This is a very interesting question. And one I'm prone to severely overthinking if I obsess over it too much. Honestly, I've given a lot of thought to this simply because it's really interesting to think about. As a writer, I love my characters. (Even the villains.) They're my babies, in a way. I love watching them grow, watching them develop, and seeing the journey they take and all its twists and turns.
That said, I am constantly putting them in hideously dangerous, tragic, and oftentimes horrifying situations. My characters get the snot beaten out of them, they go through horribly tragic loss, and are in constant danger of suffering another catastrophe at any given moment. I do this to them because ultimately I still understand what their purpose is. To tell a story that is both engaging and thrilling.
But that said, I'm with them through every bit of it. Not just through the bad times, but the good times as well. I put my characters through hell, so that when the happy times come, it feels all the more rewarding. And I pay just as much attention to those happy wonderful times as I do all the nightmares I force them to endure. The good, the bad, and everything in between. I make sure I'm there for all of it. If they need to heal? I let them heal. If they need something to dream about? I let them dream. And when I know it's time for them to die, they die. Whether it ends well or in absolute tragedy, as long as I'm doing their story justice, that's what ultimately matters to me.
TLDR: I'm the kind of God that is cruel when he needs to be and benevolent at all other times. (Which I guess makes me more of a parent than a God? IDK. That doesn't sound as cool. )