The Words of the Beutl Family
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The Words of the Beutl Family |
My dear brothers and sisters,
Where did the problems begin? The present crisis did not come overnight but has very clear roots in the behavior of church leaders long before serious problems arose in the relationship among True Children.
Let us ask True Father. He clarified in front of church leaders on November 23, 1994:
"Once again, the universal law is if you are the person who offers service with respect and sacrifice then you are the central figure. In a way you have received so much from Father but you have not practiced it. This makes you like robbers or thieves. Do you clearly understand why the American Unification Church didn't grow? (Yes.) The very reason that thousands of members left is because we failed to practice this principle."
Most of us have been or are church leaders. How many of us feel that because of me so many members left the church? Who is ready to take responsibility for the thousands of members who could not remain with us because we collectively failed to practice the content that True Parents have been teaching us?
I see that there are many who accuse Hyun Jin Nim of having stolen something but did we address the issue first that we ourselves are like thieves and robbers? Father did not only say such a thing 16 years ago but also recently he stated that he is surrounded by thieves. Who are we to spend many hours discussing what True Children did wrong without facing the fact that we are together responsible for the spiritual death of thousands of members -- who have left because we did not manifest in our behavior what True Father and True Mother have shown to us?
If we are honest, we know that we are hypocrites. Are we ready to face our own very grave sins in front of God and True Parents and the countless sincere members who did not survive spiritually because they could not bear what they saw practiced in day to day church reality? Or are we continuing to discuss what others, True Children, did or are doing wrong?
In front of our Heavenly Father and in front of history we are all public people if we say we believe in and follow True Parents who have been living a public life ever since God's calling reached them. My gratitude goes out to each member who contributed constructively for the truth to be revealed about certain issues, but should we not speak more than anything else about our contribution -- or failure to contribute -- to preserving True Father's legacy as True Parent by ourselves being a loving spiritual parents in our mission as tribal or national messiahs?
It is my sincere wish that every person who expresses his opinion here does so with the awareness that we judge ourselves by what we say -- we reveal the standard of our hearts and our ability to love with True Love the ones for whom we are responsible.
Father told leaders on November 23, 1994:
"If you are truly serious then you won't be able to stop shedding tears… Once you practice this particular principle which Father has explained to you today, it doesn't matter whether you belong to the Unification Church or not; wherever you may go, you will survive and flourish in whatever you do. As long as you continue to practice this principle you will always be ahead of everyone else. You will always try to do something which nobody else wants to do."
The decisive factor is not whether or not we belong to the Unification Church but what kind of principles we are practicing in our life. Once we understand this essential point clearly, then we will not be concerned about positions in the church hierarchy or the chain of command but truly seek to embody the values that True Parents have been teaching rather than emphasizing that one needs to obey a leader in order to stand firmly on God's side.
"Once again Father wants to emphasize, the reason why our movement here in America has failed to grow is because we have failed to practice this principle. Father doesn't feel like continuing to speak because even if he gives more he doesn't see that you have borne fruit. It is like a mother's breast full of milk which has to be sucked out by a baby. Father doesn't feel that you are sucking the milk he is trying to give you."
How much frustration we have brought to the hearts of our True Parents by not showing the heart of a child that is longing to establish a heart to heart connection with Aboji and Omoni in order to be able to live in the realm of love which they represent!
Our movement is in crisis because we the elder members did not practice the right tradition which True Father and True Mother have clearly shown to us. Are we now ready to deal with this question instead of discussing what others are doing wrong?
"There is no established seniority within our system -- no matter who a person is or what position he has, if he is living for the sake of others more than anyone else then he should be the center of the whole movement. Therefore because of this standard, there is no place for factions or divisions within our Church. We don't determine our leaders by vote but by asking our consciences, 'Which person is living the most for the sake of the country and for God?' Your own conscience can answer that question for you."
Are we now the people who listen to our conscience and put our priorities right? Instead of discussing issues concerning what others are not doing right, can we first of all make sure that each one of us is fully aligned with the teaching of our True Parents?
Who is closest to True Father? His answer:
"The person who lives most fully for the sake of others is the one who is closest to me and to the central figure position. If you have some question about whether to listen to one leader or another, you can evaluate them yourself according to this standard. Who lives for the sake of other people more? Whichever leader fulfills that standard better is the one to whom you should listen."
The answers are all there. But do we act according to what True Parents have taught us so very clearly or according to our own interpretations of how things should be done? For example, the question of who is Abel that needs to be followed:
"The position of Cain and Abel is not decided by any other standard except by who is working and sacrificing more for the sake of others. Such a person is automatically Abel. Even though someone claims the position of Abel and sits as center leader, giving other people commands, gradually that person will feel more and more uncomfortable and he will be obliged to move out of that position. He is Cain if he is not living for the sake of other people. So we have a very simple criterion for deciding who is Cain and who is Abel."
Are we applying this criterion or do we have some other standard of deciding whom to follow? True Father told us repeatedly that he is our True Abel whom we should unite with and follow. If we do then we will also be united with one another in no time and the present crisis will be finished. This means that it is in our hands to bring an end to the tragic situation we find today in our church by applying the standard which True Parents have shown to our own lives without making any false compromises.
Already three decades ago Father stated in the Historic Children's' Day speech in 1981:
"Our ultimate goal is Canaan. While we are marching toward Canaan, our supreme duty is to follow orders, but once we enter Canaan we don't live by commands but by love. This is that time. We are arriving now, and we must live in a God-like way."
Shouldn't we make sure that we are indeed living in a God-like way instead of discussing what others are doing wrong? Once we do, we will repent in tears for other people's mistakes instead of talking about them. We will take responsibility for what was done wrong not only individually but especially collectively and invest everything we can for the given issues to be resolved.
On October 28, 1981 Father made the proclamation:
"Today I am declaring a new beginning: the leader-centered movement is over, and the member-centered movement is going to begin."
Most of all we must to be a truly God-centered movement. Therefore it is our first task to make sure that our highest priority is that we are absolutely focused on the Living God to be present in our hearts and in all of our actions.
We are directly responsible to God as Father emphasized at the Unification Church National Conference on December 19, 1990:
"Father would like to create a new kind of organization, not a pyramid type with a top command echelon and so many other levels that by the time the bottom is reached, half of the message is lost. Father would like to have a direct hot line for his instructions to each member. Each individual must consider that he represents not only himself, but his family, county, state, nation, and heaven and earth and is directly responsible to God."
Do we live with the awareness that each one of us "must consider that he represents not only himself, but his family, county, state, nation, and heaven and earth and is directly responsible to God."? If we do then we will not look for leaders to follow but we will ourselves take full responsibility for restoration in front of our Heavenly Father just as our True Parents are doing. Especially in the present 40-year children's course it is our task to take the burden from the shoulders of True Father and True Mother and feel completely responsible for what is going on not only in our church but in this world.
This is the standard which True Parents have shown to us and they are longing to have children who inherit this kind of heart from them, embodying an all-embracing heart of True Love for all of God's children.
Hoping that we all unite with the Heart of God and True Parents,
Your brother Nikolaus