Put God First in Your Life

Thinking that you are offering a percentage of your income can easily lead to a habit of putting your life first, before God.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1920

    Through the unification of North and South Korea, the gap between the rich and poor in the East and the West will be resolved, and Western Civilization and oriental civilization will become one. Originally, the East was the center of spiritual civilization. That is why all religions emerged from the East. When religious spheres begin to flourish, all material possessions must be cast away. You have to give up everything, including your house and nation. However, the material world cannot be thrown away. This is why it is being collected from the other end.
    As a result, western people were the ones who developed material civilization. The European powers had knowledge, and the more they discovered, the more they occupied the land, claiming it to be their own. They all expanded their domain through knowledge. Yet in the East, people gave up all their money. Unification, however, unfolds when the spiritual standard and material standard become one. The material civilization comes seeking Asia. Thus, an era is coming in which Western Civilization and oriental civilization are combining in the Pacific sphere, so an era is coming which will lead to a new world. That is the era of the Pacific civilization. (212-138, 1991.1.2)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 517

    What have all the religions of history been doing until now? They have been seeking one man. They have encouraged celibacy. They did not allow for new things. If they continue like this, they will perish. Yet when they reach the level at which they can say they have found that man in their historical search for him, they will have to seek the woman after that. What kind of place is the Unification Church? It is a church seeking to restore the family. (30-218, 1970.3.23)

Book 7
Etiquette and Ceremonies
Chapter 3

Worship Service and Etiquette in Church Life

Section 5. Offering Donations in Accordance with Heavenly Law

5.1. Ways of tithing

    You must be strict with public funds. You should be thorough in your tithing. You should offer one-tenth of your total income to God without fail. (11-218, 1961.8.26)

    By offering a tithe from your material possessions to God, you can establish a condition equal to having offered all that you have. Even if you do not offer everything to God, offering a portion of it with all of your heart and mind will enable the rest to be considered holy. The person who tithes will never perish. As days go by, his storage room will be filled with more material blessings. (31-239, 1970.6.4)

    You will never starve if you can tithe with sincere devotion. As a rule, your descendants will never suffer for want of material things. Invest your devotion in offering tithes; this is the essence of faith. Just offering it in a mediocre way will not work. An offering is something that you offer on behalf of your life. That is why you should offer the thing that is most important to you. (63-338, 1972.10.22)

    To make certain indemnity conditions, material things are required. The reason we are supposed to offer tithe to heaven lies here. The number nine is a number of the fallen world; the number ten is the number representing the heavenly world as well as the number shedding the number nine. (10-217, 1960.10.14)

    Among the twelve tribes of Israel, eleven tribes had to offer tithes to the altar governed by the tribe of Levi. From now on, you are not a member if you do not tithe. You should offer threetenths of your income: one-tenth for the nation, one-tenth for the world and onetenth for the church.
    It is absolutely essential to tithe in our daily lives as we go this way. You should not consider your income your own or use it as your own. The reason is that the number nine, three times three equals nine, has been governed by Satan so far.
    If the number nine is returned and connected to God on the earth where Satan is the master, God can have dominion over that number. In this way, God can restore the number ten. Thus, if you believe in God and bring the number nine, all possessions within the realm of the number nine can be separated from the realm of Satan. That is how the term “tithe 10 percent” came into being. (150-218, 1961.4.15)

    We who are on the course of going through the providence of restoration should be determined not only to fulfill the condition of donating one-tenth of our income but even three-tenths. Onetenth of your income should be offered to your nation, the second tenth to the people of the world. It must be offered in the course of restoration. The last third should be offered to the heavenly kingdom. People who are given responsibility from heaven should never violate the condition of tithing. At the same time, you should meet all the duties of filial piety. (150-218, 1961.4.15)

    When you make a donation, you should not use money left over after purchasing something to eat. That money is defiled. Furthermore, God would not be present when a donation is made with change after purchasing things at the market. (48-86, 1971.9.5)

    You should not use leftovers for sacrificial offerings. Leftovers are defiled. A person of grace would immediately recognize it. That is why I prevent you from going to impure places. (30-133, 1970.3.21)

    In the future, everything should belong to the world. At the same time, everything should belong to the worldwide God, the worldwide True Parents, and the worldwide True Children. We are responsible to restore everything to such a position. This is what you should realize thoroughly. (23-336, 1969.6.15)

    Making an offering for the maintenance of the church after dealing with your own expenses first sounds extremely good, but it is bad. Making an offering to God should be the first priority in life, before thinking of your own life. Thinking that you are offering a percentage of your income can easily lead to a habit of putting your life first, before God. If God is placed as a second priority, He will later end up being in the last place. Do you think it will become like that or not? (96-101, 1978.1.2)
pgs. 1029-1030

Daily Inspiration Discussion Forum

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