God’s Salvation: No Longer Be a Greedy Craftsman

God’s Salvation: No Longer Be a Greedy Craftsman

April 2, 2018

By Yingmu

Trapped in Interest, Drifting With the Tide

Li Quan, with the intention of learning a craft to make a living, started as an apprentice under Master Chen who was engaged in jewelry processing. At first, Li Quan noticed that his master and the fraternity tried every possible means to play tricks in weight or price of customers’ jewelry and gained profits from them in order to make more money. These scenes really opened his eyes.

One day, an old woman from the countryside came with a gold ring and asked Li Quan’s master to process it. The master scaled the ring, the weight of which showed 7.5 grams. But the master told the woman that it only scaled 7 grams. At the scene, Li Quan asked his master confusedly, “Doesn’t her ring scale 7.5 grams? Why do you tell her that it only scales 7 grams?” The master gave Li Quan a clap on the hand, winked at him, and said in a low voice, “Stop talking now. I’ll tell you later.” From his master’s words and actions, Li Quan realized that there must be an underhanded activity on this matter. After the customer left, the master said to Li Quan seriously, “When we scale customers’ jewelry, we must understate the weight to them. You know, the jewelry can wear down when it is processed; in addition, we treat the customers to tea or cigarettes, all the expenses of which need to be counted.” Hearing what his master said, Li Quan suddenly understood, thinking, “You have made the processing charge from the woman, but you still told the lie. Were you not cheating her?” Later, Li Quan also found his master used the secret and underhanded methods to steal the customers’ gold. For example: When customers came for the process of their gold, the master knew that their gold was pure after evaluation, but he purposely told them the quality of their gold was average and then replaced all or part of their gold with the average. Though Li Quan disapproved of his master’s action, he dared not say anything. When Li Quan visited the fraternity, he found they were also using the same kinds of means to cheat customers as his master did. At that moment, Li Quan sighed with emotion, “The world is much the same everywhere.” However, as time flew, he was gradually accustomed to these matters that happened around him.

A few years later, Li Quan opened up a jewelry processing shop. In order to win customers’ trust, Li Quan did business honestly instead of cheating customers like his master and the fraternity. After a period of operation, Li Quan had stable customers and won their trust because of his honesty. But he found that if he did business honestly, he could only make the processing charge, which could only maintain the basic living expense of his family. Li Quan couldn’t help remembering the scenes that his master and the fraternity did business. He thought: They all have made much money by playing tricks. Though they don’t use proper means to make money, yet they all have lived in nice houses and led rich lives. By contrast, four members of my family are still living in this 20-odd-square meter bungalow, which was used as both shop front and living room. It is very inconvenient to us. If I keep doing business honestly, then when shall we live a rich life? As the saying goes, “All businessmen are unscrupulous;” if I don’t play some tricks in business, how can I make more money? At the thought of this, Li Quan couldn’t resist the temptation. He intended to make money with the means that his master had taught him and that he witnessed from the fraternity. So, when customers came to his shop, he first observed their speech and behavior: If the customer looked mindful of personal interest, he wouldn’t dare to play tricks; but if the customer looked generous and easy-going, he would employ devious means.

Once, a customer came to Li Quan’s shop to process gold. Through observation, Li Quan felt this customer was easy-going, so he understated the weight of the gold after scaling it. In the process, Li Quan began to hunt for a chance to secretly remain the part that was not told the customer. As he was going to play the trick under the customer’s nose, he was nervous and afraid, breaking into a cold sweat. He was thinking how to remain it secretly, and also guarding against the customer. In the beginning, he hesitated somewhat: Forget it this time! If my trick was discovered by the customer so that I had a bad reputation, how shall I do business in the following days? Besides, since the customer trusts me so much and takes her gold to my shop to process, am I too lacking in conscience if I cheat her like this? But at the thought of his 20-square-meter room and the slim processing charge he earned and how his master and the fraternity also did in such a deceitful way, he decided to just remain less of the customer’s gold. After several rounds of battle, Li Quan secretly remained the part that he hadn’t told the customer when the customer was not watching. When Li Quan got the money, the joy in his heart prevailed over the condemnation of conscience. He couldn’t help laughing up his sleeve: If I make money in this way for several years, my dream of living a rich life will soon be realized.

After the first “success,” Li Quan became bold in business. In order to make more money, he accepted all that his master and the fraternity did, and applied them to his own business. Sometimes, when customers had doubt about their jewelry’s weight, Li Quan would use the professional words to deal with them. For example: “The jewelry that has been worn can wear down,” “Customers may forget the original weight of their jewelry,” “Perhaps the jewelry was underweight when it was previously processed,” and so on. In a word, all that had been done was to cheat customers’ money into his own pocket. Seeing there was more and more money in his hand, Li Quan’s previous fear and sense of condemnation gradually disappeared. Instead, he felt making money by playing tricks was his capability. Sometimes, uneasiness flashed through his mind. But when he thought that the fraternity all did the same, he believed: It is impossible not to play tricks in business; moreover, my family need money to live a rich life and my children need it to go to school. Thinking of this, the slightest pity in Li Quan’s heart faded away.

Willing to Be an Honest Person Under the Guidance of God’s Word

Later, Li Quan accepted God’s kingdom gospel. At a gathering, he read a passage of God’s word: “You ought to know that God likes an honest man. God has the substance of faithfulness, and so His word can always be trusted. Furthermore, His actions are faultless and unquestionable. This is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him. Honesty means to give your heart to God; never to play Him false in anything; to be open with Him in all things, never hiding the truth; never to do that which deceives those above and deludes those below; and never to do that which merely ingratiates yourself with God. In short, to be honest is to refrain from impurity in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man.” Pondering over God’s word, Li Quan came to understand: God’s substance is faithful; He likes honest people and requires that we be honest in speaking or acting; whatever we say or do should be true; we shouldn’t deceive God or people. Li Quan began to reflect all that he did in business. When customers came to have their jewelry processed, he observed them and then defrauded them of their gold for his own interests. When customers doubted the gold’s weight, he would use professional words to blind and coax them, keeping them from seeing through his tricks. Li Quan thought: Weren’t my actions deception? Since I have believed in God, and since God detests this cunning and deceitful behavior, I should be an honest person based on God’s word, not cheating God or people. Therefore, Li Quan prayed to God, “O God! I’m willing to practice being an honest man according to Your word. From now on I’m going to do business honestly and make my practice fit the reality. I will no longer go after petty advantage from customers. May You lead me!”

It Is Not Easy to Reject Temptation That Came

Soon after, a regular customer took many rings, bracelets, and necklaces to Li Quan’s shop. The customer said, “Master Li, please help me handle the gold jewelry, because my family need money to build a house.” Li Quan saw so much jewelry, which scaled over 350 grams (totaling about one hundred thousand Chinese yuan according to the price at that time). Looking at the jewelry, Li Quan produced a greedy desire again, thinking: This is a big customer; as long as I play tricks in weight, I can easily make several hundred Chinese yuan and it is hard to be discovered. Just then, Li Quan thought that he had believed in God, who likes honest people, and that he had prayed to God for no longer engaging in deception. But he had another thought: I meet such a big customer this time; missing this chance means missing several hundred Chinese yuan. Li Quan began to get himself in a fix about what to do. Just when he didn’t know how to make a choice, he thought of a happy medium: I can make the money this time, and next time I begin to practice being an honest person. Then, Li Quan scaled three grams less than the actual weight, which brought him six or seven hundred Chinese yuan at a time, but the customer didn’t notice anything. When Li Quan made the extra money, apart from happiness, he felt condemnation in his heart, because he didn’t practice God’s word but still deceived God. Afterward, in order to thank Li Quan, the customer paid extra two hundred Chinese yuan to him. Seeing that, Li Quan suffered and felt much rebuked. He thought: The customer trusts me so much that he sells the gold jewelry to me; as long as I sell the gold to the manufacturer, I can pocket the difference, but I still played a trick secretly to make dirty money. However, the customer wasn’t aware of it. I really don’t have any conscience.

One day, Li Quan read God’s word: “There are still many satanic poisons in people’s lives and in their conduct and dealings with others—they are almost without a shred of truth—for example, their life philosophies, their maxims for success, or their ways of doing things. Every person is filled with the poisons of the great red dragon, and they all come from Satan. So, what flows through people’s bones and blood are all things of Satan. Every person who achieves worldly success has his path and secret to success, so isn’t that secret better representative of his nature?”

Through the exposure of God’s word, Li Quan understood: The reason I know God’s requirement of being an honest person but can’t put it into practice is because Satan’s law of survival—“all businessmen are unscrupulous” and “Money is above everything”—has taken root in my heart. This led me to regard deception as a proper commercial way. In order to gain more interest, I tried my utmost to do something against my conscience by playing tricks and even felt being able to make money is a capability. In the past, I was fed up with my master cheating customers. But influenced by the environment, I also gradually lost my conscience and the foundation of being a person, and became more and more crafty and devious. In order to make more money, I didn’t care about customers’ loss. Even though I knew God likes honest people, I still couldn’t practice God’s word. God’s word makes me finally know that there is satanic corrupt disposition in every person; without God’s salvation, I can only become more and more corrupt and degenerate.

Afterward, Li Quan read another passage of God’s word: “If you are truly willing to be perfected by God, then you will have the courage to cast aside your flesh, and will be able to carry out God’s words and not be passive or weak. You will be able to obey all that comes from God, and all of your actions, whether done in public or in private, will be presentable to God. If you are an honest person, and practice the truth in all things, then you will be perfected.” From God’s word, Li Quan came to know: If I want to be an honest person, I should receive God’s salvation, act according to God’s word, do business honestly, and practice the truth of being an honest person. Only then can I satisfy God’s will. Li Quan knew that he didn’t have the strength to overcome sin by himself, so he prayed to God and asked God to examine his heart so that he could practice in conformity with God’s will and requirement.

Practicing the Truth and Making a New Start

One day, an old woman taking a ring came to Li Quan to process it. The old woman said, “Master Li, this ring scales 7.5 grams. Please help me process it into a pair of earrings.” Li Quan received the ring and scaled it, which was nearly 10 grams. He thought: She says this ring only scales 7.5 grams, but actually it scales nearly 10 grams. If I don’t tell her the truth, then I can make extra several hundred Chinese yuan. And she will never know. Besides, she told me the weight by herself, and it’s not that I cheat her intentionally. It should not be deceitful for me to keep the part she didn’t know. But then he thought: No. I’m a believer in God. And God is observing what I am doing. It seems outwardly that she doesn’t know, but God examines the depths of man’s heart. This environment God sets up today is to test whether I can practice being an honest man. I must accept God’s observation, betray my flesh, and practice the truth, no longer deceiving God or people. Then, Li Quan said, “Madam, your ring scales more than 7.5 grams, its weight reaches close to 10 grams.” Hearing his words, the woman was surprised and said, “Maybe I forget. But you’re so kind. If I took this ring to any other shop, I suppose the 2.5 grams would be pocketed.” After the processing, when Li Quan charged her for the processing expense, the woman wanted to give him some more expense out of gratitude, but he declined. The woman happily praised Li Quan for his honesty. At that moment, though Li Quan didn’t make so much money as before, he felt very secure and liberated in his heart. He knew: It is not that he is kind, but rather, it is the result achieved by God’s word, which makes him practice the truth and be an honest man this time.

After this experience, Li Quan had more faith in practicing being an honest person. From then on, whenever customers sell jewelry to Li Quan or have their jewelry processed, Li Quan will tell them the actual weight or price. One day, a customer with a ring came to Li Quan to have it processed, Li Quan received the ring and found there was another ring within it. Li Quan thought that he should accept God’s observation and be an honest person, so he returned the ring to the customer. The customer said in delight, “I’m fortunate to come to your shop; if I went to any other shop, this ring would definitely be pocketed.” There were several times when a customer taking jewelry came to Li Quan for processing. She bought some more gold to add to it. When she paid the money, she would give him excessive money for the charge, but Li Quan returned the excesses to her. The customer said with emotion, “No wonder my friends all say I should come to your shop to process jewelry. You’re really an honest person….” Afterward, this customer introduced her other friends to Li Quan’s shop to process jewelry. Like this, Li Quan gained acceptance from more customers. Since then, his regular customers have brought more and more new customers to his shop, and his business becomes better and better.

Under the leading of God’s word step by step, Li Quan tastes the happiness of being an honest person. When he just puts a little truth into practice, he gains God’s blessing. Through such experiences, he feels that it is crucial to be an honest person, which brings him peace, security, relaxation and liberation. Being a person like this is really great.

Source The Internet

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