Women Should Adorn Themselves Modestly and Sensibly

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2161

   There is nothing you cannot say if in your heart you love your enemies. Why? If God says a man is good-looking, then he is good-looking. If He says he is a really cool fellow, he’s a really cool fellow. If He says that the man is brave and fierce, then he is brave and fierce. So if I think like that, I take it as an honor and I can take on the world in confidence.
    When I get intoxicated like this and work alone, do you know what happens? Young people, young men and women, a family of all races, an entire people appears, a people that God can truly take joy in appears, and the dawning of God’s homeland becomes possible.
    Because Jesus said we must love our enemies, we have to love even the worst person. Even if the most handsome man is matched with the ugliest woman, he has to love her even more than he loves his enemies. When it comes to loving the enemies in this world, that kind of person is a candidate for marching ahead and carrying the flag of the highest prince. Think just how noble that kind of person is. That kind of person can just leap over national and racial boundaries.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1191

Without love, you cannot subjugate Satan. Therefore even God has to stand in the position where He can say that He has loved the fallen archangel, so, in order to become a family who can enter the heavenly kingdom, you as the family of God’s sons and daughters, must also set the condition enabling you to say that you have loved Satan. So, go out and fight and subjugate the satanic world with love. You must stand upon the foundation made by such a condition. You must be able to claim, “I did not crush all my enemies, but instead I had them surrender with love and I restored the right of the eldest son.” (141-202, 1986.2.22)

Modesty

Scripture’s concerns about modest dress and minimal use of makeup are for promoting a chaste inner life. One’s outward appearance reflects one’s mind. A painted face and immodest dress are advertisements for a wanton mind, while simple apparel and a natural, unadorned face are characteristic of a gentle and pure spirit.
Beauty can be divine or a cause of temptation—it depends upon the motivation. In this regard, Father Moon asks some revealing questions: “For whom do you put on makeup, for your husbands or for other men?” and “Do you adorn yourself to attract others to love you or to spread your love to others?”

1. Modesty in Dress

Women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire but by good deeds, as befits women who profess religion.
    1 Timothy 2.9-11
 
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! God is Aware of what they do.
    And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers… or children who know naught of women’s nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto God together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.
    Qur’an 24.30-32
 
Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves and were submissive to their husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.
    1 Peter 3.3-5
 
Woman, before decking yourself, make yourself
acceptable to your Lord,
Lest He should visit not your couch, and your
makeup be gone to waste.
In the woman finding acceptance with her
Lord, lies beauty of her makeup.
Should her makeup be acceptable, shall she
have love of her Lord.
Let her deck herself in fear of the Lord, joy in
God her perfume,
Love her sustenance.
Dedicating body and mind to her Lord, let her
in love to Him be united.
    Adi Granth, Var Suhi, M.3, p. 788 (Sikhism)
 
In The Book of Songs it is said,
    Over her brocaded robe
    She wore a plain and simple dress,
 
In that way showing her dislike of the loudness of its color and magnificence. Thus the ways of the moral man are unobtrusive and yet they grow more and more in power and evidence; whereas the ways of the vulgar person are ostentatious, but lose more and more in influence until they perish and disappear.
    The life of the moral man is plain, and yet not unattractive; it is simple, and yet full of grace; it is easy, and yet methodical. He knows that accomplishment of great things consists in doing little things well. He knows that great effects are produced by small causes. He knows the evidence and reality of what cannot be perceived by the senses. Thus he is enabled to enter into the world of ideas and morals.
    Doctrine of the Mean 33 (Confucianism)
 
The body is impure, bad-smelling, and replete with various kinds of stench which trickle here and there. If one, possessed of such a body, thinks highly of him or herself and despises others, that is due to nothing other than lack of insight.
    Sutta Nipata 205-06 (Buddhism)
 
 
 

Sin, Destruction and Evil Arise from Taking a Personal Standpoint

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They are Murdering People Left and Right

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2061

The reason I have been telling you for many years that you must do tong ban breakthrough activities was in order to utilize that for a certain time period. I saw that such a time was coming. What would have happened if my own operations were not also for the purpose of preparing for this time? What do you think? Something terrible would have happened, don’t you think? We almost had a serious situation come about. So all of you should have the awareness that you are prepared and chosen and should go forward thinking, “Even if a typhoon comes, even if an earthquake comes, even if a volcano erupts, I will not be uprooted.” You should be like the steel pillars of an ironclad bastion. We have to move forward in this way. Then spirit world will cooperate with you, and the hearts of the people will naturally come to you. (207-375, 1990.11.11)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 667

If you are fifty and have lived for the universe in accordance with heavenly ethics for over 25 years, you can go to heaven. In going to the next world, you can stay in the good spirit world. However, those who lived putting themselves first more often than not, you will be sad to hear, will go not to the original homeland of goodness, but rather to the land of evil and the world of egoism. Such a place is hell. You have to know these facts and from here forward liquidate your past life of selfishness. You should make efforts the rest of your life to live for the sake of the nation, world, universe and God. If you do this, without a doubt you will go forward into the ideal world of heaven and not into hell. (78-117, 1975.5.6)

Moderation

What does it mean to live by the norm? A person takes the middle path, seeking harmony by adopting the mean in all aspects of life. The middle path does not lean to one side in its affections. You can attain it when you do not have a preference for high or low, but proceed in harmony with all. Be a person who lives by the norm, by taking the middle path. (120:224, October 17, 1982) 
 
Sin, destruction and evil arise from taking a personal standpoint. If a person’s personal property exceeds a certain limit, it becomes evil. There is a limit to how much of a person’s life should be devoted to personal affairs, and once a person transgresses that limit, his life becomes evil. Then he is bound to decline, sinning more and more. (31:165, May 24, 1970)
 
God gives each person a certain quota of material substance to consume here on earth. Suppose you were allocated a large amount, but you say, “No, I don’t need that much. I will use as little of it as possible.” In that case, all the rest of the material wealth that God allocated to you would be transferred to your children and your posterity. Any people or nation with this kind of attitude will prosper. (161:126, January 11, 1987)
 
A well-rounded person is one who fits the four directions. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)
 
Let’s say that the white race represents the day and black race represents the night. Then if white people don’t like black people, it is like the day not liking the night. Can this situation continue? The cycle of day and night is balanced, half and half. Any people that goes against nature will perish.
 
    Does one of your eyes look up and the other look down? No, they are at the same level. When you breathe through your nose, can one nostril point up and the other down? No. Everything on your face is in harmony and balance. Likewise, people who disregard the balance of the universe will disappear. Therefore, those WASPs who insist on white supremacy are scoffed at by young people throughout the world; they are in decline.
    Likewise, American young people are dying and American families are breaking down because there is a fundamental imbalance between the individual and the family. (339:139-40, December 10, 2000)
 
Something new and great emerges from the union of the East and the West. For this reason, many of the children born from international couples are geniuses. (376:277, April 19, 2002)
 
Without a horizon, the equilibrium that is conducive to unity cannot last. Hence, we must preserve the horizon and keep it level. To establish a level horizon, we begin by finding balance in a subject-object relationship. Subject and object partners exist to make absolute balance.
    Next, the balanced subject and object partners make their surrounding horizon level. We cannot make it level all at once. It requires balancing the high and the low, and making adjustments along the way.
    After making our surroundings level, we attain the standard for eternal settlement. Unity emerges at this point, unity around the [subject and object partners] at the center.
    Hence, you should understand that balance, the horizon, and unity form a trinity. Among these three where does God abide? He dwells in the unity. Yet unity requires a level horizon, and a level horizon requires balance. The world of balance, horizon and unity breaks apart if even one of them is lacking. (298:168-69, January 1, 1999)
 

Remember, No Human Condition Is Ever Permanent

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They are Murdering People Left and Right

Cheon Seong Gyeong 359

Human beauty does not just reside in the face. It can be seen and felt from all directions. Beauty is three-dimensional, like a ball. Whether seen from above, seen from the side, or seen from any direction, a person has his or her own perfect beauty. So you should not carelessly evaluate your wife’s face. Many beautiful women are poor, but women who have virtue or good fortune are of a different type. We often see that even in the case of a woman with a pretty face, her face becomes strange after having just two or three children. So we can conclude that those who can maintain their beauty even after childbirth are beautiful women. (God’s Will and the World – 543)

Cheon Seong 1342

The 72 Couples correspond to Jesus’ seventy-two disciples. As they succeed in laying a foundation of indemnity on earth, God’s providence can expand. Through the unity of the 72 Couples representing Cain and Abel with the 36 Couples representing Adam and Eve, all providential requirements for the family have been met, and the restoration of the family has been completed. Such is the significance of the Blessing up to the 72 Couples. With the accomplishment of the 72 Couples Blessing, a God-centered foundation was achieved on earth for the first time, both horizontally and vertically, and thereby, a central standard was set up. Thus, the vertical foothold – a central point that should be determined through God’s providence – can be established only when the 36 and 72 Couples are united as the perfected victors of history. Once that central point is determined, the victorious realm of the central ancestors desired by God will finally have been fulfilled. This perfect foundation must be developed horizontally on earth. (55-167, 1972.5.7)

Moderation

Moderation is universally regarded as a virtue. excessive behavior of any kind—stinginess or profligacy, mortification of the flesh or licentiousness, self-righteousness or abject submissiveness—should be eschewed in favor of the Golden Mean or Middle path.
However, each tradition has its distinctive emphasis. Aristotle’s classic statement of the Golden Mean emphasizes the work of reason in finding the middle and keeping to it. the role of wisdom to know the mean is reflected in the popular Christian prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what should be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.” the Buddha’s Middle path defines the religious life as threading a line between grasping at being and taking refuge in nothingness. throughout the history of Buddhism, philosophers and practitioners have sought to define this middle way between withdrawal from the world and social engagement, between effort at spiritual growth and attacking the pride that can arise with its attainment, and so on—an enduring dialectic. The Confucian mean is about personal balance, which is manifest in one’s actions and in the harmony of one’s relationships.
These traditional expressions of the mean are about individual behavior. Father Moon’s description of the mean, on the other hand, has a global outlook. The mean is achieved when a person’s individual balance is substantiated in harmonious relationships with others and then pursues actions in society to bring together high and low, rich and poor, black and white to form a level “horizon” of life.

Moral virtue is a mean… between two vices, the one involving excess, the other deficiency, and its character is to aim at what is intermediate in passions and in actions…
    Hence also it is no easy task to be good. For in everything it is no easy task to find the middle. Just as to find the middle of a circle is not for everyone but for him who knows; so, too, anyone can get angry—that is easy—or to give or spend money; but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right aim, and in the right way, that is not for every one, nor is it easy.
    Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.9 (Hellenism)
 
The servants of the Most Gracious are… those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not niggardly, but hold a just balance between those extremes.
    Qur’an 25.67
 
Be not righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should you destroy yourself? Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool; why should you die before your time?
    Ecclesiastes 7.16-17
 
In practicing the ordinary virtues and in the exercise of care in ordinary conversation, when there is deficiency, the superior man never fails to make further effort, and where there is excess, never dares to go to the limit.
    Doctrine of the Mean 13.4 (Confucianism)
 
With regard to honor and dishonor the mean is proper pride, the excess is known as a sort of empty vanity, and the deficiency undue humility.
    Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.7 (Hellenism)
 
The master said, “‘The Ospreys!’ Pleasure not carried to the point of debauch; grief not carried to the point of self-injury.”
    Analects 3.20 (Confucianism)
 
Be generous but not extravagant; be frugal but not miserly.
    Nahjul Balagha, Saying 32 (Shiite Islam)
 
Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.
    Socrates (Hellenism)
 
That things have being, O Kaccana, constitutes one extreme of doctrine; that things have no being is the other extreme. These extremes have been avoided by the Tathagata, and it is a middle doctrine he teaches.
    Samyutta Nikaya 22.90 (Buddhism)
 
However hungry you are, you do not eat with both hands.
    Akan Proverb (African Traditional Religions)
 
Eat and drink, but waste not by excess: for God loves not the wasters.
    Qur’an 7.31
 
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full, and deny thee,
and say, “Who is the l ord ?”
or lest I be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.
    Proverbs 30.8-9
 
Your fame or your person, which is dearer?
Your person or your goods, which is worth
more?
Gain or loss, which is the greater bane?
That is why excessive meanness is sure to lead
to great expense;
Too much store is sure to end in immense loss.
Know contentment, and you will suffer no
disgrace;
Know when to stop, and you will meet with no
danger.
You can then endure.
    Tao Te Ching 44 (Taoism)
 
While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the mind may be said to be in a state of equilibrium (chung). When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of harmony (ho). This equilibrium is the great root from which grow all the human actions in the world, and this harmony is the universal path which they all should pursue. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and flourish.
    Doctrine of the Mean 1.4-5 
 
 
 

If you Gossip, You Are on the Side of Satan

We will not post the Daily Inspiration tomorrow, November 27th. Instead, join us for the Dividing Line; Ending the Culture that Causes Sexual Abuse workshop, live, in-person or online. You can still register here.

Listen to the Richard Urban Show #100:

They are Murdering People Left and Right

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2125

Throughout history, behind the scenes, good spirits have always cooperated with God’s side and evil spirits have cooperated on Satan’s side. The rift created as a result of the Fall expanded through the family, tribe, ethnic people, nation, and world. In modern times it has manifested itself in the clash between materialism and theism based on humanism and religion respectively. If Jesus Christ had been accepted by the Jewish people two thousand years ago, he would have unified the Jewish tribes and race, and also the Arabic realm inhabited by the descendants of the twelve tribes. Thereupon, his ideology and teachings would have spread through the Middle Eastern region and the Indian region to the Far East. He would then have conquered the Roman Empire and all of Europe and formed a new religious cultural realm in which he would have become the King of all kings. However, through his death on the cross, Hellenism, which had developed first as the humanistic cultural sphere based on the external human body, continued to form the central culture of the Roman Empire. On the other hand, Christianity representing Hebraism, which was the religious cultural sphere based on the internal human spirit, faced all manner of persecution within the empire for four centuries.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1204

As America represents the democratic world and the whole of humanity then, if it is to attain the heavenly standard of restoration through indemnity centered on the historical Christian cultural realm, what way of thinking should America have? It should be based on being determined to liberate God. It must have a conscientious heart in seeking the liberation of God. The True Parents who are to come, come as the incarnation of God, so America must attend the True Parents and love humankind more than its own people. Americans must love humankind more than their own people and nation. That is why, within America, there are numerous nationalities, peoples, tribes and families. (148-166, 1986.10.8)

Richard: Here Rev. Moon calls for us to live altruistically, loving our fellow mankind, just as he and Mrs. Moon have shown an example of doing.

Prudent Speech

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

You must not bring harm to others by your words. (Way of God’s Will 2.1)
 
If you mistakenly utter just one wrong word among your colleagues, that one wrong word can break the bond between you. With one wrong word, both you and the person who hears that word will suffer. (89:116, November 1, 1976)
 
Words are so powerful. One wrong word can damage many people and even destroy the world. A loving word only flourishes and develops. It may include some rough language, but as long as it is spoken out of love the whole universe rejoices.
    A word can be a fearful thing. If I speak a word of truth, you might be caught in its judgment. Maybe you were laughing a second before, but immediately you become very serious. Then if I say, “I will forget and forgive everything you have done,” you will feel a great weight off your shoulders by that one simple phrase. (91:91, January 30, 1977)
 
I had to pray for three weeks as a result of uttering one careless word. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)
 
Satan’s weapon is to create division by criticizing. Satan whispers, “That person has this and that bad point. Stay away from him.” He creates divisions by continually whispering in your ears something bad about another person. Should you ignore these criticisms or gossip about them to others? If you gossip, you are on the side of Satan. (215:240, February 20, 1991)
 
When you are investing your effort, don’t nag or complain. Close your mouth, be quiet, and just give. Your silence signifies that you are the owner. You will become the pole that can welcome the dawn’s twilight and the morning sunshine.17 Is not the dawn a time of tranquil silence? (325:117, June 30, 2000)
 
In the past, noble families trained their children not to speak carelessly, especially in the morning. They taught them to speak only when spoken to. Such manners are also required in our life of faith. (40:73-74, January 24, 1971)
 
If you work much and speak little, you will be a winner. But if you do little and speak much, you will be a loser. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)
 
 
 

Speak Not Harshly to Anyone

Happy 400th Anniversary of Thanksgiving!

“When Did We Visit You While You Were Sick or in Jail?”

Cheon Seong Gyeong 618

All of you must have the heart that is seeking something. After praying in the morning you should be able to sense that something good will happen that day. Do not think that something good will happen on its own course, but actively start looking for whatever it is. This type of attitude is what you should have in leading a life of faith. Therefore, feelings, experiences and putting them into action will bring life to you. All this occurs during the half-awake state.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1043

The path of salvation is a path of restoration through indemnity. Indemnity means taking the opposite course of the Fall; it means going in reverse. (167-98, 1987.6.30)

Prudent Speech

A loose or malicious tongue can cause much suffering. Evil speech can destroy friendships, ruin reputations and generate needless prejudice. It can be argued that if Jesus hadn’t been surrounded by rumors and gossip, he could have won far more acceptance by the people of his day. Since talk can cause damage to others and to oneself, one’s words should be weighed carefully.
Therefore, before we speak, we should carefully consider whether our words will be edifying or damaging to others. Before we repeat a tale we have heard, we should first ascertain whether it is true. Before we talk about doing something, we should carefully consider if we are ready to do it ourselves. Therefore, a wise person is one of few words. Good parents train their children to be well mannered and not speak overly much at meals.

You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people.
    Leviticus 19.16
 
If the ear does not hear malicious gossip, the heart is not grieved.
    Yoruba Proverb (African Traditional Religions)
 
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.
    Plato, Phaedo (Hellenism)
 
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
    Matthew 12.35-37
 
Let him who believes in Allah and the last day either speak good or be silent. 
    Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 15 (Islam)
 
When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but he who restrains his lips is prudent. \
    Proverbs 10.19
 
The Messenger of God… took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.” I said, “O Prophet of God, will what we say be held against us?” He said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, Mu‘adah! Is there anything that topples people on their faces into hell-fire other than the harvests of their tongues?”
    Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 29 (Islam)
 
Speak not harshly to anyone. Those thus addressed will retort. Painful, indeed, is vindictive speech. Blows in exchange may bruise you.
    Dhammapada 133 (Buddhism)
 
The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God.
    James 3.6-9
 
The origin of all trouble
within this world
is a single word
spoken in haste.
    Moritake Arakida, One Hundred Poemsabout the World (Shinto)
 
A noisy bird builds a bad nest.
    Kanufi Proverb (African Traditional Religions)
 
To be always talking is against nature. For the same reason a hurricane never lasts a whole morning, nor a rainstorm all day. Who is it that makes the wind and rain? It is Heaven and earth. And if even Heaven and earth cannot blow or pour for long, how much less in his utterances should man?
    Tao Te Ching 23 (Taoism)
 
The Master said, “Where disorder develops, words are the first steps. If the prince is not discreet, he loses his servant. If the servant is not discreet, he loses his life. If germinating things are not handled with discretion, the perfecting of them is impeded.”
    I Ching, Great Commentary 1.8.10 (Confucianism)
 
A person is born with an axe in his mouth. He whose speech is unwholesome cuts himself with his axe.
    When a person praises someone who should be blamed, or attacks someone worthy of praise, then this man is accumulating evil with his mouth and this evil will not lead to happiness.
    It is little harm if one loses money in gambling with dice, even losing everything, including oneself; but if one bears ill-will towards well-conducted ones it is greater harm indeed. Insulting men of real worth, bearing ill-will in thought and speech, leads to eons upon eons in the states of misery.
    Sutta Nipata 657-60 (Buddhism)
 
You who believe, if some perverse man should come up to you with some piece of news, clear up the facts lest you afflict some folk out of ignorance and some morning feel regretful for what you may have done…
    You who believe, do not let one folk ridicule another folk. Perhaps they are better than they are. Nor let women mistreat other women; perhaps they are better than themselves. Nor should you find fault with one another nor shout at one another using nicknames; it is bad to use a dirty name instead of one you can believe in. Those who do not turn away from it are wrongdoers.
    You who believe, refrain from being overly suspicious: some suspicion is a crime. Do not spy on one another, nor yet any of you slander others. Would one of you like to eat his dead brother’s flesh? You would loathe it! Heed God, for God is Relenting, Merciful.
    Qur’an 49.6-12