By Zheng Jin, China

In December 2023, the leaders arranged for me to be in charge of the watering work for a few churches. Brother Lin Hai was the supervisor. Besides supervising and following up on our work, he was also responsible for the watering work in several other churches. When I first started working with Lin Hai, I saw that he bore some burden in his duty; he’d promptly follow up on and resolve any problems the newcomers had. At the end of February 2024, we sent out a communication letter to the churches addressing common problems among the newcomers, and we also followed up to ensure the churches promptly reassigned any personnel unsuited to being waterers. Afterward, I discovered that not only had Lin Hai failed to follow up on our implementation of the work, but he hadn’t followed up on the churches he was responsible for either, and the waterers hadn’t been reassigned in time. I thought to myself, “Maybe he hasn’t been feeling well lately? Did his blood pressure go up again? Maybe he is living amid illness and not bearing a burden in his duty? Maybe I should give him a reminder. But if I just came right out and said it, would he say I wasn’t being considerate of him? Besides, I’m just a team member. If I pointed out his problems directly, would he lose face and hold a grudge against me? What if it created tension between us? How awkward would it be to cooperate after that!” But then I remembered that God has fellowshipped that partners in work should supervise and remind one another. It didn’t feel right to see his problems and not say a word. So, I gave him a list of the tasks he needed to follow up on and the churches that were short on waterers, and reminded him to follow up on them. I originally wanted to talk to him about the nature and consequences of being perfunctory and irresponsible in one’s duty, but I was worried that saying that would offend him and make it harder for us to get along in the future. So I just asked about his recent health and found a few passages of God’s words about mutual supervision and reminders between work partners to show him. This way, he’d know I was just trying to practice according to God’s words, not deliberately picking on him, so he wouldn’t form a prejudice against me. To my surprise, Lin Hai just replied with two words, “Alright, then.” He said nothing about recognizing his own issues. After that, he still didn’t follow up on reassigning the waterers in the churches, nor did he follow up on or supervise our work. I thought about bringing it up again, but then I remembered how dismissive his last reply was. He was probably upset. If I said something again, he’d surely be even more upset. No one else was saying anything, so if I was the only one pointing out his issues, it would look like I was always picking on him. I didn’t want to be the one to offend him, so I just dropped it.

Later, due to the CCP’s arrests of Christians, some of the waterers in the churches I was responsible for had to go into hiding due to security risks, and others who were unsuitable needed to be reassigned. But we couldn’t find suitable people to take over, which affected the work. Through reflection and summarization, I saw that this was because we hadn’t generally been focusing on cultivating people. So, I wrote a communication letter to the churches about this problem, asking the leaders and workers to focus on cultivating people so that they could correct this deviation in a timely manner. Then I forwarded it to Lin Hai and our partner, Sister Wang Dan, for them to review for any problems or deficiencies, so they could make any additions and improvements before sending it out to the churches. I also reminded them to reply promptly to avoid delaying the work. But a few days passed and Lin Hai still hadn’t replied. I thought to myself, “What’s going on with him? He doesn’t follow up on the work of cultivating people, and now the letter is written, yet he won’t even give his opinion. Should we send this letter or not? If we don’t, the work will be delayed. But if we do, what if something in it is inappropriate and causes a disruption?” I wanted to write and ask him what he was thinking and why he still hadn’t replied, but I remembered he hadn’t been very receptive to my suggestions last time. I was worried that pointing out his issues again would just make him more upset and our relationship would become difficult in the future, so I didn’t ask. Later, Wang Dan replied that the letter was fine, so to avoid delaying the work, we sent it out.

Not long after, the CCP’s arrests intensified. They used various methods to track down and arrest believers and even started spreading the same old fabricated rumors to mislead people. We fellowshipped with the newcomers on the truth in the aspect of discernment and the truth relating to visions, and most of them gained the ability to discern some of the baseless rumors. I thought to myself, “I wonder if the waterers in the other churches have fellowshipped with the newcomers on the truth in the aspect of discernment regarding these baseless rumors. Do the newcomers have any discernment of them?” So I wrote to Lin Hai, suggesting that he have the waterers under his purview check on the newcomers’ ability to discern the baseless rumors. If any of them didn’t understand, they needed to promptly fellowship on the truth relating to visions to prevent them from being misled by the baseless rumors and suffering losses in their lives. Ten days passed after I sent the letter, and there was still no reply from Lin Hai. I was getting a little angry. I thought, “This work is so important. How can he not take it seriously?” I really wanted to point out that he was not bearing a burden in his duty, but again, I was afraid of upsetting him, so I didn’t say it directly. Instead, I gently asked if he had received my letter and fellowshipped on the importance of following up on this work. To my surprise, Lin Hai replied, “We had the waterers fellowship about this before. The newcomers have probably grasped it all. There’s no need to follow up again.” When I saw that he was just making judgments based on his imaginings without actually trying to understand the newcomers’ situation, I felt he was being really irresponsible. I wanted to fellowship with him about this problem, but then I worried that if I kept pointing out his issues, he’d develop a bad opinion of me. What if our relationship grew awkward? But my conscience reproached me for seeing his problems but saying nothing. A while later, I’d think, “You’re the supervisor, so if something goes wrong, it’s your responsibility. I reminded you, and you’re the one who wouldn’t listen.” But then I felt that thinking this way was irresponsible of me…. I was so agitated and restless, and I couldn’t quiet my heart to do my duty.

In my pain, I prayed to God and sought His guidance. I remembered God’s words: “No matter what duty you perform, whether it is an important or an ordinary one, if you do not put your heart into the work you have been entrusted with or live up to your responsibility, and if you do not see it as God’s commission, or take it on as your own duty and obligation, always doing things in a perfunctory manner, then this is going to be a problem” (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). As I pondered God’s words, I realized that I had to have a sense of responsibility in my duty. Regardless of whether I’m a supervisor or not, as long as I spot a problem in the church’s work, I have to fulfill my responsibility to safeguard the work of the church. If I see a problem and ignore it, and am perfunctory and irresponsible, that is a dereliction of duty. With the great red dragon frantically arresting Christians and spreading baseless rumors, the newcomers were very likely to be misled and to leave. Reminding Lin Hai to fellowship more with them on the truth in the aspect of discernment was my responsibility. When I saw that he wasn’t taking it seriously at all, I should have pointed it out and helped him in a timely manner. But I was afraid he’d get a bad impression of me, and was afraid to offend him and make our relationship difficult, so I just acted like a people pleaser. I saw his problems but didn’t dare to point them out directly. I had no sense of responsibility and wasn’t safeguarding the church’s interests. I was truly unworthy of doing such an important duty! I felt deep self-reproach in my heart, so I wrote a letter to Lin Hai to discuss my viewpoint with him. Then I thought that since our views were different, I should also discuss it with the other brothers and sisters we were cooperating with. But I hesitated again, worrying, “If Lin Hai finds out, will he say I’m trying to embarrass him? Will he get a bad impression of me?” I remembered God’s words: “‘I absolutely will not be afraid, I absolutely will not shrink back, and I absolutely will not be discouraged!’ Do you have this determination?” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (13)). When it comes to matters involving the church’s interests and the life entry of our brothers and sisters, I cannot compromise or back down just because I’m afraid of what others might think of me. Whether Lin Hai accepted it or not, I had to take a stand and safeguard the church’s interests. Therefore, I forwarded the letter. Afterward, my other partners and Lin Hai all replied, agreeing with my viewpoint. I breathed a sigh of relief in my heart.

But after that, I still didn’t fellowship with Lin Hai about his perfunctory attitude toward his duty. I began to reflect on myself: I had clearly seen Lin Hai’s problems, yet I didn’t dare to point it out directly. What corrupt dispositions were hidden behind this? I prayed for God to guide me in understanding my own issues. Then, I read a passage of God’s words that spoke directly to my state. Almighty God says: “Most people are willing to pursue the truth and want to practice the truth, but a lot of the time they merely have the resolve and a desire to do so; inwardly, however, the truth has not become their life. So when you encounter evil forces disturbing and sabotaging the church’s work—for example, when you are faced with false leaders handling matters in violation of the principles and not doing real work, or evil people and antichrists doing evil and disturbing the church’s work and thereby causing harm to God’s chosen people—you do not have the courage to stand up and speak out. Why do you not have this courage? Is it because you are timid or inarticulate, or do you not dare to speak up because you can’t see things clearly? It is not due to any of these things; it is primarily the consequence of you being constrained by your corrupt dispositions. One of the corrupt dispositions you reveal is a deceitful disposition: When something happens, the first thing you consider is your own interests, the consequences of your actions, and whether they will be beneficial to you. This is a deceitful disposition, is it not? Another is a selfish and base disposition. You think, ‘What does them harming the interests of God’s house have to do with me? I’m not a leader, so why should I get involved? It’s got nothing to do with me, and it’s not my responsibility.’ Such thoughts and words are not something that you intentionally think up, but are produced by you unconsciously—these are the corrupt dispositions that people reveal when they encounter an issue. These corrupt dispositions govern your thoughts, they bind your hands and feet, and control what you say. In your heart, you want to stand up and speak out, but you have misgivings, and even if you do speak out, you beat around the bush and leave yourself wiggle room, or you prevaricate and simply don’t speak the truth. Discerning people can see this, and in reality, you also know in your heart that you haven’t said all you should, that you haven’t achieved results, that you were merely going through the motions, and that the problem hasn’t been solved. You have not fulfilled your responsibility, yet you self-righteously say that you have, or claim that you did not see things clearly at the time. Do these claims align with the facts? Is it what you really think? Are you not completely under the control of your satanic dispositions?” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). God exposes that people live by their selfish and deceitful corrupt dispositions. When they see someone doing something that violates the principles, they don’t dare to point it out, considering only their own interests and not safeguarding the church’s work in the slightest. Some people, even when they do point out the other person’s problem, beat around the bush and downplay it to avoid causing offense. They don’t get to the heart of the matter, so even if they say something, it has no effect. What God’s words exposed was exactly my state. During that time, I had clearly seen that Lin Hai wasn’t following up on or supervising the work, and that he was irresponsible and bore no burden in his duty. This had already delayed the watering work and the newcomers’ life entry. I should have pointed it out to help him turn things around as soon as possible, but I was afraid of hurting his pride and ruining our relationship, making things difficult between us afterward. So, I only listed the tasks he needed to follow up on, but I never fellowshipped on or dissected the nature and consequences of being perfunctory in his duty. Later, I discovered that Lin Hai wasn’t focusing on cultivating people, nor was he actually checking if the newcomers could discern the baseless rumors spread by the great red dragon. He was just acting based on his own notions and imaginings, and not doing any real work at all. I wanted to expose him for being irresponsible and bearing no burden in his duty, but again, I worried that repeatedly pointing out his issues would hurt his pride and embarrass him. If he developed a prejudice against me, how awkward things would be between us! To avoid offending him, I chose silence once more, even comforting myself with the thought, “I’ve already said what needed to be said. It’s his fault for not accepting my suggestions. If a problem occurs, it’s his responsibility, not mine.” But in reality, although I had raised some problems in the work with him, I had never pointed out the nature and consequences of doing his duty in such a way. As a result, Lin Hai had no understanding of his own problems, didn’t make changes, and the issues in the watering work remained unresolved. I was just going through the motions, achieving no real effect at all. When I saw that the watering work was ineffective, instead of thinking about how to solve the problems and safeguard the church’s work, I repeatedly compromised and gave in to maintain my relationship with Lin Hai. I wouldn’t spell out the problems clearly, even if it meant delaying the church’s work again and again. I was maintaining my relationship with him at the expense of the church’s interests. In essence, I was siding with Satan and disrupting the church’s work. I was so selfish, despicable, slippery, and deceitful!

Later, I read a passage of God’s words, and I gained some further understanding of my own problems. Almighty God says: “There is a tenet in philosophies for worldly dealings that says, ‘Keeping silent on the faults of good friends makes for a long and good friendship.’ It means that in order to preserve this good friendship, one must keep silent about their friend’s problems, even if they see them clearly. They abide by the principles of not striking people in the face or calling out their shortcomings. They deceive each other, hide from each other, and engage in intrigue with each other. Though they know with crystal clarity what sort of person the other is, they do not say it outright, but employ cunning methods to preserve their relationship. Why would one want to preserve such relationships? It is about not wanting to make enemies in this society, within one’s group, which would mean subjecting oneself often to dangerous situations. Knowing someone will become your enemy and harm you after you have called out their shortcomings or hurt them, and not wishing to put yourself in such a situation, you employ the tenet of philosophies for worldly dealings that runs, ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings.’ In light of this, if two people are in such a relationship, do they count as true friends? (No.) They are not true friends, much less each other’s confidant. So, what sort of relationship is this, exactly? Is it not a fundamental social relationship? (It is.) In such social relationships, people cannot engage in heart-to-heart discussions, nor have deep connections, nor speak about whatever they wish. They cannot say out loud what is in their hearts, or the problems they see in other people, or words that would benefit other people. Instead, they pick nice things to say, to keep others’ favor. They dare not speak the truth or uphold the principles, thereby preventing others from developing hostile thoughts toward them. When no one poses a threat to someone, does that person not live in relative ease and peace? Is this not people’s goal in promoting the saying, ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings’? (It is.) Clearly, this is a crooked and deceitful way of survival with an element of guardedness, whose goal is self-preservation. Living this way, people have no confidants, no close friends with whom they can say whatever they like. Between people, there is just mutual guardedness, mutual exploitation, and mutual scheming, with each person taking what they need from the relationship. Is this not so? At its root, the goal of ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings’ is to keep from offending others and making enemies, to protect oneself by not causing hurt to anyone. It is a technique and method one adopts to keep themselves from being hurt. Looking at these several facets of its essence, is the demand of people’s moral conduct ‘If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings’ a noble one? Is it a positive one? (No.) Then, what does it teach people? That you must not offend or hurt anyone, otherwise, you are the one who will end up getting hurt; and also, that you should not trust anyone. If you hurt any one of your good friends, the friendship will quietly start to change: They will go from being your good, close friend to a stranger or an enemy. What problems can it resolve, teaching people to act so? Even if, by acting in this way, you do not make enemies and even lose a few, will this make people admire and approve of you, and always keep you as a friend? Does this fully achieve the standard for moral conduct? At the very best, this is no more than a philosophy for worldly dealings” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (8)). After reading God’s words, I understood that I had been taking satanic philosophies for worldly dealings, like “Keeping silent on the faults of good friends makes for a long and good friendship,” “If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings” as my principles for conducting myself. I believed that to get along with others, I had to learn to protect myself. I thought that pointing out someone’s problems could easily offend them, creating enemies for myself, so even if I saw a problem, I wouldn’t spell it out. That way, I wouldn’t hurt our relationship or cause trouble for myself. It turned out that what I was following were the slippery and deceitful ways of survival and philosophies for worldly dealings that Satan instills in people. Living by these philosophies for worldly dealings, people can’t open up to each other; they are always guarded, becoming more and more fake, slippery, and deceitful. I knew full well that Lin Hai had already delayed the church’s work by being perfunctory and not doing real work and that I should have clearly pointed out his problems to help him know himself. But I was afraid of hurting his pride, embarrassing him, offending him, and ruining our relationship, so I chose to compromise and back down. On the surface, it seemed I was helping him save face and keeping the peace, but I wasn’t sincerely and genuinely helping him. Not only was this of no benefit to his life entry, but even worse, it delayed the watering work. God requires us to be open and honest in how we treat our brothers and sisters. When we discover a problem with someone, we should point it out and fellowship to help them with a loving heart. Even if they can’t accept it at the time, as long as they are someone who accepts the truth, they will later seek and reflect on themselves. If they continue to refuse it after it is pointed out, we must report it to the leaders as soon as possible to prevent harm to the church’s work. This is what a person with conscience and reason should do, and this is the sense of justice that a person should possess. God likes honest and upright people and loathes deceitful people. If I continued to be a people pleaser, take a middle-of-the-road approach, I would be loathed and eliminated by God. Realizing this, I felt a sense of lingering fear. I also prayed to God, willing to repent and no longer live by my corrupt disposition.

Later, I found a path of practice from God’s words, and I gained clarity in my heart. Almighty God says: “At times, harmony means forbearance and tolerance, but it also means standing your ground and upholding principles. Harmony does not mean smoothing things over, or trying to be a people pleaser, or taking a compromising approach—and it certainly does not mean ingratiating yourself to someone. These are principles. Once you have grasped these principles, without realizing it your speech and actions will become aligned with God’s intentions; you will have principles in how you treat people, and become able to treat others fairly. In this way, you will be able to get along amicably with the brothers and sisters, and it will be easy to achieve unity” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. On Harmonious Cooperation). “If you have the intention and perspective of a people pleaser, then, in all matters, you will not practice the truth or uphold the principles, and so you will always fail and fall. If you do not awaken and do not ever seek the truth, then you are a disbeliever, and you will never gain the truth and life. What, then, should you do? When faced with matters that involve the interests of God’s house, you must pray to God and call out to Him, asking Him to give you faith and strength, so that you can uphold the principles, do what you should do, handle things according to the principles, hold firmly to the stance you should hold to, protect the interests of God’s house, and prevent the work of God’s house from suffering any losses. If you are able to rebel against your self-interests, your pride, and your viewpoint of a people pleaser, and if you do what you should do with an honest, undivided heart, then you will have defeated Satan and gained this aspect of the truth” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). I understood that harmonious cooperation isn’t about being a people pleaser or taking a middle-of-the-road approach, nor is it about maintaining superficial harmony and not offending anyone. Instead, it’s about being able to uphold principles and safeguard the church’s interests in matters involving the church’s work and the life entry of our brothers and sisters. Seeing that Lin Hai’s failure to do real work was already delaying the church’s work, I had to fellowship with and help him out of love. If necessary, he could also be pruned, and if he still didn’t accept it, I had to report him to the leaders for timely duty adjustment or dismissal. This is practicing the truth; this is true love. But I held the distorted belief that pointing out the supervisor’s problems was calling out his shortcomings and embarrassing him. My comprehension was so absurd! From God’s words, I also understood that when things come upon me and I’m willing to rebel against my flesh but can’t overcome it, I must pray to God and beg Him to give me strength. I had to point out and expose Lin Hai’s failure to do real work. I could no longer be a people pleaser or take a middle-of-the-road approach. Even if pointing out his problems would offend him, I had to practice the truth. So, I wrote to Lin Hai and invited him to meet for a gathering. Before I went to see him, I prayed for God to guide me so that I could practice the truth.

During the gathering, I pointed out Lin Hai’s problems. At first, he wouldn’t accept it and tried to argue back and defend himself, and another brother also chimed in to back him up. I realized this brother was shielding Lin Hai, so I cut him off and bluntly exposed him for trying to smooth things over. The atmosphere became a bit awkward, and the look on Lin Hai’s face turned unpleasant. I was afraid that if I said more, our relationship would grow awkward, so I wanted to compromise and drop the matter. But then I thought about how Lin Hai had already harmed the work by being perfunctory and not doing real work. He wouldn’t even accept it when his problems were pointed out. If this continued, it would cause even greater harm to the church’s work. I remembered a few lines from a hymn: “In the church, stand firm in your testimony to Me and uphold the truth. Right is right and wrong is wrong; do not confuse black and white. You shall be at war with Satan and must completely vanquish it so that it never rises again” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 41). God’s words gave me faith and strength. I couldn’t be a people pleaser anymore; I had to uphold the principles. So, drawing on God’s words, I pointed out Lin Hai’s problems and fellowshipped on the consequences of not supervising or following up on the work, and not focusing on cultivating people. After hearing this, Lin Hai’s attitude changed a little, and he expressed his willingness to accept it. Only by practicing this way did I feel at ease in my heart.

Later, I saw that Lin Hai still hadn’t changed much, so I listed his problems one by one and reported them to the leaders. After gathering evaluations of Lin Hai, the leaders saw that he had poor caliber, lacked work capability, and bore no burden in his duty. He was a false worker who did no real work and should be dismissed. The leaders then promoted me to be the supervisor and asked me to go fellowship with Lin Hai and dismiss him. I felt a bit hesitant. “If I expose his problems to his face, will he hold it against me and bear a prejudice against me?” I realized my people-pleasing mentality was surfacing again, and I remembered God’s words: “… then even if your doing it offends people or causes you to be castigated behind your back, that is of little consequence.” I quickly looked up that passage to read. God says: “If it is an action that aligns with principles, then even if your doing it offends people or causes you to be castigated behind your back, that is of little consequence; if it is an action that does not align with principles, however, then even if by doing it you gain approval and support from everyone, and get along with everyone—but the one thing is that you cannot account for it before God—you have suffered a loss. If you maintain relationships with the majority, making them happy and satisfied and earning their praise, but you offend God, the Creator, then you are a supreme fool. Therefore, whatever you do, you must clearly understand whether it aligns with principles, whether it pleases God, what God’s attitude toward it is, what stance people should take, what principles people should uphold, how God has instructed, and how you should do it—you should first be clear about this” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (24)). After reading God’s words, my heart suddenly brightened. In doing my duty, I must have a God-fearing heart and seek God’s intentions and the principles for doing things. As long as something aligns with the truth principles, I must persist with it. As long as I can satisfy God, it doesn’t matter if I offend people or get bad-mouthed. If I know the truth but don’t practice it just to maintain my relationships with people, even if I don’t offend anyone, I will be condemned by God for committing a transgression by not safeguarding the church’s work. That would be so foolish! So, I went to fellowship with Lin Hai, exposed his manifestations of not doing real work, and dismissed him. Lin Hai said that he would reflect on himself thoroughly. Through this experience, I’ve come to realize that only by practicing the truth and interacting with others according to the truth principles can one live with a human likeness. From now on, I can no longer be a people pleaser, harming others and myself.