Cheon Seong Gyeong 2076
We started in 1978, so this is now the fourteenth year. This work has been going on for fourteen years. If all of you had only done this work with a desperate heart! How great it would have been! If that had happened, then everything would be connected through the tong ban breakthrough activities, centering on the Unification Church. Centering on the Unification Church foundation, we organized everything down to the village, so that we could breakthrough at the tong ban level. Centering on the men, we held conferences in the dong (districts), tong and ban (local communities and home neighborhoods). We passed out Divine Principle books and a book called “The Hope of the World” in my name, to all the 120,000 neighborhood leaders. Maybe even some of you that are here today also received these books. Despite the fact that all this was done, the men still all failed their responsibility. They were relaxed and thought this was just some kind of game. Therefore, because the men failed their responsibility, the women must accomplish it. Whatever happens, they must do this.
The women must not just be worried about the livelihood of their own homes. Please notice that I’ve mobilized women centering on the Women’s Federation. Is this mobilization due to the power of human beings? In the beginning, when I first said that I would have an initiation conference for the Asian Women’s Federation of World Peace (AWFWP), everyone’s eyes went like this, and our own Unification Church members put up opposition saying women can’t do anything and that AWFWP women can’t do anything. But then True Mother stepped forward and the opposition subsided. Seeing the atmosphere, the members couldn’t oppose it any further. Therefore, I declared the arrival of the era of women. I made this declaration because the time was ripe to do so. Wait and see if the age of women comes now or not. (233-111, 1992.7.31)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1502
What was God’s ideal for the first human ancestors? It was for man and woman to come together in union to form an ideal family. The center of an ideal family would be neither the man nor the woman. A family is a unit connected to each other by the bond of parent to child and the bond of a husband and wife, all centered on God’s love. Therefore, we can conclude that God’s will is to perfect a family centering on His love. (Blessed Family – 301)
Society
Government for the People
THE WELFARE OF ITS CITIZENS SHOULD BE THE CHIEF CONCERN of government. The scriptures affirm that a ruler should put the people’s needs ahead of his own. This is signified by his titles: the prophets of Israel called their rulers “shepherds,” Jesus called rulers of the Kingdom “servants,” and Chinese tradition regarded the emperor as “the father and mother of the people.”
A leader can show consideration to his followers by personal kindness, forgiving their mistakes, and believing the best about them even when he knows they are likely to fall short. He can demonstrate solidarity with their difficulties by forgoing the pomp and ostentation of high office and living simply as one of the people. Moreover, scriptures encourage benevolent government policies, including reducing taxes in times of economic recession, investing in the people to create jobs, empowering them to have ownership over their work, and providing for the welfare of the poor and destitute. (See also Chapter 20: Economic Justice)
The precepts of governance that make for a benevolent rule are universal, which is why scriptures written in ancient times, when all governments were monarchies, remain relevant today. Nevertheless, this section also includes some texts on democracy, because in modern times a government “of the people and by the people” has proven to be the surest way to have a government “for the people.” Yet democracy has also produced its share of monstrosities; the French Revolution is but one example. More than just free elections and a representative government, the animating spirit behind democracy can make all the difference between the blessings of liberty and totalitarian terror. Hence in the Western experience, democracies built upon Christian values have done better than those based on materialism. Yet even American democracy with its emphasis on individual freedom is deficient in many ways, according to Father Moon. A better underpinning for democracy, he declares, is the spirit of true love.
1. Servant Leadership
In the happiness of his subjects lies a king’s happiness; in their welfare his welfare; whatever pleases him he shall not consider as good, but whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider as good.
Kautilya, Artha-shastra 1.19 (Hinduism)
When loss is above and gain below, the people’s joy is boundless. When those above exhibit no pride to the ones below them, their virtue is brightly illumined.
I Ching 42 (Confucianism)
Desiring to rule over the people, One must, in one’s words, humble oneself before them; And, desiring to lead the people, One must, in one’s person, follow behind them. Therefore the sage takes his place over the people yet is no burden; Takes his place ahead of the people yet causes no obstruction. That is why the empire supports him joyfully and never tires of doing so. Tao Te Ching 66 (Taoism)
Desiring to rule over the people,
One must, in one’s words, humble oneself before them;
And, desiring to lead the people,
One must, in one’s person, follow behind them.
Therefore the sage takes his place over the people yet is no burden;
Takes his place ahead of the people yet causes no obstruction.
That is why the empire supports him joyfully and never tires of doing so.
Tao Te Ching 66 (Taoism)
Governing a large state is like boiling a small fish. T
ao Te Ching 60 (Taoism)
Lay no burden on the public which the majority cannot bear.
Talmud, Baba Batra 60b (Judaism)
To demand much from oneself and little from others is the way for a ruler to banish discontent.
Analects 15.14 (Confucianism)
The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
Analects 6.28 (Confucianism)
The highest duty of a ruler is to protect his subjects; the ruler who enjoys the rewards of his position is bound to that duty.
Laws of Manu 7.144 (Hinduism)
The Caliph is a shepherd over the people and shall be questioned about his subjects.
Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)
Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20.25-28
Public men are proud to be the servants of the State and would be ashamed to be its masters.
Sir Winston Churchill
It was by the mercy of God that you were lenient with them (O Muhammad), for if you had been stern and hard-hearted they would have deserted you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult with them about the conduct of affairs.
Qur’an 3.159
Moses son of Imran said, “My Lord, who is the greatest of Thy servants in Thy estimation?” and received the reply, “The one who forgives when he is in a position of power.”
Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)
Guardianship is not to give an order but to give one’s self.
Nyika Proverb (African Traditional Religion)