty each day, yet all the while, they never grasp God’s will or seek the truth principles. They’re always acting on the strength of their experience. Is experience the truth? Is it reliable to act on experience? Does it accord with the truth principles? Acting on experience doesn’t accord with the principles; there will necessarily be times when it fails. So, a day comes when they don’t perform their duty well. Many things go wrong, and they’re dealt with. The group is unsatisfied with them. They get negative then: “I’m not performing this duty anymore. I do it badly. You’re all better than I am. It’s me who’s no good. Whoever’s willing to do it, go ahead!” Someone fellowships with them about the truth, but it doesn’t get through to them, and they don’t understand, saying: “What’s there to fellowship about in this? I don’t care if it is the truth or not—I’ll do my duty when I’m happy and won’t when I’m not. Why make it so complicated? I’m not doing it now; I’ll wait for a day when I’m happy.” This is how they are, consistently. Whether in performing their duty; reading God’s words, or listening to sermons and attending gatherings; or in their interactions with others—in everything that bears on any aspect of their life, what they pour forth is cloudy one moment and sunny the next, elevated one moment and depressed the next, cold one moment and hot the next, negative one moment and positive the next. In brief, their state, good or bad, is always quite pronounced. You can see it at a glance. They’re inconsistent in everything they do, just giving themselves over to their temperament. When they’re happy, they do a better job, and when they’re not, they’re shoddy—they may even stop doing the thing and call it quits. Whatever they’re doing, they must do it according to their mood, according to the environment, according to their demands. They have no will at all to undergo hardship; they’re pampered and spoiled, hysterical, impervious to reason, and they do nothing to curb it. No one’s allowed to offend them; whoever does is a target for their temper, which comes on like a storm—and right after it passes, they’re negative and emotionally downcast. What’s more, they do everything based on their preferences. “If I like this job, I’ll do it; if I don’t, I won’t, and never will. Whichever of you is willing can do it. That has nothing to do with me.” What kind of person is this? When they’re happy and their state is good, they’re worked up at heart and say they want to love God. They’re so worked up that they cry, hot tears streaming down their face, loudly sobbing. Is theirs a heart that truly loves God? The state of loving God at heart is a normal one, but to look at their disposition, behaviors, and outpourings, you’d think they were a child of ten or so years. This disposition of theirs, their way of living, is capriciousness. They’re inconsistent, undevoted, irresponsible, and feckless in everything they do. They never undergo hardship and are unwilling to take on responsibility. When they’re happy, they’re fine doing anything; a bit of hardship is fine, and if their interests suffer a blow, that’s fine, too. But if they’re unhappy, they won’t do anything. What sort of person are they? Is a state like that normal? (No.) This issue goes beyond that of an abnormal state—it’s a manifestation of extreme capriciousness, extreme foolishness and ignorance, extreme childishness. What’s the problem with capriciousness? Some may say, “It’s an instability of temperament. They’re too young and have been through too little hardship, and their personality isn’t set yet, so there’s often capriciousness in their behavior.” The fact is that capriciousness doesn’t care about age: Forty-somethings and septuagenarians are capricious at times, too. How’s this to be explained? Capriciousness is in fact a problem in one’s disposition, and an extremely serious one, at that! If they’re performing an important duty, it may delay that duty and the work’s progress, incurring losses to the interests of God’s house; and with ordinary duties, too, it affects those duties at times, and hinders things. There’s nothing about it that benefits others, themselves, or the work of the church. The little tasks they do and prices they pay come at a net loss. Particularly capricious people are unfit to perform duties in God’s house, and there are many such people. Capriciousness is the most common manifestation among corrupt dispositions. Practically every person has such a disposition. And what is that disposition? Naturally, every corrupt disposition is one variety of Satan’s dispositions, and capriciousness is a corrupt disposition. In mild terms, it’s not loving or accepting the truth; in weightier terms, it’s being sick of the truth and hating it. Can capricious people submit to God? Certainly not. They can momentarily, when they’re happy and profiting, but when they’re unhappy and not profiting, they fly into a rage and dare to resist and betray Him. They’ll say to themselves, “I don’t care whether it is the truth or not—what matters is that I’m happy, that I’m content. If I’m unhappy, nothing anyone says will help! What does the truth count for? What does God count for? I’m the boss!” What kind of corrupt disposition is this? (Hating the truth.) It’s a disposition that hates the truth, one that’s sick of it. Is there an element of arrogance and conceit to it? An element of intransigence? (Yes.) There’s another egregious state here. When they’re in a good mood, they’re nice to everyone and responsible in performing their duty; people think they’re a good, obedient person, one who’s willing to pay a price, who really loves the truth. But as soon as they get negative, they’ll clock out, complain, and even be impervious to reason. Here, their vicious side emerges. No one’s allowed to reproach them. They’ll even say, “I understand every truth, I just don’t practice it. It’ll do for me just to be at ease with myself!” What disposition is this? (Viciousness.) These evil people aren’t just ready to fight back against anyone who might deal with them, they’d even hurt them and harm them, like an evil demon. No one would dare mess with them. Is this not highly capricious and vicious of them? Is this a youth-related problem? Would they not be capricious if they were older? Would they be more thoughtful and sensible if they were older? No. This isn’t a matter of their personality or their age. There’s a deep-rooted corrupt disposition hiding in there. They’re governed by a corrupt disposition, and it’s by a corrupt disposition that they live. Is there obedience in someone who lives in a corrupt disposition? Can they seek the truth? Is there a part of them that loves the truth? (No.) No, there’s none of those.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is It, Exactly, on Which People Rely to Live?

When facing a matter, if people are too willful and insist on their own ideas without seeking the truth, this is very dangerous. God will loathe and reject these people and set them aside. What will the consequence of this be? It can certainly be said that there is the danger of them being cast out. However, those who seek the truth can obtain the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and guidance, and as a result, gain God’s blessing. The two different attitudes of seeking and not seeking the truth can bring about two different states in you and two different results. Which kind of result do you prefer? (I’d prefer to obtain God’s enlightenment.) If people wish to be enlightened and guided by God, and to receive God’s graces, what kind of attitude must they have? They must often have an attitude of seeking and obedience before God. Whether you are performing your duty, interacting with others, or dealing with some particular issue that you are faced with, you must have an attitude of seeking and obedience. With this kind of attitude, it can be said that you have something of a God-fearing heart. Being able to seek and obey the truth is the path to fearing God and shunning evil. If you lack an attitude of seeking and obedience, and you instead cling to yourself, are stubbornly antagonistic, and you refuse to accept the truth, and are sick of the truth, then you will naturally commit a great deal of evil. You won’t be able to help it! If people never seek the truth to resolve this, the ultimate consequence will be that no matter how much they experience, no matter how many situations they find themselves in, no matter how many lessons God sets out for them, they still won’t understand the truth, and they will ultimately remain incapable of entering into the truth reality. If people do not possess the truth reality, they will be incapable of following the way of God, and if they are never able to follow the way of God, then they are not people who fear God and shun evil. People go on and on about wanting to perform their duties and follow God. Are things that simple? Absolutely not. These things are enormously important in people’s lives! It isn’t easy to perform one’s duty well to satisfy God, and achieve fear of God and shunning of evil. But I will tell you a principle of practice: If you have an attitude of seeking and obedience when something happens to you, this will protect you. The ultimate goal isn’t for you to be protected. It is to make you understand the truth, and be able to enter into the truth reality, and attain God’s salvation—this is the ultimate goal.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Those who truly believe in God are all individuals who attend to their proper work, they are all willing to fulfill their duties, capable of shouldering a piece of work and doing it well according to their caliber and the regulations of God’s house. Of course, it may be challenging to adapt to this life at first. You may feel physically and mentally exhausted. However, if you truly have the resolve to cooperate and the willingness to become a normal and good person, and to achieve salvation, then you must pay a bit of a price and allow God to discipline you. When you have the urge to be willful, you must turn your back on it and let go of it, gradually reducing your willfulness and selfish desires. You must seek God’s help in crucial matters, at crucial times, and in crucial tasks. If you do have resolve, then you should ask God to chasten and discipline you, and to enlighten you so that you may understand the truth, that way you will get better results. If you genuinely have resolve, and you pray to God in His presence and supplicate to Him, God will act. He will change your state and your thoughts. If the Holy Spirit does a little work, moving you a little, and enlightening you a little, your heart will change, and your state will be transformed. When this transformation occurs, you will feel that living this way is not repressive. Your repressed state and emotions will be transformed and alleviated, and they will be different from before. You will feel that living like this is not tiring. You will find enjoyment fulfilling your duty in the house of God. You will feel that it is good living, comporting yourself, and fulfilling your duty in this way, enduring hardships and paying a price, following the rules, and doing things based on the principles. You will feel that this is the kind of life that normal people should have. When you live by the truth and perform your duty well, you will feel that your heart is steady and at peace, and that your life is meaningful. You will think: “Why didn’t I know this before? Why was I so willful? Before, I lived according to Satan’s philosophies and disposition, living as neither human nor ghost, and the more I lived, the more painful it felt. Now that I understand the truth, I can shed a bit of my corrupt disposition, and I can feel the true peace and joy of a life spent fulfilling my duty and practicing the truth!” Will your mood not then have changed? (Yes.) Once you realize why your life felt repressive and miserable before, once you find the root cause of your suffering, and resolve the problem, you will have hope of changing. … First of all, they need to learn to attend to their proper work, to shoulder the responsibilities and obligations of an adult and a normal person, and then learn to abide by the rules, and accept the management, supervision, and the pruning and dealing with of the house of God, and perform their duties well. This is the correct attitude that a person with a conscience and reason should adopt. Secondly, they should have a correct understanding and knowledge of the responsibilities, obligations, and thoughts and viewpoints that involve the conscience and reason of normal humanity. You should get rid of your negative emotions and repression, and face the various difficulties that arise in your life correctly. To you, these are not extra things, or burdens, or bonds, but rather what you, as a normal adult, should bear. This means that every adult, regardless of your gender, regardless of your caliber, how competent you are, or what talents you possess, must bear all of the things that adults ought to bear, including: the living environments which adults must adapt to, the responsibilities, obligations, and missions that you should undertake, and the work that you should shoulder. First, you should positively accept these things instead of expecting others to clothe and feed you, or relying on the fruits of others’ labor to scrape by. In addition, you should learn to adapt to and accept various kinds of rules, regulations, and management, you should accept the administrative decrees of God’s house, and learn to adapt to an existence and a life among other people. You should possess the conscience and reason of normal humanity, approach the people, events, and things around you correctly, and handle and resolve the various problems that you meet with correctly. These are all things that a person with normal humanity should deal with, it can also be said that this is the life and the living environment that an adult ought to face. For example, as an adult, you should rely on your own abilities to support and feed your family, regardless of how difficult your life may be. This is the hardship you should endure, the responsibility you should fulfill, and the obligation you should complete. You should shoulder the responsibilities that an adult ought to take on. No matter how much suffering you endure or how great of a price you pay, no matter how sad you feel, you should swallow your grievances and you should not develop any negative emotions or complain about anyone, because this is what adults are supposed to bear. As an adult, you must shoulder these things—without complaining or resisting, and especially without evading or rejecting them. Drifting through life, being idle, doing things as you please, being willful or capricious, doing what you want to do and not doing what you don’t want to do—this is not the attitude in life that an adult should have. Every adult must shoulder an adult’s responsibilities, regardless of how much pressure they face, such as hardships, illnesses, and even various difficulties—these are things that everyone should experience and bear. They are a part of a normal person’s life. If you cannot bear pressure or endure suffering, it means that you are too fragile and useless. Whoever lives must bear this suffering, and no one can avoid it. Whether in society or in God’s house, it is the same for everyone. This is the responsibility you should bear, the heavy burden that an adult should carry, the thing that they should shoulder, and you should not evade it. If you always try to escape or cast off all of this, then your repressive emotions will come out, and you will always be entangled by them. However, if you can properly comprehend and accept all of this, and view it as a necessary part of your life and existence, then these issues should not be a reason for you to develop negative emotions. In one respect, you must learn to shoulder the responsibilities and obligations that adults ought to have and undertake. In another respect, you should learn to coexist harmoniously with others in your living and working environment with normal humanity. Do not simply do what you please. What is the purpose of harmonious coexistence? It is to better complete the work and to better fulfill the obligations and responsibilities that you, as an adult, ought to complete and fulfill, to minimize the losses caused by the problems you face in your work, and to maximize the results and efficiency of your work. This is what you ought to achieve. If you possess normal humanity, you should accomplish this when working among people. As for work pressure, whether it comes from the Above or from God’s house, or if it is pressure put upon you by your brothers and sisters, it is something that you should bear. You cannot say, “This is too much pressure, so I won’t do it. I am just seeking leisure, ease, happiness, and comfort in fulfilling my duty and working in God’s house.” This will not work; it is not a thought that a normal adult should possess, and God’s house is not a place for you to indulge in comfort. Every person takes on a certain amount of pressure and risk in their life and work. In any job, especially fulfilling your duty in God’s house, you should strive for optimal results. On a greater level, this is the teaching and demand of God. On a smaller level, it is the attitude, viewpoint, standard, and principle that every person should adopt in their comportment and actions. When you fulfill a duty in God’s house, you must learn to abide by the regulations and systems of God’s house, you must learn to comply, learn the rules, and comport yourself in a well-behaved manner. This is an essential part of one’s comportment. You should not be spending all of your time indulging yourself instead of working, not giving serious thought to anything, and idling away your days, or engaging in wrongful acts, and pursuing your own way of living, like unbelievers do. Do not make others despise you, do not become a nail in their eye or a thorn in their side, do not make everybody shun or reject you, and do not become an obstacle or a stumbling block to any piece of work. This is the conscience and reason that a normal adult should possess, and it is also the responsibility that any normal adult should bear.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. How to Pursue the Truth (5)

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