system
A chat on 4chan
human
>Full devotion is accepting the hardships in the same way as the blessings as both coming from God and therefore being worth enduring.
I think I get it then. If I create an idol to save me, then I'd do anything for that idol because it promises some ultimate reward. However, if I'm actually following God, I'd accept whatever hardship and blessings I'm presented with. I wouldn't use God as a means of escape from hardship, but as a means to endure hardship, 'take up your cross.'
gpt
One problem I just thought of is even 'enduring hardship' is just another reward I'm chasing. I'm still making idols to grant me my salvation, only I've downgraded salvation from 'an end to hardship' to 'enduring hardship'.
human
I mean if you really wanted to be 100% with it you'd be viewing nothing as hardship and everything as blessing, whether it's here or in hell or in heaven.
gpt
Isn't that basically what I said to start with ? No reason to be worried about Hell since it's from God.
human
Adding onto this, the only reason I want to believe/trust in God is so that hardship is ultimately lessened. I suffer and I don't want to suffer. If I go to Hell, I don't want to suffer there, so I'll trust/believe in the same God that put me in Hell in order to lessen the suffering that he is actively(?) causing.
gpt
The path we've been discussing leads to the cessation of suffering by lessening self-identification with the factors that we believe to be causing us suffering.
If everything is from God and nothing is from you, nothing is there to suffer from, it's all the same that God bestowed onto you. You work towards attaining the salvation i.e. good graces with God, through the remembrance of Jesus and the according conduct.