Brazil, a country known for its vibrant energy and passion, has recently been shrouded in grief. The state of Rio Grande do Sul has been devastated by severe floods, with rainfall accumulation in the past 10 days reaching approximately the amount typically seen in three months. Torrential rains have not only caused river flooding and washed away roads and bridges but have also submerged the capital, Porto Alegre, in water. Airports, streets, and football fields are completely inundated. It’s not just Brazil; many countries and regions such as Uruguay, Texas in the United States, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and southern China have also been hit by torrential rain and floods. The raging floods have swallowed countless homes, claimed many precious lives, and turned people’s hopes and dreams into ruins. Moreover, the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as high temperatures, hurricanes, dust storms and other natural disasters worldwide in recent years serves as a warning sign, reminding us that climate change is affecting every corner of the earth at an alarming rate and intensity. Floods ravage cities, turning them into marshlands; hurricanes roar, leveling houses to the ground; dust storms sweep through, turning the sky yellow. Scientists say that human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. These disasters all indicate the ruthless destruction of nature by humans, which will ultimately backfire on us.

God created plains, mountains, rivers, oceans, forests, grasslands, deserts, and other environments, and set boundaries for them, all to provide a beautiful living environment for humanity and all living beings. Furthermore, God appropriately managed aspects like air, temperature, sound, light, and airflow for humanity’s better survival on Earth. God bestowed upon us this beautiful planet and abundant resources for us to live happily on this land, not for us to recklessly destroy and plunder. However, as humans, we fail to appreciate the environment that God has created for us. We disregard the natural laws set by God and, driven by greed, recklessly plunder the Earth’s resources. In pursuit of immediate benefits, we humans recklessly cut down forests, destroy natural vegetation, continuously develop land, transform fertile landscapes fashioned by God into barren wastelands, redirect rivers, flatten mountains, fill in seas, construct factories, and erect towering skyscrapers. The entire Earth is in ruins, and the air and water sources essential for human survival are severely polluted. Additionally, we have released massive amounts of greenhouse gases, destroying the North and South Poles that God created to regulate the Earth’s temperature, resulting in rising global temperatures and accelerating glacier melting and sea-level rise. Extreme weather events have been occurring with increasing frequency, plunging humanity and all living things into catastrophic situations. God’s words say, “In the greater environment, God made all things mutually reinforcing, interdependent, mutually strengthening, mutually counteracting, and coexistent. This is His method and His rule to maintain the survival and existence of all things; in this way, mankind has been able to grow safely and serenely within this living environment, to multiply from one generation to the next, even unto the present day. This is to say, God brings balance to the natural environment. If God were not sovereign and in control, then the environment, even had it still been created by God, would be beyond anyone’s ability to maintain and keep in balance. In some places there is no air, and mankind cannot survive in such places. God will not allow you to go to them. So, do not go beyond the proper limits. This is for mankind’s protection—there are mysteries within. Each aspect of the environment, the length and breadth of the earth, every creature on the earth—both living and dead—were conceived and prepared by God in advance. Why is this thing needed? Why is that thing unnecessary? What is the purpose of having this thing here and why should that thing go there? God already thought through all of these questions, and there is no need for people to think about them. There are some foolish people who think always of moving mountains, but instead of doing that, why not move to the plains? If you do not like mountains, why do you live near them? Is that not foolish? What would happen if you moved that mountain? Hurricanes and huge waves would come and people’s homes would be destroyed. Would this not be folly? People are capable only of destruction. They cannot even maintain the only place they have to live, and yet they want to provide for all things. This is impossible.”

“God allows mankind to manage all things and have lordship over them, but does man do a good job? Man destroys whatever he can. He is not simply unable to keep everything God made for him in its original condition—he has done the opposite and destroyed God’s creation. Mankind has moved the mountains, reclaimed land from the seas, and turned the plains into deserts where no man can live. Yet it is in the desert that man has made industry and built nuclear bases, sowing destruction everywhere. Now rivers are no longer rivers, the sea no longer the sea…. Once mankind has broken the balance of the natural environment and its rules, his day of disaster and death is not far away; it is inevitable. When disaster comes, mankind will know the preciousness of everything God made for him and how important it is to mankind” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VII).

When floods engulf homes, hurricanes devastate cities, dust storms obscure the sky, and scorching heat bakes the earth... can we still remain indifferent? Perhaps we cannot stop the torrential rain, control the hurricanes, revert deserts into fertile land, or restore the ozone layer in the atmosphere... but God can change all of this. However, while God has not yet changed these things, what can we do to improve our living environment? First, we must acknowledge our mistakes and repent to God; second, we must cherish the living environment that God has created for us, cease destruction, and return to God’s teachings. God says, “For man, living in an environment whose winds and rains come in their time is like living in paradise. People do not realize that this is a blessing, but the moment they lose it all, they will see how rare and precious it is. And once it is gone, how would one get it back? What could people do if God were unwilling to create it again? Is there anything you could do? Actually, there is something you can do. It is very simple—when I tell you what it is, you will know immediately that it is feasible. How is it that man has found himself in his current state of existence? Is it because of his greed and destruction? If man ends this destruction, will his living environment not gradually right itself? If God does nothing, if God no longer wishes to do anything for mankind—that is to say, if He does not intervene in this matter—then mankind’s best solution would be to halt all the destruction and allow their living environment to return to its natural state. Putting an end to all this destruction means putting an end to the plunder and devastation of the things God has created. Doing so would allow the environment in which man lives to recover gradually, while failure to do so would result in an ever more odious environment for life whose destruction would quicken with time” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VII).

At this moment, perhaps we can realize that we will pay a painful price for our actions today. Floods, hurricanes, dust storms, and other disasters are not acts of God but rather human-made calamities, the fruits of human greed. We must cease the destruction. However, to achieve this, we must first address the greed deep within human hearts. Yet, on our own, we are unable to do so because humans cannot save themselves. Human wisdom and strength are limited, incapable of fundamentally changing the corrupt dispositions within us. Only God can rescue us from corruption.

So how does God save us? Jesus Christ prophesied long ago, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). “Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth” (John 17:17). These prophecies have now come to pass. The Lord Jesus has already returned and expressed all the truths necessary to save humanity. He is going to rescue us from sin, freeing us from the bonds of various corruptions, and transforming our corrupt dispositions. Eventually, as humans change, so too will the heavens and the earth. All corruption and filth will disappear, everything will return to its original state, and humanity will regain its status as the master of all creation, managing all things according to God’s requirements. Humans and all creation will depend on each other, living together in harmony. At that time, God’s kingdom will fully come to earth, and humans will live with God in a beautiful kingdom. This is God’s ultimate goal.

Finally, we’d like to share a passage from God’s words. Let’s together revel in the beauty of the coming of God’s kingdom. God says, “When the kingdom entirely descends on earth, all people shall recover their original likeness. Thus, God says, “I enjoy from atop My throne, and I live among the stars. The angels offer unto Me new songs and new dances. No longer does their own fragility cause tears to run down their faces. No longer do I hear, before Me, the sound of the angels weeping, and no longer does anyone complain of hardship to Me.” This shows that the day upon which God gains complete glory is the day when man enjoys his rest; people no longer rush about as a result of Satan’s disturbance, the world stops progressing onward, and people live in rest—for the myriad stars in the heavens are renewed, and the sun, moon, stars, and so on, and all the mountains and rivers in heaven and on the earth, are all changed. And because man has changed and God has changed, so, too, will all things change. This is the ultimate aim of God’s management plan, and this is what shall finally be achieved” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Interpretations of the Mysteries of “God’s Words to the Entire Universe”, Chapter 20).