In God’s work of saving man, God has required us many times to be an honest person and not a crafty one. In the man’s fellowship attached to Summary of Christ’s Preachings and Conversations, it is also said that a crafty person is a devilish person, who can hardly be saved, and that only by being an honest person can one be commended and accepted by God. Although we also know the serious consequences of a crafty person not gaining transformation and also want to get rid of our crafty corrupt nature and pursue to be an honest person, yet because we do not have much knowledge of the states and manifestations of a craft person, many times even when we have expressed them, we cannot realize them. As a result, we do not know our actual states in our real life, much less have the true knowledge of our crafty innate nature. So, today, our transformation in this aspect is still very little, and we are still extremely crafty. If this continues, it will be impossible for us to become an honest person. Here, we will list some of the representative manifestations of a crafty person, hoping that it will help us know our crafty innate nature, pursue the transformation of our nature, and become an honest person whom God is pleased with.

In the following paragraphs, we will look at the various kinds of manifestations of a crafty person according to God’s word and the man’s fellowship attached to Summary of Christ’s Preachings and Conversations.

First, a crafty person does not believe in God’s word. No matter what God says, he does not believe it. He only believes in himself as if he himself were the truth and only he himself were the most reliable. In the man’s fellowship attached to The Summary of Christ’s Preachings and Conversations, it says: “A crafty person is not only crafty toward people but also crafty toward God because his innate nature is crafty. From a crafty person’s attitude toward the word of God, we can see his innate nature: A crafty person always has doubts about the word of God; he does not quite believe the word of God. … No matter what God says, a crafty person always suspects it to be a way of speaking or to be for the sake of wisdom and he will not easily accept and practice it. … Whoever holds a doubting and disbelieving attitude toward the word of God is an out-and-out crafty person.” According to the man’s fellowship, we will list some more specific states. For example, God says: “No matter how people resisted God before, when they understand the purpose of God’s work and can make efforts to satisfy God, God will not remember any of their former sins.” A crafty person thinks that God speaks these words only to comfort people. Since he has done many things of resisting God before and had some transgressions, even if he pursues to be transformed, God will never forgive him. Again, for example, God says: “…ultimately all nations will worship this ordinary person, thank this small person, and obey this small person.” A crafty person does not believe in these words. He thinks that the incarnated flesh of God cannot possibly have such great authority and power and cannot conquer the people all over the universe. A crafty person does not believe in the promises, the blessings, and the pleasant destination that God gives to man. He thinks that such a life cannot be realized at all, and that God only attracts people with these words so as to give them a goal to pursue and arouse their enthusiasm. A crafty person does not believe in God’s words about determining people’s outcomes. He thinks that God only frightens people in order that they all can follow him and dare not betray him. A crafty person does not believe in these words of God: “…all evildoers, all those who do not receive salvation, will be destroyed when the sanctified mankind enters into rest.” He thinks that now the world is so peaceful, technology is so advanced, and the unbelievers are so many, so God cannot destroy all these as he has said. And so on. In brief, a crafty person does not believe in God’s word at all, much less believe that all God’s words will be fulfilled. He always measures everything by his notions and cannot believe unless he sees the facts with his own eyes.

Second, a crafty person cannot accept the searching of God in speaking and doing things, and he acts one way to others’ faces and another behind their backs. God says: “You still do not thoroughly know what crookedness and craftiness are. Every action and behavior that cannot be searched by me and cannot be exposed is crookedness and craftiness.” “Some people behave very well before me, but always do resistant things behind my back. This is a manifestation of crookedness and craftiness….” In the man’s fellowship attached to The Summary of Christ’s Preachings and Conversations, it says: “A crafty person complies in appearance but opposes in heart, consents outwardly but disagrees inwardly, acts one way to others’ faces and another behind their backs, harbors evil intentions, is malicious-hearted, dares to do anything, and says nice words with his lips but plays devil with others behind their backs.” From these words, we see that every action and behavior that cannot be searched by God and cannot be exposed, our acting one way to others’ faces and another behind their backs, saying fair words yet not practicing the truth afterward, and behaving well before God but baring fangs and brandishing claws and daring to do anything before the Spirit, all these are the manifestations of crookedness and craftiness. For example, in treating the work arrangements from above, sometimes we say with our lips that we are willing to accept and obey it and that we have no notions or objections, but in practice, we act our own ways and do the work according to our own will. Sometimes, after we have said some words disobeying or grieving God or done something that goes against the truth, we come before God and know ourselves in bitter weeping, cry out many words of remorse, and make a resolution to start a new life to comfort God’s heart; but after that we still go our own ways and act arbitrarily. Sometimes, before the leader we behave as if we had a great burden for and were very faithful to the work committed by God’s family, were willing to pursue the truth, and particularly paid attention to our living out of humanity, but after the leader leaves, we immediately become entirely different, having no enthusiasm for actively pursuing the truth anymore, starting to perform our duties perfunctorily and deceitfully, and resuming our old living out of humanity. Sometimes, when among the brothers and sisters, we can be honest and well-behaved and have some likeness of a believer in God, but when among the unbelievers, we become different. We say whatever we want to say, do whatever we want to do, and our speeches and manners are no different from the unbelievers’. Besides, the manifestations of crookedness and craftiness also include engaging in improper sexual relations behind people’s backs, secretly spending the money of God’s family, forming a clique and making demolition, judging the brothers and sisters, and so on. We can say that all the conducts that are done one way to others’ faces and another behind their backs and that cannot be brought before God to accept his searching, are the manifestations of crookedness and craftiness.