The Way to World Peace

If fallen man understood that humanity went in the wrong direction causing a constant war going on within each of us, the restoration of the world would be faster.  

As a consequence of the Fall of Man, there is a continuous struggle and conflict within ourselvess between mind and the body.  Between the desire for good and the desire for evil.

 

Originally, our mind and body were to be operate as one in unity, not struggle.

 

Our mind represents God's mind.

The human body is a container to accommodate the mind.  Separation came between these two when the fall occurred.

Thus the body dominated the good mind based on Satan or selfishness.  Thus, tragically, the human body has become the servant of Satan.

On the other hand, the human conscience is the agent of God in the individual person.  Our conscience was not created to benefit oneself.

It is planted by God for the sake of righteousness.

Yet the body rebels against this conscience.

The body only seeks after comforts and tends to act selfishly, going after carnal desires.  The conscience in turn is trying to chastise the body and direct it toward the godly mind's desires.

This is why there is always inevitable conflict and struggle within one's self.

This is the reason why the traditional religions of the world all teach the principle of chastising the body through fasting, prayer, and other disciplines.

By doing the opposite of what the body desires to do that is wrong, discipline brings the body to the will of the mind.  For this reason, religion which is the training ground where the desire of the body is suppressed, has been the instrument of God to bring men back to God's original ideal.

In order for us to dominate the body, we must unite with God within Himself.

The only power that enables the mind to dominate the body is the same power which generates unity of the mind's wth God's truth and love.

 Mind is subject and body is object. 

God's love and truth has the power to bring the mind and body into harmonious person.  Religion would define such a person as a man of perfection or a holy man.

Men and women that center their whole life on God are called men and women of goodness.

These good men and women may receive God's blessing of marriage and be united into a couple of husband and wife.

This will be the beginning of one ideal family of men on the face of the earth.

This model family is what God wanted to have as a building block of the good society, nation and world.

The Family is the Foundation of Peace

The Orient has a saying that "Once peace dwells int he family, everything goes right."

A happy and harmonious family is a family of peace and the foundation for the heavenly kingdom on earth.  The dynamic of the family is true love.

You must love God first, then love your husband or wife and your children with pure and sacrificial love.  This is the manifestation of true love.

God created love as the supreme force in the universe.

There is nothing greater in the universe than true love which is supreme.

True love, of course, originates from God.

God invested everything, every ounce of Himself in order to bring about the creation of all things and mankind.

 

Love is the only is the only thing in the world when invested fully, returns fully.  

When you invests true love, it will multiply and prosper.

Investing 100 percent of true love will yield 120 percent.  One might think that those who practice true love would become poor and miserable, yet the end result is to the contrary.

Through practicing true love, you will acquire prosperity and eternal life.

This kind of family of true love becomes the foundation for creating a society, nation and world centered on God's love.

That world would become ideal and peaceful.

There you will find understanding and peace and not misunderstanding and confusion.

You will find unity instead of division.

You would find selflessness instead of selfishness.  It would be the world where sacrifices and good service are a dominant virtue which everyone would strive to achieve.

The realization of God's ideal is the way to bring about true peace in the world.



 

The Ideal of True Parents for True World Peace

The Bible states that God sought to create human beings from "His own image" and character.

This means that the invisible God wanted to manifest Himself substantially into a visible, physical form.

In other words, men and women would become the personification of God through their perfection in pure love.

If the first man and woman had realized the ideal of God, they would have become the first visible form of God and created the first family of man of God-centered children, grandchildren who would expand to form an ideal society, nation and world.

In this case the invisible God would thus become the vertical True Parent of man centering upon true love.  Humankind would have centered upon good Adam and Eve who became True Parents by becoming one family eternally fulfilling a true brotherhood.

The Fall of Adam and Eve brought about the lost of not only God's ideal world, but the True Parents of humanity.

We became like orphans whose true parents abandoned them.

Therefore, brothers and sistersturned into enemies.

As a result, nation became antagonistic relationship rather than friendly ones. Accusations, and distrust abound on every level of society.

In the final fulfillment of human history, therefore, God's work of restoration is the restoration of True Parents first, liberating humanity from its orphan status.

Today this is the central dispensation of God - to bring True Parents to earth to guide mankind and create the true family of man centering on God and true love.

Ladies and gentlemen, today's creation of the Federation for World Peace must be different from that of the League of Nations and the United Nations. Most important is that we must found this organization upon the true ideal and philosophy of lasting peace as well as the ideal of True Parents. In the final analysis, peace in God and with God is the newest level of awakening. 


Once humanity reaches this level, it will be a refreshing new beginning toward attainment of peace.  The exclusion of God from human efforts to bring about peaceful solutions, is the core reason why there is constant failure in these endeavors.

Therefore, we should make God the center of this movement.

Historical Gathering

For men and women who are fervently longing for world peace, today's gathering is an historic gathering. There are many presidents and former presidents here today, as well as prominent religious leaders and leaders from every walk of life. This is truly a rare and extraordinary assembly. Furthermore, there are leaders from the East bloc and the West bloc. Until recently, those leaders were mired in the Cold War and locked in a chilling confrontation. In this auditorium, however, there is no East or West. Everyone is gathered together in one spirit of cooperation and reconciliation.

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall finally came tumbling down.

Ever since that historical event which was felt around the world, we have been living in a different world.

The world is quickly moving forward to reformation, mutual understanding and friendship.  Everyone today feels that the world is opening up, a new way, to blossoming opportunity of peace.

If you agree that the principles I have expounded are the fundamental criteria for peace, then true peace is reachable and achievable. The industrialized North must reach out to help liberate the South from pervasive impoverishment. The developed nations must reach out with a helping hand toward the developing countries and the new democracies.

During this time of transition and restoration, each nation must change from a selfish one to an unselfish one.

That in itself is a revolution.  Nations can do this when leaders themselves are able to see from the position of parents.

 

The most unselfish and sacrificial love of all is the love of parents. 

 

 

 

From this perspective, we can see that on a worldwide level that all of the nations are brothers and sister nations.  

 

Then a fresh new vision emerges and a new opportunity will open up in front of us to a new dawn.

What should be the priority of those countries that are part of the UN in the days to come?

We have reached the age where colonialism is over.  

 

Where the powerful nations exploited the weakest ones in the past is over.  The law of "survival of the fittest" does not apply in our new world.  

 

The age of the superpower arms race which drove the world and humanity into fear and uncertainty has also passed.  

 

 

 

 

 

Humanity ought to be liberated from the devestating threat of nuclear arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What time is it on God's timetable of restorating the world?

This is the time that the Holy Scriptures refer to "beating our swords into plowshares."  Do you see it is such a time of human revolution going toward a better world centered on God?

This is the time for developing mutual trust which is based on a high moral standard.

It is a time when all of the members of the United Nations in a relationship of mutual respect and love, should jointly declare one final war against our common enemies.  

 

That would be hunger, ignorance, disease and crime.

This is God's plan.  Even though everyone has a concept of their home country where family lives, in larger sense, the world now becomes "my country" because it is where God, my Father and my brothers and sisters live.  

 

From this point of view, all the advanced nations should seek to share their knowleddge of high technology with developing countries and new democracies.

To do otherwise would be a moral crime.  Things which are good and beneficial must be shared among all nations.  When a new discovery is made, it should benefit all nations.  If something is good for humanity and the world, it should be fulfilled, transcendent of national boundaries.

For a long time, I have been fighting for equal opportunity in the use of high technology by all developing nations.

A Century of Peace

Ladies and gentlemen, your coming to this place is not an accident. Nothing happens by accident. I feel you are ordained to be here. You are chosen by God as champions of peace.  A new era is unfolding. With the cooperation of God and man together the twenty-first century will be a century of peace. 


If we are to see a world of peace happen, we should work tirelesly together for the next nine years.

If we do, we will be able to eliminate all obstacles which might hinder the attainment of peace.

If we are able to push forward, centered on God, we should be able to eliminate all obstacles which would hinder the attainment of peace.

This twenty-first century should be a righteous century full of hope.
Wealth will not be the dominating factor in this era.

Instead, the human spirit and soul will prevail.  The twenty-first centry is the era of unity between God and man.

It should be the era where a new awakening will come to every man.

They will realize that there is more benefit for himself when he serves others and lives for the sake of others.

In this century, selfishness will decline.  Life honor and glory based on unselfishness shall be triumphant.

These are the characteristics of the era for peace is approaching.

Now we have the opportunity for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.  This century shall be hopeful and glorious.

To make this happen, the Federation for World Peace will provide the ideal and philosophy to educate the world's population. The Federation will assist spiritually, mentally and financially in the development of needy nations. The Federation will set a high moral standard and take a dynamic role in building a world of peace.


As you walk this path of restoration, you are the apostles of peace.  The bright new hope as well as a exciting new future awaits you.  We should fervently feel the desire to fulfill this great mission that has been bestowed upon us by God.

In order to achieve this sacred duty and historic responsibility of building everlasting peace on earth, we should dedicate our lives, fortunes and sacred honor with total commitment to this dispensation.

The first item on our agenda is to invite God into our individual hearts and those of our family, society, nation and world.

When God is with us, who shall be against us?

Respected friends, my beloved brothers and sisters, we are called to this sacred mission: to build a world of peace.

Our noble march shall begin today toward that glorious future.  Let us build a true world of peace together with God.

Thank you very much.




Return for Tomorrow's Post: The Homeland the True God Desires


This post was rewritten from the Textbook for World Peace Chapter 2

Witnessing Teaches True Love

Many Americans believe that the times which we are living are much better than the olden days, but the truth is the days of the past are much purer and better.

Of course there was much blood shed and many wrongs of the past, but from the viewpoint of values, we must restore this to the present time because this opposite direction leads to destruction.

But Americans will not just simply accept such statements.  We must be able to clearly explain why we must live a purer way.  We must do so quickly because the time is short and unless we cand do this, America cannot be saved.


There have been many changes in public opinion taking place without you even realizing it. Righteous Americans have joined the staff of the Washington Times, even taking a cut in salary, because they felt inspired to join the new conservative movement.


How responsible do you feel for following these words?

Many speeches speak about witnessing to the home church providence in your area comprising of 360 homes.  How many homes in the past week did you visit in your home church area?

Throughout history, many religious people have made tremendous sacrifices and millions have been martyred for their belief in God.  Because of this collective merit of sacrifice and blood, home church is now possible.

There is a value and meaning to this providence because the 360 homes in your area represent all the people in the world.

By witnessing to them, you are doing the same work as working with people all over the world.  Through this, you are able to restore your  family.

If you are not able to do the work of home church, you will be severely judged later.

On the church level, we have not been able to go beyond the family level.  There are many families, but in comparison to the ultimate goal this accomplishment is small.  Unless we are able to go to the larger levels of society nation and world, our level of freedom will not be complete in the spirit world. We will have limited movement there.

As we do the work of restoration every day, corresponding areas in spirit world open and are created at the same time.  At best we have the freedom, right now, to move about at the community level.

There are many borders and boundaries in areas of the spirit world just as there are here on earth.

We witness to people on a one-to-one basis, but at this rate how will be able to expand to the world level?

Your responsibility is to expand to the highest levels.

This is for the sake of your clan.  When you do home church and the people there understand God and His will through the Completed Testament, Divine Principle, then they will be able to educate your clan.  They will become better teachers than you are.

You can think of it in relation to Cain and Abel in your clan.  Your responsibility in the Abel position is to stand on the central point guiding others, living the heavenly, vertical standard yourself.

When you are able to do that, you are able to inherit the position of a true parent.  By standing int hat position, you receive God's love directly, Father love.  Mother's love and the love of brothers and sisters.

If we were able to see with a spiritual microscope, we would be able to see that every one of your cells reflects one of those kinds of love.

They would not be able to just see you alone in your cells, but that you have achieved unity and selflessness.  You can then confidently claim that your 'I' now is different from the 'I' before, because it is reflecting the love of God, parents and brothers and sisters.

Have you thought before about your cells carrying all these different elements of love?

People will automatically like such a person when they see him.  When a person lives only for himself, however, it is hard for anyone to like him. It is even more difficult for God to be pleased with him..

But when you are full of love of others, God will love everything about your eyes, nose and everything else that belongs to you.

Your parents would love you more than you love yourself and will want to share everything they have with you.


Whenever anyone comes to visit me, I try to show love to that person and treat him better than anyone has ever treated him in the past. This is the attitude I want to teach you; whenever you take any position, you should take it with the most loving heart. If you become the president of some organization, be the most loving president that group ever had.


When it is time for the blessing, arranged marriage, many may wonder why they were given the spouse that was picked for them and they want a better one.  If you think that your fiancee is very difficult to love, then when you are able to love them, you will be the king and queen of love.

Do you think God would like such a complaint and think you should have a different fiancee and will change you around?

We each have an endless realm of love to connect with if you make a success out of your relationship.  Certainly, then, God will want to fill you with everything you need.

Every bridegroom should think of his bride as more precious than royalty as if she was his queen and  vice-versa.

The blessing is given to reverse the position of the fall and connect man and wife to the direct blood lineage of God.  How tragic would it be if you knowingly or unknowingly stopped it?  Your ancestors and all of creation will accuse you if you prevent them from being connected to God.

Sometimes, people join the movement with such zeal, but after a few years of hard work, their enthusiasm diminishes.  On the other hand, there is the member that doesn't get much attention at first but gradually build up his accomplishments.

Which member would you like to be?

Naturally, you want to go up, not down, but if you do not follow simple directions like working for the home church providence, you are going down.  You may say that you will carry out your responsibilities as a person of faith, but how much have you actually carried out?

Maybe the American youth have not lived up to all their promises, but another country will.  If the time comes when the white people fail to complete God's time table, then the black people will rise up and become the leaders of the world.

We must realize that America has been helped because it is at the center of God's providence for restoring the world.

If America is not able to do as much as they can and fulfill this mission of world salvation, there will be accusations by your ancestors and all the white people there.

Americans have been taught this material through public speeches and lectures more than any other country and any other religion.  The consequences of missing this opportunity will be much more serious than you think!


This morning I am dressed in a suit and tie because of Sunday Service; normally, however, I prefer to wear less expensive clothing. I have trained myself to conserve water which is so plentiful here in America, because I know how little clean water is available in other parts of the world, especially Africa. If you consistently try to look at things from God's viewpoint, these things are very basic ways of living.


This is why other members from poorer countries do not accuse Father or believe negative information even though they have suffered deprived lives and he is living in comfortable surroundings.

He doesn't feel proud of those things and always thinks that he will see to it that everyone around the world has this kind of environment.

Each of us must live according to the true vertical standard and continuously widen the sphere of influence.  You mustn't think, "Just let the world take care of itself. I am satisfied just as long as my family is doing fine."

The idea is to expand in all four directions, so you need to be moving from the East to the West securing both ends.  Maybe in the future, Western students will want to travel to the Eastern Universities and vice-versa.

If these students' desire is to truly learn from another culture, they can't just have a few small experiences just for purpose of reference and take it back to their native culture.  They can only expand themselves by taking the culture seriously trying to learn from it.

Families that have lived a sacrificial lifestyle for God, should be proud of their sons and daughter going to the remote parts of the world because in this way, cultures of the world can be linked to the families of the highest vertical love of God.

They will also be linked to the deepest horizontal love between people.

Thoughtful and conscientious people around the world will agree with this.

Americans should be the first to reach out and learn from people around the world.  Some Americans are only able to think that the Western way is only good way.

Once America is able to exhibit such an universal attitude, then the rest of the world will follow.

We should not just form and focus only on our family becoming comfortable with our way of life.  You should understand that if you only have a small influence, then your level of freedom to mobility in spirit world will be also small.


In Korea today, people from all professions have come to respect me, while in America I am still treated as an outcast. Since I fought a legal battle in the Orient, I feel that it is right to face a similar battle here in the West. I will never be exhausted; even though every kind of person may oppose me, I must carry out what is necessary.


Is it ideal to say that only blonde, light-skinned people are the standard for mankind?  Of course not.  Within each single individual, there are all different colors of materials.

The different species of geese, such as the Canadian and Alaskan, do not fight with each other when they cross the border.

They do not fight over color or nationality.  If a geese was to lay a colored egg, the mother would not abandon him.

Geese are not aware of color and do not base their decision off of them.  However, the person who is conscious of his own color and other people's coloring creates barriers and obstacles in his life.

Even though many people may shout for you to go home and you receive much persecution as you walk this pathway, you must recognize your true value.

One day you will be sought after by the whole world.

The earth is divided into the North and South pole.  But, human civilization is divided between the Eastern world and the West.

The two poles of the earth are the vertical line and the East-West is on horizontal line.  When humanity is able to finally unite globally with harmony between the East and the West, Heaven on Earth will be achieved.

Americans have been opposed to Reverend Moon without actually knowing anything about Reverend Moon. Soon, however, the time will come when Americans will quickly change their minds.

Would you like to go to the other part of the world?

The person who refuses to budge becomes stagnant and eventually will decline.  We must widened the individual influence to all the higher levels to the clan, nation and world.

If you are not able to literally expand to the highest levels, then you can connect yourself with the Messiah and follow him.

This ideology of the Divine Principle, the Completed Testament, which this blog is based upon has been persecuted on the worldwide level because it has reached to that position.  Any conscientious person who hears this teaching will see the greatness of its ideology.

You each recognize this, but sometimes you say you wish this path was easier and less difficult and you would be more motivated.  However, if the hardship was eliminated, the there could not be any true restoration accomplished.

The normal course for a champion is to go through many hardships. 

To become a world champion boxer or a supreme martial artist, would you expect to do it without fighting or any amount of training?

You would not be able to win the moment you stepped into the ring just from the first blow of your opponent if you ran out.

The normal course of a champion is to get beaten, to bleed and to have many scars.  But just when things look the worst for him, he is able to stand up and knock out his opponent.  This is the way the champion must go.

Our work on this path of faith is a real challenge as well.

At the time of difficulty, serious people stay and weak, uncommitted people fall away. 

If you are able to continue this endeavor and keep running all the way to the goal, no matter what happens, you are assured of being a true winner and champion.

The Messiah's true work of world restoration is so arduous, those who know his path would not be hungry for that central position.

No one is willing to take over that position.  Actually, within the world of love, there is nobody who can take the position.

Was God's position elected through popular vote?  What about the Messiah?

Certain positions were created before there was a political process conceived.  Likewise, you did not have any decision or chose in who was your parents, brothers or sisters.

Some things in human society will never be changed.

Through the election process, it is possible that a communist is elected president of this country.  If that was possible, Satan would be able to win tremendous influence over the earth.  God has been fighting Satan's influence throughout history and now we are at the culmination point.

The Messiah's responsibility is to achieve and protect the vertical position of love.

We already know that no military power will be able to stop the spread of communism completely.  The battle must be won within the communities and families, where the ideology has been implanted and embraced.

Home church of witnessing to 360 people in your area is the way to fight the influence of communism.

Communism is the enemy of God because it believes salvation through material gain and not through God.  If you have built a strong foundation in your area, you will be able to know if someone enters the community preaching communism.

You will then be able to prevent such unwholesome ideas from invading your area.

New York is in a pivotal position for the world; if it turns toward goodness, the world will follow. If it turns toward evil, so will the whole world.

The movement has focused energies and resources to New York for decades for this reason while others were deserting the city and giving up on it.  We went against the tide at that time.

The young people of the movement have been pushed to be humble and deny themselves to reverse the fallen ways of the secular world.  Even fiancees do not hold hands while other kiss and express their love publicly.

In secular society, people often live together before becoming husband and wife, but we get married and wait a time to do mission work before we consummate as husband and wife.

When you are able to go this way, you go beyond your physical appetites in order to achieve a greater goal.

We may appear to be the lowest people and continue to deny our worldly pleasures, but we are actually becoming greater and greater people.

Those who constantly indulge their appetites will discover that they have not gone up, but down in value.

Likewise, those without the strength and determination will not be able to persevere through the most difficult times.

Photos courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net


Return for Tomorrow's Post: Gods Child Doesn't Need an Appointment


This post was rewritten and derived from the speech Completion of the Ideal

The Way of True Freedom

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things which you are now ashamed?  

Those things result in death!  But now that you have been set free from sin and you have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Romans 6:20-22


Necessity of the Proper Conception of Freedom


There is a limit.


Everyone speaks about wanting peace, happiness and freedom, but on a deeper level, what actually is freedom that regular people call freedom?  We can say that freedom is doing whatever you want.  But how far does doing whatever you want go?

It has a limit.

We can only live a little beyond one hundred years.  Is it freedom if an individual just lives their whole life doing things their own way even against the law?  If God didn't give us freedom to do whatever we wished within His principles, what kind of freedom would we have?

A human being cannot live much longer than one hundred years. Is it freedom if I spend that one hundred years going my own way living however I want to my minds desires? If there were no law and freedom to do whatever one wished, what kind of freedom is that? Today, the world of civilized culture has expanded greatly, so is it easy or difficult to do research and study?

Here's an example.

 Is it freedom or restriction to to study all day if you do not like to study?  Being stuck in a study room all day when you rather be somewhere else is confinement.   The question is, even though there are imposed restrictions, we have to see why we have the desire to do it?  The problem has been our understanding of the concept of freedom.

Freedom is not doing whatever one wishes.   

Then, what does freedom mean to a woman? What does freedom mean to a man? What is freedom for any person?

What is freedom for a family? For a society? For a nation? That is the issue. Can we, as individuals, do whatever we wish?  Isn't this how society is being led in our times?  People living how ever they want based on their own desires without care for any other individual feelings have led to disastrous results and multiplied throughout history.

If it is freedom to do whatever you want, then when you say you don't want to eat another meal, you will die no matter what because your body lives by a standard of needing food.

That is the reason Western society is perishing. They do not know the definition of freedom.

Do we obtain freedom from our happiness or do we get happiness from experiencing freedom?  Which would you whether have?  Freedom in happiness.  We might think that happiness is in freedom, but we have not been aware that this is not the case.  Freedom desires to live within happiness not the other way around.

Therefore, freedom is an action with a directional characteristic. It cannot be a decisive action.

Since freedom wishes to dwell within happiness, it is secondary not primary.

2) The Three Great Principles Freedom Must Have

Freedom cannot exist outside of the Principle or the law and everything has been analyzed and the rules have already been set.

There is no freedom outside of the Principle.

Just because you have the freedom to choose to stop eating and you decide to do so just because you have chose - this is not freedom.  You will become hungry and your body will start to show ill effects and eventually you will die.

When we look at it this way, all the workings of the universe exercise the power of freedom.

The greatest freedom is that the earth revolves on its axis once a day. Also, the moon goes around the earth once a month, and, of course, the earth goes around the sun based on a 360-day cycle.

What if the earth all of the sudden decided that it didn't want to rotate.  This means the value of the whole in which it serves would be lost.  The logical conclusion is that there is no freedom apart from the Principle.  Every entity exists in this way.

When we pursue freedom in a world that forgoes its principles and laws will eventually fail.  An elderly person must follow the rules for the elderly.  Is it suitable for a 80 year old to date a 20 year old?  Everyone would laugh at such a relationship and spit on them when they see them in public.  Everything has to coincide with the Principle.


With Freedom Comes Responsibility

Have you noticed that with freedom comes responsibility?  You have heard this in the famous comics in reference to power.  When we act in a position of responsibility, we should do it for something good and not take responsibility for something bad.  All of creation will respect you when you take responsibility for your actions.  Also, where you have acted based on responsibility, good results will be left behind.

Aren't these the three great fundamental rules?

Someone might wonder what kind of freedom is there when you have to follow the rules and while catering to responsibility.  A teen might not want to be dominated by their parents. They want to to do whatever they wish so they can assert that as freedom.

Let's compare this analogy with the branches and twigs.  Does a twig say that it does not want to have anything to do with the branch?  Without the branch, the twig would not have protection and cannot manage by itself.

Can anything manage alone? The north, south, east and west have to join in four directions. 

If there is a tree-branch facing the east, then there will inevitably be branches facing west, south and north. There must also be buds and roots. It is in such a case that freedom can be guaranteed.

Without this principle, the tree does not grow upright and it will be out of shape.  Is the growth of a tree an example of freedom?  It is its purpose...to grow.  Therefore, there is not freedom outside the Principle - the fundamental rules of the Principle.  There also, is no freedom without responsibility.  When we act, good results must inevitably come about.


3) The Devil's Easy-Going Freedom

When we look at the behavior of students these days destroying school equipment, breaking things, they can be called villains.  They are satan's dogmatists.  This is self-indulgence - not freedom as they may think.  They may believe that doing whatever they want including harming property as long as they do whatever they feel like doing is freedom.  This selfish way of life can only decrease.  One only can prosper with the aid of everything in creation. Isn't this true?

As in the world of nature, each of us must absorb nutrients in order for our bodies to grow healthy. But if we deny our bodies the proper nourishment thinking this is freedom, our health will go down and all is lost.  That is a big painful problem.

"You must know this: there is definitely no freedom outside the Principle. When fathers and mothers give birth to sons and daughters, those sons and daughters cannot deny the principle of being born as children of their parents, can they?"

Only doing what I want to do and prefer is satan's easy going way of freedom.  It is a free action which is based on untruth, unprincipled things and will lead to failure.  It is outside the principle.

A person has to accept their father and mother are their origin and must come into harmony with them in order to do so.  They must care for each other and not just care for only themselves.  To be good to ones mother and father and yourself is freedom.

4) Women's Freedom



Should it be acceptable for a woman to say because of freedom, she will do everything a man does even though she was born as a woman.  As a woman she was not born with a beard so how can she claim freedom to grow a beard as a man?

Is this the way of the principle for those born as a woman.

Can a woman who has a monthly period, just claim that it is too annoying and she will just give up.  Can she just give up this responsibility just because she feels like it.

Each one of us has to adapt to the fundamental principles of womanhood.  A woman hast to take responsibility for being born a a woman.  She takes responsibility of bearing and raising the children as her breasts get large.

This is freedom. Giving birth and raising children is the highest freedom. 

A woman who does not give birth feels that she is only half a woman and is not counted as a woman.

Even if a chestnut burr is big and good, if it does not ripen properly then it will decay.  It will not be able to ripen and open and the whole part will fall off and rot.  The burr is attached firmly so the chestnut must not decay.

However, the chestnut burrs bearing chestnuts will come to fruition in the autumn. If the burr is carrying a chestnut, the nut should drop off. Before the chestnuts drop, the burr opens up automatically. No matter how big they are, those that don't have fruit will drop off the tree and decay.

When autumn arrives, the ones that are ripe open their mouths and have the responsibility to protect the fruit. It is the Principle. It is Principle based reasoning. There is no freedom outside of this logic. Do you understand?

The American concept of freedom has led to its decay.

We each have to take responsibility in all facets of life.  Why?  If we give birth to a child we would never say, "Hey, you're free.  Grow in any way you wish, do whatever you want."  this is a collective responsibility.  Because my parents raised me with responsibility, I must do the same for my children.

That is where freedom is.


Return for Tomorrow's Post: Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

This post was rewritten and taken from the Textbook: The Way for a True Child, Chapter, The Way of True Freedom

How to Be a Successful Spouse

The following are notes of elder Korean disciple of the Divine Principle Mr. Jung Ro Yoon, (at the time)Vice President and Director of  New Hope East Garden.

Written by Bill Selig.

Recently, I was rummaging through my papers and came across what I consider a real gem of a talk. I found it to be especially sound advice, both useful and practical. What follows are my rough notes from an evening talk given July 2, on husband-wife relations—never an easy topic, but woefully needed and universally appreciated.


"God is the cause and we are resultant beings. Before I was born, my gender, country of birth, and parents were already determined. I had no choice in the matter. If I had been born in a royal family, then I would’ve been a prince. If I’d been born in the countryside, then I might’ve been a farmer.

My fate had already been decided to a great degree. However, gender, nationality, and parents are not the only factors deciding whether my life will be happy or not. Can we say that being born in a rich family would make us better off?

Are those born in the countryside bound to live in poverty?

No.

It may be true to say that until we are married, our life is mostly controlled by the environment and our parents, but afterwards, the quality of our lives and degree of happiness are essentially determined by our own actions.

If we have good parents, then we tend to recall our childhood as happy. Consequently, if the children are good, then the parents did their job well. The deciding factor is love. The quality of our life is greatly determined by our parents’ love. If we don’t receive proper love as children, then our hearts are not fully developed. Generally speaking, those who can give and receive love had a good childhood."


The value of the Blessing


"After the (arranged marriage) Blessing, if you feel your spouse is cold toward you and can’t receive love, then perhaps their childhood was not good. In other words, ironically, one could say that my happiness is determined by my spouse’s childhood.

"Our quality of life is determined not by money or knowledge, but the love we received during infancy."

All religions have made a great mistake. They teach that we have to perfect ourselves. The True Parents are the only ones to have declared that it is my spouse who perfects me. We need our partner in order to perfect the four Great Realms of Heart.

Who is the enlightened one?

The enlightened one realizes my spouse’s heart is more important than I am. Without my spouse, I cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the crux of the Divine Principle.

Five attributes of a husband’s love are interest, responsibility, understanding, respect, and giving first. Dear brothers, it is very important that we check ourselves regularly in these areas in relationship to your wife.


(1) Pay attention.


The fact that you wake up in the morning is a miracle. Everyday should be looked upon as a gift from God. Look at each other’s eyes. If they are bloodshot, then this may indicate some medical problem. Don’t hesitate to seek professional care.

If necessary, take her to the doctor or even the hospital. We should help each other.

If your husband is ill, then the wife must bear some responsibility. After all, there must’ve been some sign or indication before the actual sickness appeared. If you don’t love your husband/wife to this degree, you cannot possibly prepare the conditions for your eternal life.

Our spouse is so precious. Check his/her eyes for health. The eyes are the window to the condition of the body, mind, and heart. If there is no love, always check the eyes.

If the husband/wife doesn’t want to look at you, then something may be wrong. It is our original mind trying to tell us something. Paying attention to our spouse’s every gesture, act, and word is a habit of love that we all need to develop. It doesn’t cost us a penny but can generate an invaluable return investment.


(2) Love means to take responsibility.


We should take responsibility for our mission/jobs. The perfection of our character comes through a life of faith. The goal of a life of faith is to perfect our character and to take responsibility for our family and job.

The worst character trait for a person is to be irresponsible. Husbands should work hard in their missions/jobs and offer everything up to Heavenly Father, but we must also take care of our families. Husbands must learn how to proportion each day so both family and mission receive your full ability, talents, and love.


(3) Love comes from understanding.


Even a small misunderstanding has the potential to separate the husband and wife. How can we increase understanding?

Dialogue and communication.

Don't chastise or judge your spouse. Instead, take time and report to each other.

At the end of the day tell each other everything. Your spouse is your best friend. Understanding entails forgiveness. This is why the messiah comes. Without forgiveness, you are not husband and wife, but just 'companions'.

Your spouse is not just a roommate. She is your personal channel to eternal life. 

If there is no forgiveness, then we may miss the possibility to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.


(4) Love comes from respect.


The critical factor is language. We must train ourselves to use beautiful words. One simple word spoken in haste or insensitivity can destroy a relationship and lead to separation and even divorce.

Words can be very powerful. If wrongly used it’s like being kicked in the stomach. Be thoughtful and charitable toward one another in word and deed.


(5) Love is giving, not receiving.


Those who only want to receive are failures. Husbands have a tendency to act as boys, always wanting to receive more love, but originally, man was to give love. If you give, then forget about it, then sooner or later, it will be returned to you many times over.

It’s now time for the test. Let’s test each other. Wives, please grade your husband: 20 points for attention, 20 points for responsibility, 20 points for understanding, 20 points for respect, and 20 points for love. 70 points are needed to pass this test."


Husband’s love


"On a more practical level, there are three categories to pay particular attention to:

(1) clothing

I suggest you buy at least four outfits per year for your wife. The marriage vow you made to your spouse’s parents was to clothe and feed their daughter.

How many shoes did your parents-in-law provide before you married their daughter? So if you’ve been married 17 years, then you should’ve bought her 68 outfits!

You must learn how to praise your wife and any new clothing. For example, "Honey, that color really suits you, in fact, it makes you look slimmer!"

 Husbands, don’t take your wife’s clothing and her appearance for granted. Compliment her. 'Sweetheart, you look beautiful today'.

(2) Food

Brothers, you should take your wife out to dinner frequently. And at the end of the day, never, never forget to ask if she had lunch. This shows that you’ve thought about her during the day and that you’re concerned about her well-being and health.

Going out to dinner gives her a break from her daily routine and makes her feel special. It also gives the two of you some quality time away from the constant demands of the children.


(3) Bedtime manners

Everyday be able to say "good night" and "good morning" with a clear conscience. Whatever differences or spats you may’ve had during the day, try to resolve everything before you go to sleep.

If you can’t say good night to her face and kiss her because of some internal friction or misunderstanding, then you have a problem that is unresolved. It should be dealt with as forthrightly and as quickly as possible, otherwise it will fester and almost certainly carry over to the next day.

Sooner or later, it will come out in another emotion.


The Blessed wife

(1) Set up order among the children and establish the family norm.

The tradition in Asia is for the wife and children to welcome the husband with a bow each night. In the West, of course, the culture is different, but wives should find some means to imitate the spirit behind that gesture.

The husband has worked hard in the job/mission and deserves to be welcomed home.

In Korea, we call the mother, "educator." The mother is the primary influence for children to learn how to walk, language, dialect, and mannerisms. Children must learn how to act properly and follow heavenly tradition.


(2) Smile

By looking at the wife’s face you can know if the family is happy with a good future or gloomy. In Seoul, there are more than 5,000 divorces per day. Wives should be diligent and do service activities for the family and, if possible, serve the community. There are many ways that the wife can be involved in community activities.


(3) Have good relations with neighbors

Praise people. Those who are successful figured out how to praise others. Are you a success or a failure?

As a personal example, I had two aunts when I was growing up. When I was only 8 years old, I made a decision not to spend time with one of them. One of my aunts would always praise me, while the other aunt always criticized me. She said my head was shaped like a potato! The other aunt said that I would grow up to be a famous military general!

The same head but with two distinct futures, so naturally I found ways to avoid the aunt who criticized me.

Learn how to praise and be positive and you will be successful and more likely to be appreciated by others.

The final judgment will come from your children. When they grow up and are old enough to receive the Blessing, the test will be if the son says he doesn’t want the Blessing for fear of receiving a wife like you, then that means you failed as a mother.

But if he says, "yes, I want to be Blessed and want a wife like you," then that means you have had a successful marriage. This is one reason why True Parents encourage children to come to Jardim and learn how valuable their parents are. The entire family should be educated together. 'The ideal family', says Father, 'is three generations (grandparents, parents, and children)'.

Let’s test the wife. 

Husband can grade using the following criteria: 30 points whether she successfully can establish order, 30 points for smiling, 30 points if she builds good community relations, and add 10 bonus points per child.


Conclusion


These are my thoughts on this topic. I hope they may be of use to you and your families. Please don’t take every word as literal truth, but understand the spirit behind it.

Some of the ideas come from my own culture and customs, and do not necessarily translate precisely, but the bottomline truth is that men and women Blessed by our True Parents are more precious than we realize, and that we have to take steps to guard and nourish our blessings. God bless you."


Return for Tomorrow's Post:

Jung Ro Yoon
July 2, 1999
Notes by Bill Selig

Clean Up on Aisle "End of the Evil World"

Tomorrow is Achieve World Peace's day off but will return for Sunday's Post: Chasity With the Intent to Marry.

Every person of faith probably at one time wondered how their belief could help save others and the world.  Wasn't that what the original purpose of religion was?  To save humanity?  How are we to go about saving the world and end evil?

Some will say that is God's job.  If that responsibility was only left up to God, wouldn't he had done that back in the Garden of Eden when evil originated?  Why wait millions of scientific years to save His children? 

God has been working behind the scenes for all of this time, but He has left humanity 5% responsibility for their part in restoration.   Some call this portion, free will. We have the ability to do for God or completely ignore our responsibility.

The only way to enter Heaven is to go through Hell, and come out the other side. The world to which we presently belong is the world of Hell. The only ladder that will connect us to Heaven is the other side of Hell. We pass through the tunnel of this Hell and reach to the ladder on the other side and climb up toward Heaven. This side represents the world of evil, and the world of goodness is represented here.

Therefore, the Messiah teaches us to live a life of service for others, sacrifice and fast. It is exactly opposite to what our bodies desire. Does America belong to Heaven or Hell at this point?  It belongs to hell.  If the President hears this, he would be offended by these comments.

How about your attitude? Our conscience knows clearly where we stand when it comes to our dedication and commitment to our faith. Once we join the spiritual world, there is no more deception and all atrocities hidden on earth cannot be hidden and are revealed. Whichever level each of you has attained spiritually on this earth is where you will dwell absolutely in the spiritual realm.  


The Messiah is the True Example

Do you think that the Messiah would be seduced by beautiful Hollywood people or would he kick them away? Definitely, he would kick them away.  What about all of us? Satan may utilize various tactics in order to seduce us. By observing the Messiah's life we can know that he is one hundred percent at one with his teachings. The Messiah never falls into the satanic traps of this world, no matter what.

Do Americans, in general, fully understand parental love? Then how can they be referred to as people? Even animals demonstrate parental love in their lives. The birds and animals often sacrifice themselves in order to protect the life of their young from attack.

Individuals who cannot attain the same level as animals can hardly be referred to as human beings. No matter how proud they may be of themselves, they will fall below the animals. That is Hell. Why do you suppose that the author of the Diving Principle which this blog is based upon  makes such a strong statement against American people rather than giving comforting words? Because it is the Messiah's responsibility to use even his force to push God's people to follow in the right direction.

A surgeon will cut open an infectious wound in order to heal the patient, even if it might be painful.

Therefore, the Messiah will not tell people of faith to take care only of themselves and their families. Rather he will push them to take the more difficult path for the sake of others. When we see the nation of America and the entire world decaying, we cannot live for our family's happiness alone. The Divine Principle, which is based on the bible as the Completed Testament, is crystal clear.

Individuals should sacrifice for the sake of the family, the family should sacrifice for the nation, and the nation for the sake of the entire world. That is how we will be able to liberate God, and build the Kingdom of God on the Earth.

Restoration of World Requires Sacrifice

If the entire population of America begins to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the entire world, then America will only prosper. It will stand forever as the central nation. The Messiah knows that he has to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the entire world. Also, true family have been sacrificed in many ways.

If your mission becomes a little more difficult than those of others and you begin to compare yourself with others instead of marching ahead, your offering becomes stained. Do you want to belong to a group of people who are constantly comparing their situation with other people, or just marching forward, looking straight ahead?

What if God commands for all people of faith to pack and leave for Africa. Will each of you reading here do so immediately? We always procrastinate in the face of Heaven's direction to us. If this is our thinking then we are no different than the disciples who sold Jesus. 

What is the meaning of money? If you continue to follow money you will lose your lives. We don't need knowledge, fame or power.

The Messiah's life has been opposing and denying all of these external things.


The Grand Clean Up

In order to accomplish this grand clean up of the history of the world, we have to be determined to go all the way to the end of the world in order to pay indemnity. Without doing so we will not be able to achieve this goal. This is the position in which we are now standing.

There is up and down, front and rear, and right and left. Where is the good side?  Good is up, down is evil, right is good, left is evil, front represents good and rear represents evil. It is always relative.

Those self-centered individuals who feel proud of themselves are not good people. We have to realize that those who hold high positions of power may not be qualified to hold such positions. Those leaders may disappear in the future and others, more qualified will replace them.

If the American people were living their lives for the sake of God and, at the same time a foreigner is doing their absolute best to lead their life for the sake of God, and if the degree of devotion and sacrifice they offer is greater than the American people's offering, then they will go beyond America.

If your position is down and there are leaders who are proud of themselves at that position, it means that you are down in the area of evil, paying indemnity; but if your devotion and sacrifice is greater than those evil leaders, you will automatically exceed them.

Love America More Than Evil Leaders

At the present time, many Native Americans are living on welfare from the government. Some people accuse the government of providing money and liquor to Native American Indians, encouraging them to drink and become hopeless.

On the other hand, if Native American Indians truly understood the purpose of their lives, and were able to devote themselves for the sake of America more than white Americans are doing, they could immediately jump above white Americans.

However, they don't understand this principle. It would mean that even if America were to perish someday, the Native American Indians would be preserved. Black Americans and Native American Indians claim that white Americans are doing only evil and should be banished. But instead of criticizing, they should simply devote themselves more for the sake of America, and then they would naturally prevail.

Reverend Moon, the author of the Divine Principle, brought members to America from the former enemy nations of America and had them serve this country. They have endured persecution for the sake of the salvation of America. Because they followed Reverend Moon and came to America and devoted themselves for the sake of this nation, in the future they will be the ones to inherit the tradition and sovereignty of America.

Since coming to America, Reverend Moon has been the leading force to unite all the various ideologies, in particular, the various denominations of Christianity. Reverend Moon created The Washington Times, Unification Theological Seminary, and the University of Bridgeport in order to lead the media and academic fields.

By doing so, Reverend Moon has truly devoted so much for the sake of saving America. Now all intelligent Americans and leader have naturally followed and respect him. Eventually, the entire nation will be turned around through this. 


New Heavenly Family Tradition

We must understand that those who shed their tears and blood for the sake of the public purpose will become the mainstream of human history. They will become the central people and central nation. This is the path of truth. The reason why Reverend Moon could prevail in spite of six different imprisonments in his life, is because he has strictly followed the path of the true providence.

He doesn't concern himself with whatever persecution comes because he has been busy with the providence. The solving of the problems of unification of North and South America, how to bring about equalization among all of the nations in terms of technology and wealth--all of these concerns have been carried by Reverend Moon throughout his life. Therefore he is always in haste along this path of providential truth.

Only based upon the foundation of those couples and families who are able to devote themselves for the sake of God following the teaching of Reverend Moon, and becoming model couples who inherit heavenly tradition, can we expect the birth of a new heavenly art and literature.

As the children of such couples are born, generation after generation, the new heavenly world will emerge. The American husbands who go to Africa may encounter millions of different kinds of husbands there. However, they should be able to create and demonstrate what the standard of the new American husband should be.

If such American husbands demonstrate their devotion and true love to their African wives, they will become the king of all other husbands. Once Americans establish such a foundation, America will never perish.

If you shed more tears and sweat for the sake of America, then your tradition, your tears, will set the standard to lead and cover the entire world in the future. We have to draw a formula from this topic. Those people who live for the sake of themselves will become more evil. Those people who live for the sake of others will become even more good.

If America tries to become the most powerful nation for its own sake, it will decline into an evil country. Whereas, if America is willing to sacrifice and devote herself for the entire world, even to the lowest level, then America will become the central nation of the world.


Return for Tomorrow's Post:

Photo courtesy of : freedigitalphotos.net

This post was from the speech titled The Grand Clean Up Period in History of Good and Evil 1996 by Dr. Reverend Sun Myung Moon in Belvedere - Divine Principle Training Center