Book Fourteen - A Life Of True Filial Piety
Chapter One - The Meaning of Loyalty and Filial Piety
Section 1. Loyalty and Filial Piety Are the Central Thought of Koreans

People of filial piety will think of their parents first when something good happens in their lives. In the fallen world people think of their spouse first when they see something good. However, unless you buy something precious for your parents first, you cannot buy something for your spouse.

In the same way, a man should first buy clothes for his parents, and then for his wife and children, before buying clothes for himself. He should attend and serve his parents when they eat. Even in the satanic world, it was the custom in Korea for people to attend their parents for a three-year period of mourning after their death. In the old days, was it not Korean etiquette for a devoted son to be in mourning for his deceased parents by building a mud hut next to their grave and living there for three years in order to fulfill his filial duty? Therefore, in Korea, if people did not attend their parents with devotion for at least three years, then when they went to the spirit world, they would not be able to say that they are descendants of Korea.

We must surpass this standard. Our Blessed Families must enlarge themselves with good points from each other, and live their lives serving and caring for their parents. (26-299, 1969.11.10)

Koreans are a noble people who have honored loyalty and filial piety from time immemorial. I remember being invited to attend Armed Forces Day at Yeoido Plaza and feeling great satisfaction watching our dignified young soldiers. I was truly impressed as those brave soldiers marched past the reviewing stand and shouted the motto "Loyalty and Filial Piety!" (Choong Hyo!) I thought that, for God's chosen race, it was a motto that seemed very much like a revelation. I don't think there are any other armed forces in the world with a motto like this.

As Koreans are still a people practicing loyalty and filial piety toward God, the spirit of loyalty and filial piety has become the central thought of the nation. The classic stories of Shim Chung's filial piety to her father, Chun-hyang's fidelity to her husband, Jeong Mong-ju's loyalty to his king, and Yu Kwan-soon's spirit of patriotic martyrdom exemplify Korean faithfulness to the principles of loyalty and filial piety to a degree unparalleled in history. Such a spirit of loyalty, filial piety, and the unchanging fidelity that is like pine and bamboo constitute the central thought and spirit for the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth that will be established in the future. As the Kingdom of Heaven is God's nation, you must be forever loyal to that nation, and, as God is the Father of all humankind, you must show eternal filial piety to Him. When God tested the many peoples of the world, He could not find a people of virtue and fidelity with a spirit of loyalty and filial piety as high as the Koreans. Therefore, He chose Korea and is intently watching the nation. (100-252, 1978.10.19)

Children of filial piety should not leave their parents, even if a century or a millennium should pass. You should say, "I want us to be together!" If you are not people who move the hearts of your parents so that they say, "If possible, we would like to stay with you forever!" then you are not children of filial piety. Parental love is such that no matter how bad the children are, the parents think of being with them. This is why it is called true love. What about impious children? They dislike being with their parents. We find stories of such people in the Bible, do we not? Some did not want to be with their own brothers. They wanted to do and live as they pleased. What kind of seed is this? It is the seed of the unfilial. (147-292, 1986.10.1)

Children of filial piety will forget their own situation and think first of their parents. They'll always live for their parents with a tearful heart. Loyal patriots are those who will forget about their personal circumstances in times of crisis, and take the path of loyalty, worrying first about the king's difficulties. Forgetting ourselves and sacrificing our own interests links us to the zenith of loyalty and filial piety. (37-33, 1970.12.22)

In a family, be it man or woman, brother or sister, everybody should want to become devoted sons or daughters. Centered on love, they are to become one in heart. To unify the family, children of filial piety are needed. The same is true for the nation. Centering on the father and mother of the nation, the king and queen, and also their sons and daughters, there must be reciprocal relationships between spouses and siblings in every direction, namely up and down, left and right, and front and back. If there is no front and back, then parents and children cannot establish a relationship. That is why it is necessary to have up and down, left and right, and front and back. Siblings are absolutely needed. Marriages are woven together from the meetings of siblings. (286-268, 1997.8.13)

People talk about the way of loyalty and filial piety, but do not really understand the meaning. Children must establish the parents as the center of the family in the same position as God; then, becoming one in mind and body in front of the unchanging love that the parents have for their children, they always receive one hundred percent through their heart and body, and adapt to them one hundred percent. What do we call sons and daughters who take such a position? We call them children of filial piety. When people speak of the way of loyalty and filial piety, they do not comprehend its true path. (101-13, 1978.10.28)

What do parents hope for? There is no unified root of the lineage with just a mother and a father. They need to have children in order for the lineage to continue. When sons and daughters love their parents, then the unconnected lineages of the parents become unified through the child. The perfection of parents comes about through having children. The father and mother become perfect through sons and daughters practicing filial piety.

It is a joy to have parents to whom you can devote yourselves. We represent our parents' life, love and lineage. Their love has been duplicated through us. It has become the nucleus; your love, life, and lineage have become its embodiment.

Bringing about the perfection of your parents can, therefore, bring about your perfection. When we mature and marry, we must become one as our mother and father have, and in this way both sides achieve perfection. (223-174, 1991.11.10)

With what kind of environment does the family want to be linked? A nation. The family connects directly to the nation. Where must the nation go? To the world. Where must the world go? The world -- God's Kingdom on earth -- will link to His kingdom in heaven. A nation's loyal patriots are its children of filial piety. Who are the loyal patriots on the world level? The world's saints are its children of filial piety. Who is a holy child of heaven and earth? Such a person is a devoted child of heaven and earth. Apart from this context, the concepts of a filial child or son have no value. (280-107, 1996.11.11)