The Words of Won Pil Kim
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The Words of Won Pil Kim |
Mr.
Hyo Won Eu and Father.
The late Mr. Hyo Won Eu, the first president of the Unification Church of Korea, was a person of great loyalty to True Parents. He had a deep heart, but he was also very strict. When Mr. Eu saw brothers and sisters doing anything unprincipled, he would point it out to them right away. Members who had done something wrong had a difficult time with Mr. Eu.
Mr. Eu was also a sick man. He suffered from an abdominal illness that was very hard on him, especially when he had to give lectures. On one occasion he became seriously ill and had to undergo an operation. Then he had to stay in bed for a week until he was healed. After his operation I went to see him in his room, and in trying to comfort him I said, "It must be difficult for you to stay in your room for such a long time." Normally, when someone gives comforting words to a sick person, that person responds warmly with appreciation.
But not Mr. Eu! He put aside my concern in a seemingly cold manner, saying, "I don't have any problem with it." He had often experienced lying in bed for long periods, so he was used to it, he said. He spent his free time in bed studying the Principle.
I myself knew him very well. He lived and spoke according to the Principle. The image I have of him is actually one of a gentle, heartistic person, and this feeling about him has stayed with me even after his death. However, since he had an aspect of strictness in his character, anybody who didn't really know Mr. Eu felt that sharpness more than warmth from him.
One time when Father was away from the city doing itinerary work, some staff members started talking about the strict aspect of Mr. Eu's character, wishing he would change it somewhat. Since Father was absent, they came to me to discuss this point, suggesting that we should choose another person to be president of the Unification Church. I raised two points with them. First, I asked them if they had shared honestly about their feelings with Mr. Eu himself. Because the difficulty existed between them and Mr. Eu, it should be discussed and resolved between them. If those members had humbly gone to Mr. Eu and honestly expressed their feelings, I believe the problem could have been easily solved, especially because Mr. Eu was the type of person who could accept the words and opinions of others. Secondly, I stressed that Mr. Eu had been put in that position not by us but by God. Even if he had something wrong in his character, or if some aspect were lacking, it was not our responsibility to remove him from his position.
I told them the story of Saul and David. In the Old Testament we learn that King Saul, the first king of Judea, became jealous of David when God's heart began moving more and more toward David. Saul sought to kill David, but David always managed to escape. David knew that God's favor was on him, yet he acknowledged that since Saul had been anointed by God, he should never fight back. One time David was hiding in a cave and Saul happened to come into that cave to relieve himself. David could have easily killed Saul right then, but instead he just cut off the edge of his cloak. Without realizing his cloak had been cut, Saul came out of the cave, and then David emerged, bowed to him, and showed him the piece of cloth he had cut. King Saul recognized that David had had the perfect opportunity to kill him, yet had refrained. Saul said, "So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day." Because David could look at Saul through God's eyes, and was willing to allow the fulfillment of God's will in God's way, God could later anoint David as king. [See I Samuel 24.]
From this story we can learn that even if we feel something is lacking in a leader -- for example, if we see in him too much strictness and not enough warmth -- we are not the ones to change the leadership. So what should we do in such a case? We should think, "How can I help my leader mature and complete his character?"
After I gave them this advice, the staff members, instead of first thinking deeply and repenting about their attitude, went directly to Mr. Eu. When he realized what they felt about him, his pride was hurt, and he wanted to move out right away; he started to pack his things to go out pioneering. At that moment Father returned. He wasn't happy to see what was going on, and he stopped Mr. Eu from leaving. He spoke very strongly to the staff members, telling them their hasty way of thinking was not correct.
Rev.
Won Pil Kim
Let us think about our own situation. Father has anointed each one of our leaders. We know that sometimes they do not take care of members in the ideal way. When leaders lack something in their character, the members suffer because of that, in the same way a patient has to suffer when an inexperienced doctor cannot treat and cure him. Even if a member comes to Father with complaints about his leader, still Father cannot take away the leader's dignity by simply removing him from his position, because he is Father's representative. If a leader appointed by Father makes a mistake or cannot fulfill his portion of responsibility, Father pays the indemnity, because he feels that he himself allowed this leader to act in the wrong way. Father takes that much responsibility for us. That's why we have to really become one with Father and respond to Father's heart. However, although Father takes responsibility for whatever we do, we cannot simply say, "Oh, Father will take all the responsibility for me so I don't care what happens afterwards." This is not the way we should think or act.
Father thinks seriously before he appoints someone to a leadership position, and he tried to keep those whom he has appointed in the same position for many years. Before he has to change a leader to some other mission, he lets the person know, even though it may be indirectly. Father may hint he is considering a change up to one or two years before the actual change -- which is what happened to me. When Father tells a leader that he is going to be changed, the leader should reflect upon what he has been doing and ask himself, "Am I following Father's direction and taking care of the members well?" If he strives harder to succeed in his mission after that, there may not be any change after all. But if he doesn't try harder, Father may indeed have to change him after a period of time.
Of course, when Father wants to bring a particular leader to a higher level, he also will let him know beforehand of a possible change. Actually, any time Father changes a leader to another responsibility, he always- tries to convey a feeling that the leader is going to a better, more wonderful mission.
Sometimes a leader may change a member's mission simply because he doesn't like that person anymore, and without letting the member know he is going to be changed. If the leader's attitude is like this, the member will not be able to understand God's heart or feel God's love through that leader, and a feeling of fear may develop. He may fear that if he says something that displeases the leader, the leader might send him away to another mission. That's why, in many cases, members are afraid to express their feelings and heart to their leaders and may close their minds completely towards them. However, we should also understand that leaders may act in this way because they are so serious about fulfilling the mission they were given. Those of us who are leaders must learn from Father so that when we have to change a member's mission, we do it with the same attitude Father has.
Leaders must deeply consider how they are to fulfill the will of God both in their mission and in taking care of their members. In order for leaders to fulfill the mission that is given to them, they have to work through their members. Actually, their members are the ones who will fulfill the mission and thus fulfill the will of God. If the members start to lose their will to accomplish the goal, the mission in that center or district or nation cannot be fulfilled, and the leader cannot fulfill his responsibility either. Thus the members are in a way leaders to the leader, and of course, the leader is the leader. Everyone is a leader!
The leader, as Abel, is the one who gives comfort, happiness, and power to the members first. However, the happiness, the power, and the energy of the leader are actually not in his hands, but come from the positive response of his members. It is easy to think that the leader has the most happiness and can make the members feel happy and powerful, but it's the other way around. The members own the happiness and power and energy of the leader. We often miss this fact.
When brothers and sisters don't really listen or follow, the leader becomes unhappy and powerless and finds it very difficult to be the leader. When this happens, the leader cannot fulfill his responsibility as a leader, and then his own Abel has to change that leader to another mission. A leader can keep his position as a leader only when he gives happiness and power to the members and the members in turn respond positively to him.
Similarly in a marriage, the power and energy of the husband is actually not in his own hands, but in the hands of his wife, and vice versa. But if I want to get happiness and power from my wife without giving it first, and my wife feels the same, neither of us will ever be happy. However, if I first give happiness to my spouse, then I will also gain. This is the same principle that applies to leaders and members.
It also applies to business relationships. In a business, the master of the manager is always the customer. Unless the manager gives happiness first to the customer, he will not get the customer's business; in other words, he won't have happiness returned to him.
The Principle is strict, and within the Principle itself there is no forgiveness. So God created the universe in such a way that love is more powerful than the Principle; because it is only with love that there can be forgiveness. In a family, there are father and mother. The father more clearly represents the Principle, while the mother more clearly represents love. If there is only softness and love in a family, there is no stability or structure. That is like an animal with flesh and no bones. Children need both discipline and love. When the father says to the children, "No, it shouldn't be this way," very strictly, the mother says to the father, "Don't be so strict with the children: Flesh and bone have to always stick together." Of course, when you speak about the Principle, you can be very strict; but afterwards you have to embrace with love.
Towards those members who have a loving or soft nature, a leader should show a more strict Principle aspect. When a member is inflexible and doesn't show much love, the leader has to treat him with a more embracing attitude. It is not good when a leader, who may be very loving, cannot really speak out when a member is doing something wrong. A leader has to be able to point that out to the member and explain very clearly what's wrong without hesitating.
Sometimes a leader may say to a particular member, "What you are doing is not good; it is very satanic." Nobody likes to be told he is satanic; everyone is trying, from their point of view, to do good. Since Satan is the one who gives suffering to God, "satanic" means something that cannot please God's heart. Instead of saying, "You are satanic," it is better to say things like, "If you keep doing this, God won't be happy and He will suffer." or "God will cry and Father will cry because of this."
A leader who has a complaining member may sometimes say in front of the other members, "There is someone here who is complaining. This is no good. You should not complain." If he says this only in front of the brothers and sisters, it's not that bad, but if the leader says it during a public service, it is much worse. This kind of sermon or talk will never give life or inspiration to the congregation or bring unity among the members. God can forgive or overlook both these cases, but sometimes the leader even talks about his problems with complaining members out loud in his prayer. God will never accept this kind of prayer. A man of God is one who has a heart like God and doesn't criticize when he finds somebody doing something wrong.
This is also a criterion by which we can measure if a religion is good or not. Religion starts with forgiveness toward one's enemies. If a particular religion criticizes other religions, it cannot truly lead people to God.
In order for anyone to be able to forgive another, he must have a higher standard than the other. Suppose I have $1,000 and I lend $100 to someone and he loses it; then I get upset and find it very hard to forgive that person, because I am not that wealthy. But suppose I lend another person $1,000 and he loses it. Then I would get really upset and would not be able to forgive him because I would have nothing left. Suppose I possessed the amount of money it would take to buy the entire world. Then even if I were to lend someone a billion dollars and he lost it, I would still have the capacity to forgive that person. Do you understand my meaning? The one who possesses God's love is the one who can forgive the most. When we have difficulty in forgiving certain members, it means we still don't possess God's love. When a leader has difficulty in forgiving someone, instead of blaming that person, he should first reflect upon the fact that he is not able to forgive, then he should find a way to become the kind of person who can forgive. The reason why Father can forgive and love his worst enemy is because he completely possesses God's love.
When members complain a lot, it is simply because they don't understand God's heart; they don't understand the Principle deeply. So when Father hears someone complaining, he responds by explaining more about God's heart of restoration. Father still gives assignments even to members who complain all the time, treating them the same as any other member. Father tries to set the right example, so that the members can realize by themselves what they should do.
When the members start to understand God's heart, they naturally correct themselves. In the same way, when we find some member complaining, we have to explain to them more deeply about God's heart.
The Messiah is the one who teaches and conveys the heart of God. If Father didn't understand God's heart, he wouldn't be the Messiah. True Parents are constantly educating us -- their children -- so that we can love God even more than True Parents love God. That is the heart of True Parents, and the heart we should strive to embody.