332 Four Maxims
Man’s love for God is not innate;
it’s only because they fear chastisement.
Who was born loving God?
Who treats God as they treat their heart?
God’s maxim for the world is this:
No man truly loves God.
God can love or hate man forever
for God will persevere.
Man blows hot and cold toward God,
so God’s other maxim is this:
Man lacks perseverance
and cannot fulfill God’s heart.
God does not know why man today
cannot abide by their duty.
They do not even know
the weight of their stature.
So man still fools God,
as if all His work is in vain,
and His words are just far-off echoes,
where no one can discern the source.
God uses this as a foundation
for His third maxim:
People do not know God,
for they do not see Him.
God’s words make man cry out.
They gripe that He is heartless,
as if they search for God’s true “love,”
but they can’t find it in His stern words.
They lose hope and complain about God.
So God’s fourth maxim for humans is this:
People are barely obedient to God,
thus they always hate Him.
Man is speechless when God makes demands.
They never thought a kind, good-natured God
could say such heartless words.
God then sees their hate for Him grow.
They complain and curse Heaven,
yet they won’t curse themselves.
Their love for themselves
is much too great.
God sums up the meaning of life:
Man’s life is anguished and empty
because they love themselves too much.
They bring their own ruin
because of their hate for God.
Adapted from God’s Words to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh