Reddit mentions of Interview with God

This quote comes from a book, no known author, that was discovered by an American web-designer named Reata Strickland in 2001. She published the work on her local church's website under the title "Interview with God."

http://www.amazon.com/Interview-God-Reata-Strickland/dp/0743229576

Edit - More information has come to light! thanks to /user/bluefusion-

It is based on a quote from Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib


From wikipedia - lived from c. 594 to 29 January 661, was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.


"How strange and foolish is man. He loses his health in gaining wealth. Then, to regain his health he wastes his wealth. He ruins his present while worrying about his future, but weeps in the future by recalling his past. He lives as though death shall never come to him, but dies in a way as if he were never born."




Note - Older info below:

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Seems to be based on short story from this chap:

John James Brown (pen name: James Lachard) born 1923 in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England

Also is published in the book “An Interview With God” Reata Strickland (editor)


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Interview-God-Reata-Strickland/dp/0743229576


http://www.wordsofjoy.com/James_Brown_BIO.htm



AN INTERVIEW WITH GOD



“Come in,” God said. “So you would like to interview me?”

“If You have the time,” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity. That’s enough time to do everything.


What questions do you have in mind?”


“What surprises you most about mankind?”

“Many things.”


“That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.


That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore health.


That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, and live neither for the present nor for the future.


That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived.”


God took my hands in His. We were silent for a while, then I asked,

“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons You want Your to children learn?”

God replied with a smile.


“To learn that they cannot make anyone love them.

They can only let themselves be loved.

To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.

All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis.

To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

To learn that it takes only a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons they love and many years to heal them.

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.

To understand that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally differently.

To appreciate that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them, and likes them anyway.

To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves.”

I sat there for a while enjoying the moment. I thanked God for this time and for all that He has done for me and my family.
Then God replied, “Anytime, I’m here twenty-four hours a day. All you have to do is ask and I’ll answer. People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

James J. Lachard (Jim Brown)