Cheon Seong Gyeong 2172
You cannot just lie down because you are tired, and even if you die, you have got to die for the sake of that nation. Because of that, when I get old and start to feel tired, the one thing I want to be able to leave behind me is the last will and testament that “I did all I could for the sake of Heaven. I did everything I could for the sake of that nation.”
Jesus said, “Worry not what you will wear or what you will eat, for the Gentiles seek after these. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” As this shows, the central stream of thought in the Bible is that kingdom. This philosophy says to seek that nation. It does not say to seek your own happiness. If you are born as a citizen of that nation and you have a husband, then that husband represents that nation, so you have to love that nation before you can love your husband. And the wife also represents the nation; you have to love that nation before you can love your wife. You have to be able to ask him or her to die in the position of being able to say, “I did everything I could; there is nothing more I could have done.” It is no good if you die having said, “I should have tried such and such.” For this reason, we are busy even though we may have accomplished a certain amount. Even if you walk a way on the path, you have got to go even further. When everyone else is sleeping, we have to go one step further. “Hey Satan’s world! Take it easy! You guys, rest the whole day if you like! We are going off to seek that nation.” That is what you have got to say.
Cheon Seong Gyeong 902
The spirit world is a world that transcends the material world. It transcends the world of knowledge. Since it is a world that transcends time and space, it is a place where yesterday’s joy can become today’s joy, and today’s joy can become tomorrow’s joy. In this light, that essential world does not move based on the things that we, who live on earth today, require or value. What is important for the spirit world is the center of everything of value within life in that world. (141-268, 1986.3.2)
Society
Freedom
- Freedom Requires Social Solidarity within an Orderly Social System;
It Is Far Removed from Individualism
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Liberty exists where everyone lives for others and honors others. When we live for others, we are liberated as well. Living for others is intrinsically liberating. That is why I tell you to live for the sake of others. (323:73, May 31, 2000)
What people today mean by freedom is the right to assert oneself. Their freedom is merely a shield for their self-centered lifestyle. When ten people each assert their freedom, they erect ten walls around themselves, and within those walls their personalities and interests diverge to such an extent that they cannot get along together…
Today the Western world exalts freedom. Yet you should regard the word “freedom” as a fearful word. What is true freedom? If people take freedom as the opportunity to lift up God and the world, it is well and good. This is freedom that everyone can enjoy. But if people are self-centered and put everyone down, then where can there be freedom? (107:272-74, June 1, 1980)
Historically the pursuit of freedom was born out of the desire to lift up society to a higher dimension. It was not born to break down and destroy the social order. Yet today’s young people say, “We want the freedom to drink, dance and enjoy rock music.” Crying out, “freedom!” they flaunt social norms, break down the social order and ruin the foundations of society. This freedom is nothing but self-indulgence. It is one of Satan’s destructive strategies. (116:102, December 27, 1981)
The greater the freedom, the greater is the need to maintain discipline and respect for law and order. The greater the precision of a piece of machinery, the more exactly its vertical and horizontal motion must accord with the principles of its design. Freedom yields abundant fruit as long as laws are obeyed. This truth cannot be denied, particularly in today’s advanced social system and scientific civilization.
Can human beings enjoy freedom while ignoring the social system? No, the social system exists for the benefit of human beings. Therefore, people need to align themselves to the laws, organization and structure of their social system and prepare themselves to function within it. They should even take on leadership roles and protect it. People who fulfill this role can have no dealings with self-indulgent freedom.
To travel anywhere, we need a road. We require a direction. Today’s free societies are lacking direction. How can they have direction, when everyone does as they please? Yet is there such a thing as a mind without direction? It is the mindset of ruin. (49:190-93, October 10, 1971)
The freedom that most people seek for is not what they can enjoy eternally, nor does it touch the core of their original mind. Instead, the pursuit of freedom drives people to extreme individualism and leaves them more and more isolated.
As long as people do not uphold Heaven’s principles, do not pursue their relationship with God, and do not lift up the concept of freedom that is perfect and unchanging, the freedom that people seek for on earth will not be aligned with the freedom Heaven is seeking. Therefore, as the prevailing trend demonstrates, the more aggressively people pursue freedom, the farther away they are from it. (4:318, October 12, 1958)
The democratic world seeks to live by Christian teachings, but its way of life is permeated by individualism, bolstered by scientific technology. Hence, the freedom people pursue in today’s democratic societies is fundamentally opposed to Christian teaching.
Christianity teaches freedom for the entire cosmos, liberation for the whole, and unity in the heart of God. Christian freedom is a state where we can rejoice together with God and the entire world. However, most people in the democratic world today insist on an individualistic concept of freedom. As a result, they deny their nation, their society, their community, and even their family and the relationship of husband and wife. Eventually, they come to deny the very Center of their mind [God].
What do they have left? Loneliness. When their loneliness reaches the extreme and explodes, they no longer trust others or even themselves. Their feeling of loneliness and distrust becomes an all-encompassing fear and depression, which leads to self-destructive behavior, even suicide. This trend is ever more evident in contemporary times.
Hence, if we really want freedom, we should not cry out for the irresponsible freedom that people sought in the past or are seeking today, but we should seek for the true freedom that accompanies the ideal of God’s love. (4:319-20, October 12, 1958)