By Xiaomin
During that time, Sister Wei in my group had difficulty in her duty. After teaching her for a period of time, I saw she still had no progress, so I gradually began to despise her. By comparison, Sister Yang in my group worked with high efficiency and was of benefit to me, so I was willing to perform duty with her. When Sister Wei was transferred to another duty, I calculated in my heart: I should find a partner who can help me perform the duty well. Later, Sister Zheng and Sister Lu came to our group to cooperate with us. Both of them were young and quick thinking. I was so happy because I liked those who had active brains and were of good caliber. Sister Yang, however, compared poorly with these two young sisters; she felt restrained and her performance was affected. When we fellowshiped together, she didn’t utter a word. Gradually, I began to shun her and often talked and laughed with Sister Zheng and Sister Lu, leaving Sister Yang out in the cold. One day, Sister Yang said to me, “Xiaomin, I find you can’t treat people fairly. Now, I understand the feelings of Sister Wei. In the past, you liked to perform duty with me, but since those two young sisters who conform to your intentions came, you come close to them and neglect me. The way in which you treat people isn’t in line with truth. There are lessons that we ought to enter into in this environment, and we should reflect that what thoughts and viewpoints within us are incompatible with God.” The words of Sister Yang woke me up, and only then did I realize that no matter whether I treated others kindly or badly, it contained my own motivations. If someone performed duty well and actively, and could bring benefits to my pride and status, I would be fond of him, while if someone wasn’t of benefit to my work, I would look down on him and didn’t help him when he encountered difficulty. What I lived out was completely the image of Satan.
Later, I read God’s words: “However, I deeply know the impurities in the hearts of each creature, and before I created you, I already knew the unrighteousness that existed deep in human hearts, and I knew all the deception and crookedness in human hearts. So even if there are no traces at all when people do unrighteous things, I still know that the unrighteousness that is kept in your hearts surpasses the richness of all things that I created. Every one of you has ascended to the highest heights of the multitudes; you have ascended to be the ancestors of the multitudes. You are extremely arbitrary, and you are running amok among all of the maggots seeking a peaceful place to devour the maggots that are smaller than you” (“When Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots You Will Regret All the Evil You Have Done” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Has He ever said ‘Mankind is corrupt so it does not matter how I treat them, any arbitrary treatment will do; I do not need to arrange things very well for them.’ Does God think this way? (No.) So has God acted in this way? (No.) On the contrary, God’s treatment of each and every person is earnest and responsible, more responsible even than you are to yourself. Is this not so? God does not speak idly, neither does He stand on high putting on airs nor does He make do with fooling people. Instead He is honestly and silently doing the things He Himself needs to do. These things bring blessings, peace and joy to man, they bring man peacefully and happily before the sight of God and into His family and they bring to man the right reason, right thinking, right judgment and the right frame of mind they need to come before God and receive God’s salvation” (“God Himself, the Unique VI”). From God’s words, I saw His will for man and that His treatment of each and every of us is genuine and more responsible even than we are to ourselves. In God’s eyes, there is no difference in rank among us. He doesn’t reject us though we are hard to save. Regardless of how numb we are, He works within us all the time, orchestrates the environment in a practical way, and practically guides us with His words. By contrast, Satan uses the status to categorize man, so there are different ranks among man. People in high positions will receive good treatments, while the low-class will be snubbed. Living by Satan’s viewpoints, I also pursued fame and status and treated others in this way. I was fond of those who could bring benefits to my reputation and status and disliked and rejected those who were not of benefit to me. There is no principle of the truth in my conduct and behavior, and I was actually manifesting Satan and dishonoring God’s name. Having known these, I came before God and prayed to Him, “Oh God! Thank You for leading me and allowing me to see Your essence of goodness and beauty and Satan’s sordid ugliness. Oh God, I am willing to repent genuinely and no longer live by Satan’s poison. Whether the states of brothers and sisters are good or bad, I will no longer look down on them in a condescending attitude but will help and support them with love.” After understanding God’s earnest intention in saving man, I then had a heart-to-heart talk with Sister Yang. Since then, we could treat and help each other with love. I no longer looked down on others or pursued to get ahead, show myself off, or protect my pride and status but only pursued to do my duty honestly.
I read the words of God: “the truth is the most real of life’s aphorisms, and the highest of such aphorisms among all mankind. Because it is the requirement that God makes of man, and is the work personally done by God, thus it is called life’s aphorism. It is not an aphorism summed up from something, nor is it a famous quote from a great figure; instead, it is the utterance to mankind from the Master of the heavens and earth and all things, and not some words summed up by man, but the inherent life of God. And so it is called the highest of all life’s aphorisms” (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “After experiencing to a certain point, a person’s life views, significance of existence, and foundation of existence will completely transform. That is, you will be born again, and become a completely different person. This is incredible! This is a big transformation; it is a transformation that turns everything upside down. You will feel that fame, profit, position, wealth, pleasures, and glory of the world don’t matter and that you are able to effortlessly let go of them. This is a person in the likeness of a human being. Those who are ultimately made complete will be a group like this. They will live for truth, for God, and for righteousness. This is the likeness of a person” (“Understanding Commonalities and Differences in Human Nature” in Records of Christ’s Talks). We were created by God. Only God’s word is most beneficial to us and is what we should obey and practice. Only God’s word can help us overcome Satan’s influence of darkness and break from its fooling, while every famous saying in society is Satan’s poison and represents Satan’s outlook on things, and if we live by these poisons, we will live more and more painfully, to the extent of being devoured by Satan. In my experiences, I have truly appreciated God’s holiness, beauty, and goodness. That He asks us to pursue the truth and throw off Satan’s poisons is truly His salvation to us. Only when we seek the truth and live by it instead of living by the philosophy and views on existence of Satan, can we live out the likeness of a real man and lead a true human life.
The End.
