ORDER NUMBER
83-02-06
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
WITH WHOM SHALL I LIVE?
February 6, 1983
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
The title of my message this morning is, "With Whom Shall
I Live?" The "I" in this particular title has
various interpretations. When you say "I, myself," you mean
Joan, John, Robert, Susan-or whatever your name may be. That is one
level of "I." The family is a bigger "I" than the
individual, but it is also an "I." The nation is a still
greater "I." The world also can be an "I." Even God
can be that "I." With whom shall I live? With whom shall this
world live? With whom shall God live?
When most people today think about whom they want to share their
life with, the "I" is blown out of proportion. Everybody
thinks in terms of himself. Self becomes the center of their way of
life. Suppose we think about this as it applies to America. With whom
shall America live? How should America live? Each nation has a
destiny. It may decline and fall, or it may prosper.
Each individual has a destiny, as does each nation and even the
world as well. In order to survive, with whom should this world live?
This should be our concern. Even God's situation is not stationary. His
destiny rises and falls depending on the situation of the world. As we
keep asking the question, "With whom shall I live?" it
becomes, "With whom shall America, the world, and God live?"
First of all, life is a partnership among people. We are surrounded
by the things of creation, for instance, but our partnership has to be
primarily with other people. But what kind of people? Americans would
reply that they want to live with good men and women-with true people.
That is a common goal. All things want to live with a true person; the
nation wants to live with a true person; the world wants to live with a
true person. If you ask God what kind of partner He would like to live
with, even He would say, "A true person."
If a true person exists, would you rather search after him, or
would you expect him to come and live with you? You have two
alternatives: to go searching, or to wait for him to look for you. Do
you think a true person might say, "I don't care about America, I
don't like the world and I don't care about God. If you want me, come
to me and I may consider your request"? America is a nation which
is very sure of herself and doesn't want to make a move. "You
come here," she will say. Also, people are stubborn about certain
things and have their own peculiarities. If they make a claim, they
want to stick to it and have other people bend their opinions to that.
This is an idiosyncrasy almost everyone shares.
But what does the word "true" really mean? Does it mean
stubbornness, standing your ground and claiming your own position?
What does it mean to say true man? I certainly don't mean Harry S.
Truman. I remember him as the one who fired General Douglas MacArthur.
Because of that, the free world has suffered greatly and America was
set back. This is a vivid example of how the leader of a nation must
make correct decisions. When his decision is wrong, it affects the
destiny of the nation and even the world. What kind of true person are
we talking about? The category includes true mother, true father, true
son, true daughter, true uncle, true aunt-everyone is included. We need
a clear concept of a true person.
If someone claims to be a true person but insists that you come and
serve him, he certainly does not belong in that category. He hasn't
reached the level of a true person. The true person is one who goes
beyond himself to make unity, even without being invited. Suppose one
person has more enthusiasm and inclination to act than another. Whoever
takes the initiative to accomplish the goal is the truer person.
In our way of life, the virtues of patience, submission, meekness
and humility are very valuable. These words imply that you hold back
and let someone else go forward-but, at the same time, you remain
willing to take the initiative to do good. Suppose two people, such as
Mr. Pak and I, meet. If each wants the other to bow to him first, what
is the result of this confrontation? It is not unity and harmony. That
is not the attitude of a true person. The true person takes the
initiative to say, "Hello, how are you? I missed you." So in
daily life, the greatest virtues are humility and meekness rather than
egoism. It is ideal to offer the first position to others, and always
remain willing to take the initiative to do good first. We can conclude
that our universe longs to live with a true person-one who wants to
live for the sake of others, one who lives with the conviction that he
should serve others.
What kind of children do parents want to live with? The children
who look for every opportunity to serve their parents, without
complaining or nagging, definitely win the hearts of their father and
mother. This principle applies in any family. Suppose the parents bring
home a bundle of clothing for the children and tell them to share the
clothes. The oldest child might run and rip into the clothes, or he
could let the others go first. If the elder brother tells the younger
brothers and sisters, "Pick out whatever you want and I will take
what is left," he is behaving as a true brother. The whole
universe likes the person who follows the principle of living for the
sake of others.
When you rise in the morning, look in the mirror and ask your eyes,
"For whom do you live?" One person's eyes might say they live
to seek out attractive clothing for the body. But another person's eyes
might reply, "As soon as we find something good, we want to see
somebody else-a family, a nation, or the world-enjoy it. That is our
delight." There are also two kinds of ears. One kind likes to hear
sweet things such as: "You are so handsome, so pretty, so
wonderful." Those are not the ears of the true person. The other
kind likes to listen to advice such as, "You must live for others,
for the country, and for the world."
A mouth can have various purposes. Some mouths move constantly,
like a machine gun, speaking in self-defense: "I didn't make any
mistake. What did I do wrong? You are the one who did wrong." On
the other hand, the mouth can glorify goodness in others and praise
them. Both kinds of mouths may express anger or wrath, but there is a
difference between anger out of self-defense and anger to safeguard the
public good. When you are rebuked, for example, you don't respect the
one scolding you if he does it for his own benefit; however, if he does
it in an unselfish way, you can respect him.
Ask your hands for whom they live: "What did you do
yesterday? Something for yourself? Did you do more taking in or giving
out?" Ask your legs for whom they walk. Ask your brain for whom it
works.
Do you know what it means to be a true person? If you draw a base
line, is the true person above or below that line? What about you? Do
you live above the line or below it? Are you good men and women, or
bad? When you reply that you are good, why do you look uncertain?
People have generally disparaged the religious virtues of meekness,
humility and patience. "I have only a short life to live,"
they protest; "Why should I be so humble or meek?" Whom have
you heard praising these noble virtues? Where can a person learn how to
live? Businesses don't explain it. American schools no longer teach it;
prayer has even been forbidden in schools. The only place you can find
such a teaching is in religion.
There are three levels of a true person: formation, growth and
completion. What is the completion or perfection of a true person? A
true person is defined as one who has absolute true love. But what is
absolute true love? A perfected, true person loves his enemy, for
instance. What kind of enemy-one who steals your clothes? One who
curses you? The worst kind of enemy is the robber of love, one who
infiltrates and invades love, one who commits an adulterous sin against
you. In other words, your enemy is the one who steals your love or your
lover. This is the worst form of enemy because such a person destroys
you completely. A perfected true person is defined as one who can
forgive even the enemy who has destroyed his love.
We are talking about true people, but there is also the true God.
What is the definition of the true God? Again, the same definition
applies to both people and God. God has an enemy who stole His love.
Satan made himself God's worst enemy by stealing God's love. That was
the worst crime against God. If someone abducts the one you truly love,
he destroys you completely because he takes away your entire universe.
Now we know that the perfected true person and the perfected true
God are the ones who can forgive their worst enemy who stole their
love. If you asked God what kind of person He would like to live with,
He would reply that He wants to live with the kind of perfected true
person who has the capacity to forgive the very enemy of love.
Who shall be entitled to the ideal heaven? Who shall live in daily
communion with God and dwell in His kingdom? It is the perfected person
who can forgive his worst enemy. How about you? Nobody wants to be that
forgiving! Of all the kinds of education, what is the most valuable? Of
all the religions, which is the most precious? It is the one whose goal
is to form true people, the one that teaches people to forgive their
worst enemy.
The Chinese character that means patience is formed from a
combination of two symbols. The top part represents a sword, and the
bottom part represents the mind. Thus, patience means to guard the
sword in one's mind, to bury the sword in your mind or heart. To
accomplish a great mission or to do mighty deeds, you need to be able
to remember the meaning of this character. If this is God's standard,
do you think it is easy to produce a true man?
If you stretch out a string, where is its most vulnerable spot,
near your hand or farther away? The full strain of pulling on both ends
of the string falls on the center; the center always carries double
pressure. Patience is like a taut, unbroken line, one that will never
break no matter how far it is stretched. A patient person cannot be
easily conquered. We can declare that nobody can conquer God, since
nobody can approach His degree of patience. In our human life, the most
difficult virtue to acquire is that of patience.
Let's compare the personalities of Chinese and American people.
Americans are often bubbling over, aggressive, eager to say the first
word, anxious to take the offensive. A Chinese can take a beating
without uttering a word; when you beat a Chinese, he will retreat, but
as soon as you stop to take a rest, he will come forward again. When
you hit to the right, he moves to the left; when you hit to the left,
he moves to the right. He can move back and forth without a word a
thousand times over, if necessary.
On the other hand, when Americans proclaim something and get
knocked down once, they say, "The heck with it; I don't want to be
a part of this." Western temper is exemplified in a dueling
match: you want quick showdowns and immediate results. That's why you
like everything instant. The nature of the Chinese, however, is to
fight one day, take a day off, and return the next day to fight
again-on and on. They are prepared to fight again even a year later.
Suppose you are riding a horse and a rattlesnake bites him. When
the horse cannot function any longer, a Westerner usually makes a quick
decision and kills the horse right away-like you see in the Western
movies. On the other hand, an Oriental is very reluctant to shoot his
horse; he will weep with the horse, lamenting over it, unwilling to
give it up. Who knows-maybe the rattlesnake had no poison; maybe a
miracle will happen. Which do you consider the better approach?
Western culture has experienced successive periods of rapid
prosperity followed by sudden depressions; it declines as quickly as it
prospers. But five thousand years ago, the Chinese culture was there.
The Chinese have been growing for five millennia. That accounts for
their huge population. One billion Chinese are the fruit of patience.
For thousands of years, they have told each other to endure and go over
each hill. Nobody can conquer the Chinese. No fad can come in and sweep
through the land. Fashions change every year in the Western world; one
year it's the mini-skirt and a few months later, long skirts. Chinese
wear long garments spring, summer, autumn or winter-it makes no
difference. They wear their garments until the sleeves become so dirty
they seem like leather. By the same token, once they have a vision and
an ideal, they live patiently for it for the sake of the people and the
nation. Thus, they are truly a great people.
I came to America to bring the Kingdom of God on earth. The
tradition I want to set is Kingdom-building. Do you think I should
establish that tradition here or go to China and work with the
Chinese? This tradition wants to endure, not die away. Do you think
America can preserve it? I don't want it to be short-lived. In America
people speak rather quickly and cheaply. Everything may seem okay, but
the next moment it changes because it can't be sustained.
When Chinese people gamble, they sometimes bet everything. If a man
runs out of money, he may bet his house and even his wife. He may lose
his wife! Perhaps a master and his servant gamble and the master loses
everything to the servant. Would he shout angrily, "Get out, you
are only a servant"? No, he would quietly drink some poison and
die. Then his servant could claim his house, his wife, and all that he
had.
Look at the expression "OK." The "O" is empty,
with nothing inside; it invites people in. The "K" is like a
coffee table turned on end, always unstable. The Chinese would never
trust a character like "OK." When an American goes to China
and says, "OK," the Chinese would never reply in kind. They
would say, "Wait and see."
Who can conquer and govern China? That will be a significant
question in the future. Americans are very easy to govern; it is easy
to get them to react, mobilized and turned around. But the Chinese are
absolutely the opposite. It will not be easy for them to make changes.
Will we as Unification Church members have the capacity to digest
everything, including even the Chinese? If you can be welcomed as a
Moonie wherever you go in the world, you will become the kind of Moonie
who can digest the Chinese.
I would welcome the day when a mother will say to her crying baby,
"If you keep crying, the Moonies will come and fuss at you!"
I would like to see American children growing up hearing that the
Moonies will come! When a child is old enough to understand, he will
discover that his aunt and uncle are Moonies. He will be flabbergasted
and will have to study his uncle. He will go to his uncle and touch his
eyes and hair; he will check whether his hair and his backbone are
real. He will try to test out his uncle. Ordinarily, if a child touches
someone's eyes or jumps on his back, he would tell him to go away. But
the Moonie uncle would say, "Let me carry you around; I'll do
whatever you want." Such a willingness to accommodate, an ability
to digest everything, and an infinite capacity of heart, all
characterize the Moonie attitude.
I would like to see a competition between the Moonies and the
Chinese. I want Moonies to be far superior to the Chinese in every
respect-even in patience. What if you were told to wear the same suit
of clothing for the next ten years, and it becomes dirty, ragged and
smelly. Could you do it?
Americans are so concerned about their body odors that they wear
perfumes and deodorants and brush their teeth three times a day: That
is the American way of life. But the Chinese don't care. They can go
without brushing their teeth for ten years and still live together
comfortably. Americans love their wife or husband only when they keep
themselves clean, but the Chinese don't care if you smell; they love
you anyway. Which love is closer to the true love? This is a very
serious question.
When you study a tree, you can see that it grows in two different
directions to reach two different goals. The leaves and branches grow
upward, toward the sunshine and beautiful air. The roots, on the other
hand, penetrate the dirty, smelly soil-the dirtier and muddier the
better for the roots. The branches and leaves go up to the clean air
and sunshine, and the roots down into the filth. When cold weather
strikes, which remains: the leaves or the roots?
You can find universal truth in this analogy of the tree. Look how
the universe works. It is basically fair. People with an advanced
technology, culture and scientific achievements are like the branches
going up. Other cultures dig down deep. You might call them
underdeveloped or primitive because they are digging down. But their
root is the source of supplies so that the branches and leaves can
grow.
You call yourself a developed nation, but a developed nation cannot
survive without less developed countries. Should branches and roots
isolate themselves from each other, or have give and take? The highest
leaves need give and take with the deepest roots. One extreme must
share with the other in order to survive. The United States is like a
leaf way up on the top of the tree. People living in Vietnam, Burma and
India are like the deepest root tips dwelling in dirty, underdeveloped
places. Should there be give and take between the two? Yes,
absolutely. It is vital to world survival.
Like the leaves and branches which are in a position to receive
fresh air and sunshine, America says it doesn't care about the trunk
and roots. For America to have such an attitude is like cutting its own
throat. America is like a tree floating rootless in a giant lake.
Because it has no root, such a tree can easily maneuver around, but it
may easily be blown down. Americans don't think much about the future,
so they say, "So what?" The tree may not mind being in the
water, but the branches and leaves will eventually wither in the water,
or else the tree will float down to the ocean and be killed by the
salty water. Let's decide, is the destiny of this nation going up or
down?
What we need then is a root. Roots are indispensable. The tree must
be firmly entrenched deep in the soil. Our movement here in America is
trying to transform some of the leaves and branches-the American
people-into roots. That is why I am pushing you down to become roots of
the tree, instead of just leaves and branches.
The grafting process is amazing. You can cut a branch off, plant it
in the soil, and eventually it will grow a root. I come and put the
branch into a rich soil, but the American people can't stand it; they
keep pulling it up before the branch has time to grow a root! Such a
branch has a miserable life; eventually, it dries up and withers away.
People have come to this movement after being part of the hippie
and drug cultures and living a promiscuous life. But I have planted you
in a firm ground. You should be willing to remain there patiently long
enough for a root to take hold, but you cannot wait that long! You want
immediate results, so you pull yourself out. Then what happens? You dry
up and have no place to plant yourself. You are no longer a hippie,
but neither are you a Moonie. So what are you? You cannot go back to
living as a hippie or drug user because you have the Principle in your
head. But neither can you remain in the Church and be a good Moonie.
You become like a floating spirit. Then what will you do?
Once the Chinese people accept Unificationism, they can be
engrafted and they will sit for a million years. They will sit so long
that their bottom will rot and become fertilizer and sprout a new
branch! On this road of faith, would you rather be an American or a
Chinese? I am making this analogy in a joking tone, but there is a lot
of truth to it. If you go to China as an American and try to bring
about some change, you won't succeed.
Communism came to China, but even communism cannot digest it. It
is just a matter of time before China abandons communism. China is very
fertile ground for Unificationism, however. The Chinese have such
patience and perseverance that when Unificationism, which has the
capacity to digest their culture, hits them, they will spread it all
over the world. The Chinese people are the ones who are capable of
spreading this movement to the entire world.
The United States is becoming more interested in the Orient, but
generally it is the Far East, not necessarily China. Look at what is
happening to fashions, architectural styles, and food. Spirituality and
Eastern things have become a fad in this country. All along, the
Chinese people have been sitting still and waiting. Now they can say,
"You see, you have been wandering around all over the place, doing
all kinds of things. Finally, you have become like us and are following
our pattern. We have waited long enough; it's about time. The Chinese
way is the best, and now you have come to us. For thousands of years we
have been sitting and meditating about life, survival and eternity. You
are masters of analytical science, materialism and consumerism, but you
found nothing there. In the meantime, we Chinese people have been
concentrating on something deep."
Western culture will soon learn about its self-generated
hell-pollution. Pollution is poisoning our bodies and our environment.
Soon manufacturing plants will be closing down. You have been doing all
kinds of things for the sake of looking pretty and fashionable, but for
what end? Suddenly, people have discovered that nature is their best
teacher. Many people have decided to disregard status and fashionable
things. Some advocate returning to nature's fashion-no clothes. Such a
movement has begun in the United States; its ultimate goal is to return
to the most natural source-Mother Nature.
Let's return to our theme of patience. You may be pulled to an
incredible degree, but still you must not break. You need to be
completely resilient. Even if you were forced into a pressure cooker,
you must maintain your identity, be patient, and endure. Nobody should
be able to break you. Whom would you prefer for a friend: a patient
person or an impatient one? What kind of parent is more admirable: one
as patient as the ocean or an impatient one? Which kind of parent would
command more respect? What kind of husband would you like: one with
unlimited patience or one who always nags you?
You like the virtue of patience, don't you? Is patience a good
virtue for American people in general to develop? Is patience a quality
Moonies should have? Are we patient or very impatient? We have
received persecution throughout the country, but we are like the
Chinese-it doesn't bother us. "Go ahead and do as you like,"
we can say to America, "We will endure."
The United States has opposed and persecuted me, but look at me
now. Do I seem fatigued, dragged out, or discouraged? When they
summoned me to court for the trial, was I so totally upset that I
didn't know what to do? No. I was patient like a rock and it didn't
change me one bit.
Wherever I may be, I am always thinking about one thing: who is
closer to the truth. I am investing every ounce of my energy, every
penny of our resources, and all the power of the Unification Church for
the sake of America. In doing so I have not asked for recognition or
medals. I don't expect it. But the United States has responded with
such vicious revenge. Instead of offering me a reward, the United
States has been trying to push me out of the country.
An ordinary person would react to such persecution by wishing to
push this country to its destruction as quickly as possible. Instead
of that, I am trying to save America and prevent its fall. I could
have created The Washington Times and News World Communications
with the intent of pushing America down, but instead they arc working
together to put the brakes on America's downfall. Why am I doing this?
It is because I am looking forward to the new America that will come,
not to the present America that is on the decline. Somebody has to
invest the energy to keep America afloat long enough to reach that new
era. Nobody else is doing it, so I have voluntarily taken on this
mission.
Even under these incredibly adverse conditions, I have not changed
my principles. I am still loving this country, forgiving it, and
supporting it-for the sake of its future. Is this the kind of virtue a
true man should have? I have amply demonstrated this virtue in
America. No one can deny that I truly love this country and that I
have demonstrated this love. When Americans realize how deeply I love
their country, they will have to pay respect to me and bow their
heads.
God is manifesting these same virtues and working toward these same
goals. God is heart-broken at the situation of the present world.
However, He has hope and a vision for the future. The new world will
emerge, the new order will come, the new culture will appear, and new
people will prosper. God is looking forward to that world, and He is
trying to sustain this world until it can reach that goal. Ultimately,
God considers His present enemies-those who are trying to hurt, block
and destroy Him-the ones who will praise His glory when the new day
comes. God foresees that happening. Those who are in the worst
position now will see the true hope of mankind and when that day comes,
they will honor and glorify God. The most dramatic praise is that
offered by one's worst enemy. Such praise is the real victory.
Satan has been carrying out his work, and he wants you to worship
him. He wants the adulation of his own people, his own clan, his own
surrogates. But that has not been God's desire. God is looking to the
future, to the day when His enemies will turn to praise and glorify
Him. When your enemies turn around and honor you, your world has no
enemies. This is God's ultimate goal. This is the highest possible goal
God and man can conceive. Nothing else is needed; nothing is greater.
The ultimate command Jesus left for mankind was to love your enemy. The
final goal can be reached by practicing that principle. Jesus was not
just talking about one's personal enemy, but the enemy of God, the
world and the universe-Satan.
I want you to understand that God's ideal starts from within His
enemy's heart, the core of the heart. God wants to begin His tradition
in the very place where the enemy's heart can pray, respect, love and
be transformed. Once God's highest and purest tradition takes hold in
that enemy's heart, nobody can destroy it. Nobody can deny it because
the very enemy accepted it in his heart. That's final.
Now that you understand that this has been God's goal and Jesus,
goal all along, you realize how shallow traditional understanding of
Jesus' heart has been. Christians proclaim, "Believe in Jesus and
you will find yourself in Heaven." This is a narrow and
self-centered view of Jesus. Many Christians have not really been
trained to forgive anybody. When somebody hurts them a little bit, they
might spend all night thinking about how they can hurt him in return.
"I'm really going to crush him," they might say. Do you think
God can base His ideal on that kind of heart?
I want you to understand that God's thinking is so broad and deep
because He is God. Therefore Jesus, as the son of God, could make the
statements he did. How about Reverend Moon? Is there anyone who has
been persecuted or misunderstood more than I have? Stalin and Mao have
been criticized for killing so many people. Even though I have never
touched one life, I am more accused than Stalin, Mao, or anyone else.
Instead of killing the enemy, I have just forgiven and loved them. In
return, I have been blamed incessantly. Actually, it has been my
strategy that if people don't criticize or curse me, I will poke them
until they do. "Go ahead," I say. "Go on and curse
me!"
The fact that I am criticized by the news media and by society
doesn't mean that I am doing anything evil. I am being attacked for
doing good deeds, such as reaching out to drug addicts and transforming
them into patriotic, healthy and determined young people. My work is
making trouble, but it is for the good. Impossible young people like
you who don't listen to parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, or
friends, but who are a law unto yourself, come to me and somehow I
clean you up and transform you into goal-oriented, dedicated men and
women. People just cannot imagine such a thing happening.
I am going against society in a good way. Your parents want you to
date and they worry if you don't. I don't worry about that; I don't
even want men and women to hold hands. My thinking is 180 degrees
opposite to the American pattern, but the amazing thing is that you
young people listen to me. That is the problem-if nobody listened,
there would be no problem!
You independent, bull-headed American men and women don't want to
listen to your parents' advice. You tell them you want to choose your
own mate. But I matched several thousand couples in one day; people
accepted their matches and got married. The American mentality just
could not imagine such a phenomenon; they could not comprehend it. The
only logical explanation they could conceive was mind control. They
consider me a criminal and accuse me of mind control and brainwashing.
Do you think you are brainwashed? Should I be criticized or praised
for what I have done for America? The whole American society has come
against me. Why? My approach is 180 degrees opposite to their
understanding and accepted standards. Therefore, they cannot accept
it.
For 37 years I have been confronting incredible opposition and
persecution. By the time of the Washington Monument rally in 1976, the
opposition had become worldwide in scale and reached its pinnacle.
When somebody criticizes me, I forget it. I forget what the enemy says,
I just don't retain it in my memory. Instead, I try to love them,
digest them, and win their hearts. I have done this over and over
again.
So if I ask you with whom you would like to live, would you prefer
the secular American culture or me? Today I happen to be in America, so
you can say you want to be with me because I am here. But would your
answer be the same if I went to Africa and lived like an uncivilized
person, wearing only a loincloth? If you Americans came and saw me like
that would you call me a savage and return to America? If I went to
Africa and lived like the natives - eating frogs, rattlesnakes and even
monkeys - what would you do? Would you think I had lost my mind?
Apparently, the most royal treatment you can give a guest in some parts
of Africa is to serve a live monkey, open his mouth and squeeze out the
raw brains. That is VIP treatment. What would you do in such a
situation?
If that was the best, cleanest and most sinless way of living, I
wouldn't mind doing it. I wouldn't mind following African culture and
living in the jungle if that was the purest and most God-centered way
for me to live. Would you join me? I am training you to be able to do
that. But to do it all at once would be too drastic. Therefore, I am
training you step by step, so you can ultimately reach the goal. Would
you welcome it?
It doesn't make any difference who you are; this training applies
to everyone. If President Reagan became a Moonie, don't you think he
would call me Father? Suppose President Reagan and I were to live
together for three months. Would I become his disciple or would he
become mine? After three months together, the first condition I would
give him would be to go out fund raising on the MFT. If I made him
commander of the fund raisers in some place like North Dakota, even the
flowers would be excited. They may have been offended when Moonies sold
them and people chased them away! Even flowers get offended, not only
you!
We can imagine if President Reagan were fund raising, telling
people, "I'm the President of the United States. Could you make a
donation of $5.00 for these flowers?" The flowers would get more
excited than anybody and say, "Look, we're important now!" If
Reagan were to fund raise with flowers, do you think he would have a
hard time getting rid of them, or would people line up to give $5.00
per bunch? Then President Reagan could appeal to the people, "My
dear fellow Americans, this is for such a wonderful cause. I appeal to
you, please give $5.00 for a carnation. Please give for the sake of the
world and for the sake of God." Would they all say yes, or no?
Would it be good or bad for the President to do that kind of fund
raising for the sake of America?
What would you do if you were President of the United States? The
idea is so dramatic. Just think of the impact your actions could have
on the world, not just America! What is most amazing, however, is that
you could say to Mr. Reagan, "Well, you may have raised billions
in one day, but I am your senior in fund raising because I did it under
persecution. You didn't fund raise under persecution." Which do
you think would have more value in the sight of God: your efforts or
President Reagan's? Fund raising under persecution is such a
privilege. People won't have an opportunity like that much longer,
only during your lifetime.
With whom do you want to live? The one who truly lives for the sake
of others is the noble and true person. So the correct answer is that
you want to live with such a person-one who loves others unselfishly,
one who lives patiently for the sake of the world. If there is a group
of people or some organization that really wants to give themselves
sacrificially for the well-being of mankind and the entire world, they
will definitely be welcomed by God, mankind, the nation, and the
world. All will want to live with them, not temporarily, but for
eternity. They will be buried in eternal love. Don't you want to live
in such a place?
Therefore, I am telling you to go out and suffer and be
sacrificial. Become a loving person and learn how to be patient under
any circumstance. Are these words a curse, or an expression of love?
What have you been thinking about Church policy? Do you say, "I
have been in the Church for ten years, and I have done a great deal
during that time. Now Father asks me to do more. How could he ask
that? How could he be so cruel?" Think of Satan. He is such an
outrageous being. He is always coming before God to provoke Him by
saying, "God, how can You treat me like that? I cannot stand
it." God could reply, "You rascal, get out of My sight."
The human mind would normally think that way. But God has infinite
patience. He always treats Satan with patience. Otherwise, God would
not be God.
So if you want to be qualified to become a son or daughter of such
a God, should you be small-minded and impatient, like a peanut? Can you
say your mind is based in God's mind and you are able to melt away all
the anger of the world? Have you become an infinite Moonie? Have you
reached the standard of sons and daughters of God? The answer is no,
not yet. I try unceasingly to help all of you become that kind of son
and daughter of God, reflecting God's absolute image.
I gain no benefit by yelling at you and pushing you out. What can I
gain by being hard on you? Nothing. It is much easier and much more
comfortable for me to say nothing. I am not earning one penny from
this. Instead, I am bringing every ounce of energy and every resource I
have to America and spending it on this country. I keep pushing you
out, but I get no gratitude in return, only criticism. I am doing all
this for your sake, for the sake of the enemy. In a way, you are the
enemy, coming from the enemy country.
According to these criteria, do you understand me to be a good man
or an evil one? You may think I am being cruel to you, but actually I
am even more cruel to myself. I am the leader of the Unification
Church, but if I sleep two and a half hours at night instead of two. I
feel I must repent in the sight of God. If I push my members so hard,
how can I sleep comfortably?
When I stay at East Garden, I want to wear the same underwear,
T-shirt and pants several days or more. Sometimes I don't change
underwear for a whole week but Mother complains. I keep saying I can
wear them another day. Sometimes things become soiled and I turn them
inside out and wear them again. Do you think I do this because there is
no washing machine at East Garden or because I have no extra clothes?
No, I do it because I am thinking of you. When I take a bath at night,
Mother very sweetly takes away all the soiled underwear and puts it in
the laundry bin. Then, when she is looking at something else, I come
out, take the underwear out of the bin, and wear them again! I do this
because my mind is always with you.
I know the fund raisers don't always get a chance to eat regular
meals or wash their underwear often, so I want to be united with them.
I skip a meal sometimes; I don't wear a clean shirt everyday. I don't
want to do something if my members aren't doing it. I feel the happiest
and most comfortable living like this. I also know that when you
members go through mental and physical suffering, you think of East
Garden and Mother and me. My mind goes to you, and I support you in
thought. Even though my body may be stationary in East Garden, my mind
has constant give and take with you members-not only here, but all over
the world.
One missionary died recently. His last words were that he was sorry
he couldn't get out of his bed and bow to Father before his death.
"Please ask Father and Mother to forgive me," he said;
"I wanted to make a final bow to Father but I couldn't." How
can I not be connected to such members? Even in spirit, I love them,
think of them, work more intensely, and suffer with them side by side.
My physical body is limited to one place, but in the world of thought I
am unlimited; I can go anywhere. I have constant give and take with all
the members, particularly those who think about me. Because I don't
want to be burdened by you, I am always aggressively looking for ways
to give you more. Therefore, when anyone calls out my name, I will be
there.
Beyond space and time, I am leading the movement all over the
world. Many people are receiving instructions from me through dreams,
visions and voices. I manifest myself in all kinds of ways and give
members exactly the right answers. There are millions and millions of
examples of such phenomena all over the world.
I stay at East Garden, but it has no joy for me. I feel sorry about
riding in a big Lincoln limousine, but when I have to travel a long
distance, it is necessary for security. Still. I never feel I have the
right to these things. The only time I can sleep well is when I travel,
so I sleep in the car. Even there, I feel I am working because I am in
motion, but before I doze off I ask God if I can take a little rest.
That is the only time I take the liberty of napping. At East Garden, I
don't feel free to sleep. I am always pushing myself, so I never take a
nap inside East Garden-only when traveling by car. Because of this
intense give and take of love, all the members of the Unification
Church, without exception, can be truly connected to me. If you think
of me intensely, my thought waves will match yours-and even more.
The title today is "With Whom Shall I Live?" The answer
is, "With a true person." Included in that category is true
son, true daughter, true teacher, true friend, true parents, true
brothers, true sisters, true family, true country, and true heaven.
What is the true heaven? It is the dwelling of those who practice the
principles of a true person. True heaven is where true people go. I am
the one who knows the way to that true heaven.
If I offer a gift or do a special favor to the person closest to
me, I always forget it immediately afterwards. The good things I do I
want to forget. I have never felt that I have done enough, because
there is always a greater enemy to love.
Do I see Belvedere and East Garden as comfortable places-a
paradise-to spend the remainder of my life? No, after building up
America I want to go on to Moscow. I may very well end up in prison
there, but still I want to go. I want to live by the truth that says:
"Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it." I am practicing that principle.
That was how I came to America-not for this country's glory, but for
its prison. I don't mind going to Moscow, even to its prison, because
people there are waiting to be liberated. I will go to Russia to
suffer for the people. People there don't want to live with Lenin and
Stalin; they want to live with Reverend Moon. They want to live with me
as much as you do.
This is a most difficult way of life. But I want you to know how
truthful and valuable such a way of life is. I want you to learn to
shed tears of patience, not tears of anger, wrath or revenge. When you
endure to the utmost in tears, I want you to understand that God, who
is always in tears, will become your friend. When that happens, the
entire spirit world will come down to help and support you. Do you
follow?
So with whom would you like to live? With a true man? Yes, that is
the correct answer. The true man is a serious man. In all of human
history, who is the supreme king of seriousness? God. God is number
one. God is the top. Do you know God now? He is infinitely patient,
forgiving, and enduring. He puts up with Satan-still wanting to love
His own enemy, the one who stole His love. That is God.
Who are the precious members of your family? When you think of your
family, think of your grandmother and grandfather as well. Your
immediate family encompasses your grandparents, your parents, you and
your spouse, and then your children and their spouses.
What did Satan do? He is the worst criminal of love because he
always destroys love. In front of everybody, Satan commits the worst
crimes: rape and murder. He does this at every level, and he does it in
front of people. He is the worst criminal under the sun. Not only does
Satan do such evil within our families, but also within the central
sovereignty of the nation. Satan has committed the same crimes in the
family of the king and queen of a nation. Furthermore, Satan committed
the same crime against God. You do not know all the evil history of
Satan, but God does. He knows every evil deed Satan ever committed,
but still God has put up with Satan and forgiven him. He is still
guiding history and trying to restore people back to Himself.
Any righteous son who sees terrible crimes going on in his home
would thirst for revenge and long to punch or kill the evildoer.
People would go crazy if they saw what Satan does. But we cannot become
crazy because of Satan. We must subjugate him until he completely
surrenders. Until then, our patient, steadfast battle must continue. We
cannot challenge Satan to a duel, bump him off, and finish fallen
history. We must do the things Satan cannot do. The true person's way
of revenge is to be patient, to witness, to fund raise, and bring the
message to people one by one, winning them over to God's side. That is
the realistic way to take revenge against Satan for working such
incredible evil. How can we refuse to do it?
Every day and every year of my life, I have been speeding toward
that goal. I have faced persecution from all over the world, but I have
gone patiently over each stage. If the entire population of the United
States and the whole world came against me, I would say, "Let it
come so we can quickly pass through the gates."
At every stage of the game, instead of shooting Satan down in a
physical or violent manner, I must subjugate him by love. Satan must be
dominated by love so that he will willingly come to bow down to me and
God in tears and say, "I was a criminal; please forgive me."
Then, when Satan is successfully subjugated, all his victims can also
be liberated. That is the battle we have been waging. It is still going
on. In this battle, God's position has been very miserable and
tearful. God put Himself in the most miserable situation and deserves
all the sympathy we can give.
Look at what I have been doing. Korea and Japan were enemy
countries; Japan and the United States have fought; the United States
and Germany have been on opposite sides. All these have been enemy
relationships, but I want to create a heavenly tradition based on the
relationships between these enemy nations. That is what I have been
trying so hard to accomplish. All these countries have strongly opposed
me. Korea has persecuted me more than any other nation. Japan, the
United States and Germany have opposed me as well. But this will pass,
and they will come to realize that they have misunderstood me. While
they have opposed me, all these countries have been declining, but the
more the Unification Church receives persecution, the more it
prospers.
These four countries must be united. Without that unity we can
never become children of God, and we cannot begin the Kingdom of Heaven
in heaven. I expounded on this for a long time last February. That is
why I sent out missionaries from three enemy nations-Japan, the United
States, and Germany-the three most impossible countries. They went out
to their mission fields, but their most important job was to unite and
not fight among themselves. Dr. Durst may feel his leadership would be
simpler if there were no complications of Koreans and Japanese. Even
stubborn Germans have been added to the combination of nationalities
working in America. "Boy, my headache is big," he might
say.
But God has sent you a great headache so that you can digest more.
Korea is East, Japan West, Germany North and America South. East and
West, North and South- four directions should come together. Koreans
and Germans are unique people, very special. Americans and Japanese
have to learn from these people and follow them, and all must become
united. When you speak of East and West, North and South it sounds all
spread out, but actually even a small house has four directions to it.
Even a duck can turn its head in four directions and unite them into
one.
There were four nationalities sent to every mission country. Only
three people went out together-one Japanese, one German, and one
American-but spiritually I am always there with them, too. I am a
Korean, so four nations are always together in the mission field. They
are like a totem pole or lightning rod to receive persecution. The
entire world has hit them hard, but the more they are persecuted and
hit, the more compressed and compact they become. Opposition pushes
them to the center. When they are in the center, however, unless they
are fully united they will crack.
I want you to understand that eventually blessed couple trinities
will be formed, making a four-position foundation with four
nationalities-one Korean couple, one Japanese couple, one German
couple, and one American couple. They will form something like a
modern-day Noah's family. The Korean couple will represent the parent
couple; and the couples from the United States, Japan and Germany will
represent Noah's three sons and daughters-in-law. Altogether there will
be eight people living as members of one family in a household. Thus,
a modern Noah's family will be created on a universal scale in order to
indemnify the positions of Noah and the eight members of his family.
Without creating such unity, nobody can enter the ideal heaven. Do you
follow?
For instance, Dr. Durst's Noah family will be formed with the
German couple he most dislikes, the Korean couple he most dislikes and
the Japanese couple he most dislikes. He is the leader of the United
States, so he should demonstrate his love and embrace these couples
until they all become one. Theirs will be the exemplary Noah's family.
When Dr. Durst can proclaim to me that his Noah's family is heaven, he
will be a true heavenly citizen. The very place that Dr. Durst calls
heaven is where eternal life will begin.
You understand that you are to become sons and daughters of God and
build the Heavenly Kingdom. Today you know that very clearly.
Actually, I have been expounding on the Bible passage that says,
"Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it." Furthermore, the Bible says,
"Love your enemy." So what is the distinction between
Unificationists and the rest of Christianity? We all have the Bible.
The difference is that Unificationists are fulfilling those teachings
on the universal level; we are practicing them on the worldwide scale.
Therefore, God must use this foundation as the base of His Heavenly
Kingdom. The Unification Church is providing God with His foundation.
That is the difference. Therefore, the Unification Church is the place
in which God takes the greatest delight, joy and satisfaction.
Now you know with whom you shall live. You want to live eternally
with Mother and me. Physically Mother and I may be far from you, but
spiritually we are with you. So what should you do physically? Go
after true brothers and sisters, live with them, think about them,
support them, encourage them, and inspire them. That is the task of
true men and women. Be beaten for the sake of others. Be the lightning
rod for the world. Go ahead and don't complain. Be patient and move
forward like an elephant-without shaking or being shaken. That is the
best advice.
Now you know how you should live-from the highest ideals down to
the most practical level. I have taught you much this morning.
Following this principle, the Unification Church shall have no
divisions. It should be absolutely clear who is in the mainstream and
who is in the side stream. In the mainstream are those who uphold my
teaching at face value, giving themselves sacrificially for the sake of
others, trying to be true people with patience and love. Those who try
to take the easy, mediocre, selfish, or comfortable way are clearly not
in the mainstream of Unification Church tradition. Therefore, you now
have the clear and complete criteria for distinguishing who is a true
person and who is not.
I used the analogy of the Chinese people in order to instill in
your mind an idea that you won't forget. I also asked you to have a
greater capacity for digesting circumstances than the Chinese. I asked
you to do better than the Chinese. That is the goal.
Another ten years should not matter to you. You should feel that
you can wait for 10, 20 or 30 years without getting tired. Think of the
Chinese; they won't get weary. You should resolve to be better than
them, so that when you are planted in the ground your bottom may rot,
but a new root will sprout from it and produce new life. The tree will
grow; leaves will sprout and flowers bloom. Resolve to be patient.
Your ultimate desire is to live with God and become like Him.
Who of you will say: "I want to lead a dramatic life as a
child of God and I will be a patient child of God"? Those who
pledge to God and True Parents to be patient men and women, please
raise your hands. Thank you.