Book Seven - Etiquette And Ceremonies
Chapter Four - Tradition and Daily Etiquette of Blessed Families
Section 8. Thrift, Diligence, and a Frugal Family Life

8.1. A frugal life

Is not happiness all about living and working for the sake of each other based on love? The wife lives for the sake of her husband, the children live for the sake of the parents, and the parents, grandparents and grandchildren live for the sake of the family. When all members of a family strive to create something for the entire family rather than for their individual selves, when the grandfather, father, and mother and even the children are frugal in their personal spending in order to create something for the entire family, and when the entire family works hard to expand their common possessions, that household will prosper. For this reason, such a nest of love can expand from a place that refrains from spending money in order to save up and live for the whole. When these families spread out to society and the world, the ideal can be fulfilled. This does not happen centering on yourself or your own personal belongings. (167-211, 1987.7.19)

The rights of ownership must be returned to God. For this reason I do not have anything. Since I know this, I live a simple life. The age is gradually approaching in which the entire family can go anywhere with a single bag and live. There is some truth in the biblical passage, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (229-065, 1992.4.9)

How do you establish a firm economic foundation? You should first be frugal. That is why I tell you to be frugal. But no matter how much I emphasize this, it is still not being done. Even in an environment where we can freely give and receive material things, we may be chased out if we cannot fulfill our responsibility. In such a case the Unification Church will have to go through a second course of tribulation. (24-101, 1969.7.13)

Our missionaries are trained so that they have no need for the luxuries of Western societies. It is because we have a new culture called "the sleeping bag culture." Wherever they go, our young people do not feel disoriented. You will discover that the homes of Unification Church missionaries are without any luxurious furnishings and possess only the simplest of household goods. (130-280, 1984.2.7)

8.2. Thrift

You must be exemplary in everything. Eating good food, living the good life in affluence can never be exemplary. You should know that an exemplary life lies in moderation and spending only what is absolutely necessary.

On Sundays I am forced to wear a suit, but at other times I go without a necktie as much as possible. When I am at home I do not wear a jacket but instead wear simple things like sweaters. Think about how much neckties cost in Western society. If you include necktie pins, how much do they cost in all? Consider two men: one thinks about the world and lives his entire life without a necktie and the other lives his life wearing a necktie without thinking about the world. Which one do you think will be closer to God when they go to the spirit world?

When you fast, you realize how much time you have. You realize just how much time you spend in eating three meals a day. How much effort is wasted mentally just by thinking about what to have, if you are constantly going back and forth opening the refrigerator door in order to eat an apple or drink a Coke? It is necessary to get accustomed to eating only at mealtimes. If you do so, you will not get sick: rather, you will become healthier.

I do not support the idea of taking a bath every day, it is not good for the health. I make it a rule to take a bath once every three days. I take a bath only when I cannot help it, when I have been sweating a lot. How much water do we consume by taking a bath every day? It is bad for the health. You may say, "Oh! Father is a barbarian," but that's okay for me. In the Garden of Eden, God, Adam, and Eve were all barbarians. At that time did they have a bathroom like we have today? Did they have toilet paper? They had nothing. Therefore, you should feel grateful for all those things, and you save this world even if you have to live this way. (131-283, 1984.1.4)

When you eat, you should do so in a way that is different from the past. Even when you go to the restroom, it should be with a different attitude than before. These days, when you take a train and use the restroom, you find toilet paper hanging there. You probably use it excessively, thinking, "Well, no one is looking." You should not use it wastefully just because it belongs to someone else. You should use it sparingly and take some only one time. You must have a better attitude. (57-179, 1972.130

Even when you eat out of hunger you should not completely fill your plate with food. You should maintain the standard of finding satisfaction in eating three-fifths of your plateful after removing two-fifths of it. Only then are you a wise person. You should know how to be frugal in everything. You should save the maximum and then find out the minimum you can live with. If you invest yourself using the minimum for at least three months you will discover the real minimum you can live with. After you do so, let's see how it goes. (57-197, 1972.5.31)

You should explore ways to save even a penny for the sake of God's will and the restoration of this nation. Hence, I believe that we should pioneer a way to be even more frugal in our finances. (77-31, 1975.3.23)

I am thinking to challenge you to live on less money from now on. I may have you try to give up things like soft drinks. In the cafeteria I saw you all come in without a thought and eat whatever was there. You were eating like pigs. There is nothing extraordinary about being frugal. You should be frugal in what you wear, what you eat, and in the way you live. (96-134, 1978.1.3)

Our members should not be wearing expensive neckties. I am not saying this because I am concerned about what others will think. If possible, however, we should be frugal in these matters. If we live this way, a great revolution of resourcefulness will explode out of this. This is absolutely necessary in America. (94-198, 1977.9.1)

Some say that I am a millionaire because I have a lot of money, but I have shed blood and tears without rest twenty-four hours a day to save one more penny. I have spread the money gathered in this way across the entire world. I do not even have a piece of paper in my possession. I do not even have one registered seal. No one can use this money which I have so carefully gathered, as they please. God works with me. Do you understand? (101-161, 1978.10.29)

I do what others cannot do by living frugally -- refraining from sleep, rest, and food when others have slept, rested, and eaten. That has been my belief from the onset. (103-241, 1979.3.1)

What are we trying to do by saving, using money sparingly and suffering in this way? We are trying to create something good for the coming generation. Consequently, we are striving to acquire an ideology that can create a foundation that we can be proud of in front of the world. After ten years, a hundred years, or a thousand years of bequeathing a tradition based on such an ideology, the Republic of Korea will surely become a people that can win the support of the world. Therefore, the aim of my teachings is to guide people based on this principle. Although this way of thinking may be seen as the worst of its kind at a time when we are encountering difficulties, only this kind of thought will prevail for eternity. For this reason, I first set out by taking up this path. (109-104, 1980.10.26)

When we say, "Save money!" we should think of the more public purpose of saving for the nation rather than for the more personal purpose of gathering wealth. We are not saving to become rich. We are doing so to save the nation. The reason I say to America, "America must be frugal and should save!" is in order to save the world. America collects the most taxes in the world. If it had collected a lot of taxes for the world, then America would have been respected by the world. If this was done just for the sake of the American people, then they should oppose the government, and even the world would oppose it. I believe America shows a tendency and a culture that is ruining the world. Consequently, for the world can say, "Although I may face opposition, the way I am going is the just and right way." That is how it is with everything I hear, say, and do. (111-256, 1981.2.22)