By Selena, Malaysia

I’m Malaysian Chinese, and I grew up in an ordinary family. My parents scrimped and saved to put me through school. They taught me, “It’s okay to be poor, but you must have dignity and not let others look down on you.” Influenced by these words, I studied hard and actively participated in all sorts of events, becoming a model student in the eyes of my teachers and classmates. After college, I worked as an assistant editor for a newspaper. After a few years of hard work, I was promoted to supervisor, which satisfied my desire for reputation and status. After finding God, I was very active, and I was soon elected as a church leader. Then, in December 2023, I was dismissed because I was pursuing reputation and status instead of doing real work, my arrogant disposition made it impossible for me to cooperate with others, and I didn’t even reflect on myself after a leader fellowshipped with me. Since I speak Malay, the leaders assigned me to translation duty. I felt inferior when faced with the brothers and sisters I used to cooperate with. They were all leaders and workers, while I was just a humble translator. Before, it was always me following up on their work, and they came to me with their problems and difficulties. But now, as a translator, I just felt like a mouthpiece, repeating what others said. I felt unimportant. I wondered if the brothers and sisters would look down on me, thinking I was doing translation duty because I wasn’t someone who pursued the truth. Sometimes I’d think, “Two sisters in the group are gospel work supervisors, and they also speak Malay. They could do the translating. Why use someone, like me, who’s been dismissed? Isn’t this just to embarrass me?” I really wanted to leave and do a different duty. Even gospel preaching duty would’ve been more respectable; at least then, no one would look down on me. But then I thought of how this is a critical time for spreading the gospel, and that translators are urgently needed in Malaysia. Refusing my duty at a time like this would be willful defiance and an act of rebellion against God. If certain tasks weren’t arranged and implemented in time, it would delay the gospel work, and that would be grave resistance to God. So, I didn’t ask the supervisor to change my duty. But even as I was doing my duty, I hadn’t truly submitted in my heart, and I didn’t really put my heart into it. When I came across words that were difficult to express, I wouldn’t bother looking them up to express the meaning accurately. Sometimes, when the supervisor came for a gathering and I had to translate, my heart would not be in it, causing mistakes and omissions. After one gathering, I prayed, “Oh God, I feel so stifled in this duty. I don’t know how to experience this. Please lead me to understand Your intention and submit.”

Later, after reading some of God’s words, I began to understand how I should treat my duty. Almighty God says: “In the house of God, there is constant talk of accepting God’s commission and performing one’s duty properly. So how does duty come into being? To speak broadly, it comes into being as a result of God’s management work of bringing salvation to humanity. To speak specifically, as God’s management work is carried out among mankind, various kinds of work arise, and all of them require people to do their part and complete them. In this way, people’s responsibilities and missions come into being, and these responsibilities and missions are the duties God bestows upon people. In God’s house, the various kinds of work that require people to do their part are the duties they should perform. So, are there differences between duties in terms of better and worse, lofty and lowly, or great and small? Such differences do not exist; as long as something has to do with God’s management work, is a requirement of the work of His house, and is needed for the spreading of God’s gospel, then it is a person’s duty. This is the origin and definition of duty” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?). “In God’s house, whenever something is arranged for you to do, regardless of whether it’s hard or tiring work, or whether you like to do it or not, it is your duty. If you can consider it a commission and responsibility that God has given you, and can complete it with all your heart and strength, then it can be said that the work you do—the duty you perform—is relevant to God’s work of saving man. If you can earnestly and sincerely accept the commission God has given you, how will He regard you? He will regard you as a member of His family. Is that a blessing or a woe? (A blessing.) It is a great blessing” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?). After reading God’s words, I understood that it is God’s work of saving humanity that gave rise to every kind of duty. In God’s house, there is no distinction in duties in terms of better and worse, lofty and lowly, or great and small. Whether a duty involves dirty or tiring work, and whether we like it or not, if it’s from God, we should accept it. This is a great blessing for those who accept God’s salvation. But I had been ranking duties. I thought leaders and workers were people with status and standing whom the brothers and sisters would look up to, and that doing this kind of duty was prestigious. In contrast, I thought translation duty was unremarkable and brought no recognition, and that it was just translating other people’s words and didn’t earn you anyone’s admiration. Because of this fallacious perspective, even though I carried on doing my duty, I constantly felt like a faded piece of clothing that nobody wanted anymore. I couldn’t muster any motivation in my duty and just wanted to escape. I wanted to switch to a different duty that would earn me admiration, without considering at all whether the church’s work would be affected. After my dismissal, the church still gave me the chance to do translation duty. This was God’s great mercy toward me. I should have carefully pondered how to fulfill my duty and satisfy God. But because my desire for reputation and status went unsatisfied, I treated translation duty with disdain. I acted like a mere mouthpiece, didn’t carefully ponder what my responsibilities were, and wasn’t even willing to do the things I was capable of. I had no conscience or reason at all! I was not submissive to God at all. How could I even be called a believer in God? Realizing this, I knelt and prayed, “Oh God, I see I am not submissive to You at all. When my desire for reputation and status wasn’t satisfied, I didn’t do my duty properly. I’m so rebellious! I am willing to turn back to You. Please help me see the essence of reputation and status clearly so I can give them up.”

Later, I read a passage of God’s words and gained some understanding of the essence of pursuing reputation and status. Almighty God says: “Antichrists’ cherishment of their reputation and status goes beyond that of ordinary people, and is something within their disposition essence; it is not a temporary interest, or the transient effect of their surroundings—it is something within their life, their bones, and so it is their essence. This is to say that in everything antichrists do, their first consideration is their own reputation and status, nothing else. For antichrists, reputation and status are their life, and the goal they pursue throughout their lives. In all they do, their first consideration is: ‘What will happen to my status? And to my reputation? Will doing this give me a good reputation? Will it elevate my status in people’s minds?’ That is the first thing they think about, which is ample proof that they have the disposition and essence of antichrists—and it’s because of this that they consider things this way. It can be said that for antichrists, reputation and status are not some additional requirement, much less things which are external to them that they could do without. They are part of the nature of antichrists, they are in their bones, in their blood, they are innate to them. Antichrists are not indifferent toward whether they possess reputation and status; this is not their attitude. Then, what is their attitude? Reputation and status are intimately connected to their daily lives, to their daily state, to what they pursue on a daily basis. For antichrists, status and reputation are their life. No matter how they live, no matter what environment they live in, no matter what work they do, no matter what they pursue, what their goals are, what their life’s direction is, it all revolves around having a good reputation and a high status. And this aim does not change; they can never put aside such things. This is the true face of antichrists, and their essence. You could put them in a primeval forest deep in the mountains, and still they would not let go of their pursuit of reputation and status. You could put them among any group of people, and all they can think about is still reputation and status. Although antichrists believe in God, they equate the pursuit of reputation and status with faith in God and place these two things on equal footing. Which is to say, as they walk the path of faith in God, they also pursue their own reputation and status. It can be said that in antichrists’ hearts, the pursuit of the truth in believing in God is the pursuit of reputation and status, and the pursuit of reputation and status is also the pursuit of the truth—to gain reputation and status is to gain the truth and life. If they feel that they have not obtained fame, gain, or status, that no one looks up to them, holds them in high regard, or follows them, then they become dejected, they believe there is no point in believing in God, no value to it, and they inwardly wonder, ‘Have I failed by believing in God like this? Is there no hope for me?’ They often calculate such things in their hearts. They calculate how they can carve a place out for themselves in the house of God, how they can have a lofty reputation in the church, how they can get people to listen when they talk, and to sing their praises when they act, how they can get people to follow them no matter where they are, and how they can have an influential voice in the church, and fame, gain, and status—they really focus on such things in their hearts. These are what such people pursue” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Three)). God dissects the essence of antichrists so clearly! All their life, an antichrist pursues reputation and status. Reputation and status are in their bones, in their blood; these things are their very life. Even though antichrists believe in God, they never give up their pursuit of reputation and status. They equate the pursuit of reputation and status with belief in God. At the same time as believing in God and doing their duty, they’re engaging in their own enterprise, scheming to gain the status and power they want from doing their duty, and never considering the interests of God’s house. Comparing myself to God’s words, I saw that my pursuit was the same as that of an antichrist. I did my duty for fame and gain, and pursued the admiration of others. If there was no one who admired me, I became negative, passive, and perfunctory in my duty, completely ignoring the church’s interests. I was influenced by ideas like “People need their pride just as a tree needs its bark” and “Man struggles upward; water flows downward.” I believed that to live, you had to have status and a good reputation; only then was life not lived in vain. I believed that to live without status or standing was to be a failure—pathetic and undignified. My parents taught me from a young age to conduct myself with dignity and not let others look down on me. That’s why I studied hard for an advanced degree, so people wouldn’t look down on me when I entered society and started looking for a job. After finding God, I felt I had status and was a cut above the rest when I started doing the duty of a leader, and I began to relish the praise of my brothers and sisters. Later, I was dismissed for pursuing reputation and status, not doing real work, and failing to reflect on or understand myself. After my dismissal, the church assigned me to translation duty, but my mind was still on my own fame, gain, and status. I felt that translation duty wouldn’t earn me any admiration, so I was unwilling to submit. I was also perfunctory in how I treated my duty and delayed the work’s progress. In my duty, I always felt the grass was greener on the other side. I always wanted a high-profile duty that would earn me admiration. When my desires weren’t met, I wanted to quit my duty and refused to submit to God’s arrangements. This was rebelling against God! Right now, God’s kingdom gospel is spreading rapidly, and more people are needed to cooperate. I once heard a supervisor say that translators were in short supply, and they were anxious because they couldn’t find any. But I ignored the needs of the church’s work then, and only thought about my own pride and status, wanting to shirk my duty. I was so selfish and despicable! I’ve believed in God for so many years, eaten and drunk so many of His words, and enjoyed His provision. Yet I showed no consideration for God’s heart at all and never thought about how to fulfill my own responsibility and be devoted. I saw that I was totally devoid of conscience and reason. I realized that walking the path of pursuing fame, gain, and status was very dangerous—it was a path of resisting God. If I didn’t turn things around, I would surely offend God’s disposition, incur His loathing, and in the end, be eliminated and lose my chance at salvation. So I prayed to God, willing to let go of reputation and status and rebel against my incorrect intentions.

Later, I found a path of practice in God’s words. Almighty God says: “Do not always do things for your own sake and do not constantly consider your own interests; give no thought to your own pride, reputation, and status, and do not consider your personal interests. You must above all consider the interests of God’s house, and make them your priority. You should be considerate of God’s intentions and above all contemplate whether or not there have been impurities in the performance of your duty, whether you have been devoted, fulfilled your responsibilities, and given it your all, as well as whether or not you have been wholeheartedly thinking about your duty and the work of the church. You must consider these things. If you think about them frequently and figure them out, it will be easier for you to perform your duty well” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Dispositions). “What is your function as created beings? This relates to your practice and duty. You are a created being, and if God gave you the gift of singing, and the house of God arranges for you to sing, then you are to sing well. If you have the gift of preaching the gospel, and the house of God arranges for you to preach the gospel, then you should do it well. If God’s chosen people elect you as a leader, you should take up the commission of leadership, and lead God’s chosen people to eat and drink the words of God, fellowship on the truth, and enter into reality. In doing so, you will have done your duty well. The commission God gives to man is extremely important and meaningful! So, how should you take up this commission and exercise your function? It can be said that this is one of the biggest issues you face, a crucial moment which decides whether you can gain the truth and be perfected by God. You must make a choice. If you act by relying on your own will and recklessly commit misdeeds, not only failing to fulfill God’s commission but also disturbing the work of God’s house, you will inevitably end up being punished, just as Paul was. When God tells you to go do something, what is your function then? It is to do the task well and not mess it up. In doing so, you are rendering service well. No matter what service God tells you to render, you must do it well and obediently. In so doing, you are a person who obeys and submits. If you do not render service obediently, always have personal intentions, and always want to rule like a king, then you are a Satan and an antichrist, and you must be punished. Some people do not understand the truth or pursue it; they only exert effort in their work. What then is their function as a created being? Just to exert effort and labor. Sum up, then, what exactly are the duties created beings in God’s eyes should do and what human likeness they should live out. This pertains to your practice” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Understanding the Truth Can One Know God’s Deeds). After reading God’s words, I understood that to fulfill my duty, I first had to set my intentions straight. I needed to let go of personal pride and status, always put the interests of God’s house first, and stand in the position of a created being to fulfill my duty. God gave me the ability to speak Malay, so when the church assigned me to translation duty, I should have honestly fulfilled it to the best of my ability, without ranking duties, looking up to some and down on others. In God’s house, everyone is doing the duty of a created being. God gives each of us different calibers and strengths, and each of us serves a function in our own position. It’s like a machine: Every part fulfills its function. If even one is missing, the machine won’t run properly. My translation duty might seem unremarkable, but I’m still doing my duty as a created being. Whether a person is precious in God’s eyes depends on whether they are devoted and submissive in their duty, not on what kind of duty they do or what their status is. Understanding God’s intention, I prayed, “Oh God, even though translation duty seems unremarkable, I want to fulfill my function. I want to cooperate harmoniously with my brothers and sisters, learning from their strengths to make up for my weaknesses, and do my small part in the work of spreading the gospel to satisfy You.” After that, I stopped caring what the brothers and sisters thought of me when I did my duty. When I came across words I didn’t know, I would look them up in the dictionary. I studied professional skills diligently to make up for my deficiencies. Gradually, I was able to quiet my heart in doing my duty.

Later, after reading more of God’s words, I understood His intention even more clearly. Almighty God says: “You must have a mindset of submitting to God and pursuing the truth, and have the willingness to proactively submit to God, and you must not oppose Him. Even if God blesses others but does not bless you, or if God obviously enlightens and guides others but does not enlighten and guide you, or if He promotes others but does not promote you, you should not be angry or jealous. Why is this? God acting in this way has its purpose and significance, and He has the freedom to act however He wishes. You must never forget that you are a created being, and you cannot make unreasonable demands of God. If God uses others and does not use you, and does not let you be a leader, then you should just be a follower; it is right for you to just submit to God. It may be that you are unable to take on the church’s work because your caliber falls short of it, or it may be that you simply do not possess this stature. If you were asked to take on the work, and God gave you more enlightenment than others, it would be likely to fuel your arrogant disposition. Therefore, the fact that God has not enlightened you or let you be a leader is a form of protection for you; you must understand God’s painstaking intentions. God absolutely does not harbor ulterior motives toward you; instead, He has painstaking intentions. … If, through seeking the truth, reflecting on yourself, and dissecting yourself, you see that your desire and ambition for status and prestige is still very strong, then you should realize that it is completely reasonable for God to use others and not use you, and that it is also a form of protection for you. Regardless of whether it accords with your notions, and regardless of whether you can accept it, in short, you should adopt the perspective and place of a created being and keep an attitude of submission, or at least the willingness to submit. What does the willingness to submit refer to? It refers to this: “Regardless of what has or has not happened to me, first I must ready my heart, and I must submit to God. This is the reason I ought to have, the practice I ought to engage in, and it is also an attitude I ought to have toward the Creator as a created being.” This is the willingness to submit. Once you have this, it won’t be as difficult to submit to God when things happen to you. Is this not a form of protection for you? (Yes.) With this protection, you will make a lot less mistakes and take a lot less detours; it will prevent you from causing disruptions and disturbances, prevent you from trying to force things, and at the same time prevent you from acting arbitrarily from on high. This prevents you from committing many transgressions, and prevents you from committing many evil deeds that are condemned by God. In this way, when one day you understand the truth, truly know yourself, are able to do your duty normally, and possess many good deeds, your stature will grow bit by bit, and the likelihood of you taking detours or making mistakes will decrease. That is to say, the likelihood of you causing disruptions and disturbances, acting arbitrarily, running riot, doing bad things, and doing evil will decrease. Won’t you then be less likely to be punished in the future? Is this not a good thing? (Yes.) Therefore, no matter what the road ahead is like, and no matter what environments God sets up, you should first prepare a willingness to submit, and let go of your unreasonable demands of God and your notions and imaginings about God. You should first deny yourself, let go of your own notions and imaginings, and have the willingness to submit. These are the thoughts and views that a created being ought to possess, and this is also the attitude that a created being ought to possess toward the Creator” (The Word, Vol. 7. On the Pursuit of the Truth. How to Pursue the Truth (32)). After reading God’s words, I understood that the reason a created being ought to have is to accept and submit to whatever God orchestrates and arranges. Everything God does is appropriate, and its purpose is to save people, allowing us to know ourselves and let go of our personal ambitions and desires. This way, we can be protected by God and avoid walking down the wrong path, transgressing, and being punished. Some brothers and sisters, for example, despite having average caliber, bear a burden in their duty. They are able to show consideration for God’s intentions and cooperate with all their might. They persevere through difficulties and setbacks and can hold fast to their duty. Because they are walking the right path, the Holy Spirit works in them, enlightening and guiding them. No matter what duty you do, the most critical thing is the path you walk, whether you are devoted to your duty, and whether you pursue the truth and a change in disposition. I thought back to when I was a leader. Feeling I had status, I enjoyed being admired. I was holding a position without doing real work. This slowed the church’s gospel work, so potential gospel recipients couldn’t accept God’s work of the last days as early as they could have. If the church hadn’t dismissed me then and had let me continue as a leader, I wouldn’t have reflected on or understood myself, and I would have continued on the wrong path. My transgressions would have kept piling up, and in the end, I could only have been eliminated and punished. Being reassigned to translation duty allowed me to reflect on my incorrect intentions and pursuits. I was able to turn around in time, fulfill my function dutifully, and have more time to quiet myself and focus on life entry. This was God’s protection and salvation of me. After understanding God’s painstaking intentions, I was no longer willing to continue rebelling against God; I wanted to fulfill my translation duty in a down-to-earth way. I prayed, “Oh God, I don’t want to pursue fame, gain, and status anymore. I want to pursue the truth and stand in the position of a created being to fulfill my function, and live up to Your expectations and painstaking intentions.” After that, I devoted my heart to my duty and no longer considered it inferior. Practicing this way, my heart felt so much more liberated. Thank God!