¹⁵ If one of my followers^[a] sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower. ¹⁶ But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proven true by two or more witnesses. ¹⁷ If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector.^[b]

¹⁸ I promise you that God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth, but he will not allow anything you don’t allow. ¹⁹ I promise that when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰ Whenever two or three of you come together in my name,^[c] I am there with you.

Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!^[e] 23 This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like:

One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. ²⁴ As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him fifty million silver coins. ²⁵ But he didn’t have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.

²⁶ The official got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!” ²⁷ The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.

²⁸ As the official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him a hundred silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, “Pay me what you owe!”

²⁹ The man got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you back.” ³⁰ But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed.

³¹ When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. Then they told the king what had happened. ³² The king called the first official back in and said, “You’re an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a cent. ³³ Don’t you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?” ³⁴ The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. ³⁵ That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don’t forgive each of my followers with all your heart.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

There should come a time when you feel you are carrying a historical debt within yourselves. When we are born on earth, we first receive the blood and flesh of our parents. After that, our lives are benefited by the earth. Going further than that, in our minds, we begin to realize that eternal Heaven has formed a connection with us and has protected our lives thus far.

Although people of all sorts and conditions appear outwardly to be in a happy position, why are they unable to feel happiness in reality? The cause resides not in those people themselves. It is because they have a reciprocal relationship with something, yet are not able to comprehend it.

What is the cause of human misery? Humankind has been using the word “happiness” without experiencing even one moment of complete enjoyment and happiness, having shed light upon the cause of human misery. Through the experience of history, we know very well that, though we have used the word “happiness,” in reality, we could not experience a happy life.

Why, then, could humankind not attain happiness and satisfaction? It is because we have incurred an remarkable debt. This is the crux of the matter. Unless we clear away the burden of debt, happiness eludes the individual, the church, the state and the world.

You know very well that the history of unimaginable sorrow and struggle developed long before you were born. From the point of view of our own lives, we know very well that we live at the intersection of limitless conflict between our minds and bodies. As we come to consider our situation very carefully, we realize that we are not aware of the fact that we owe a remarkable debt before Heaven and earth. For that reason, many people, who find it unthinkable that we could indemnify the burden of that debt that our ancestors left before Heaven and the earth, conclude that we are beings of sorrow who are doomed to live with the inherited blood lineage of sin and evil.

While Heaven is struggling and striving to lead us to an ideal world, what should we do? We should acknowledge that we owe a debt before Heaven and the whole creation. We should lift our hands in supplication. We must also concede that there is no way for us to clear away the debt incurred. When we analyze ourselves, we realize that our minds and bodies, even our families, are not our own.

When will the day come when we can boast that these are ours? When can we boast before all things in nature that we are beings of immutability? This is a matter of historical importance which the whole of humankind must resolve under a common ideology. We bear a debt to our three formative parents: we owe the debt incurred to the parents of our flesh and blood; we owe the debt incurred to the land that gave our body its composition; and we owe a debt incurred to the life-connection received from Heaven. Man cannot be free of the relationships of the three formative parents. When we analyze our life, we owe debt to the land in the aspect of materials, we owe an unspeakable debt to the parents of our flesh and blood, and we owe a great debt to Heaven. Have you people, today, ever keenly felt that you owe such a debt?

When you think of this, there should be times when you realize you must bow your heads to the land. When you think of the debt incurred to your parents, you should be able to bow your heads before them also. Our minds are cloven with the debt that resulted from Heaven’s struggling and striving to help us seek the eternal ideology centered on such a Shim Jung.

For that reason, Heaven will ask you if you ever bowed your heads and were awe-stricken by the effort Heaven has made for you. Our parents, who raised us, will ask the same. When you come to be in such a situation, the issue is whether you are ready to appear with confidence saying, “I have come forward after having cleared away all the debts that were left to me and my posterity.”

Today, we should be aware that we carry such an environmental debt. Moreover, you should know that God has been toiling to awaken a person who can clear away all the historical debts that humanity bears.

Richard:  We are indebted to our physical parents, the eath from which our bodies come and to God for giving us life.  No one is in a position to be arrogant or full of hubris.  We all need the grace anc forgiveness of God and Jesus Christ, and should strive our whole lives to pay back the debt we owe by loving God and serving our fellow human beings.