Grains, fruits and vegetables, and all types of nuts—these are all vegetarian foods. They contain nutrients sufficient to satisfy the needs of the human body, even though they are vegetarian foods. However, God did not say: “I will give just these foods to mankind. Let them eat only these things!” God did not stop there, but went on to prepare for mankind many more foods that are even more delicious. What are these foods? They are the various kinds of meat and fish that most of you are able to see and eat. He prepared for man many, many kinds of both meat and fish. Fish live in the water, and the flesh of the fish of the water is different in substance from the flesh of land-dwelling animals, and it can provide man with different nutrients. Fish also have properties that can regulate cold and heat in the human body, which is of great benefit to man. But delicious food must not be eaten to excess. As I have already said, God bestows on mankind the right quantity at the right time, so that people can properly enjoy His bestowal in a normal way and in accordance with the season and time. Now, what kinds of foods are included in the category of poultry? Chicken, quail, pigeon, and so on and so forth. Many people also eat duck and goose. Though God has provided all these kinds of meat, He made certain requirements of His chosen people and put specific limits on their diet during the Age of Law. These days, these limits are based on individual taste and personal interpretation. These various meats provide the human body with diverse nutrients, replenishing protein and iron, enriching the blood, fortifying muscles and bones, and building bodily strength. Regardless of how people cook and eat them, these meats can help people improve the flavor of their food and bolster their appetite, while also satisfying their stomachs. Most importantly, these foods can supply the human body with its daily nutritional needs. This was God’s consideration when He made food ready for mankind. There are vegetables, there is meat—is this not an abundance? But people should understand what God’s intention was when He prepared all foods for mankind. Was it to have mankind overindulge in these foods? What happens when man becomes trapped in attempting to satisfy these material desires? Does he not become over-nourished? Does too much nourishment not afflict the human body in many ways? (Yes.) That is why God apportions the right quantity at the right time and has people enjoy different foods in accordance with different time periods and seasons. For example, after a very hot summer, people accumulate much heat in their bodies, as well as pathogenic dryness and dampness. When autumn arrives, many kinds of fruit ripen, and when people eat these fruits, the dampness in their bodies is expelled. At this time, cattle and sheep have also grown strong, so this is when people should eat more meat for nourishment. By eating various kinds of meat, people’s bodies gain energy and warmth to help them withstand the cold of the winter, and they are able to pass the winter safely and healthily as a result. With utmost care and precision, God controls and coordinates what to provide mankind, and when; and when He will have different things grow, bear fruit, and ripen. This relates to “How God prepares the food man needs in his daily life.” In addition to many kinds of food, God also provides mankind with sources of water. After eating, people still need to drink water. Would fruit alone suffice? People could not live on fruit alone, and besides, there is no fruit in some seasons. So, how can mankind’s water problem be solved? God has solved it by preparing many water sources above and below the ground, including lakes, rivers, and springs. These water sources are potable as long as there is no contamination, and as long as people have not manipulated or damaged them. In other words, in terms of food sources that sustain the lives of mankind’s physical bodies, God has made very precise, very accurate, and very appropriate preparations, so that people’s lives are rich and plentiful and not lacking in anything. This is something that people can feel and see.

Additionally, God created among all things some plants, animals, and various herbs that are specifically meant to heal injuries or treat illness in the human body. What should someone do, for instance, if they are burned, or accidentally scald themselves? Can you just rinse the burn with water? Can you just wrap it up with any old piece of cloth? If you do that, the wound might fill with pus or become infected. If someone gets a fever, for instance, or catches a cold; suffers an injury while working; develops a stomach ailment from eating the wrong thing; or develops certain diseases caused by lifestyle factors or emotional issues, including vascular diseases, psychological conditions, or diseases of the internal organs, then there are corresponding plants that cure their conditions. There are plants that improve blood circulation and remove stagnation, relieve pain, stanch bleeding, provide anesthesia, help heal the skin and return it to a normal condition, and disperse stagnant blood and eliminate toxins from the body—in short, these plants have uses in daily life. People can use them, and they have been prepared by God for the human body in case of need. God allowed man to discover some of them by happenstance, while others were discovered by people whom God chose to do so, or as a result of special phenomena He orchestrated. Following the discovery of these plants, mankind would pass them down, and many people would come to know about them. God’s creation of these plants thus has value and meaning. In summary, these things are all from God, prepared and planted by Him when He created mankind’s living environment. They are essential. Are God’s thought processes more thorough than those of mankind? When you see all that God has done, do you have a sense of God’s practical side? God works in secret. God created all of this when man had not yet come into this world, when He had had no contact with mankind. Everything was done with mankind in mind, for the sake of man’s existence and with thought for their survival, so that mankind may live happily in this rich and plentiful material world that God prepared for them, free from worry about food or clothes, lacking nothing. In such an environment, mankind can continue to reproduce and survive.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VIII