How Bad Relationships Affect Children

There are consequences to the disorder that our culture and families have encountered.

Children are majorly affected by the downward spiral in morals and relationships.   Let’s review seven of these consequences.

Consequences for Children

1. Impaired development and lowered well-being
2. Depression
3. Ambivalence about family and love
4. Moral and spiritual difficulties
5. Violence and crime
6. Miseducation about sexuality
7. Abuse and exploitation

1. Impaired Development and Lowered Well-Being

Children are raised in a single-parent home have less of an advantage than those in a no abusive, two-parent home.

They are affected spiritually, financially, psychologically, more likely to drop out of high school, become delinquents, and become single parents themselves.

A high percentage of adolescent patients at substance abuse centers came from a single parent home.

Children from such homes tend to have less self-confidence or self-discipline, have more difficultly to be dependable and have a hard time setting and keeping goals.

Many adult children of divorce commonly say “when my parents broke up, my childhood died.”

The absence of a father in the home makes the children become the ‘junior partner’ to their mother’s emotional needs and help take care of the family in place of their father.

This stops the child’s normal development and places a heavy burden on his or her shoulders.


2. Depression

Divorce is the greatest cause of depression in a young person.

A study of 34 countries showed that suicide rates were associated with the increased divorce rates.  This was especially true for the boys.

Yet, children from a secured home that succumbed to constant conflict and destructive arguments between the parents were angry and depressed.

In addition, the parent’s disunity caused their children to bear the brunt as one parent takes their anger against the other out on the children.

For instance, an angry mother may tell a child in her disappointment, “You’re lazy, just like your father.


3. Ambivalence about Family and Love

Brothers and sisters may mimic the serious tension between their parents and act more aggressive towards one another or their peers.

When parents reduce their involvement in their children after a divorce whether financially, emotionally or in disciplining them, the children may feel less love from their parents.

Sons and daughters of divorce frequently report feeling less affection for their parents.

Many children of divorce may see the emotional closeness they have with their parents as a burden.

Divorce can also place a pall over the brothers and sister’s relationship.  When adults experience the break up of their family, they may view their childhood with negativity and report a less fond memory for it and their siblings.

A child of divorce or a single parent can lose the sweet image of having an intact family of their own.

Divorce can leave the children believing that stable relationships are not possible.

A bad relationship between parents will cause the children to have a bad image of their own gender or the other that haunts them throughout their lives.

These feelings intensifies when they reach the marrying age.

Dr. Judith Wallerstein says that they may experience anxiety about relationships which may become part of their personalities.

Children who do not have good role models, especially children of divorce, are afraid of confrontations, loss, loneliness and abandonment.

A child who over bonded with one particular parent which was broken up after the divorce may have a fear of closeness later in life due to the prospect they may lose them.

This anxiety over commitment issues will immobilize many, especially men even though they have a natural desire to have a secure marriage.


4. Moral and Spiritual Difficulties

Parents who separate can also divide their children in other ways.

In a strong family, parents work hard to create one consistent moral code and create a home culture where the child can feel comfortable and comforted.

This is not the case for children who come from a divorced home.

Because a child will go from one house to the next, he or she may live between two worlds or more if there are stepparents.  When the child is too much like one parent, this may seem like disloyalty to the other parent or offend and hurt them.

This is related to a child losing family traditions, neighbors, and friends due to having to relocate or others not being able to relate the same way to the now fractured family.

A parent’s absence after divorce can be a stumbling block to a child understanding God’s nature and His love and truth as our Heavenly Father.

God is viewed as a loving and faithful Father by Christians in the parable the Prodigal Son which rest on the premise of having a positive experience through a parents’ constant presence and their unity.

“I’ve made progress,” reports a young man in his mid-30s whose parents split up when he was small and who barely knew his father. “At first I just got angry and cynical when I heard about ‘God the Father’ in church. Then I gave up the anger and just went blank, especially when it was time to pray.

“Now I am starting to understand who Heavenly Father is through my experiences with my own baby boy.”


5. Violence and Crime

Abel killing his brother Cain in the Biblical account foreshadows the family breakdown we experience today and the rise in crime.

Children from single-parent homes are more likely to have anti-social behavior.

Children of divorce are more likely to exhibit destructive behavior such as crimes, drug use which motivate the crimes and become prison inmates.


6. Miseducation about Sexuality

Our society with loose sexually licentious standards harms the youth and society at large.

Many societies are concerned about unwed teenagers because the young are less equipped to cope with the fallout of physical relations with the opposite sex than adults are.

Three out of four adults disapprove of teenagers engaging in sex before marriage, but they may have a standard for adults.

Majority believe that it is acceptable for adults to engage in such behavior before marriage themselves.  This contradictory standard of adults accepting sex outside marriage makes it hard to enforce a different standard for teenagers.

Is it better to set a guideline for sex outside of marriage according to age if waiting for marriage a holy union is not strong enough?

Age being the only reason to make a teenager wait for sex leaves negative ramifications that happen for older sexually active adults is no different, such as heart break, teenagers will surpass this standard when tempted.

Of course, children do not follow rules so much as they follow the example of those older than they are.

Younger children will pick up the teenagers’ seductive moves when they watch their elders’ favorite rap artist or actress.

Young boys may mimic the older brothers’ exploitation of women and sexually harass their classmates without a second thought.

When children see the celebration of adults having sex outside of marriage or the beautification of it, this diverts the youth from choosing to marry and receive the benefits of waiting for their spouse.

When young people no longer view sex as a part of a marital relationship, then the whole institution of marriage loses its uniqueness and value.

Many have heard their aunts or grandmothers protest, “Why buy the cow when the milk is free?”

When sex is easily available, it may partly explain why most hate the idea of marriage in a sexually permissive society.

When sex is easily available without the responsibilities a relationship or marriage brings, it is easy to see why people would want to go the easier route.

When a society no longer honors marriage and chastity, it does not have any basis to guide children to wait for a lasting, successful love and protect them from the hurt of no marital sexual relationships.

There is a natural urge for physical union to be part of a marital companionship which is a need that can be fulfilled only in a marriage.

Despite this, we have become a society that has forgotten this principle when it is easy to come by.


7. Abuse and Exploitation

A permissive sexual attitude and the combination of single parent homes can spell disaster for children.

When children are raised by mothers who have live-in boyfriends or stepfathers not related to them, they are twenty times more likely to be physically or sexually abused than those who are raised by their fathers within an intact marriage.

During the launch of the sexual revolution, child abuse skyrocketed.

This all began when Lucifer exploited his position as Eve’s teacher and protector.

It is wrongly believed that allowing men to have free access to sex to release any sexual frustrations does not have any evidence in the present world.

One factor is that teenage pregnancy and sexual disease as the fruit of encounters not between boys and girls, but girls and older men.

The majority of pregnant girls in the United States began their sexual activity as a result of being raped or seduced by men 27 years old on average.

Even worse, when it is acceptable for people to satisfy their sexual appetites freely even in educated levels through the world becoming one community through social media and transportation, child pornography and child prostitution has exploded.

This is the darkest part of the satanic underside of “sexual freedom” outside of God.

Over a half million impoverished pre-teen and teen girls in Brazil alone have been victims of wealthy adult clients.

Virgins are chosen by adult men to protect themselves from sexually transmitted disease and are then discarded once they become infected.

Thousands of social media feed these perverse appetites.

The most innocent and vulnerable are cast into the mouths of their elders who are the very ones who are to cherish and protect them.


Return for Tomorrow's Post:  Facets of Marriage Education


This post was rewritten and derived from the religious textbook "Educating for True Love" written by a team of writers to explain Reverend Sun Myung Moon's philosophy on sex and marriage.

7 Days of Holy Sex Day 4 - Benefits of Waiting for Marriage

Contrasting the Different Standards of Sex Morality

To give credence to the timeless ethic in the present world, the prevailing permissive sex mindset needs to be refuted with arguments based upon sound reasoning and contemporary research. 

Let us consider and address five major myths of the old “free sex” perspective in this speech given by Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon:


1. Is Sex a Need?

"The first myth is: Sex is a need and an entitlement. All the other assumptions of the permissive ethic rest upon this premise.


This idea is central because it carries a certain moral imperative: If people need sex to be physically and mentally healthy, then it is unfair and uncaring to deny them. Marital status, age and other concerns are simply not as important.

More specifically, if a person claims he needs sex while the other simply does not want it, then there is moral pressure on the second person to yield to the first, since needs have priority over mere desires and having sex is after all always 'healthy' and 'normal'.

The past situation of sexual aggressors having to justify why their partners should give in is reversed. Now those who want to resist sexual advances have to explain themselves. Still, the belief in this need means single people and even children resist less; they pursue earlier sexual involvement and in more insecure situations than they would otherwise be  inclined to do.

Yet there obviously is no such sexual 'need'. There is not a shred of scientific evidence that sexual inactivity in itself is a threat to well-being.

No one has ever received medical treatment because of celibacy.

On the contrary, people are treated for sexual excesses and sometimes directed to be abstinent as therapy.

The real need being confused with sex is for genuine love. Though the body may desire only another body—any body—the heart needs to connect with another heart, to love and be loved as a unique, irreplaceable person.

This is essential for mental and physical health. We know, for example, that infants perish for lack of attention and touch from caregivers, and spouses often die of a broken heart soon after their partner passes away. The specific need of adults is for the experience of marital love. The human spirit craves marriage for its many emotional and spiritual rewards. Sex is only one dimension of what is actually needed and desired.

This belief in sexual need and thus entitlement is a dogmatic notion arising from distortions of Freud’s ideas and the discredited claims of Alfred Kinsey.

Research in the United States, for example, shows three percent—representing hundreds of thousands—have remained celibate throughout their lives and millions worldwide have waited to begin sexual involvement until age thirty and beyond with no proven ill effects. 80 percent of Americans under age 60 have had either one or no sex partner in a given year. Among married couples, infidelity is the great exception.

When opportunity for sex is not available for long periods of time as in military service, interest in it has been known to drop off to zero. 

Many married couples find themselves needing to schedule time for lovemaking because they otherwise become so busy they forget.

This is hardly on par with the need for food or sleep, which asserts itself within a matter of hours if neglected and becomes stronger, not weaker, the longer it is deferred.  Some experts question if sex is even a drive at all since it is so dependent upon learning and will.

“Sex is a natural urge, but the role it plays in your life and the importance you attribute to it . . . is a matter of free choice,” concludes psychologist Peter Koestenbaum.

Sex researchers Masters and Johnson have stated, “In one respect, sex is like no other physical process . . . [it] can be denied indefinitely, even for a lifetime.”

Sexual abstinence then, rather than signifying a state of unhealthy frustration, can simply represent a redirection of erotic impulses. This is obviously what most people must do most of the time. Even when a partner is available as in marriage, circumstances such as illness, work, pregnancy, menstrual cycle and the demands of parenthood dictate a large measure of self-control.



Sex as a “Need” is Oppressive

The belief that people need physical gratification more than they do creates its own oppression.

Sexual compulsion and exploitation become much easier; it is harder for the immature and the weak to refuse their own or someone else’s sexual “need,” as mentioned above.

In addition, single and married people and even children begin to doubt themselves if they do not desire sex as much as they hear they should.

Thus the vulnerable push themselves into sexual involvement earlier and in more insecure situations than they would otherwise be inclined to do. Teenagers may speak of their virginity as something they are relieved to get rid of, as if it is a burden.

How tragic that innocence and the authentic need for quality and committed love are so often sacrificed at the altar of a trumped-up physical “need.”


2. Is One Partner for Life Unnatural? 

The second mistaken notion that follows from the first is:

Having many sexual partners is only natural.

This argument is made on the basis of comparing humanity to animals, particularly nonmonogamous primates, and speaking in evolutionary terms about the need to propagate the species through many sexual liaisons. Thus monogamy and marriage are seen as almost impossibly difficult, even contrary to our genetic makeup.

Yet humans differ from these and other animals in obvious ways.

First, sex among animals is a seasonal matter driven solely by instinct for the sake of reproduction. However, men and women enjoy physical union far more frequently than any animal and for far more reasons than reproduction alone.

This freedom implies certain important responsibilities, as outlined above, as well as certain higher capacities that animals do not share that allow us to fulfill those responsibilities. Second, animal coupling can be indiscriminate in regard to the partner.

In contrast, we are spiritual beings with a compelling need not only for meaningful and lasting love but also to be loved as a specific and whole person and to return love in the same way.

Third, human offspring require many years of parental investment to thrive, unlike primates. Moreover, the quality of the love that spawns and sustains a child affects his resilience and capacity for making a quality contribution to society.

Giving birth to children that are not properly cared for does not make sense even from a materialistic species-survival mentality.

Therefore, what is truly natural for men and women to do is bond for life to care for each other and the children they produce. Even many other mammals do that, too. The human tendency to get involved in temporary sexual liaisons is the result of immaturity, bad conditioning and fallen nature—especially the tendency of the body to dominate the mind— not God-given or even evolutionary traits."SMM

Return for Tomorrow's Post: 7 Days of Holy Sex Day 5 - Benefits of Waiting for Marriage part 2

This text was rewritten and derived from the Textbook: True Love, Chapter "The Meaning of Sexuality".

Grow Or Die

Everyone has the idea to be the greatest whether they are low or high in society.  Our consciousness demands this uplifting of the individual.  It only becomes wrong when the desire to be above is self-centered or for the destruction of others.   Where does this conscientiousness come from that makes us want to be better?

This is derived from a cause and effect relationship.

No action is initiated without purpose; all actions have some purpose. 

Everything has a purpose: the bird sings, bees hum, the butterfly flies and the wind blows.  The blinking of your eye, your breathing and when you smile it is not for yourself but all have a purpose and a reason.

Scientists maintain that all things in the universe are made up of energy.  Energy exists everywhere, as well as force or power.  Which is first, energy or force?  If we see from both viewpoints, we see that either answer seem correct.

Action comes from a definite source; the subject and object precede action.  If God is omnipresent, then He must have both the subject and object qualities within Him.  This describes God's dual characteristics which are very real and are important to our lives.

Since the beginning of the universe and individual entity, subject and object was the beginning of the existence of self.  Everything in the universe consist of two different qualities or parts.  Each part is involved in give and take action.

Force is the consequence of the subject and object having give and take action.  If parents have give and take of love, then children will be the result.  Children are like the force.  This is God's creative process.  God is the cause.


The force has within itself the possibility of give and take action because it is the result of give and take. When we think of force we immediately comprehend two qualities of subject and object, cause and result.


When we think of our existence, we think of the power within ourselves but before that we realize that it all originated through give and take action within us.

Therefore, you are the subject body of force.

We are very powerful.  The mind and body form a subject-object relationship.  When they give and take, a power is created within us.  Why is that?  Because the cause has this quality, so the result has to be that way.  This is very logical reasoning.

When scientists study how life forms come into existence, they make the conclusion that energy just randomly evolved into higher and more complex beings.  Science says that man came into exist by chance.  This is not a logical theory and it is in need of further examination.  It is more acceptable that subject and object together form a self which would be a greater subject and take on another object.

Together they would form some higher life form or bigger self as a new subject and take an object, and so on, forming greater and greater entities.

In our social life, we want to expand our sphere of influence and increase our areas of activity and not stay stationery.  As a subject on one level you wouldn't be satisfied alone, you want to find an object on that level.  Then this subject-object unity becomes a greater subject on another level.

Scientists explain this phenomena through random mutation saying it all happens by chance.  We quickly see that this is false logic.  Since they cannot come up with a better theory, they just use this theory without any basis of truth to it.

The reasoning states that a small thing just all of the sudden becomes big.  Boom!  Even one who is not a scholar or well learned, would choose the logic of the subject-object explanation over the chance theory.

How does that theory tend to explain how a small entity just becomes big into existence?  This theory does not take in account the original force that causes a smaller cell to grow bigger or enable a small group of cells to become bigger step by step.

Force is the result of give and take action.

There is no give and take without purpose.  Nothing happens without purpose.  A chemistry student or teacher who tries to mix a plus element and minus element of two different qualities will never get a reaction.  But, if he prepares a compatible subject and object, when he brings them close together a reaction will automatically happen.

The explanation based on give and take describes science more adequately than theories of probability or random occurrence.

We spoke about how a person wants to become greater and greater and will become frustrated if they are not able to do so.  This does not happen by chance either.  Now we know that we want to be greater because it is our conscience at work.

Everything is included in the realm of the subject-object relationship.  This means that "I" exists within a broad universe and lives within a broad purpose.  Therefore, our conscience directs us to become bigger and greater.  We must understand the reason for this so we will want this centered on God's purpose.

When we look at the four position foundation (God, spouse, parent, sibling) we see a circular action.  To create this action, it must have a plus-minus, plus-minus not a plus-minus, minus-plus.  Name one entity that cannot move or turn.

If there is anything that refuses to move, it will cease to exist.  

The whole universe is full of life and vitality.  Even the cells in our bodies are always active.  A collection of these cells, which is you, is even more active.

Our conclusion is that this big universe moves with a certain purpose, not haphazardly. Even one of the billions of tiny cells in your body has plus and minus and is an inseparable part of the universe, and so it wants to become as great as the whole universe.

Even a tiny cell in your body will protest if the body no longer wants to become greater.  This is why each person has hope for a greater future.  If a person is forced to stay in the same situation for the rest of their life, they lose the will to live.  We see this with many of the elderly after retirement or in patients living with chronic pain from an illness.

What existed before force existed?

The action of subject and object. And where does action come from? Action derives from a subject and object, and the whole thing takes place because of the whole purpose.

There are dual purposes present:

One is to maintain oneself, the other is to become part of the larger self, which is the universe.  The reason man takes an object is to preserve and perfect himself and then become one with woman.  The purpose of man and woman coming together is to have children.  Then they stand in the same position as their ancestors.

Let's "look" at our eyes as an example.  The eye does have a self-existent reason, but our eyes serve the whole body.  The ear works on it own automatically, but it also helps the whole body.  Everything has a right to exist because of its purpose of the whole.

It is likened to a car with many complicated parts, but it will not run even with the most insignificant small piece missing.  This piece exists for the purpose of the whole.

How is it that the grand universe is interrelated?

As individuals, we have dual objectives:  one is to protect the self and the other is to make sure that this self unites with another self to make a bigger self.

The theory of evolution has been able to understand the purpose of the individual need of self-preservation, but it has not been able to explain the reasoning of an entity's purpose in relation to the whole.

For instance, it theorizes that a zebra is eaten by a lion seems barbaric, but without zebras and other game, the lion could not simply sustain life.  Therefore, the zebra has just as much importance as the lion and lives for the purpose of the whole.

Even conscientious scholars do not have a clue how to answer the question of what is the purpose of the universe.  Their conclusion has been that it does not have a purpose, but it just continues to go on and on and will one day perish.

We understand that this is not true.  As it seems that one thing will perish, but actually something else will be formed.  This happens because everything even the universe has a purpose.  This principle applies to every aspect of the universe.  When individuals gather, it might be for their own needs, but the purpose for them forming is for a greater being.

If one desires to have a great character, they must be willing to become the object to the greater subject which is the universe and they must be worthy of it.  Today, those of the Caucasian race tend to stick together and ignore or exclude other races.  But this is not their purpose.  They are to embrace other colors.

Individual purpose must always follow the purpose of the whole.

People of conscious may wonder why the big fish eat the little fish, why animals are allowed to eat other animals, why the powerful eat the weak.  This whole scenario seems chaotic, but according to the principle of creation, the smaller things exist for the larger purpose.  So the lion is justified in eating the rabbit.

This principle is the key to solving the whole problem.  The smaller entity exists for the purpose of the greater existence which is ultimately the whole universe.  This does not mean that the whole or the greater abuses or mistreats the smaller.

Americans don't know that they exist for the purpose and betterment of the whole. Who says so? God says so. More objectively, the universe says so.

Members of the Unification movement are the most consistent people in all of history because they understand this principle of small sacrifice for the larger.  They understand that the individual should exist for the family, the family for the tribe, the tribe for the nation and the nation for the world.

This should not only be theory, but we should live this way.  In a way this is kind of selfish.  By the small going on to bigger and bigger levels, we make ourselves available to become big individuals.

This principle clears up any questions about whether any activity is good or not so good.  For instance there was a dance called kisco dancing - "co" means "nose and 'kis" means "kiss".  Was this dance between a couple for America, the world or for just the couple themselves.

This dance does nothing for the whole and it is confined to the individual purpose.  Their development stops.  It is deemed a sin when one is living self-centered.

In order to live a life for the betterment of the whole, we want to get rid of whatever would harm the whole.  If it is for your betterment or the world's betterment than disco dancing 24 hours a day is good.  North Korea is always threatening other countries, if disco dancing could stop their advance then disco dancing is good.  Tomorrow's post we will speak further how sports can play a role in bringing about peace.  Imagine instead of war all the countries depend on the Olympics to solve problems.

No one today is able to place a true reason what is man's purpose.  From the lowest to the highest level, no one understands the meaning of what the individual self is.  All of this confusion in the world of which direction to go arises from ignorance.

The principle is not learned in public or private schools, they do not know it.  It explains all of the phenomena of the past and shows how to apply it consistently all the time.  Reverend Moon is the first teacher of this knowledge of the principles of creation.

This is the beginning of a new culture.

By knowing this you can comprehend Divine Principle even better, and know why there are three stages, subject and object, how give and take occurs, and why there is a purpose. Now the Divine Principle is no longer conceptual, but something you can put into action in every circumstance.

The Divine Principle has surpassed the conceptual stage and we can place the teaching into action in every circumstance of our lives.  Now you will never forget because the Divine Principle is you.


Photos courtesy of : freedigitalphotos.net

Return for Tomorrow's Post: Role Sports Play Bringing Peace

This text was rewritten and derived from the speech, "Myself" given by Reverend Sun Myung Moon,
January 13, 1980

Spiritual Food or Die Trying

I believe every human has once seen or heard the biblical phase, "Man Cannot Live By Bread Alone."  For those who do not know, God's word or law is like food for the spirit or soul of every man giving life.

Since a man, who was created by God's word, fell as a result of losing the word, he must be recreated by the word.

That is God's word of love, God's word of life and God's word of lineage.

The principle law is more precious than anything else. Have you ever thought of the principle being more precious than eating your meals, wearing your clothes, or sleeping? You should have viewed the principle as something absolute, and believed in the principle with a more precious and sacred attention, than anything else in the world; however, we as humans could not live up to this standard. Before God, we should all repent.

We must breathe, spiritually, every day. How do we do this?

Just like you have meals daily, you must connect with God's word. You must place more emphasis on connecting with the word than eating daily meals. You must emphasize the word as most important. Only then will you walk the path to Heaven.

Everyone has to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. However, it is more precious to receive spiritual nourishment, the word of God. The question for your life is this. How much will you nourish and grow your spiritual self, valuing God's word more than your daily meals.

You must understand God's word in your "chest" as soon as you understand it in your head. You also must understand it in your body as soon as you understand it in your chest. Then, you must understand it in your heart as soon as you understand it in your body.

It is no good if you act according to your own regard, while God's word remains only the words that you read. Don't many of us religious do this?  We preach the word to others, but don't fully follow it ourselves?  I'm not talking about hypocrisy, moreso, about how it is oftentimes hard to even recognize that we are not completely following the word because our spirit hasn't matured to what we preach yet.

We must become the manifestation of God's word.  Just as Jesus did. Many will say this is blasphemous to think we can be the same as Jesus.  Then why did he tell us to be perfect like our father is perfect?  Is it possible for fallen humanity to become perfect like Jesus?

Of course it is.  All of God's saints and Jesus gave us the word according to their time to guide us toward perfection.

How do we do this?

God's internal heart must become your internal heart. Namely, you must become the embodiment of your original mind.

We shouldn't feel guilty that we are not like Jesus, that we upset God's plans and stumble along the way.  Every human has an immature spirit that must be nourished and grown just like the human body.  The word is food for our spirit. 

This is why many who read the word and follow it as much as possible without judging others seem to be more stable and grounded in their life.  They are growing their spirit while others struggle throughout their days and seem on the brink of death and calamity all of the time.

Truth must be actualized. The truth should be maintained and perfected in living human beings. Otherwise, the truth may be taken and misused by Satan. Therefore, God does not reveal the new truth through his saints until all required conditions are met and the truth is manifested in reality.

This is why you see a progression of the truth heighten from Noah's time to Jesus's time.

God's word will bring a result of goodness and carry out the grace of resurrection and the grace of recreation wherever it is spread. So you must be people who are equipped with the word and who can liquidate evil, carry out the grace of resurrection, and command the execution of recreation.

Therefore, the place where such people, who are equipped with God's word, live together is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus said to Satan, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"(Matthew 4:4) This is very real. Has God's champions lived until now because they labored? Or have they lived because of money? It is neither. They have lived by holding on to God's word.

God works through levels and stages - growth stages.  Everything in creation grows through stages.

First, is the era when you believe in God' word. Second, is the era when you practice God's word. Then, last is the era when you live your life -- your whole life -- centered on God's word. You will enter the era of living life. In order to transform this world into the Kingdom of Heaven, each of these steps should be followed faithfully. We will develop in the order from the era of faith, to the era of practice, and finally the era of living life.

The spirit world is a place where people live their lives centered on God's word. Since every action in your daily life is in accordance with the word, you must be disciplined here on earth. In other word, if you dislike the word of God, you should not eat your meal. You must enjoy and taste the spiritual nourishment more than your meals. Since the word is the eternal spiritual nourishment, you must be trained to develop the taste for the spiritual meals that last forever, while you live this limited earthly life.


Return for Tomorrow's Post: The War Between Mind and Body

photos courtesy of : freedigitalphotos.net


This is from a compilation of speeches titled "Our Attitude Toward God" given by Dr. Rev. Sun Myung Moon.