No parent wants his or her child to suffer in life. But what happens when a child begins to become evil. They sell drugs, they take what is not theirs, they lie, etc.… We still love them, but what can we do to change them? This is what God faces since his creation of mankind. God sees the path of the evil, whether the path ends in suffering on earth as causality and reincarnation proposes, or hell that the western religions prognosticate.

How do we make our children aware of their misconduct when they are little? We often punish them with minor inconveniences, like time outs, or taking some of their little pleasures away (television and toys). But what does God do? God also gives us little warnings or inconveniences like illness on our bodies. That heart palpation may be God guiding you.

I will let you know. Ailment of the eye, swelling, dizziness, and

pain are God’s guidance. 3-140 (Book of Prophecy/Ofudesaki)

This is not an unfair punishment for God to give us, a little inconvenience now for a better future, whether it is heaven, or a joyous life on earth. But what happens when these warnings or guidance are ignored by us? More to come……………

What are the criteria for which God holds us responsible? What are the traits and characteristics that will lead us to heaven or a joyous life on earth? In the heaven’s Truth Church (Tenrikyo), we are told to have a pure mind without greed, arrogance, or self love; and conduct our behavior from this mindset. When this occurs, we by the principle of causality guarantee ourselves of a joyous future.

But what happens when we ignore God’s guidance? It’s just a cold, its just indigestion, its just that I’m tired, etc.…… If we do not ponder over the illness, and relegate it as a physical occurrence, we may be ignoring God. If we continue to ignore God’s warnings, God will eventually withdrawal from the individual (no more illness), leaving him or her to continue on the path of future sufferings by the natural law of causality. It is because of his love for his children that God places illness on us. These illnesses are  his  guidance to help us  remove greed, arrogance and self love from our minds.