By Scott, USA

In October 2024, I was doing my duty editing foreign-language experiential testimony videos. Once, while editing a video, I discovered that many of the shots didn’t connect well. It would take me three times as long as usual to select the right footage, and I had to constantly try out different shots to match the audio. At first, I was patient enough to edit carefully, but by the end of the morning, I hadn’t even finished half of what I normally would have. I started to feel impatient, thinking to myself, “This video has quite a lot of complex shots. If I edit every single one in such detail, it’ll be so tedious and time-consuming. It’s just exhausting! Maybe I’ll just cut some corners this time. It just needs to pass muster. Viewers probably won’t even notice these small issues once the video is uploaded online. A few transitions that aren’t so smooth aren’t a big deal.” With that in mind, whenever I came across shots that were hard to connect, I simply picked some footage without much thought and spliced it together. Even though I could see that the transitions weren’t very smooth, I comforted myself, thinking, “It’s fine. It just needs to pass muster. Others probably won’t notice these minor problems.” To my surprise, after I submitted the finished video, Brother Brian, who reviewed it, pointed out over thirty issues that needed to be revised. At first, I didn’t dare believe it. I knew I had been perfunctory in editing this video, but I didn’t think there would be that many problems. I carefully reviewed the issues he had pointed out and realized all of his feedback was valid. It took me half a day to fix everything. As I was about to resubmit it, I started to worry again, thinking, “I’ve fixed the issues in line with Brother Brian’s suggestions, but could there still be other problems? Maybe I should do one more overall review to make sure I haven’t missed anything.” But then I thought, “It’s almost time to finish for the day. If I do a full review now, I’ll finish very late, and I’ll have less time to rest. Forget it. Besides, Brother Brian already checked it, so just fixing the problems he found should be enough.” So, after making the suggested changes, I submitted it directly. Unexpectedly, this time it was reviewed by a different person, Brother Kirk, and he pointed out another seven or eight issues to be fixed. Seeing this result, I realized I had held up the video’s upload schedule. I thought to myself, “If I had just put in some extra time yesterday and done a full review, I probably would have caught these problems, and the video could have gone online today on schedule. The fact that it couldn’t be uploaded on time is all because I was being perfunctory and wasn’t taking it seriously.” Thinking this, I felt a bit of self-reproach and told myself that I had to be diligent with the revisions this time and couldn’t be perfunctory anymore. So, after fixing the issues, I reviewed the entire video again. I discovered some other places where the transitions weren’t smooth, and corrected them. Although it took some extra time and effort, I felt at ease. This time, after I submitted the video, it was uploaded to the website smoothly.

Afterward, thinking about how my perfunctory attitude had delayed the upload, I felt quite guilty. During my devotionals, I read a passage of God’s words, which gave me some understanding of my state. Almighty God says: “It is an element of corrupt dispositions to handle things so flippantly and irresponsibly: It is scumminess people often refer to. In all matters they do, they do it to the point of ‘that’s about right’ and ‘close enough’; it is an attitude of ‘maybe,’ ‘possibly,’ and ‘four-out-of-five’; they do things perfunctorily, are satisfied to do the minimum, and are satisfied with bluffing their way through; they see no point in taking things seriously or being meticulous, and they see less point in seeking the truth principles. Is this not an element of corrupt dispositions? Is it a manifestation of normal humanity? It is not. To call it arrogance is right, and to call it undisciplined is also entirely apt—but to capture it perfectly, the only word that will do is ‘scummy.’ Most people have scumminess within them, just to different degrees. In all matters, they wish to do things in a perfunctory and slipshod manner, and there is a whiff of deceit in everything they do. They cheat others when they can, cut corners when they can, and save time when they can. They think to themselves, ‘So long as I avoid being revealed, and cause no problems, and am not called to account, I’ll bluff my way through this. I don’t have to do a very good job, that’s too much trouble!’ Such people never master anything, and they are unwilling to apply themselves or suffer and pay a price in their studies. They want only to scratch the surface of a subject and then call themselves proficient at it, believing they have succeeded in learning it, and then rely on this to muddle their way through. Is this not an attitude people have toward other people, events, and things? Is it a good attitude? It is not. Simply put, it is to ‘muddle through.’ Such scumminess exists in all of corrupt mankind. People with scumminess in their humanity take the viewpoint and attitude of ‘muddling through’ in everything they do. Are such people able to do their duty properly? No. Are they able to do things with principle? Even more unlikely” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part Two)). It was only after reading God’s words that I understood. When people always approach things with a flippant and irresponsible attitude, resorting to perfunctory and deceptive means just to save trouble, it’s because there is scumminess within them. God loathes this constant attitude of just muddling through when doing their duty. God’s words exposed my exact state. When I needed to spend more time selecting footage for the video I was editing, I found it too troublesome and just wanted to save myself the effort, so I would grab any shots and splice them together. Even when I saw the transitions weren’t smooth, I didn’t want to fix them. I was even hoping I could get away with it if the brother reviewing it didn’t notice. In the end, the video had many problems and the repeated revisions delayed its upload. I was disrupting and disturbing the church’s video work! In fact, the fundamental duty of an editor is to select the most suitable footage possible and then use certain techniques to make the video flow smoothly. This is the attitude and sense of responsibility an editor should have at a minimum. But I was always trying to save trouble, cutting corners and being slick, and I approached my duty with my scumminess, satisfied with a rough edit that was just “close enough.” If I continued like this long-term, not only would I be failing in my duty as an editor, but I would also be revealed and eliminated for delaying the video work. The consequences would be too serious! Realizing this, I felt awful and deeply reproached. I then prayed to God, willing to turn things around and no longer treat my duty based on my scumminess.

After that, I became a bit more diligent in my duty. Once, I was editing a Slovak-language video, and after I submitted it, the sister who reviewed it pointed out a problem with the pauses between the lines of dialogue. Later, I discovered a method that could solve this issue, so I tried applying it to my editing. To my surprise, when I resubmitted the video, the sister said it was well-edited and flowed smoothly. I was very happy to hear this, and it seemed this method could indeed improve the results of my duty somewhat. However, this method was a bit of a hassle to use; it required a few extra steps. If I edited every video this way, it would be too much trouble and I’d have to suffer more. So, I went back to my old editing method, and unsurprisingly, many problems appeared again. I was keenly aware that if I had put in more effort and spent a little more time, these problems could have been avoided. Thinking of this, I felt deep self-reproach, “Why can’t I just put more effort into my duty and pay more of a price? Why am I being perfunctory again?” I remembered that God exposed that people who lack virtue cannot do any duty well, so I looked up that chapter of God’s words to read. Almighty God says: “What kind of people does God save? You could say they’re all people who have conscience and reason and can accept the truth, because only those with conscience and reason are able to accept and treasure the truth, and so long as they understand the truth, they can put it into practice. Those who have no conscience and reason are ones who don’t have humanity; to put it plainly, they lack virtue. What is the nature of lacking virtue? It is being without humanity, unworthy of being called human. … Those who lack virtue are without humanity; how can they perform their duties well? They are unworthy to perform duties, and they cannot perform any duties well. Such people are unworthy of being called human. They are beasts, beasts in human form. Only those with conscience and reason can handle human affairs, be true to their word, trustworthy, and qualify as ‘upright gentlemen.’ The term ‘upright gentlemen’ is not used in God’s house. Instead, God’s house requires people to be honest—this is the truth. Only honest people are trustworthy, have conscience and reason, and are worthy to be called human. If one can accept the truth and act according to principles while performing their duties, and comes to perform their duties up to standard, then this person is honest and trustworthy. And those who can attain God’s salvation are honest people. Being an honest person who is trustworthy is not about your abilities or appearance, and even less about your caliber, competence, or gifts. So long as you accept the truth, act responsibly, and you have conscience and reason and can submit to God, that is enough. No matter the capabilities a person possesses, the real concern is that they lack virtue. Someone who lacks virtue is not a human, but rather a beast. Those who are eliminated by God’s house are eliminated because they are without humanity and completely lacking in virtue. Therefore, those who believe in God must be able to accept the truth, and they must be honest people, at least possess conscience and reason, be able to perform their duties well, and be able to fulfill God’s commission. Only these people can attain God’s salvation; they are the ones who sincerely believe in Him and the ones who sincerely expend themselves for Him. These are the people who God saves” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). After reading God’s words, I understood. God saves those who have conscience and reason, because only people with conscience and reason can accept the truth, practice the truth, and do their duties well. Those who lack humanity, conscience, and reason cannot accept the truth; even if they understand it, they cannot put it into practice. In God’s eyes, such people are not humans but beasts, and they will only be eliminated by God. The exposure of God’s words pierced my heart. I was exactly the kind of person God was exposing, someone without conscience and reason. I had believed in God for over a decade and had read many of His words in the aspect of doing duty devotedly and not being perfunctory. Yet now, just to spare my flesh a little suffering, I was still cutting corners and being slick, delaying the work. I was not someone who accepted the truth at all, nor was I a person with conscience and reason. The fact is, when I encountered difficult videos, I could have edited them well if I had just put in more effort and time. But I didn’t want the hassle. For the sake of my own physical comfort, I would just casually pick some shots and splice them together. Even when I saw that the transitions weren’t smooth, I wouldn’t fix them, which led to the video being sent back for revisions multiple times, delaying its progress. I clearly knew there were better ways to handle the issues in the video to achieve a better result, but because I was afraid of my flesh suffering, I chose the method that involved the least effort, causing problems with the video and delaying the process with back-and-forth revisions. Actually, editing a video well doesn’t require advanced technical skills; it can be done with care, diligence, and a bit more effort. But I couldn’t even manage that. I truly had no conscience at all! I only cared about my own physical comfort, did not have the slightest regard for the work of the church, and did not safeguard the church’s interests at all. I was so untrustworthy, so devoid of virtue, and so devoid of humanity! If a responsible person had edited this video, it could have been uploaded quickly and started playing its part in the work of spreading the gospel a day sooner. It was I who delayed the video’s upload. I was disrupting and disturbing the video work; I was resisting God! If I didn’t turn things around, I would eventually be spurned, revealed, and eliminated by God. I couldn’t go on like this. I had to practice according to God’s words, pursue being an honest person, fulfill my responsibilities, and do my utmost to fix every problem I spotted. I also prayed to God in my heart, “Oh God, I have been perfunctory and irresponsible in my duty. I failed to do the things I was capable of doing well, and I’ve delayed the video’s upload. I truly lack conscience and reason, and am untrustworthy. Oh God, I am willing to repent. Even if it means spending more time and energy, suffering more, and paying a greater price, as long as it can achieve good results, I am willing to do it. If I am ever perfunctory again, may You discipline and chasten me.”

After that, I turned my previous wrong attitude toward my duty around. Although I spent extra time and energy on editing videos, the edited videos looked much smoother, and the upload process became a bit quicker. Doing my duty this way, I felt more at ease. After a while, the supervisor sent me a message saying that several brothers and sisters had commented that the videos I edited were quite smooth, and she asked if I had any good methods to share with everyone. I felt deeply moved and reflective when I heard this. I had merely followed what God says, putting more effort into my duty and paying more of a price. I hadn’t expected the results of my duty to improve so much. Later, I shared my experience and the editing method with my brothers and sisters, and they all found it quite helpful.

During my devotionals, I read a passage of God’s words and gained some understanding of the consequences of being perfunctory. Almighty God says: “To perform their duties well, it is very important that people do their part; their frames of mind are very important, and where they direct their thoughts and ideas is very important. God scrutinizes and can see what state of mind people are in and how much effort they exert inwardly as they perform their duties. It is crucial that people put all their hearts and strength into what they do. Their doing their part is a crucial component. Only if people strive to have no regrets about the duties they have completed and the things they have done, and not to be in debt to God, will they be acting with all their hearts and strength. If you consistently fail to put all your heart and strength into performing your duty, if you are perennially perfunctory, and cause tremendous losses to the work, and fall far short of the effects required by God, then only one thing can happen to you: You will be eliminated. And will there still be time for regrets, then? There will not. These actions will become an eternal regret, a stain! To be perennially perfunctory is a stain, it is a serious transgression—yes or no? (Yes.) You must strive to carry out your obligations, and everything you ought to do, with all your heart and strength, you must not be perfunctory, or leave any regrets. If you can do that, the duty you do shall be remembered by God. Those things remembered by God are good deeds. What, then, are the things that are not remembered by God? (They are transgressions and evil deeds.) You might not accept that they are evil deeds if they were described thus presently, but, if a day comes when there are serious consequences to these things, and they give rise to a negative influence, then you will sense that these things are not mere behavioral transgressions, but evil deeds. When you realize this, you will be regretful, and think to yourself: ‘I should have chosen an ounce of prevention! With a little more thought and effort at the start, this consequence could have been avoided.’ Nothing will wipe this eternal stain from your heart, and if it should leave you in permanent debt, then you’ll be in trouble. So today you must strive to put all your heart and strength into the commission given to you by God, to perform every duty with a clear conscience, without any regrets, and in a fashion that is remembered by God. Whatever you do, do not be perfunctory. If you make a mistake on an impulse and it is a serious transgression, this will become an eternal stain. Once you have regrets, you will not be able to make up for them, and they will be permanent regrets. Both of these paths should be seen clearly. Which is the one you should choose, in order to meet with God’s approval? Performing your duty with all your heart and strength, and preparing and accumulating good deeds, without any regrets. Whatever you do, do not do evil that will disturb others’ performance of their duties, do not do anything that goes against the truth and is in resistance against God, and do not incur lifelong regrets. What happens when a person has committed too many transgressions? They are accruing God’s anger at them in His presence! If you transgress ever more, and God’s wrath toward you grows ever greater, then, ultimately, you shall be punished” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). I was deeply moved after reading God’s words. I pondered these words repeatedly “To be perennially perfunctory is a stain, it is a serious transgression” and came to realize that by always being perfunctory in my duty, not only was I failing to prepare any good deeds, but I was actually accumulating evil deeds. If one day this led to serious consequences, I would be completely revealed and eliminated. If the videos I edited had gone online directly without anyone checking them, all the problems in them would have brought grave shame upon God! I have enjoyed so much watering and provision of the truth from God, so I ought to fulfill my duty and edit the videos well. Yet, I was perfunctory and irresponsible. Was there any difference between me and those in the Age of Law who offered lame and blind cattle, sheep, and doves to God? I was enjoying God’s grace and blessings without thinking of repaying His love, and what I offered was the most inferior offering. This was blatantly fooling and deceiving God; it was accumulating God’s wrath! If I continued without repenting, at the very least I would be stripped of my opportunity to do my duty, and if it were serious, I would face God’s punishment. I thought of someone named Matias, who had consistently been perfunctory in his duty. In everything he did, he just tried to get it over with and others constantly had to correct his mistakes and clean up his messes, causing serious disruption and disturbance to the church’s work. After being pruned multiple times, he still didn’t repent and was sent to an ordinary church. I later heard that he still didn’t turn things around there; he even stopped doing duties, and was cleared out of the church in the end. Thinking of others’ failures, I couldn’t help but feel afraid. I also came to experience that God’s righteous disposition brooks no offense. The fact that I could still do a duty in the church was God’s mercy and a chance for me to repent. I had to quickly seek the truth to resolve my problem of being perfunctory in my duty.

Later, I found the path to resolving my perfunctory attitude in God’s words. Almighty God says: “When people perform their duty, they are, in fact, doing what they ought to do. If you do it before God, if you perform your duty and submit to God with an attitude of honesty and with heart, will this attitude not be far more correct? So how should you apply this attitude to your everyday life? You must make ‘worshiping God with heart and honesty’ your reality. Whenever you want to be slack and just go through the motions, whenever you want to act in a slippery way and be lazy, and whenever you get distracted or would rather be enjoying yourself, you should consider: ‘In behaving like this, am I being untrustworthy? Is this putting my heart into doing my duty? By doing this, am I failing to be devoted? Am I failing to live up to the commission God has entrusted to me?’ This is how you should self-reflect. If you come to find out that you are always perfunctory in your duty, that you are not devoted, and that you have hurt God, what should you do? You should say, ‘In the moment I sensed that there was something wrong here, but I didn’t treat it as a problem; I just glossed over it carelessly. I didn’t realize until now that I really had been perfunctory, that I had not lived up to my responsibility. I truly am lacking in conscience and reason!’ You have found the problem and come to know a bit about yourself—so now, you must turn yourself around! Your attitude toward performing your duty was wrong. You were careless with it, as with an extra job, and you did not put your heart into it. If you are perfunctory like this again, you must pray to God and let Him discipline and chasten you. You must have such resolve in performing your duty. Only then can you truly repent. You may turn yourself around only when your conscience is clear and your attitude toward performing your duty is transformed” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Frequently Reading God’s Words and Contemplating the Truth Can There Be a Path to Follow). “Since people have corrupt dispositions, they are often perfunctory when they perform their duties. This is one of the most serious problems of all. If people are to perform their duties properly, they must first address this problem of perfunctoriness. As long as they have such a perfunctory attitude, they will not be able to perform their duties properly, which means that solving the problem of perfunctoriness is extremely important. So how should they practice? Firstly, they must solve the problem of their state of mind; they must approach their duties correctly, and do things with seriousness and a sense of responsibility. They should not intend to be deceitful or perfunctory. One’s duty is performed for God, not any one person; if people are able to accept God’s scrutiny, they will have the correct state of mind. What’s more, after doing something, people must examine it, and reflect on it, and if they feel a bit uneasy in their hearts, and after detailed inspection, they discover there really is a problem, then they must make changes; once these changes have been made, they will feel at ease in their hearts. When people feel uneasy, this proves there is a problem, and they must diligently examine what they have done, especially at key stages. This is a responsible attitude toward performing one’s duty. When one can be serious, take responsibility, and give all their heart and strength, the work will be done properly” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). God’s words brightened my heart. I knew I had to cherish the opportunity to do my duty and accept God’s scrutiny while doing it. Whenever I thought of being perfunctory, I had to pray to God and rebel against myself, striving to achieve the best possible results in my duty. Moreover, I had to put in the effort and be serious in everything I did, and not shrink from trouble or suffering to achieve good results. After that, I practiced in accordance with God’s words in my duty and edited every video with care. When I encountered difficult videos that required a lot of time to select the footage for, and I felt it was too much trouble, I would consciously pray to God to rebel against my flesh, trying my best to find good footage to match. After I finished editing, I would check it over twice, correcting and refining every problem I could find. I also frequently summarized the issues that arose in my duty, and if there was anything I couldn’t handle, I would ask the brother I was cooperating with. Over time, my technical skills improved a bit, the brother who reviewed my videos pointed out fewer issues, and many videos were uploaded directly after just one review. Seeing these results, I felt very happy and at ease.

Later, something happened that I felt was a test of me. I had already submitted a video I had edited, but unexpectedly, two days later, a sister suddenly sent me a re-recorded audio file. She said there had been some technical issues with the previous recording, so the sound quality wasn’t very good, and it had been re-recorded. I needed to re-edit the video to match the new audio. I couldn’t accept this news at first, thinking “No way, re-edit it? Doesn’t that mean most of my earlier work was a waste?” The thought of having to spend another half-day on revisions made me not want to do it; it felt like too much trouble. I then went to ask the supervisor, and she said that although the quality of the previous audio wasn’t great, it was still within an acceptable range, so it would be fine not to replace it. Hearing her say that, I thought to myself, “That’s perfect! This way I don’t have to go through the trouble of re-editing.” Afterward, I compared the new audio the sister had sent me with the old one and found that the new one was indeed much better. At that point, I hesitated, “Should I replace the audio or not? If I don’t, it’ll save me trouble, and the video can still be uploaded normally, but the quality will be compromised. The sister has already re-recorded the audio, and inserting it in place of the old one will make the results of the video better. Shouldn’t I spend some time to replace the audio and re-edit the video?” Just then, a passage of God’s words came to mind: “You must strive to carry out your obligations, and everything you ought to do, with all your heart and strength, you must not be perfunctory, or leave any regrets. If you can do that, the duty you do shall be remembered by God” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). God’s words were a timely reminder for me. Spending some extra time to revise this video would allow it to achieve a better result, and that is something meaningful and valuable. Moreover, these experiential testimony videos are to be preserved for eternity. If I can spend a little more time now to make this video better, then I should do my best to make it as good as possible. That is what it means to fulfill my responsibility and to leave no regrets. Thinking this, I told the supervisor, “The re-recorded audio is indeed better. Replacing the audio will improve the results of the video, so it’s worth spending extra time to edit it.” The supervisor agreed. When I submitted the video after re-editing it with the new audio, I felt a particular sense of ease and enjoyment. Although replacing the audio and re-editing took some time and energy, improving the results of the experiential testimony video made it all worthwhile and meaningful.

I thought back on all the times I had been perfunctory in my duty, how in craving momentary physical comfort I had delayed the normal upload of so many videos and committed many transgressions. I felt regretful and indebted. From now on, I can no longer be perfunctory in how I treat my duty; I must devote my entire heart and all my strength. Later, in my duty, I began to focus on examining my attitude. Sometimes when I came across difficult videos, the thought of it being too much trouble and not wanting to suffer would still reveal itself. But then I would think that this is my duty, my responsibility, and I had to prioritize the results and not be afraid of the hassle. Gradually, I was able to rebel against these thoughts and practice according to God’s words. Thank God!