Pondering Questions
What is meant by differing weights? How should we understand God's abhorrence of differing weights?
What does double standard refer to? Where do we exhibit double standards? Please provide specific examples.
Why do some people find serving God arduous and become burnt out? What are the specific manifestations of their double standards?
What is the root cause of all human problems? What is the key to solving these problems?
Introduction
During this period of studying Proverbs, you must have become a little wiser, lived a little better, gotten angry less, and become happier. How wonderful it would be if everyone had the knowledge of how to live well! Unfortunately, many people only have the knowledge of how to inflict numerous ailments upon themselves; they simply do not know how to be healthy, happy, and joyful.
People often say to me, If you encountered such a thing, you would be just as miserable as I am. Actually, I feel miserable seeing them live like that. If I were them, I definitely would not live like that; only a fool would be like them. People become so self-righteous to the point of thinking everyone else is as foolish as they are. Those who interact with me often know that it is quite difficult to make me unhappy or upset. People like me, even rather large demons, cannot control me because I have knowledge. It is impossible for others to make me live poorly.
There are not many people who study Proverbs like we do. It would not be an exaggeration to listen to the first chapter again. I am a scientist and expert in studying the matter of living, and I absolutely read the Bible better and more deeply than the average person. If I were to publish these research findings, I would not be upset even if they did not give me the Nobel Prize. As long as someone lives a little better because of my research, and any depression or cancer is healed, I will be happy for it. This is a joy that no one can stop!
Double Standards of Fools
The theme of Proverbs Chapter 20 is: Differing weights are detestable to God. We must ask ourselves if we ourselves often use differing weights. One day, a former subordinate and his wife came to my house for tea. Before we even started drinking tea, I noticed that they were at each other's throats, glaring at each other like frogs. Upon inquiring, I learned that they had been arguing all the way from home to my doorstep, but they pretended to be fine when they came in. However, this pretense could not last long, and soon they were back to glaring at each other, ready to snap at any moment. They both complained to me, saying that the other person used a magnifying glass to look at others' shortcomings but a reducing glass to look at their own.
In reality, it was all small matters. If the husband lost something, the wife blamed him for losing it; if the wife lost something, she still blamed the husband for not helping her keep an eye on it, resulting in the loss. People can shift responsibility to make the other person completely wrong, whether they themselves lost something or the husband lost something, it is always the husband's responsibility, and they are always right.
I can give you an assertion: the anger you vent, the tears you shed, the sins you commit, or the suffering you endure have no glory. Do not think you are someone who can discern good and evil; in fact, you do not even have the qualifications to discern good and evil. Joseph, who was sold into slavery in Egypt, had the qualifications to discern good and evil but did not do so. Yet some of the brothers and sisters among us, I serve you, I am doing it for your good, with no intention of taking advantage of you or selling you into Egypt, and yet you sulk with me, discerning good and evil with me.
One day, I was reproving someone, and halfway through, they smashed a glass in their room. When cleaning up, they did not do a thorough job and walked barefoot on the floor, resulting in a cut on their foot. Who can be blamed for this? They said they were discerning good and evil again. I told them they had no qualifications to discern good and evil; no one was harming them; they were harming themselves. Many people do not even have the qualifications to discern good and evil or even the qualifications to be angry. These things must be changed! Brothers and sisters, I cry out loudly, hoping that you can wake up, live a little better, and treat yourselves a little better.
Many people use differing weights to measure things, without even realizing it themselves, and they all feel that what they say is reasonable. Is this not a case of everyone claiming to be right?
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise (Proverbs 20:1).
What does wine have to do with differing weights? When people drink a little alcohol, their true nature is exposed. Before, in front of others, they were putting on a facade, but after drinking a little, they forget what they are supposed to pretend to be, and the alcohol reveals everything inside them. Before, there was mockery inside, but outwardly they appeared humble; before, there was brawling inside, but outwardly they appeared gentle; before, they were filled with anger, but on the surface, they did quite well. Some pastors and pastors' wives have to appear like pastors and pastors' wives, but after drinking a little alcohol, their persona collapses.
The so-called persona is what a person designs for themselves, the image they want to present to outsiders. In the end, it all collapses; there is no wisdom or knowledge. This is a double standard, differing weights. If you are going to pretend, do not drink, because people tell the truth after drinking. When I was in college, there was a young man who usually seemed like a gentleman. If someone made a comment about a girl, he would correct you. But after drinking, he would criticize other girls himself. The next day, when he sobered up, we told him about it, and he was very embarrassed.
If people do not realize that they are self-righteous and have double standards, it will not only be useless but will also harm their own lives. You think you can deceive people and demons, as if no one knows. In fact, drinking a little alcohol exposes the whole person.
Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but every fool will be quarreling (Proverbs 20:3).
Reflect on whether you are a quarrelsome person. As soon as someone says something, you freak out, cry, and start to rant. Someone told me that they felt bad after talking to their relatives. Both of them are self-righteous, thinking they are right, and after a few words, they start quarreling, immediately ranting and arguing with each other. Where is the honor in that? Every fool will be quarreling. But this does not solve the problem. One thing everyone needs to understand is, what problems have we solved? Crying and鬧鬧ing are useless. Many people are self-righteous and have double standards, often feeling that everyone else is wrong, that even heaven and earth owe them something, and only they are right. But does this solve the problem? Sometimes people are controlled by their emotions.
Once, a two-year-old child was crying in my office. The whole room was filled with crying. She thought I cared about this and wanted to cry for me to see. I am very good at dealing with children's tantrums. I told her, Cry well, don't stop, cry as much as you want, and come find me when you're done. She looked at me every few minutes, but I ignored her and continued to do what I was doing until she was done crying. I asked her if she had thought it through, and she said she had, and she would never cry again when she saw me.
Many people like to quarrel very much, harming themselves, acting recklessly and nonsensically. What are they鬧鬧ing about? What can they gain after鬧鬧ing? I have never understood. Some people have food, drink, money, and a place to live, but they have to鬧鬧, thinking they are right.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out (Proverbs 20:5).
If we do not have an understanding heart, we are ignorant and confused. I am working hard to help you become a person of understanding, to draw out the counsel within you. Turning鬧鬧ing into not鬧鬧ing, hardship into joy, sickness into health is that simple. But it is different in the real estate business. Building a house requires cement, steel bars, and other materials, and after much effort, you may not even make money, and you may not be able to sell the house. But changing people's thoughts is much simpler.
Over the past week, have you cried? Have you鬧鬧ed? Have you talked nonsense? Think about what you are鬧鬧ing about? What are you talking about? Repent quickly! Let us have more counsel, more knowledge, wisdom, intelligence, and joy in our hearts, and less nonsense and crying. Do not think you are doing the right thing; blame yourself for doing the wrong thing in the past few years. Some people refute me after hearing my words, I have no problem; they are the ones who wronged me. My whole life has been ruined by them. They cannot listen to what I say and insist on choosing to be upset, resulting in harming themselves.
Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? (Proverbs 20:6)
People always proclaim the few small things they have done right, thinking they are righteous, but they have done many things wrong. Even if some things are done right, there are still many other things you have not done right!
The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his own life (Proverbs 20:2).
Do not provoke God to anger. You are not in a position to talk about kindness, steadfast love, or being good. All along, it has been a chaotic mess, and you still think you are right. Some people have dizziness, blurred vision, and discomfort. Do you want these things? If you do not want them, can you listen to my advice? We have not done things right. If we become full of anger, we will be uncomfortable. Can we be a little joyful? Please listen to my advice. In terms of age, I may not be older than you, but in terms of knowledge, I am wiser than you. Listen to my advice: learn to correct your bad habits.
If there is something inside us that we cannot touch but must touch, what should we do? I have served people with trypophobia. I first showed them a not-so-dense picture, and they started to tremble all over. I prayed with them, and when they looked again, they were fine. I could not tolerate their condition, so I showed them a denser picture, and they could not handle it again. I prayed with them again, and when they looked again, they were fine. In this way, I kept showing them more and more dense pictures, and soon they were fine. Serving people with arm pain involved having them lift their arm to the painful area, and after prayer, they were healed. There are many testimonies of healing through prayer among us.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must come out of double standards, not using one standard for ourselves and another standard for others, and making ourselves angry for no reason. We must deal with this problem and poke at it. If you are lazy, I will poke at your laziness and make you diligent; if you discern good and evil, I will poke at your discerning good and evil; if you indulge the flesh, I will poke at your indulgence of the flesh; if you love the world, I will make it impossible for you to love it.
Who can say, I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin? (Proverbs 20:9)
No one dares to say that they have been cleansed. What have you cleansed? Your heart is so dirty. People must use God's standards to cleanse their hearts and God's methods to cleanse themselves from sin. We have double standards inside us, so much so that we do not even realize it ourselves. How dirty people are inside! The illnesses you have, the pain and discomfort you experience, can only prove that you are too dirty inside. When you tell your past history with tears in your eyes, it only proves that you still think you are right. In fact, you do not even realize that you have not done things right. I cry out loudly to everyone: become wise, have knowledge. No one can take away the joy inside you. If you did not know how to live before, you must now learn how to live. Getting angry and freaking out is not doing things right. Tell yourself, I must learn to be wise.
Loving God Without Double Standards
A king sitting on the throne of judgment scatters all evil with his eyes (Proverbs 20:8).
Even if people learn how to live, who can decide whether they live well or not? Ultimately, it is about pleasing God. Many people have this illness and that illness and still think they are good. I can only give them a little comfort: Sister, I can see that you have wanted to love God in the past few years, but you do not know how to love. I say this so that she can listen to the rest of what I say. In fact, the root of all human problems is that we do not love God, and loving God becomes very painful. People do not know how to date, do not know how to manage their marriage, and even their own homes are a mess. All of this is because we do not love God. I hope this sister can accept the following sentence: You must change!
I once served a senior pastor of a large church. I asked him how he got cancer. He told me, We pastors work very hard, and we get burnt out. This sentence sounds very strange. I have never found the word burnt out in the Bible. If people have to do something they do not like, will they not get burnt out after doing it? Whenever I play computer games or mahjong, I get burnt out in no time. But those who like to play mahjong can play all day long; those who like to play video games can play for hours without any problems. So people will be willing to pay the price for what they love. People who do what they like will not get burnt out.
I heard the subtext of this pastor's words. He does not love God and feels that serving God is really too hard. It is no wonder that such a person gets brain cancer! He told me that we pastors can only rest one day a week. I told him that I have not rested for a single day since I was 28 years old, and I have not been burnt out because I enjoy what I do every day. When I was in school, I liked to study; when I was working, I liked to work; when I was a Christian, I was very joyful; and when I became a pastor, I was still happy to do it. He was depressed, like: Why am I so tired, but you are so joyful? Then he asked God, why is this so? God wants to ask you! God is not partial at all! If you do not love God, you will feel that serving God is a hard job. People who love God are very joyful when serving God!
I give a word of affirmation to the brothers and sisters in our church: you must love God very much because you have not been burnt out until now! I know that many small group leaders and pastors in other churches do not pay as much as many brothers and sisters in our church, and they often say things that can easily lead to brain cancer. This pastor said, I am responsible for 100 small groups because our small group leaders, in addition to attending services, also lead small groups and come to church for training. I am afraid that they will get burnt out, so every small group leader has to be replaced every three years. I told him that the brothers and sisters in our church meet every day from Monday to Sunday, while your small group leaders only meet three times a week. Ordinary Christians in our church pay more than the small group leaders in your church, but how come we have not been burnt out? Because we love God!
Differing weights and differing measures— the Lord detests them both. (Proverbs 20:10)
They feel they have cleansed their hearts and sins, and that they are saved, yet unknowingly, they are using differing weights. They are perfunctory in their service, but diligent when it comes to taking vacations and traveling! Many brothers and sisters in the church are not healed of their diseases, but who cares? How will they account for this to God? They do not know why they are sick and even ask God, Why is this happening? It is because they are using differing weights and differing measures. They expect one standard when being served, but use another when serving others. They want God to hold them to one standard, yet they use a different standard when serving others—a double standard.
Their customer service is a mess. When someone needs help, they say, I'm busy. But when they need help, God might say, Little one, I'm busy too. All of man's tragedies are self-inflicted, so we must change! It is like the strained relationship between a daughter-in-law and her parents-in-law because the parents-in-law had one set of standards when they were daughters-in-law, but changed their standards when they became parents-in-law themselves.
One must never invite God's wrath. If one pleases God, one will have health and joy! God's pleasure in you is certain if you have a consistent set of weights within you, never differing ones. If one always thinks they are indebted to others, how can they rage? If one always thinks they are not serving enough, what is there to be anxious about? Everyone must change and emulate me. In my sphere of service, I always tell people to come to me if they have any issues! If no one comes to me, I even get angry with them because it is my service, my responsibility. If our cell group leaders or pastoral district leaders do not know how to serve, I tell them to bring everyone to me, and I will help them serve together.
Therefore, I encourage our cell group leaders to serve with the heart of a father and mother. Treat others as you wish to be treated; treat God as you wish to be treated! If I call upon God, He will surely say, I am here, because when people call upon me, I always say, I am here. When people ask if I have time, I always say yes, warming their hearts. Sometimes, I even compete with the pastoral district leaders to serve.
Those close to me know that I am very good at living life. Many feel that I live a carefree life and never see me busy because I never cover up problems; I solve them as they arise. I used to be a top-notch customer service representative, and our church's customer service is definitely top-notch now because other churches' customer service is terrible. You may not know that I also run a small assistant account; I am my own administrator, and my administration is also top-notch because I work fast and know how to do things.
I do not understand why some churches need to hire administrators. One of our sisters used to work as an administrator in a church, and when I asked, it turned out that the pastor could not make PPTs himself, nor could he create the Sunday bulletins himself, so he needed an administrator to do it. In the past, I handled all these things myself, including every word and picture on the website! These people need to hire administrators because they are lazy.
Ears that hear and eyes that see— the Lord has made them both. (Proverbs 20:12)
Can we train our ears to hear and our eyes to see well? Ears are meant to hear, and eyes are meant to see, but some ears cannot hear, and some eyes cannot see, yet they think they are very capable. What kind of brains do they have? Sometimes, some brothers and sisters advise me to be less intelligent. Are they trying to compete with me? What I do today is what our pastoral district leaders will do in the future; what our pastoral district leaders do today is what our cell group leaders will do in the future. Everyone is growing and striving upwards. You had better inherit ears that hear and eyes that see, because they are made by God.
Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright? (Proverbs 20:11)
Are the actions of children pure and upright? Some love to cry from a young age, while others do not; this is natural. Now we must begin to learn to have knowledge and wisdom, relying on our natural instincts is not very useful. Whether a child cries or not at birth is not very useful; what is useful is learning to fear God and taking God's standards as our own, not taking our own standards as our own.
Some children love to study, while others do not; there is no reasoning with this. I was a good student from a young age. Our school principal often had his children study with me. When you listen to my sharing, you must know one thing: natural abilities are not very useful; it is useful to make people smart no matter what. I was born not loving to cry. When I was very, very young, my mother would wrap me in a quilt and put me aside during meetings, and no one knew we had a child. This natural thing, whether a child cries or not, is not very useful.
Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. (Proverbs 20:13)
We must learn not to love sleep, lest we come to poverty. Open your eyes and be a child with vision.
Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. (Proverbs 20:15)
It is incomparably good when a person has knowledge in their mind and can articulate it clearly!
If you can listen to what I am saying, I can guarantee one thing: you will surely live prosperously. Everyone wants to be blessed and live prosperously; everyone wants to become smart and have money. Then start living a blessed life from today. I declare in Jesus' name that God's promises will be fulfilled in us! Gold and rubies cannot compare. You do not need to love money or treasures; just love God. God is our knowledge, God is our intelligence. If you believe this, I bless you in Jesus' name, you will surely be healthy, do not worry.
Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance. (Proverbs 20:18)
We must learn to have plans, strategies, knowledge, and wisdom. To live well, we must fight spiritual battles, and fighting battles requires strategy. Our brothers and sisters are beginning to know how to fight this spiritual battle. A sister sent me a passage of text when she was very helpless, and I felt very heavy after reading it. She has had a very difficult time these past few years, and I really want to meet her and share with her the work God has done among us.
Five years ago, this sister's father died of cancer. Although the person died, the demon behind the cancer was very evil and ruined everyone in the family one by one. People do not understand spiritual things, and the church she attends does not understand spiritual things either. Therefore, we must know that to fight this spiritual battle, you must have strategy and rely on God's word. If someone in the family is cursed, this demon will continue to be passed down in the family for three to four generations.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, (Exodus 20:5)
The key to solving problems is to love God. Only loving God can solve problems. I am leading everyone on a path of loving God, doing our best to love Him. Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind will solve all the problems of curses. Breaking curses cannot be done by cutting them off. We must learn to plan and know how spiritual things operate and how to fight spiritual battles.
Dealing with Your Own Double Standards
Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales do not please him.(Proverbs 20:10)
We must know that differing weights and double standards are detestable to God. We unknowingly use differing weights, but once we choose to love God, we often feel indebted. Think about why I serve so diligently? Because serving people is like serving God. My English is not good, but I really want to share Chinese Mingding Destiny with those who speak English. No matter what, even if my English is terrible, I am determined to bless them. Do you know why I started promoting English Bible studies and English Sunday services? It is because I often think I am indebted; we owe those who speak English a gospel debt.
I am anxious! English is not our mother tongue, and it is not easy to explain things clearly, but we must do it. Even if I speak poorly and people laugh at my pronunciation, I do not care. One day, we will see a group of English-speaking brothers and sisters raised up to become people who love God and mighty warriors in battle. This is my hope, and God will surely accomplish it because of my faith.
Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider. (Proverbs 20:16)
We must take on a responsibility before God, which is to be a blessing to people who are unrelated to us. We must be a mediator for them, using our strength to bring these people before God. I may not explain it correctly, but this is what I think in my heart.
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth is full of gravel. (Proverbs 20:17)
What you originally thought was useless; only God's word is useful.
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much. (Proverbs 20:19)
A person who gossips thinks they have done something good, but in reality, you should stay away from such a wicked person.
If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out, becoming utter darkness. (Proverbs 20:20)
Many people think it is okay to curse their parents, but it is not. Even if your parents have done something very wrong to you, do not think you are justified because they are your parents. When we were ignorant, our parents raised us, so we must bless and honor them. Some parents may have bad habits, but it is normal to change them out of love for them, there is no problem. Never repay evil with evil; cursing parents is not even repaying evil with evil.
An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end. (Proverbs 20:21)
We think money is important and gaining wealth is important, but that is not a blessing.
Conclusion
Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales do not please him.A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? (Proverbs 20:23-24)
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)
People walk the path they think is right, but they do not understand that they are walking the wrong path. Only the word of the Lord God is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path. We must learn to do as God says no matter what!
A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being. (Proverbs 20:26-27)
If our God wants to deal with the wicked, He will drive the threshing wheel over them. Why should we be wicked? We must leave this evil, these differing weights. If we are wicked, God will surely drive the threshing wheel over us.
The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being. (Proverbs 20:27)
Our spirit must be united with the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God will illuminate the dirt and filth within us.
Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being. (Proverbs 20:30)
We suffer from the attacks of evil spirits and the disturbances of cancer, and we do not live well because these are all God's blows and beatings, so that we can wake up. God wants to save us!
Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure. (Proverbs 20:28)
Our God, our Lord, our King wants to save us and lead us on the path that God wants to lead us on. If you always think you are indebted, why shed tears? If you always think you are indebted, then do the things at hand well and do what is right in God's eyes. May the Spirit of God and our spirit be united to illuminate the filth within us and remove the differing weights within us. Then it will be difficult for you not to live prosperously!
If you have suffered blows and beatings, do not be discouraged. God knows that you love Him, but you lack knowledge. I also know that you really want to love God, but you lack this knowledge. Let's make up for these lessons. The key is not to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord! God will surely sit on His throne and pour out His blessings upon us. Everyone must begin to expect that wonderful things will happen in our lives and that beautiful things will be accomplished in us because we are willing to repent! Amen!