Understand God’s Attitude and Set Aside All Misconceptions of God

Just what sort of God is this God you currently believe in? Have you ever thought about it? When He sees an evil person committing evil acts, does He despise it? (Yes, He does.) What is His attitude when He sees ignorant people making mistakes? (Sorrow.) When He sees people stealing His offerings, what is His attitude? (He despises them.) This is all very clear, right? When God sees someone confused in their belief in Him, who is in no way pursuing the truth, what is God’s attitude? You are not quite sure, are you? “Confusion,” as an attitude, is not a sin, nor does it offend God, and people feel that it is not a sort of major mistake. So, tell Me—what is God’s attitude in this case? (He is unwilling to acknowledge them.) “Unwillingness to acknowledge”—what sort of attitude is this? It means God looks down on these people and scorns them! The way He deals with such people is to give them the cold shoulder. God’s approach is to set them aside, not engaging in any work on them, and this includes the work of enlightenment, illumination, chastening, and discipline. Such people are simply not counted in God’s work. What is God’s attitude toward those who aggravate His disposition and violate His administrative decrees? Extreme loathing! God is tremendously enraged by people who are unrepentant about aggravating His disposition! “Enraged” is no more than a feeling, a mood; it does not correspond to a clear attitude. However, this feeling—this mood—will bring about an outcome for such people: It will fill God with extreme loathing! What is the consequence of this extreme loathing? It is that God will set these people aside and not respond to them for the time being. He will then wait to sort them out “after autumn.” What does this imply? Will these people still have outcomes? God never intended to grant such people any outcome! Therefore, is it not perfectly normal that God does not now respond to such people? (Yes, it is normal.) What should such people be preparing to do? They should prepare to bear the negative consequences of their behavior and of the evil actions they have committed. This is God’s response to such a person. So, now I say clearly to such people: Do not hold on to your delusions any longer, and do not engage in any more wishful thinking. God will not be tolerant of people indefinitely; He will not endure their trespasses or disobedience forever. Some people will say, “I’ve seen a few such people, too, and when they pray, they feel especially touched by God, and then they weep bitterly. Usually they’re also very happy; they seem to have God’s presence and God’s guidance with them.” Do not utter such nonsense! Bitter tears do not necessarily mean one is being touched by God or enjoys God’s presence, let alone God’s guidance. If people anger God, will He still guide them? In short, when God has decided to eliminate and abandon someone, that person’s outcome is already gone. No matter how favorable their feelings when they pray, or how much faith they have in God in their hearts, it is no longer of consequence. The important thing is that God does not need this kind of faith; He has already spurned these people. How to deal with them in the future is also unimportant. The important thing is that in the very instant that these people anger God, their outcomes are set. If God has determined not to save such people, then they will be left behind to be punished. This is God’s attitude.

Though God’s essence contains an element of love, and He is merciful toward each and every person, people have overlooked and forgotten the fact that His essence is one of dignity as well. That He has love does not mean that people can offend Him freely, without inciting in Him feelings or a reaction, nor does the fact that He has mercy mean that He has no principles in how He treats people. God is alive; He genuinely exists. He is neither an imagined puppet nor any other object. Given that He does exist, we should carefully listen to the voice of His heart at all times, pay close attention to His attitude, and come to understand His feelings. We should not use human imaginings to define God, nor should we impose human thoughts or wishes on Him, making God treat people in a human manner based on human imaginings. If you do this, then you are angering God, tempting His wrath, and challenging His dignity! Thus, once you have come to understand the severity of this matter, I urge each and every one of you to be cautious and prudent in your actions. Be cautious and prudent in your speech, as well—with regard to how you treat God, the more cautious and prudent you are, the better! When you do not understand what God’s attitude is, refrain from speaking carelessly, do not be careless in your actions, and do not apply labels casually. Even more importantly, do not come to any arbitrary conclusions. Instead, you should wait and seek; these actions, too, are an expression of fearing God and shunning evil. Above all else, if you can achieve this, and above all else, if you possess this attitude, then God will not blame you for your stupidity, ignorance, and lack of understanding of the reasons behind things. Rather, owing to your attitude of fear of offending God, respect for His intentions, and willingness to obey Him, God will remember you, guide and enlighten you, or tolerate your immaturity and ignorance. Conversely, should your attitude toward Him be irreverent—judging Him as you wish or arbitrarily guessing at and defining His ideas—God will condemn you, discipline you, and even punish you; or, He might offer comment on you. Perhaps this comment will involve your outcome. Therefore, I wish to emphasize once more: Each of you should be cautious and prudent about everything that comes from God. Do not speak carelessly, and do not be careless in your actions. Before you say anything, you should stop and think: Would this action of mine anger God? In doing it, am I revering God? Even in simple matters, you should try to figure these questions out, and spend more time considering them. If you can truly practice according to these principles in all aspects, in all things, at all times, and adopt such an attitude especially when you do not understand something, then God will always guide you and provide you with a path to follow. No matter what sort of show people put on, God sees them quite clearly and plainly, and He will offer an accurate and appropriate evaluation of these displays of yours. After you have undergone the final trial, God will take all of your behavior and sum it up completely in order to determine your outcome. This result will convince every single person beyond the shadow of a doubt. What I would like to tell you here is this: Your every deed, your every action, and your every thought decide your fate.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. How to Know God’s Disposition and the Results His Work Shall Achieve