As you walk the path of today, what is the most suitable kind of pursuit? In your pursuit, what kind of person should you see yourself as? You should know how you should approach all that befalls you today, whether it be trials or hardship, or merciless chastisement and cursing. You should give it careful consideration in all cases. Why do I say this? I say it because what befall you today are, after all, short trials that occur over and over again; perhaps you do not consider them very mentally taxing, and so you let things drift, and do not regard them as a precious asset in the pursuit of progress. How careless you are! It turns out you think of this precious asset as a cloud drifting before your eyes; you do not treasure these harsh blows that rain down time and again—blows that are brief, and to you, seemingly soft—but look upon them coolly, not taking them to heart, treating them simply as occasional knocks. You are so arrogant! Toward these fierce attacks, attacks akin to storms that come time and time again, you show only lightheartedness; sometimes you even give a cold smile, revealing your indifference—for you have never thought to yourself why you keep suffering such “misfortunes.” Am I greatly unfair to man? Am I finding fault with you? Though the problems with your mentality might not be as serious as I have described, you have, through your outward composure, long since created a perfect image of your inner world. There is no point in Me telling you that the only thing that is hidden in the depths of your heart is crude invective and barely detectable sadness. Because you feel it so unfair to have suffered such trials, you curse; the trials make you feel the desolation of the world, and because of this, you are filled with melancholy. Instead of viewing these repeated blows and discipline as the very best protection, you see them as the senseless trouble-making of Heaven, or else as suitable retribution upon you. You are so ignorant! You mercilessly confine the good times in the darkness; time after time, you view wonderful trials and discipline as attacks from your enemies. You are incapable of adapting to your environment; and much less are you willing to do so, for you are unwilling to gain anything from this repeated—and, to you, cruel—chastisement. You neither search nor explore, you simply resign yourself to your fate, and accept the place where you are. What seem to you to be savage chastenings have not changed your heart, nor have they taken over your heart; instead, they stab you in the heart. You see this “cruel chastisement” as nothing more than your enemy in this life, and you have gained nothing. You are so self-righteous! Seldom do you believe that you suffer such trials because you are so contemptible; instead, you think yourself so unfortunate, and say that I am always finding fault with you. As of today, how much knowledge do you truly have of what I say and do? Do not think that you are a natural talent, only slightly lower than the heavens but far higher than the earth. You are not smarter than anyone else—and it could even be said that you are more adorably silly than any of the people on earth possessed of reason, for you think so highly of yourself, and have never had a sense of inferiority; it seems that you perceive My actions in the tiniest detail. In fact, you are someone who is fundamentally lacking in reason, for you have no idea of what I will do, and much less are you aware of what I am doing now. Thus do I say that you are not even the equal of an old farmer toiling on the land, a farmer who has not the slightest perception of human life and yet depends on the blessings of Heaven as he cultivates the land. You do not spare a second’s thought to your life, you know nothing of renown, and much less have you any self-knowledge. You are so “elevated”!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Do Not Learn and Remain Ignorant: Are They Not Beasts?