Projecting.

One of the ways that we image the Divine is as an authority figure like the king or lord.
And we project the behavior of the king or lord onto God, i.e. we image God as punitive, even cruel.

In my experience God is never punitive or cruel.
God transcends these things.
God is always patient and kind, forgiving, merciful, and compassionate.

Why would God tell us to be compassionate if He was not compassionate Himself?
Why would God tell us to be non-violent if He was not non-violent Himself?

The Father is another example of projecting our experience of our own fathers onto God, i.e. the dispenser of punishments, harsh and distant, a disciplinarian.

These are subconscious associations with God's Titles.

But it is love that counts.

The mind may be open and full of light, even enlightened, but the center is in the heart.

If you have not love it is nothing.