Filial Attendance: The Way of Filial Piety of Holy Sons and Daughters of God - Elio Roman
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Filial Attendance: The Way of Filial Piety of Holy Sons and Daughters of God - Elio Roman |
The core of God's nature is His Heart of love. The impulse from the heart of love is to live for the sake of others. God lives for the sake of others and for the sake of everything in the universe. All creation embodies God's nature. The laws of the universe also embody God's nature of living for the sake of others. A life of filial attendance to God and True Parents is the foundation for living a public life. In becoming one with the Heart of God, we inherit the spirit and the accompanying impulse of love to live for the sake of others. We inherit God's heart and receive His love vertically and then multiply it horizontally. We inherit from God the impulse to live for the sake of others and as His representatives to live a public life. The expansion of the principle of living for the sake of others is to live a public life, that is, to live for the whole purpose. Filial sons and daughters who are God's representatives live a public life.
As we live for the sake of God vertically and for the sake of others horizontally we become heir to all blessings based on the public law of living for the sake of others This is the most profound law of the universe. It originates in God and permeates everything in the cosmos. Oriental philosophy speaks of the Tao. The way of the Tao is the way of the public law centering on true love, which is the way of living for the sake of others. This law is everywhere and in everything. Everything in the cosmos is an embodiment of truth and as such everything embodies the cosmic law of living for the sake of others and living a public life.
Everything was created as an embodiment of the laws of love. Every being and every thing in the universe has an individual purpose and a whole purpose. The individual purpose is directed at living for the sake of the self, which is preserving, maintaining and developing itself. The purpose of the whole is directed towards the preservation, strengthening, and development of the whole. Living a public life is living for the sake of the whole purpose as representatives of God and True Parents.
Filial sons and daughters live a whole purposed public life by living for the sake of their parents, their family and their surroundings. Patriots live a whole purposed public life by living for the sake of their sovereign and their nation. Saints live a whole purposed public life by living for the sake of the world. Holy sons and daughters of God live a whole purposed public life by living for the sake of God and the cosmos.
Adam and Eve during their growing period were keeping God's commandment with absolute faith and absolute obedience. They where in the process of inheriting God's heart of absolute love. Using computer terminology Adam and Eve were downloading God. The archangel Lucifer introduced a new law compounding the impulse to live their lives centered on their individual purpose. This caused the developmental arrest of their divine character. They also downloaded Satan's selfish self-centered motivation and purpose. This is the law of sin. It can be said that Satan infected people with a virus of sin. In essence he reprogrammed people with a new law of sin of selfishness and self-centeredness. These are opposite the laws of true love and public life. Through this virus and reprogramming Satan became a new creator and new father of mankind. Instead of helping God with the creation, Lucifer altered the creation by introducing the principles of the law of sin. The law of sin is opposed to the law of living for the sake of others. The law of living for the sake of others develops into living a public life. Satan's law develops in a negative direction of extreme selfishness, inhumanness, and ultimately self and societal destruction. The new self-centered law became embodied in Adam and Eve, and destroyed the original order of the family and of society.
It is impossible for human beings to remove the virus of the law of self-centeredness and sin from themselves. We need the messiah. We need True Parents. Fallen natures rooted in sin are very deep and are an integral part of our being. The satanic root runs deep. We center our lives on the principle of selfishness and egoism. We cannot see or live beyond it. It is part of our very being. However, the original law of God still remains within human beings and can most easily be recognized in parental love. Sadly, the parental heart of true parents in human beings has been missing on earth since the fall of Adam and Eve.
Throughout history there have been a few individuals born on earth whose heart has been more closely centered on the original root and the public law of living for the sake of others. These individuals have been the providential figures, the great saints and the great teachers of mankind. However, for the rest of us, while these laws abide somewhere in our hearts and minds, they are relatively dormant and undeveloped, as they are clouded and dominated by the selfish, self centered laws of sin.
To live the way of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience has been the way of restoration of the laws of God. However, our faith only reaches the level of average faith at best. Our obedience is relative, as is our love. The way of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience is the way God and the laws of the universe shape our lives toward the restoration of true love and the way of the original ideal. For the great providential figures, saints and teachers, the way of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience has been a more natural way of life. The way of absolute faith, love and obedience has been a special restorational aspect of consciousness that fallen man has needed because he has not been able to see the way of the laws of God, the way of true love. St. Paul said, "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (I Cor. 13:9-10 KJV) "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (I Cor. 13:12 KJV)
The universe blesses those who live in accord with the public law by living a public life. They become central beings, central families, central tribes and central nations.
Development and maturity of one's divine character is the result of living a public life. Filial sons and daughters in the family, patriots in the nation, saints in the world, and holy sons and daughters of the cosmos are all centered on the principles of living for the sake of others by living a whole purposed public life. Confucius in a similar teaching said, "Filial piety commences with service to parents; it proceeds with service to the sovereign; it is completed by the establishment of one's own personality."1
He said that the son who is filial to his parents matures and becomes a "superior man" (chun tzu). Further development occurs where the "superior man" develops into a "complete man" (ch'eng jen). The "complete man" matures to where he could become ruler of a state, capable of ruling with compassion. The "complete" man then matures into a sage or saint who would be concerned with all humankind and not any particular group, race or nation. One's true personality in the image and likeness of God emerges as one progresses to higher stages of public life. True Parents include one higher stage of development than Confucius. That level is the perfection stage where the saint develops into a divine (holy) son and daughter of God, that is, a filial son and daughter of God living a public life for the sake of God and the cosmos.
We will one day appear before the court of the cosmos and we will be judged according the public law of living for the sake of others. There is no exception. We will receive the verdict of blessings or punishment. Our descendents receive the inheritance of the blessings and/or punishment and indemnity based on how we have lived our lives in accord with the public laws of the cosmos.
Where does the path of true life lead? We must establish as a public law the heart to live for the sake of others. This law is everlasting because it is a principle that is true wherever you go. It was also true in the past, it is true in the present, and it will be true in the future, that you should live for the sake of others. If God were to appear in front of the saints and sages like Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and Confucius, and ask them, "What is your opinion with regard to this?" Would they answer, "That law is right." or would they answer, "That law is wrong." Of course, they will say that it is right. It is the law of the universe. It is a law that enables people to live truthfully. Such is the true path laid out before you. (133-16, 1984.7.1)
What kind of person is God? God is the master and center of the public law of the universe. One thing can be said: God exists solely for the sake of others. He is the supreme public person in the universe. God is the creator and the originator of the two basic principles of service and sacrifice. Let us call these distinct characteristics A-type blood. If both your parents have A-type blood, most likely you will, too. In the same way, if we are created by God, then His principles must become ours as well.
Since God is proclaiming that way of life, everything should come under that way of life as well. That's the way God designed the universe and anything that goes against that principle will receive pain. When we establish give and take with God by living that way, it brings harmony and energy to life. Whoever is linked to that kind of give and take shall enjoy eternal life because there is no end to it. Why do we have to live the life of sacrifice and service? Ultimately, it is in order to have give and take with God and plug into His energy.
Why should we become one with God? By doing so you will enjoy eternal life. God is the source of power; He is the highest, so by uniting with Him you become highest as well. God is absolute. By uniting with Him you also become absolute, and in that unity you will be protected because no one else will have the power to harm you. In unity with God, His power and energy become your power and energy and you become a child in His image. There are all kinds of love, but none better than the love of God, which shines like the sun. You then become the recipient of that love. (God's Will -- 501, 1979.9.30)
From the viewpoint of the providence for restoration, if you think that the present time is the time that God's final will is to be expressed, then you should reflect upon yourselves whether you are living each moment seriously. If you never even once stood in a serious position or never had even one serious moment, you will be ashamed of yourselves before God.
When you are close to death, when you reflect upon your life to this point, ask yourself this question: "How well have I kept the public laws of heaven and earth, and how well have I lived a life in a position that heaven and earth can approve of publicly?" If you conclude that your life consists of goodness not exceeding 60 percent, you will be heading for hell.
Although your body is limited, your mind should have a history of struggle, in which you were not willing to be limited. Before heaven and earth, before history and the present, and before your descendants, you should be able to proclaim, "I am liberated; so all people should inherit my tradition." If you did not have such a moment, you are to go to hell without mercy. (19-27, 1967.12.10)
God's absolute true love does not instill a desire to have one's partner exist for one's own sake. Rather, true love's essence is giving, living for the sake of others and for the sake of the whole. (Messages of Peace 13 -- 194, 2007.3.17)
To resemble God, the original Being of true love, we should become the owners of true love. We should embody true love and practice it in order to develop our character. This is the way each of us can become true parents. What is a life of true love? True love is the spirit of public service. It brings the peace that is at the root of happiness. Selfish love is a mask of the desire to have one's partner exist for one's own sake; true love is free from that corruption. Rather, its essence is to give, to live for the sake of others and for the sake of the whole. True love gives, forgets that it has given, and continues to give without ceasing. (Messages of Peace 1 -- 22, 2005.9.12)
All citizens of Cheon Il Guk will provide funds for the well being and peace of humanity, not by taxation but by voluntary contributions. They will demonstrate the model of offering the first three tenths of their income for public purposes. This cannot be an imposed tax; it has to be a gift that citizens offer willingly to Heaven with joyful hearts. (Messages of Peace 5 -- 76, 2006.6.13)
While living on earth, your every action and movement is recorded on your spirit self, without exception, with the public laws of heaven as the standard. Accordingly, you will enter the spirit world in the form of your spirit self, which has recorded your life on earth with 100 percent accuracy. Your spirit will show plainly whether you have led a ripe life of goodness, or a wormy, rotten life of sinfulness.
What this means is that God will not judge you; you will be your own judge. If you are aware of this astonishing rule from Heaven, will you spend the remaining days of your life on earth in selfishness and immorality, succumbing to all the temptations of Satan and in pursuit of nothing but pleasure? No, rather you will abstain from injuring and scarring your spirit bodies, even at the risk of your earthly life. Please bear this truth in mind: whether you are bound for heaven or for hell is determined by your thoughts, words and deeds in each moment. (Messages of Peace 8 -- 107, 2006.10.14)
The kingdom of heaven is a natural world where all people live for the sake of one another. Consequently, antagonism and jealousy cannot be found anywhere in that world. It is a world that is not governed by money, position or power. There, the success of every person represents the success of the whole, the likes of every person represent the likes of the whole, and the joy of every person represents the joy of the whole. (Messages of Peace 7 -- 91, 2006.8.31)
What are the laws of heaven? They are to promote public righteousness. Private matters belong to Satan, and public matters belong to God. Go the way of public righteousness. Even if everyone opposes you on this course, if you are not disturbed by the opposition but go the way of hardship with vitality, you will become a person of heaven who will welcome spring. (47-270, 1971.8.29)
God is indeed a public God. (God's Will -- 533, 1981.2.22)
My slogan is, "Let us kick out the devil!" Satan is the villain who has made countless people suffer throughout history. Let us take the position of a prosecutor ourselves, relentlessly accusing Satan of all the evil deeds that he has committed in front of God, the judge of justice and righteousness. We should become the prosecutor and accuse the devil, Satan. Then, will Satan surrender to the prosecutor or not? There will be no attorney available to him, but to humankind there will be one.
Jesus is working as an attorney in the spirit world. As such, he would say, "This person performed good deeds believing in my name. Heavenly Father, is it not true, based on an agreement made between You and the devil, that the devil cannot take someone who strove to be good, someone who observed the public laws? Is that not true?" Then God would say, "Yes, it is true". (149-98, 1986.11.17)
Loyalty and filial piety are part and parcel of leading a public life. (64-75, 1972.10.24)
There is one axis in history: the axis that links the hearts of the heavenly child, the saint, the patriot, and the filial child. This axis is the standard of sacrifice for the whole, set on all levels filial child, patriot, saint and heavenly child. No matter how ambitious you are, you cannot reach the goal unless you go through these stages. (God's Will -- 567, 1981.5.1)
So what must be done to make you patriots, virtuous women, and filial sons and daughters of the Unification Church? You have to be separated. Do you think that one year is enough to do this? There is a saying that patriots are born to be so. If they are born with this kind of nature, then they have to remain faithful to their cause until they die. Then what must you do? The only way is to go along the path of suffering. That is the closest, shortest way. What is the shortest way to become patriots, virtuous women and filial sons and daughters? The only way is to live a public life with tears. I have no other recourse but to make you walk the path of hardship with tears. (155-259, 1965.10.31)
So what is the more public way of life? We need certain rules and norms to determine this. The first standard is unchanging quality; then, uniqueness, and finally, durability. Public things must be unchanging, unique, and everlasting. So when you are genuinely public-minded, you have room for the individual, family, nation and world.
"Absolutely public" means "absolutely gigantic" so big it can contain everything there is. Is America a big or a small country? You like to say that America is big. However, compared to the sun, the whole planet Earth is quite small. How big something seems depends upon what you compare it with…
God is in such a position, except God's scope is much bigger than Reagan's. God's realm is the universe and He is always at the center, always public-minded, and trying to move the whole universe toward a certain goal or action. God is turning a giant wheel. The larger the wheel, the stronger the axle must be in order to turn it. Therefore, the giant wheel of the universe can be turned only by almighty God. We can use the word "almighty" in regard to God because that word applies only to the one who is in the center, at the axle. Anyone who is somewhere other than the center cannot be almighty.
We are investigating what good is. Good is whatever direction that God is pushing in. So a public-minded life, rather than a self-centered one, is always good in God's sight. The center exists for the sake of all, and all exist for the sake of the center. That is give and take. From that central position alone can God be almighty.
God is always living within eternity. There is no dull moment; every second is vibrant. From this central position alone, God can be the center of happiness and glory. The public purpose always comes first, then oneself. This is the correct sequence. Universal law says that men and women are made in the image of God, so we must live the way God is living.
Historically, the noble man has tried to protect the interests of the public. The son of filial piety is the "noble man" of the family, because he is living for the purpose of the family. The patriot is the noble man of the country, because the nation is nothing but the extension of the family. And the saint or holy man is at the center of the world.
Let's say that you are lifted up into spirit world, leaving behind this physical world. At that point, you are accepted according to certain categories. Some may be children of filial piety, others patriots. If you are accepted as a holy man, that means you are already a patriot and a son of filial piety, because they come within the scope of the holy man. The scope of the saint or holy man is larger than the others. God's goal is to have everyone be a saint, more than a patriot or a son of filial piety. But you must begin at the training ground of filial piety. The next "workshop" for sainthood is to become a patriot.
Many "elder Moonies" are going through the 120-day workshop now. Some of them are thinking, "Why do I need more training? I've been teaching workshops myself." You have been serving at the level of a child of filial piety or a patriot, but now I want you to progress to the level of saint. After this training, you should be given the world as your stage. You should begin to work for a whole continent and the entire world.
The public-minded person speaks from public-mindedness; he eats and sleeps and does everything from the public-minded standpoint. There is no such thing as his private standpoint. When you look at the world with a public-minded eye, everybody loves your eye. Even though my eyes are very small, I look out of these windows with a public mind, and everybody pays attention to those eyes. You love these eyes, don't you? It doesn't matter what shape your ears or nose may have, as long as they are working for the public purpose, then people love them because God loves them.
This has always been my way of life to position myself always at the center of the public-minded sphere. If that center goes wrong, then the entire universe goes wrong. It is a grave responsibility. If that center does something crazy, then the entire universe becomes crazy. The center cannot afford to do that. To preserve the universe and the universal order, the center must preserve its central position. That is the way of life of the Unification Church members everyone is standing in a central position. This is why you have to obey the laws of the Principle. (God's Will -- 533-534, 1981.2.22)
Which of the two would you prefer to devote your entire lives to indemnifying: private matters or public matters? Both are devoted to some purpose. Those who stand up at the risk of their lives to devote their entire lives for the public good and public indemnity will become great people. A new history will be created by a group of people like this.
As we are facing that moment, how shall we spend the rest of our lives? This is the course of tribulation you must go from now. When you manage your life, the issue is whether you live individualistically or publicly. For whom do you eat, wear, buy and sell things in your daily life? Is it all for you or for God? The issue is whether yours is a private or public life. The question is also whether you have a private or a public mind in all these activities. Pledge to go the public way. Anyone charged with the mission to indemnify history must advance to the stage that everyone desires. Therefore, in the course of daily life, transcending private feelings and embodying public feelings is the important issue that all people of faith must concern themselves with.
What is sin? Sin arises from private standpoints. Ruin also comes about in the private sphere. Evil is the same. When private matters are pursued beyond a certain degree, they manifest evil. Private matters have certain limits; when exceeded, sin, evil and ruin result.
Then, where is the position that can be eternally good, eternally prosperous and eternally fortunate? Where is the position that can prevent sin, evil and ruin? It is the public position. Even when you eat, do so in a public position. When you work, manage from a public standpoint. When you speak, digest the situation with public words. In this way, live connecting all aspects of your lives with public matters. Such people cannot go to hell even if they try. (31-163, 1970.5.24)
The person who is in a public position is pitiful. What if, even though he does his best, he makes a mistake in following God's will and a thousand years of merit goes wrong? He lives with such a serious heart. (46-55, 1971.7.18)
What kind of person can harmonize with the essence of God's love? A self-centered person has no value at all. Only the person who is willing to invest, with the sincerest devotion, everything he has in his life for others -- only this kind of person can live continuously in the realm of God's love. This is how it has been with the great people and saints of history. (46-36, 1971.7.18)
As a Christian, how public is your standard? Let's each grade our church's public standard. If you are really convinced that your church's public standard is the highest possible one, then hold on to your commitment and persevere. For whose sake should you do that? It is not just for your sake, but for the well-being of the public. If you are truly moving forward unselfishly for the attainment of that public goal, God will always he following you and aiding you. (God's Warning II -- 44-45)
Church leaders must practice a public life. After working hard for the public purpose, you might fall asleep without realizing how tired you are, and yet in the morning you would wake up totally refreshed. From this experience you realize, "Ah, this is the principled way of life!" But if you think, "Well, I slept only three and a half hours last night. Therefore, I should sleep at least six hours," your entire body will feel as though it weighs a thousand or even ten thousand pounds and you will have pain all over. That is why I tell you not to have such thoughts. (44-160, 1971.5.6)
Moreover in the period of the turning point, although many people, myself included, have been offering Jung Sung for ten years with the mind of receiving a full ten years' worth of blessings, if I should achieve a personal victory even before the completion of the full ten years, then all the contributions of others for the ten-year period will follow me, and I will inherit them. Yes, they will be inherited.
For this reason, it is the loyal citizen, more than the filial child, who lives for the sake of the whole, and greatly loves and devotes Jung Sung for the nation. I am saying that he loves. The same holds true for the saint. It is centering not on the nation, but on the world, that the saint tries to offer Jung Sung and to love the people of the world. The way of the Divine Son is to offer Jung Sung centering on Heaven and earth, and he is to love Heaven and earth. It is from this that the stages and differences between the way of the saint and that of the Divine Son emerge. You must understand that this leads us to the way of Jung Sung and love, and if you have some precious things, if you have some property, how wonderful it would be, if there comes God's order to offer all of them for the sake of the world. Have you ever thought like that?
Then God will give you blessings. God will give blessings to you before the time comes, if you desire blessings to such a degree. Huh? However, when the time comes and you receive Heaven's blessings, if you say "Wow! Oh my, I received the blessing, so it is mine," then you are a thief. Then, despite your having received the fortune, it becomes, instead, a disaster. I am saying that you will fall down to the dungeon of hell. Although you have waited for the time that was to come, even if you all have waited centering on the immediate time for the time that was to come, that time, which you expected to come, in the end, doesn't come. In such a situation, the one who works to pour out all his energies to build a bridge and thus open the way for the expected time to actually come, will follow the national fortune, and this becomes a foundation where all the blessings of the world can be accumulated. You must know this. (Public Venue, 1999.1.5)
God is our vertical parents and True Parents are our horizontal parents from which I am born. That means without serving and dedicating to God and True Parents we have no beginning. When we dedicate and serve True Parents then each family represents the whole cosmos before the fall. It means to become representative families before the entire cosmos, to become the central families-from the individual level throughout the eight steps and becoming the very center of the family. By achieving this then we pledge again to become filial sons and daughters within the family, a patriot at the national level, a saint at the world level and a holy son centering upon the whole cosmos. This is the content of pledge number two in which we pledge, centering upon True Love, serving and dedicating to God and True Parents I will make my family a representative family of the whole world and the center family of the whole world, thereby becoming filial sons and daughters. This means at the national level I will educate all the people of my nation who are patriots of that nation. (1994.5.8 Unofficial)
People today struggle internally and externally at the crossroads between good and evil, and public and private, in their daily lives. In many cases, they vacillate between the two and finally fall into a self-centered, private lifestyle. Yet those who do that will perish. Therefore, they must repent for their past self-centered, private lives, grit their teeth, and push themselves back into public life. People tend to waver between these two lifestyles. They are more inclined toward living privately, and end up distancing themselves from the public good. This has been your life of faith until today. Therefore, all those with a private lifestyle must repent. (31-242, 1970.6.4)
God will travel back and forth through a people who are living a public life for the world. What does that mean? God would pack his bags and come and live with a people who are more public-minded. And if He finds a people even more public-minded, He will go to visit that people and stay with them. He would move around as such. (31-254)
Just as individuals have fortune, so do families, nations, and the world; in the same token, all of heaven and earth has heavenly fortune. However good the fortune you may have been born with, if your family fortune declines, you will suffer hardship together, and also those who may have good individual or family fortunes will not be able to avoid their downfall if the broader national fortune wanes. Moreover, the fortunes of the nation and the world are determined in accordance with the direction and progress of heavenly fortune, which encompasses and exists for the sake of the whole. To establish the heavenly way in the world means to adjust the course of individuals and nations to the path of heavenly fortune. (234-258, 1992.8.26)
Even when you eat, you should always think whether this eating is for a public purpose or a personal purpose… Then, who would not perish even after his or her death? Who can make contributions for the sake of the world even after his or her death? They are public-minded people, leading a public life. Right? For what did Confucius, Buddha, and Jesus live? You must understand that they were not nationalistic. They lived and died for the world. In order to build an ideal world, even at the risk of their own life, they aggressively faced all kinds of problems and in reality and did their best to resolve them, trying to build a better world. That is why they could join the group of people who can be called saints. (36-74)
You must understand that all things of the created world do not belong to an individual. When you own a good piece of land, if you brag about it, you will perish because it belongs to the public. You are just a manager of that land. Therefore, according to the management laws, if you manage it properly in a public manner, you can rule it for eternity, but if not, you will perish. However, the problem is that no one on earth understands the right public management laws towards all things. (31-247)
Through hardships, if we can reveal public value, such circumstances can be of great value. Then, the circumstances can be automatically absorbed. (31-253)
If you walk a public life centered on such a principle, you will never perish. Therefore, you should manage things in a public way, treat people in a public way, and attend heaven in a public way. If a couple was brought forth from a man and a woman who are good at this, centered on that family, a new people and a new world would have been established. Accordingly, you should become a people who can lead a public life. (31-201)
Public desire can be accepted anywhere; never have self-centered desire. You should have the attitude that you will do such and such in order to save the nation, instead of acting with the motivation to become popular in the nation. Does a nation move according to your mind? If that's the case, you may think that God would move following your mind. Those thoughts are all self-centered. You always have to lead a public life. In all your actions, earning money or participating in certain activities, you should be motivated to save the nation and the world. You should not think that you will do something good later by earning money now. (Blessing Pt. 2 -- 237)
You should become parents who can influence your children. This is your first mission. In order to do it, you should lead a public life thoroughly, and should be exemplary in your personal life. This is indispensable in educating your children to lead a way of the Will in the future. Do you understand? (31-277)
Now, do you want to devote entire your life to indemnifying private matters? Or do you want to devote your life for the purpose of indemnifying public matters? These two kinds of life are both devoted to some purpose. What do you want to do? The one who stands up at the risk of his life to devote his entire life for public matters and public indemnity must be a great person. A new history will be created by a group of people like this.
Now we stand before the question of how to control one's life. Facing this question, how shall we spend the rest of our lives? This is the challenge of the course of your life. When you manage your life, the issue is whether you live an individualistic life or a public life. This is the question. In your everyday life, when you eat, buy, sell, and do other things, the issue is for what you do all these activities, that is, for whom do you do them. Do you do all these activities for the sake of yourself or for the sake of God? This is the problem. And another issue is whether you have a private feeling or a public feeling in doing all these activities. Your feeling is another issue.
Shouldn't we pursue the position in which we can pledge to go the public path? Anyone who has the mission to indemnify history must advance to the stage that everyone hopes and wishes for. Therefore, in the course of everyday life, how to transcend private feelings and embody public feelings is the important issue that all people of faith must concern themselves with. You should know this and keep it in mind.
What is sin? Sin arises from the private place. Perishing also takes place on the private level. Evil is the same. When private matters are pursued beyond a certain standard, this situation appears evil. Private matters have a certain limit. When they go beyond the limit, they appear evil. The one who pursues them comes to commit sins and perish.
Now, then, what is the position that can be eternally good and eternally prosperous, that can receive blessing and good fortune eternally?
Where is the position that can avoid peril, avoid sins, and avoid becoming evil? It is the public position. When you eat, you must eat in the public position. When you work, you must manage with the public position. When you speak, you must digest the situation with public words. In this way, you must live your life connecting all aspects of your life with public matters. The person who lives this way cannot go to hell even if he tries to. (31-164)
How many blessed families come earlier than service time and help prepare on Sundays? When the sermon is about to start, after singing all the holy songs, they enter church. How can we call such people followers of God's will? No matter how well they make excuses, they are living a private life, not a public life. We expect no content from such people. You have to make a new resolution for "thorough public life" and "exemplary private life" through this meeting. (Ideal Family -- 560, Korean Edition)
If you see a greedy shopkeeper in a market, you will notice that the customers don't come to buy things from him. No one likes a greedy person. Everyone knows the method and secrets of managing one's life in terms of distinguishing between private and public matters. Therefore, if you are unable to go to heaven, you can't use the excuse that you didn't know how to manage your life. Why? You already know the distinction between public matters and private matters without being taught.
For example, let's say your mother distributes delicious rice cakes equally between you and your sister. You eat your share, but your sister keeps hers without eating it. Then you wake up at night and are about to secretly eat your sister's cake, that she had set her heart on. Before you can eat it, your conscience will cry out, "You scoundrel! You devil!" If you don't feel this in your conscience, you are not a human being. You should feel it. Why? Because your conscience pursues public matters. If you follow private desires you will perish.
Originally, for those who follow the laws of heaven, there is a mind that defends and protects them from destruction. What does it mean that it originally existed? Because God originally had such a mind, human beings came to have the same mind from the start. It is not a man-made law. Can you say to your conscience, "I do this because that's the way I am"? If you command your conscience, "Be like this because that's how I think," does it follow suit? We may not know where the conscience receives its orders from, but we know it is from somewhere other than ourselves. When we see how such feelings do in fact control us, we can understand that they do so over public and private matters. (31-241, 1970.6.4)
Today, we stand on the turning point between good and evil and the public and private, centering on one's own everyday life. There are many cases when we mix up the priority between these two and finally fall into a self-centered, private lifestyle. But if one lives that way, one will perish. Therefore, one must repent for one's past self-centered, private life and push oneself into the public-centered life, no matter how hard it is. Meanwhile, one cannot tolerate the public-centered life and returns to the old private-centered life again. In this way, one goes back and forth between these two lifestyles. When one remains in the private-centered lifestyle more often, one lives a lifestyle that keeps a distance from the public good. This is the life of faith until today. Therefore, you must realize that all private-centered people must repent for their lifestyle. (31-241)
All of the creation is leading a public life. Isn't this true? In the solar system the earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the earth. The earth revolves following a set path. There is no change in this path. In the millions of years of history the earth is saying to us, "You may change, but I won't." (140-82)
The highest level of public life is to labor for the heavenly cosmos. Our Unification Church is all about cheonju (cosmos)-ism, not cheonji (heaven and earth)-ism. Ju in cheonju connotes "house." The owner is not a person, but a house or family. The origin of the formation of a nation is not a person but a family. The world cannot be formed without families. Should families err, the nation will wane. Family education therefore controls the fate of a nation, which can receive blessings from now on. The more families abide by the righteous legal principles of a country, the more prosperous that nation will be. In contrast, the more families live by individual standards, the more detrimental it will be. (31-242, 1970.6.4)
You should be parents who can influence your own children. That is your primary mission. You should lead your church life and public life with utmost sincerity and be exemplary in your private life. This is absolutely necessary for your children to follow the way of God's Will. (31-276, 1970.6.4)
You must understand that the person God sent to the earth as the central person for the sake of such ignorant human beings is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ stepped forward representing the internal situation of God. The center of his hope and his life was rooted only in God. To put it another way, Jesus hoped that he could follow the example of the patient heart of God who exerted Himself enormously and persevered for the sake of human beings. He hoped he could follow the example of the public life of God, who never works for the sake of His own glory. He wanted to follow the example of the principled content of God who does not desire conflict, so that he could represent God before all things and all peoples to give love. He wanted to cultivate God's authority and emerge.
Not only that, Jesus did not want personal joy, personal hope or personal glory. You must understand that he wished his hope and glory could be realized by and manifested to all fallen human beings. For the sake of the accomplishment of this will, he toiled for thirty years of his life.
Therefore, we must follow the example of Jesus Christ, who appeared with the responsibility to fight for the sake of the construction of the Kingdom of Heaven and who came as the center of Heaven and earth. We must accept as our own ideology all the ideology of Jesus. If we cannot learn to follow the example of Jesus' love and march toward eternity, then the hope that God has will not be connected to us. You have to keep this fact in your minds. (Sermons Vol. 2 -- 134-135, 1957.4.14)
The wounds or injuries you get while sacrificing, serving or living a public life will be an essential and substantial form of education for both you and your future descendants. (298-181, 1999.1. 1)
What are the norms of heaven? They are to give priority to public matters. Private matters belong to Satan, and public matters belong to God. You must work for public matters. While you are on this course, you may receive opposition. But if you do not get damaged from the opposition and go over the difficult path with vitality and prowess, you will become a heavenly person and welcome the spring. (47-272)
In difficult circumstances of persecution, to turn back the nation and church to God, Jesus prayed on the mountain top and fought against Satan throughout his three years of public life. Yet he saw no fruit. Consequently, he finally went up to the Mount of Transfiguration with the heart to awaken the ignorant people, even if he had to undertake his death. (Sermons Vol. 5 -- 133, 1959.1.25)
Jesus did not live three years of public life to elevate himself. The purpose of the three years was to find disciples. Jesus worked hard to raise up three disciples to be like his sons and daughters and to make the twelve disciples into his children. (Sermons Vol. 7 -- 219, 1959.10.11)
Now there remains the course of tribulations to which we who are called upon by Heaven must adhere. You must remember that it is none other than the path of Jesus, who walked it throughout the thirty years of his life. When you examine the thirty-year life course of Jesus, he lived thirty years of private life, three years of public life and brought an end to his ordeals during the three-day period in the tomb. (Sermon Vol. 1 -- 7, 1956.4.8)
The public virtues of loyalty and filial piety are approved even by man. Find the way of realizing these... Blessing is public. In order to receive blessing, therefore, You must become a public offering to set up a condition for that purpose. How precious it is to take the responsibility of a public task! …A parent who is responsible in a public position can never have bad children… Assume liabilities yourself, while giving the benefits to the public purpose… Serving the public purpose becomes a foundation on which to receive heavenly blessing… Goodness, happiness, righteousness and blessing-these are all of public nature. To possess these, therefore, you must go through a public course.
Although personal things come and go, you must leave public blessing for the nation and mankind… The one who constantly lives for the public purpose is the strongest, most formidable and wisest man… We did not put ourselves in a public position. We must remember that we are placed in that position because we are connected with our ancestors' desires and circumstances and God's public benefit. Therefore, all those spirit men with whom we are historically connected are on our side. Only if we put ourselves in the position of an offering with more public conviction and loyalty than our ancestors did, will all the good past historical and public connections re-appear today…
Being in a public position means being in the position of an offering. An offering should transcend its consciousness of self and its idea of possession. Don't minimize the responsibility God has entrusted to you. Add your effort to the gift He has given you. Don't owe debts of heart to brothers and sisters… The safest way to preserve blessing is to always undergo hardship in a public position…If you are for the public, you are guaranteed by history, the present age and the future. Thus, to be, for the public has historical, contemporary and future value…No one is so strong, formidable and wise as he who lives consistently for the public…If you are a public being, you cannot say that you belong to yourself. But you are a great being because you belong to the public...If a hundred people think only of themselves, then you should have more than a hundred public thoughts…To be for the public consists in having a reciprocal relationship with a higher center…He who lives for the public has a lifeline in God. (The Way -- 113-120)
What kind of person would God like? He likes a person whose philosophy is to lead a public life, always taking a public position. The same goes with all things. They like such a person. Such is a principle, and a heavenly law. (31-261)
Therefore, you met me because of a relationship in which you resemble your good ancestors' characters according to the law of heredity which follows your blood lineage relationship to your good ancestors' achievements in the public area centered on goodness. Don't think you met me because you're so great. (46-152)
When there are many families living by the public law, the nation will flourish; when there are many families living with a private standard, the nation will perish. (Ideal Family -- 596)
We must recognize that there is a universal principle involved, regardless of what race you are. You can see that the universe has certain fundamental laws, and anyone who violates them will be judged accordingly, regardless of his race or stature. What is the spirit of that constitution of the universe? It aims to preserve or uphold the men and women who try to live for others. It would also try to eliminate people who take advantage of others and seek to benefit only themselves. This is why we can say that good people are those who exist for the sake of others, and good deeds are those actions which benefit others.
If a person is brought to trial and convicted of violating the constitutional law, would he feel good? Often a convicted defendant reacts strongly to the judgment of the court, demanding to know what is wrong with him when there is so much wrong with society. Normally a court will not reverse its decision just because the defendant objects. If even a human court won't do that, would the universal court be likely to reverse its decisions?
There is always room for mercy in a righteous legal system, but in order to be entitled to receive it, a person must show his sincere repentance. Repentance is the key word. This is why Jesus' pronouncement was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." What should we repent for? Very simply, we must repent for all those actions which violated the rule that says we should live in sacrifice and service for others. This was Jesus' first teaching. (God's Will -- 497, 1979.9.30)
It is not enough for your own state to do well. In order for the whole state to prosper, you have to do things that will serve as examples before the whole state. In becoming an example, it must not be done for the sake of yourself. You have to be an example according to the will of the family and the parents. While carrying this out, you have to increasingly become a shining example as a filial son. (60-29)
The satanic world goes to hell. God's world goes to heaven. A world that lives for its own sake will go to hell, while one that lives for the whole purpose will go to heaven. The crossing point of good and evil lies within oneself.
When the mind and body come together, the former tries to live for the greater good, while the latter tries to live for the individual. The mind and body always struggle; one adopts a public-minded position and the other a self-centered position. You should reject your birth from false love, false life, and false lineage. You should cut off these things and be restored to life by engrafting yourself to true love, true life, and true lineage. The individual and humankind need to follow this path. This is the conclusion. (263-281, 1994.10.15)
Looking at the young people in Korea, they are flowing aimlessly like floating grass. Where will they go after flowing with the wave? Is there not a movement that can go against the flow? Is there not a way of awakening? This age requires a prince of the age who is consumed with a public anger that hates and resents the present circumstances. He must embark upon a great adventure, if such a way exists, with a determination to be more loyal and filial than anyone who has dedicated himself to expelling sinful history and the world. Only when there are many like this will the day of hope come for this nation. The moment of hope we have desired will open for the world. (Sermons Vol. 6 -- 110, 1959.4.19)
It's amazing that the law always defines the minimum, not the maximum. There is no law or limit to how much good you can do, above the line of the law. No law says you should only be honest to this point, or loving to that point…The law does set limits first upon the selfish person, the one who always tries to live for himself. Such a person tends to bring destruction to the public welfare, so the law exists to limit him. The law is always watching out for the self-centered person. Next, the law watches out for greedy and destructive people. The law exists to protect the public from harm. Certain persons do not hesitate to resort to destructive methods to achieve their own selfish purposes; they will do anything. When someone speaks harsh, vituperative words that hurt others, he violates the moral law even though there may not be a written law against it…
We are pursuing the public way of life. Thus when we speak, we have to ask ourselves if we are speaking more for the sake of ourselves or for others. (God's Will -- 530, 1981.2.22)
In the ideal times of the future, there will be no need for courts of justice. The course of our life in this world is the foundation and preparation course for eternal life in the next world. Therefore, if someone amongst your relatives does wrong, the entire tribe will deal with that person. Who is the primary judge? If the wife does wrong, the husband becomes the judge. If the child does wrong, the father becomes the judge. They are given guidance under the public law and their clan deals with them. (197-359, 1990.1.20)
The original relationship between God and humankind is based on true love. There are many instances of co-ownership between God and the individual, between the whole and the individual, and between the neighborhood and the individual, but we are supposed to have a co-ownership with a grateful heart arising out of God's true love.
In the ideal world built by the people who have actualized God's love, the whole purpose and the individual purpose are naturally harmonized. Since human beings also have desires and the autonomy of love, they are permitted individual ownership and individual purpose. Even so, they do not pursue unlimited individual possession or an individual purpose that undermines the whole purpose. Perfected human beings are meant to own property commensurate with their position and circumstances according to their conscience and original nature.
In particular, since the economic activity of ideal human beings -- who have the character of true owners of all things by virtue of true love -- would manifest love and gratitude, there can be no avarice or corruption. At the same time, there could be no emphasis on regional or national interests inconsistent with the purpose of the whole, and economic activity will have its aim and focus not in the pursuit of profits but rather in overall welfare. (271-76, 1995.8.22)
The society of the ideal world will be characterized politically by principles of interdependence, economically by mutual prosperity and ethically by universally shared values. The core content of the principle of interdependence is co-ownership based on God's true love. The basic model of the society of inter-dependence is the family. By co-ownership, I do not mean ownership merely in relation to material possessions, but ownership based on God's love.
In the family, even though all property would be legally held in the parents' names, in practice it would be jointly owned by the parents and children; that is, by the whole family. At the same time, the individual family members are allocated their own rooms, clothing and allowances. In this way, in the family, the whole purpose and the individual purpose are harmonized. When this ideal form of ownership of the family, based on such love, expands to the society, nation and world, it becomes the form of ownership of the ideal society. (271-76, 1995.8.22)
Although one day of life in this age may seem brief, a day of witnessing will be connected to eternity. Our every action on such a foundation of principled order will be linked to the whole purpose and to eternity; it will not disappear but remain forever. (152-219, 1963.5.15)
I am at a loss for words before a devoted person. As leader of the Unification Church, when I am considering which of two people is better, I do not take into account who is handsome, but rather I look at the direction of their mind. In other words, I see whether their mind is public or personal. (31-260, 1970.6.4)
God Accepts Prayers for the Public Purpose A person of faith must pray for public matters and the greater good. (28-271, 1970.2.8)
The one who pursues personal agendas first is Cain, and the one who thinks more about public matters and Heaven than about himself is Abel. (58-68, 1972.6.6)
Do you wish to receive good fortune? Do you wish to live eternally? To do so, you must become public people. In educating your children, don't love them only as your own. Become parents who love their children as offerings for the sake of the people of the world. When holding your babies to your breasts and nursing them, think of yourselves and your babies as representatives of the entire human race on earth. Nurse your babies with such a heart. Instead of caring only for your children and their appearance, cherish other people's children with a loving heart as if they were yours. Babies who are suckled by such mothers will certainly grow up to become great people. Such results may not surface right away, but after the first and second generations among your descendants there will be born great figures who can rule the world. This is the formula. (31-167, 1970.5.24)
Even when you take your first step in the morning, you should think whether or not it is for the public purpose. And when you go to bed after finishing your daily work, you should reflect on whether or not the day was spent for the public or personal purpose. Furthermore, looking back at the past twelve months of your life or your entire past life, you should reflect on whether or not you led a public life or a personal one. (39-76, 1971.1.9)
1 Kim, Young Oon. World Religions Vol. 2. (New York: Golden Gate Publishing, Co., 1982) pp. 326-362