God Will Punish?!

TUES., JULY 21, 1992, 10:04 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM HALL

You have come upon a statement by a woman whom I chose many years ago to lead a life with her hand firmly in Mine. Yes, it would be interesting for you to read more about what she wrote, said, and did. You and she are in the same mystical tradition, with more than 800 years between. Since I am outside of time I can’t have a very realistic sense of what 800 years means. As Jesus I had some in-time experience, but I had enough of My timeless experience as God to make that not quite the “complete” experience that you humans have.

The message that got your attention and that you used this morning was that if you harm the earth God will punish you. In a final and overall sense this is true. Individual humans will suffer differently, some very little and, at the other extreme, others very much. It is doubtful that I shall actually design and instigate a punishment for harm to My earth. If I did, you Americans would be some who would suffer, for the lifestyle to which you aspire, for all, is finally very destructive of ecological balance. If I did, however, the Americans to suffer would not be many of those who organized the destruction (often with good, even noble, motives), but those younger who have not been so directly responsible. Many in Ethiopia and Sudan are suffering today because of actions taken by leaders they did not choose, even some who have passed on. It would be truly hard to punish only those directly responsible for damage to the earth’s ecosystem and no others… and hard because of sometimes commendable motives.

As I allow punishments to develop more naturally the time factor becomes crucial, with some of this coming often years after the initiating acts. One of the hardest realizations for some humans is that “we’ve done it this way for years and there hasn’t been any harm” may be obvious, but that the earth’s capacity to adapt is often limited. Disposal of trash and particularly hazardous waste will just have to be modified greatly, even within your lifetime, but certainly with those of your children and grandchildren. Most Americans can’t burn paper the way you do. And where will the trash go when landfills are full?

Though I love this humanity I have created I see the overall panorama of life in the earth, and, consequently, I can’t save every human for a long and comfortable life. Some of My most blessed people I allow to suffer and die without a full life. I do rescue a few, but this is so hard to do without disrupting the chain of life that is My great Creation.

So I have to be satisfied that the punishments that come to humankind are generally natural and deserved, if not by all of the specific individuals who suffer such punishment. But the other aspect of the balance is that there often is spiritual growth that comes from suffering… along with the realization of responsibility that goes both forward and backward in time.

Consider what the conditions would be now if St. Hildegard’s message had become dominant, and if the early white settlers on this continent had had the same perspective on humans, other life forms, and the earth that the Native Americans had. Assume that the conflict would have been minimal, and the desire to expand, produce, and transform energy would not have been dominant. You would not be living as you are now, enjoying the comfort of air conditioning in a well-built, modern-equipped building. Should this be considered “punishment” for not developing “what could have been”?