The Way Of The Spiritual Leader (Part 2) |
by Rev. Sun Myung Moon |
Section 3 - Essential Elements of Guidance Given to Members [Part 1] 1. Living for the Sake of Others 1) True Father and Altruism When I went to Korea for the rallies, Korean people were saying all sorts of things about me, such as how there was no one greater in the five-thousand-year history of Korea than Rev. Moon. This is probably also true in America. (Applause) This is also probably true in the free world. It is possible that they are saying, "Just looking at how Rev. Moon is doing that kind of work in that world where he has been persecuted so much, it seems that there has never been anyone like him before. He will become a living saint." It is possible that they may say, "That is probably how a living saint is." For this reason, for people all over the world, the word, Second Advent, has become a part of their vocabulary." (Applause) What kind of ideology did I possess when I rose to this position from the lowest places? What made me become like this? It is the altruistic love, there is only this one thing. Wherever I passed by I did not even leave a trace of debt. I let other people become indebted to me. If there were some nation and people, then I shed tears for their sake and supplicated for their blessing. You have to know clearly that we have no choice but to walk that path because we are trying to walk the path of life from the position of having completely conquered the Satanic realm. When I ask, "My leg, when did you do things for the sake of your village, nation and world? My eye, nose and mouth, when did you do like that? My hand, when have you done that?" they will answer, "Whenever you give an order, we will follow." This is how my eyes, my spirit is. Even if death is approaching me, I am determined not to be indebted even to the word, "death." No matter what, I am going to have people become indebted to me. (131-36) You know how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, right? You also cannot rally them together unless you set such tradition. This is what I have been doing so far. When I heard that the children of enemies were starving, I gave everything that I had except for underwear and blankets. Then, I have lived with just one set of underwear and one blanket for one week. In the end, I sold the blanket for them. Why did I do such things? This is not because I am foolish. In order to go the path of restoration, one must firmly set the absolute condition of having loved the enemy. There aren't that many people in the world that can do this. However, since I have sold all my assets for the sake of the children of my enemy and even sold the last blanket when I only had the blanket and underwear left, I did as much I could. I had to do such things because I had to put into practice the command in the Bible to love one's enemy. (23-320) 2) A Church Leader's Purpose of Existence is for the Sake of the Members Just because you believe in Jesus, you should not immediately call out, "Jesus!" You have to first lay down a bridge in the middle. In our horizontal life, when we go to a church to lay this bridge, that church surely has a leader. The church leader is not someone who is trying to serve his own ends. You have to understand that if there is such leader, he is not qualified to become a leader. Because the leader has the responsibility to lay the bridge in the middle, he has to care for the members who come to him. Because the church leader exists for the sake of the members, he is responsible for the member's spiritual problems and the questions on their life centering on the will of God. The leader is supposed to guide the members centering on the field that he is responsible for. Then, when the leader is in a high position in the eyes of God, as long as the members become one with him, then they can also rise to high positions. As long as that leader prays for you and pray on your behalf that your sins be forgiven, then because of the prayer, you can participate in the position that he stands. This is the reason that people want to receive the prayers of those who greatly inspire them. In this way, you are to lay down the bridge and pursue on. (32-165) You value the vertical relationship with God but often ignore the relationships with people. When we look at the content of the Principle that should be lectured on, we can see that it is surely a precious gospel and truth. Therefore, without the unity of the vertical content about God and the horizontal relationship between Cain and Abel, there can not be any restoration. You have to understand that this is where all the contents that symbolize the truth are contained and all the meanings that symbolize the cross are also contained. For this reason, everyone must always think about God no matter if he or she is happy or sad. Before the vertical standard, one must think about God both when they are happy and when they are experiencing difficulties. Why is this? This is so that the whole can unite with God. Therefore, in the external environment there must a foundation for the members to mourn together with you when you are feeling sorrowful. Moreover, there must also be a foundation for you to share your happiness with members. Accordingly, as much as you care for God, you must care for people. You have to understand the meaning behind the words of Jesus, "When you do something for someone very small and insignificant, then this is the same as doing something for me." He said this even though the disciples did not carry it out for him directly. (34-229) Because you are currently engaged in the Cain-Abel conflict on the horizontal plane, you should love and care for the members. You have to care for them with the same heart as God. (76-337) When you consider the leader, he is not someone who is always happy. He is a miserable person. Why is he miserable? It is because he always feels a sense of being in debt. He should always feel that he is indebted and be determined to care for the members well. They have to be this way. When you look at some miserable person, it is your duty to be concerned about his or her life and talk to him or her staying up all night. When the spiritual leader sees that someone is facing death, it is his responsibility to prevent the person from walking the path of death by sacrificing himself. Isn't this true? He has to be in that position. Therefore, what does this mean? What matters is how much you lived for the sake of the members. Isn't this true? The question is how much you have cared for them. They are not some strangers. They are your extensions. They will become your branches. Do you understand? They will become your branches. In order for the branches to grow well, you have to protect them well. Accordingly, when you witness to someone, we call him or her spiritual children, right? What is that? They are your branches. Yet, how much effort and devotion did you put in to provide them with nutrition? In order to do this, you have to become a stem or roots. If you are the root, then the more there are branches and stems the more you need to ceaselessly provide more nutrition than they need from the earth, and this condition of abundance is a prerequisite for the development. This is the only way that they will grow. If there is a limitation, if you cannot provide the top with the nutrition that it needs, then the top will wither and die. Isn't this so? This is how it will be. (70-147) How many tears have you shed for the sake of the nation, members and brothers, how much did you practice true love? This is the problem. Inasmuch as we, the Unification Church, are seeking the history of heart centering on this type of question, our standard cannot be lower than the heart of Jesus of the historical times. Centering on God's heart, we must be higher. (60-145) One who lives for the sake of others does not become indebted to others. If he lives such an altruistic life, then without fail, three generations of his descendants will prosper. When you open the door at the dawn as the cock crows, there will be people standing there waiting for you. Without sleeping, even at night, they will come climbing over the walls. Isn't this how it should be? After they come, you are to talk about the public vision of God, about the people and this world. When you are talking centering on the perspective of God's love and the ideal world of God, then you do not even know that the night is about to pass by. You will feel as if departing is the great sorrow of the thousand years, and not being aware of the fact that the time is passing by. This type of time is connected and on that basis the foundation has been established. Do you understand what I am saying? Until now, you were trying to be served, saying, "I am the leader, so obey me." Isn't this how it has been? You have been focusing your efforts on being served but from now on, you should concentrate on serving people. Do you understand? [Yes] You are not to be indebted. You should try that. You should let others become indebted in you. You are to let people become indebted in you when you go to the villages. The simplest thing to do is having the children in the village become indebted to you. Next, you are to have the old people become indebted in you. (68-115) A great leader should take part in the sorrow of the people and guide those who are facing difficulties. If you are to guide those who are experiencing tribulations, then you must also put yourself in the position of difficulties. Then, in order for you to guide someone who is going through suffering, then you have to be in a position that surpasses the position of suffering, and in order to guide someone who faces death. Then you have to be in a position that surpasses death. When you encounter a new event, something that you cannot do, then what are you supposed to do? You should become excited and interested in it with the attitude, "How exciting. There will begin a record on one page of my life." If you do well then you will climb over it, but if you fail, then you will have to retreat. (65-309) 3) When You Try to Live for Your Own Sake, the Universe Will Accuse You As you ask a couple walking on such places as Broadway, "where are you going?" If they answer that they are going to the nation because they want to, then applaud on their behalf. If they say that they are going toward the nation, then applaud for them. However, if they are going, after having abandoned the nation, then scorn them. The universe will applaud for those who go toward a big place as a big couple. Heaven, earth, and all of the air, the whole world is going to applaud. The universe will accuse you of everything if you are going for your own sake, not pursuing greater cause but going only for your own sake. Why is this? Because the universe is created centering on love and the principles of love, it dances to that rhythm, not to the rhythm of the individual. This is the power that the universe has. You understand this well, right? [Yes] (131-124) Although parental love is great, if it is meant mainly for the parents to be served, then children do not need the love of parents. Although the love of children is great, but if the children tell their parents to live for their sake, then even parents do not want that love. Love that induces you to love others and others to love you . . . If you gave ten, then the amount that returns in always eleven. This is how altruistic love is. If the partner loved me and lived for my sake with something small, then I would want to give back more than that. This will continuously multiply. After some time passes with the multiplication, if this goes on for the rest of one's life, then this will cross over the nation, world, the eternal world, kingdom of heaven and then finally climb over the heavenly world. As long as one wants others to live for one's sake, he will be reduced. After one and two times, love that used to be ten will reduce down to eight. When you live only for your own sake, your heart will be rolled up and turned over. Where does love come from? It comes from the partner, but only along the path of altruism would pure and ideal love travel back and forth. Amen! Say this together. [Amen] (119-326) 4) The Result of Altruism You have to be more altruistic. What is being more altruistic? One who is more altruistic will become the leader. Among ten people, the one who becomes the center is the one who loves and lives for the sake of the ten people. All of the ten people will come seeking for him. Isn't this true? Is it or is it not true? People think that altruism is not good. You have to understand that one who cares for others becomes the center and leader. You have to know that such person becomes the master and the center. The one who becomes the president is one who cares most for the nation. Isn't this true? One who can inherit the company is one who cares more for and sacrifices more for the company. This is the universal principle. People thought that living for others was a bad thing, but it is to become the center and leader, and it is to inherit everything. For this reason, you are told to live for the sake of others. It is not a bad thing. You will not lose out by doing so. (132-276) Originally, men were born for the sake of others. They were born in order to sacrifice for the sake of others. What will happen when you sacrifice for the sake of others? Not only would the tradition of love be established, but also you will become the center of love. What would you become? For certain, you will become the center of love. In a school, this is like how one who works for the sake of the whole class becomes the class president. Even equipped with the same qualifications, one who is more altruistic will become the class president. In the Korean nation, one who loves Korea more than others, one who has lived for the sake of Korea more than others, and one who is living for the sake of Korea more than others will naturally become the center of the people. Isn't this how it is? This cannot be denied. What are you going to do once you become the center? You are to climb up to the top. The central figure is supposed to climb to the top. When you are at the top you can guide and control the masses. You will become one who dominates. This is the fundamental principle of the universe. You have to understand this clearly. (57-26) Why do people like higher things? They like high places because they can link up with a variety of things up there. Why do they not like the low places? It is because they will become simplified. They will be far away from the various relationships. One who is most precious among all men is one who is trying to connect himself to the high ideals, perspectives and things. We can find here the concept that such a person is a precious person. (129-308) So, why is living for the sake of others a good thing? It is because you can become the center. The central figure must know how to take responsibility. He has to take responsibility. One who is responsible for and has influence over everything is the center. Isn't this true or not? How about America? Does someone who lives selfishly become the center or does someone who lives for the whole become the center? From this perspective, we can see that one who tries to live for the sake of the whole becomes the center of that particular field. He is to become the center. You cannot become the center if you are not willing to live for others. (129-309) What kind of position is the position of God and parents? It is becoming concerned about people first. They are to think about others first. God thinks about you before you do. Parents think about you before you do. This is why parents are great. This is why they stand in the subject position. When two of you live together, you must have the attitude, "I should do things that he is supposed to do." This is the type of person that God is. That person is the center. One who lives for the sake of others is to become the center. Now, although I am getting opposition in America, because I have lived for the sake of America, American people cannot but respect me. They have no choice but to respect me. This type of person will become the master. When you sacrifice for the world, then you will become the owner of the world. Do you understand what this means? [Yes] One who tries to stand in the position of God and parents will surely become the central figure. What is there after that? Ones who will become the owner of the Unification Church is the one who loves the members like God, parents, and me. That type of person will surely become the master. When this cannot be achieved, everything will be turned upside down. It will turn upside down. The members will put up the opposition. It is very simple. Do you understand? The way to win over someone, the way to bring someone down to submission is not to try to win in a conflict, but care for him first from the position of God and parents. By doing so, you will win. If you care for him for three years, then he will become obedient to you. This is what the heart will lead them to do. They will open all the doors in their house including their main room and welcome you, "You can come into our house any time." You have to understand that this type of fundamental action of the universe is moving the original heart. Do you understand? (103-139) 2. Giving 1) A Leader is One Who Gives First What kind of person is a leader? He is one who is supposed to give. He is not supposed to receive. In giving, he should not give the same things all the time. He must give new things. Isn't giving sermons difficult? The Principle lectures can be given according to how it's laid out, but giving sermon is difficult. The reason is that the same things cannot be given again. Isn't this so? You cannot give the same things. Just as parents must be selective in giving children a variety of good things to eat, the same things must not be given again. When you have nothing to give, you should receive it from God. You are to provide the members with the things that you have received from God. Isn't this true? Consulting God about it and . . . Eventually, you are to represent God. Even as you pray, your own prayer will move you. When you pray in that realm then all will be captivated by God, and you will come to feel strongly that God is the motive power and the origin of life; When people experience this, they will realize that they need God absolutely. In order to tie these things together to fascinate the audience, prayer is absolutely needed. Those great historical figures, those who are recorded in history as great are not great scholars. Great people are those who are starving for the heart of faith. When you enter the realm where you become completely engulfed in joy as your heart of faith is filled up, the audience will be captivated by that. You should be giving, but in order to give, you need to be supplied; where do you get supplied? You can be rejuvenated at the headquarters by listening to my sermon, but when you are far away and alone, you have to build a supply road through which you can receive from God. In order to do that, you have to nurture your capabilities. When you set out to go somewhere, you are not traveling alone. You must receive a revelation. You must go while serving God, True Parents, father, and mother with the belief that the world is going to be judged by you. You should think that events that you are facing will have a major impact on the dispensation of God, and wherever you go, you should act as the shield of judgment. If you visit three times and make a substantial contribution in that place, this will become the occasion for you to enter the realm in which you can naturally sense that God goes when you go and He comes when you come. When this is achieved, wherever you are, there will be progress. (46-299) 2) Attitude to Have When You are Giving You have to give with parental heart. You must not give centering on your own ambitions and wishes. Because father has been doing it like that, you must also do like that. Since these words came through tears, you have to give them through tears. You have to implant truth in this earth where there is no truth. (11-268) Here the central doctrine of the Unification Church emerges. When you give, what kind of heart should you give with? You are not to give with the heart of a friend. Moreover, you are not to give with the attitude that an owner has when he gives things to the servant. You must possess the parental heart when you give. You have to have the parental heart and be in the body of a servant, to shed tears for humanity, sweat for the earth, and blood for heaven. What this means is that you have to have the sorrowful heart because after giving, you cannot give any more. This is how God is. The heart of parents is lowering their heads in shame even after having given something, being sorry because even if they want to give something better they cannot do so; this is the affection of parents. Which parents would say after giving something to their children, "Now I have given enough?" Heart of parents is such that they will say, "I will give more later because even though I want to give more now, this is all I have." For this reason, even if the child is a thief, parents love that child. Isn't this so? [Yes] (39-196) When you give, how should you give? You should not give the leftovers. Do you understand? If you give what is left over from you meal, then even after eating it, people will feel disgusted and spit. When you are giving rice cakes, for example, if you take long time to select one out of the five, picking one up and then putting it down and then picking another, then it is worse than not giving at all. This is how it is. It is worse than not giving at all. When you give to others, if there are five, then you should have no hesitation in picking up half of them and hand them over. Then, people will thank you, yet if you are so hesitant and picky, then people will judge you even after they become indebted to you. This is how it is. For this reason, how are to give? You are to give together with God. (60-170) What does giving together with God mean? It is possessing the heart of parents. Possessing the heart of parents and being in the body of a servant . . . Why do you need to have the body of a servant? Because you are trying to save servants, you have to become more like a servant than a servant. Aren't the people in the world the children of servants? Since God is trying to save these servants, since God is trying to love servants, imagine how difficult it must be. Do you think that it is easy? (60-171) Those who try to give ten and take back a hundred will decline. This type of person cannot enter the world centered on heart. Heavenly world is world of giving. Material things do not constitute problems. Giving is the way to accumulate merits. When you give, you have to add material things to your heart. No one can take the things that you give with the heart of God. In the Old Testament, God gave from the position of servant, and in the New Testament, He gave from the position of the brothers. Now is the time to give from the position of parents. Since we have received things, which God gave us from the parental position, we must also give from the parental position with the heart of parents. When you become such a person, then God cannot leave you. When you give, because you have to first get rid of the enemy, conflict cannot be avoided. We have to understand the heart of God who is trying to give. We have to understand the heart of God who has been fighting for six thousand years in order to give. A happy person is one who gives when he wants to give, and receives when he wants to receive. The unfortunate person is one who cannot give even if he wants to and cannot receive even when he wants to. From this perspective, God is a sad and unfortunate person. (11-235) When you love people, no matter what the investment you have just made is, you should not think about it. You should not regret. You should not remember what you have invested! I want to give more . . . Therefore, when you have something good to eat, if you are eating it hiding out somewhere alone, then you are a leader who is to going to die immediately. If you have something to eat, then you should not eat it but save it, and wishing to give it to someone even if you cannot eat it yourself, and thinking about members because you cannot eat it; this is the type of person that you should become. You have to become leaders who have nurtured this type of parental heart. (970-166) When a mother feeds her children on her breast, do they think, "I am feeding them because I want to take back many times more from them in the future?" They are uneasy because they cannot give any more. What lasts for eternity is the heart of parents which sheds tears after giving something to the child because they cannot give something better. After doing so, although they want to give more but they cannot because they simple don't have any more, they will be moved to tears by this uneasy heart; this type of parent will surely educate their children to be filial. The process of restoration is the place where this heart is. Restoration becomes impossible when one leaves this course. (46-173) 3) The Principle of Give and Take What has concerned up to now ever since I came to America is not having my own house. Even now, I am still leading a lifestyle in a way that I would not become indebted to you. Because I have brought this to pass, America also can make a progress. I do not focus on my own development. This is how the Principle is. The Divine Principle is like that. For this reason, together with God, I must always be giving to the members all over America. I have to give spiritually, materially, intellectually, and in every other way. Is a good person someone who gives ten and then takes back twelve, or gives ten and only takes back eight? [One who gives ten and takes back eight.] What happens if you do not receive at all? He will become like God. Like God. Where is God? God first dwells in such place. (76-337) You must first give completely, give three and then take only one back. Do you understand? This is the fundamental principle. Give three times and receive once; I am telling you to receive only a third. Despite this, there are many that try to give only one and demand three in return. Do you think there are many of this type of people? If one does this, one is Satan. God's dispensation of restoration tries to claim a third, in other words, carry on the work of the three generations to claim back a third. It tries to sacrifice three to take back one. It is trying to give three eras to claim one era. With much effort and devotion . . . This is how it will be. This is the fundamental principle. Since this is the way that God takes claim over things, we are supposed to give three and take back one. Even the one that is taken back must not remain in your possession. You must return it to God. This tradition . . . If you receive one, then you must return it to me. Moreover, I must return it to God. This how it should be returned. Only when this becomes the tradition, only when it goes around like this and made into that progress will take place. (66-301) We must love God. Only after loving God and receiving the love of God can you love man and receive the love of man. You must understand this. Do you understand? Centering on me . . . I am not trying to receive love. I am not boasting about it. This is how the laws of the Principle are. Only after understanding how to love parents, only after receiving the love of parents can you love children and receive the love of children. It operates by the same principle. Knowing this problem, you must always think about these two types of principles. When you love men as much as you have loved God, then just as God has loved you, people will love you. For this reason, Jesus said in the Bible that if one testifies to him before men, then he will testify to one before God. It is the same principle. The same principle. You are supposed to love man, just as you love God. (70-165) Section 3 - Essential Elements of Guidance Given to Members [Part 2] 3. Love 1) Love That Can Bring Harmony to Everything What is the one thing that God desires the most? What is the most central thing in God's opinion? Of course there must be considerations for things that connect everything in high and low positions, but among them, what is the thing that can fundamentally link everything together intimately? What is the thing that likes both the high and the low? What is it that the east, west, south, north as well as the center and the four directions like, and what is the thing that can bring harmony and unity centering on God's ideals and good and lofty thoughts? This is neither God himself, the environment created by God, nor the thought of God. This cannot be realized only by thinking. Then what is needed? What is the thing that can link up the high and the low? What God needs is love. This is how it will be. Only by centering on love, front, back, left, right, up, down or east, west, south, north, at the center can be harmonized and be connected; it can never be done without love. Love has the inner potential to link with the whole. It is needed in the east as well as in the west, and no matter how far to the end one travels, love is needed. Attempting to go to the end is in order to seek after higher love and when one returns back to the inside from the extremities, it is also to pursue more powerful love. You have to either seek after great love or powerful love. You have to have some internal content such as this. When one goes far away, one seeks after something great, and when one returns to the center, one seeks for something powerful. Even if something is powerful, it is powerful in a flat manner, in sharp pointed manner, or in a round manner? With these considerations, when one returns to the inside, then one needs a powerful love that can draw a circular line. Therefore, we can decide upon such concept of great and powerful love. If you like love, then you are to seek big and great love. It won't do if you just have love with great amplitude. Powerful love -- how powerful must it be? It should be love that can harmonize everything and can freely connect everything fundamentally; if God was to think about it, this is probably what he would have thought of. (164-69) Have you ever made tofu before? Do you know how tofu is made? If you take the bean powder and before you put it in the cloth wrap, if you place it in salt water, then doesn't it coagulate? It will coagulate. Similarly, love will congeal everything. For this reason, a woman becomes a true woman by giving birth to a baby. She needs to experience the heart of a mother. (165-103) 2) The Universe Also Likes Love Because Satan also wants to receive love, you have to have the mind-set that is prepared to love even Satan. If you possess this magnanimity as you proceed forward, Satan will also surely praise you, saying that you are a greater warrior than his own troops. Because Jesus possessed this type of heart, even when he was dying on the cross, he was able to pray for the sake of the enemy. Accordingly, he gave a lot before he passed away. (26-50) The universe welcomes only those who have absolute attitude toward love. Do you understand? Those who think, "Rev. Moon is wrong," please raise your hand. For this reason, it is said in works of literature and poetry, "Love is something eternal, love is something powerful, love is full of surprises, love is something that is higher and bigger than anything else." Even if you threw everything away, all will be all right. Look. Even if we say that love is the only absolute unity, something that absolutely does not change, and is absolute for eternity, this cannot be said about life. One cannot say, "life is eternal, life is unchanging." Are the most important phrases of praise found in the works of literature or poetry about life or about love? Which one is it? [About love] Is it about knowledge, power, or money? [No] Why is this so? Why is it this way, why? No one understood this. This is what people did not understand. They did not understand this simple thing. It is very simple. (132-79) It is not only true in the case of man, but also for dogs, they like it when their owners love. Waving their tail like this . . . Is this true or false? If men love a garden, then birds will gather in it and sing. This is why love is so wonderful. Have you ever thought about what God's hobby might be? Works of literature? The only thing that God is interested in is love. Ladies and gentlemen, what is your object of interest? [Love] Whom did you take after? [God] For this reason, you are said to be the children of God centering on love. For the hope and happiness that we have just talked about, can there be hope without love? Is there happiness without love? Even if there is no hope and happiness, if you bring love along and place it there, then hope will automatically be attracted to it. Happiness will automatically be drawn to it. Our ladies here, are you going to marry seeking after love or hope? What are you going to seek when you marry? [Love] Do you like love? [Yes) I do not like love! Even if you say that it is not true because you like it too much. Just as when you eagerly eat food, when you are too happy and too excited, as you swallow food it gets caught in your throat. It will get stuck. Do you really like love? [Yes] Look. Parents who love their children would want to embrace the hand of their child in their bosom no matter how dirty and ugly it is. They will not say, "Yuck! This hand is really dirty. Go to the bathroom and wash it with soap." Love is the only thing that can make hell transform into heaven. Accordingly, as long as you possess love, you can turn hell into heaven. (90-312) 3) In Order to Pursue the Path of Love, You Must Sacrifice Yourself and Serve Others In order to pursue this path of love, you must sacrifice yourself and serve others. Do you feel good? [Yes] Without service and sacrifice, one who came with the content of love that amounts to ten cannot be connected to the path of hundred and thousand. If your ancestors are not good, then you cannot even take back love that amounts to ten. However, even for one who brought love that is worth only ten, if there was a way for him to have a chance at claiming love that is worth a hundred, thousand, or ten thousand, then wouldn't he want to give that a try? [Yes] Because Rev. Moon of the Unification Church understood this, even though I have gone through unspeakable tribulations and have been subject to condemnations as well as suffering, pain, and torture that almost took my life in prison. I have been persevering up to now. Moreover, for this reason, I am trying to love people and sacrifice for their sake more than anyone else. When you love people, even when you feel that you have given enough, if there is someone whose love and sacrifice is greater than yours is, then you will want to sacrifice and love more. People are greedy, right? Only when one becomes such person, can God pour out his love into that person. (44-203) What do you have to do now as church leaders? [Servant of servant . . .] Although being a servant of servant is correct, it must be done with love. It won't do if victory is not brought by possessing love. Do you understand? [Yes] What kind of love? It is not Satan's love but God's love. It is self-sacrificing love. Where does such love emerge? It emerges from giving yourself completely to others. Giving completely is none other than the three great loves. The three great loves are loves that can be given completely and received completely. Isn't this love of God? When you give completely, you can receive completely. What would you do if Satan runs away after receiving that love? Before absolute objective love, absolute subjective love will appear. Therefore, there is no need to worry. There is no need to be happy just because you are recognized by someone or to worry just because you are not recognized and understood. The problem is not being able to emerge with the complete love. This is the cause for concern. (48-34) Spiritual leaders must know how to surpass time to deal with the people that are connected to them. Eventually, they must be able to completely offer their sleep time for the sake of others. Their mealtime must also be sacrificed for the sake of others. Their daily life must also be offered up for the sake of the others. Their life must become the sacrifice for the others. If one can become a leader who understand and fulfills one's own portion of responsibility from this position, then one can make progress. (72-313) 4) You Must be Certain About Love as you Lead Your Life How much did your hands and feet work for the sake of loving the Unification Church? Although hands and feet worked hard and frequently to feed you and eyes have done much for the same cause, how much did they do things in order to love the members of the Unification Church? How much did you shed tears and toil for the sake of Unification Church? When you lay your exhausted body down to take a rest, to love, why did you do this? If you did it for your own sake then it is a shame and if you did it to love the world, then it is a glory. Each block or brick piled up to build the tower of heaven was laid down through this sleep after an exhausting day. Let us love. Let us love the nation after going beyond the church. This is what we are doing. (59-58) If you love the members who have just joined, then you can set the condition of indemnity quickly. The reason that the church is not able to make progress is because this is not being done. This is the reason why God said to love each other and live in harmony. (18-40) The pinnacle of love is the love of God. How can you become the child of God unless you can dwell within the love of God and consider other people just like your own children, brothers and sisters, and consider the other children as members of your own family? In order to become a child of God . . . If you become a child in a one-sided manner, then you cannot become the child of God. It is not enough to be someone like the saints of the past. Unless you can stand up as an eternal and absolute man through the past, present and future, then you cannot become the son of God. For this reason, we are to love the aspects that the past saints have not loved. This is how I think. (55-97) You have to be crazy about love when you lead your life. You must live in intoxication. If the degree of intoxication goes beyond a certain level, then you will become crazy about it. What is there to a crazy person? There is nothing special to a madman. The order is reversed. He calls father a mother and calls mother a father. If this is said with love, however, people will not object, "Why do you call your father a mother and your mother a father?" All will be accepted. Because love is one, then this kind of theory can be established. For this reason, man should live in intoxication. Rev. Moon also lives in intoxication. You do not realize how tasty and exciting receiving condemnation is like. People in the outside world do not understand this. Because people in the outside world do not understand how tasty it is to be cursed at, they try to avoid it. However, I know its true taste. (148-323) 4. Devotion and Prayer You are leaders of "The Way," but how devout have you been toward it? You must become very devoted. The results in witnessing corresponds to the amount of devotion and not to one's knowledge or capabilities. Have you not all had this kind of experiences in the sixties? Doesn't one who has exerted himself in devotion do better than one who has a college education and brags about his knowledge? The question is how sympathetic God is toward you. What is the thing that the regional leaders must accomplish with united heart and mind? Is it eating? It is not. They have to have the sense of mission toward the issue of how to resurrect people's lives in this world of sin and transfer them to the kingdom of heaven. You should try to carry out to the utmost with a strong sense of mission. See if there is any thing that you cannot accomplish. Before a perfect subject, a perfect object will emerge. Therefore, a subject must pray for the sake of the object. In regards to prayer, if the object gets up early at dawn, then you must get up before him or her to pray for him or her. People will sense it when you pray and exert yourself for their sake. Leaders must exert themselves while maintaining their position. If you are leaders, then when you pray in the morning, you must at least keep at least twenty people in your prayers. In this way, you must at least keep seventy people in your prayers. You are to eat and live together with the members. The most serious times for men are when they are eating and sleeping. The reason is that when you eat to satisfy hunger or sleep to relieve exhaustion, all of your concentration zooms into it. On the contrary, when you get up, because your concentration is at the lowest and most relaxed state, you are not so serious. Therefore, during a day's course of life the times for eating three meals and sleeping are the most serious times. You should pray for the sake of the dispensation in this serious position. The prayer you offer in such times is several times better than prayer offered during normal times. You must always think about the members with the mind-set that you are eating meals and sleeping together with the members. When you do so, you will be able to sense what so and so is going through. When you become that sensitive, then a far away person seems to be close and a close person may seem far away. You will be able to tell right away. How can people who are supposed to guide the spirituality and faith of people do their job without even such basic capabilities? The question is how much you have exerted yourself for the sake of one's life. You have to understand that the reason that Jesus said, "What good would it be if a man gains the whole universe but loses his life?" (Matthew 16:26) is because he considered one person's life more precious than universe, and such was the anchor of his heart. When you reach the state of Jesus who forgot all about the world and fought one on one for the sake of one life, then you can finally build a connection to a member. What have you accomplished centering on the will of God with the parental heart? Among the people that you have been close to, you must not take lightly those who have comforted you when you were experiencing difficulties. For the rest of your life, you must always think of that person and pray for him. For this reason, God is always the subject. If you build such a relationship, then those who have such a relationship with you will seek you out even if you have not told them to do so. This is the reason that you are being asked to pray. How can a leader sleep while members are praying in devotion? Doing so would be becoming indebted. You cannot make progress if you do so. Because devotion cannot be made at once, you must one by one decide upon those whom you know and pray for them. You are to pray for people one by one. The reason that Jesus failed is because he did not have the time to pray for one person at a time when he was taking the twelve disciples around. There was not even one person whom he taught in great depth the internal content that would make the deep impressions in that per. son's heart. Until you complete your portion of responsibility, you must never give up, no matter what people around you say to you. If you have decided upon something and have started to pray for it, then no matter what happens, you must completely satisfy the amount that you have set down in prayer. Even if the person that you have decided upon has left the church, you have to go look for him to fulfill your responsibility to the full. In other words, you are not to be indebted to any one. 5. Abundant Experience 1) You Need Training and Experience A man's character is limited. The question is how many people could be in harmony with a man's character. How many people can relate to that character? For this reason, I must match them up. If they do not match, then they have to be made to match. You have to understand that because such a task can only be done based on experience, unless you go through such experience, then you cannot become a true leader. If you become a leader after having gone through that, then based on those experiences you can become a competent leader who will leave behind a new eternal tradition that will be praised by God and be respected by all the people of the group that you are guiding. For this reason, you must make such preparations. You must realize that you have to willingly receive any kind of external or internal training. Do not dislike them. Do not think that you cannot do them. (72-328) It is not so easy to become someone else's teacher. It is not easy to become the teacher of the Unification Church. It is extremely difficult. It is the same feeling as wearing the prisoner's costume and walking toward the execution chamber; he is someone who is really heading there. Do you understand what I am saying? [Yes] You probably don't understand because you have never been to a prison. I live in luxurious mansion, but I do not need it. I can just as well live in a hut. I have the training to live in a hut. I trained myself to become the best laborer if I were to take my clothes off and work in a construction site. If there is someone that God loves there, then I have trained my heart to grab on to him and completely having dominion over the environment, become a friend whom he can cry with. (85-43) 2) You Must Guide With Wisdom A wise leader should embrace twice after hitting once. Moreover, you have to let people feel, "He did it for our sake;" otherwise, they will scorn you and oppose you and in the end, Satan will invade. If you do not take care of the situation well, then the disciple will become your enemy. If he becomes an enemy and tries to take revenge, and if he cannot go to the side of God, then the leader must take responsibility for the behavior of that person centering on that mind-set. (54-207) If there is something bad, you are not supposed to get rid of it right away. Even if there is something bad, centering on that, you have to find some condition that will improve it. Even if the good aspects are less than the bad aspects, you have to have the flexibility and capacity to center on the smaller portion to preserve it and get rid of the bad portion. If a person was cut off on account of his mistake made a year ago, then he would have died completely. But if he is preserved without being cut off for one, two, or three years while the bad aspects of him are being resolved based on the belief that they are mere extras, then after one, two, or three years there might be a way for him to live. (72-313) 3) Bear the Cross for the Sake of the Members A leader is a pitiful person. He is a miserable person. Even if he is living happily with his wife in their bedroom, when someone knocks on his door he has to allow the guest to come into the bedroom. Eventually, what it means is that he has to love members more than his own wife. If your wife has something nice, then you have to sell even that to give everything to the members, and if his children have something nice then he has to use all that for the sake of the members. This has to become the way of life for the leader. If a leader lives such life, then what would happen to the family? Such life will most likely make his family miserable. If such mission is inherited and continued for the rest of the life, then success would be attained but if it is stopped after several years, then all will be in vain. Therefore, wherever the leader goes, it is his responsibility to bear the cross. When you eat, as you pick up the spoon you should not be saying, "Oh I am so hungry." You have to think about the members. You have to think about members even as you wear clothes, and no matter what you do you have to think like that. Time that you take a rest is also being on the cross. You must repent for the times that you took naps because you are exhausted and cry out, "I feel good" as you get up. When you live such a life style, the spirit world and God will completely work with you. You will come to realize this is true through your experiences in your life of faith. In regards to your body, you have to reflect on how much your hand has lived for the sake of the members, how much your eyes have lived for the sake of members, and yearned to see them in the public position. Reflect on how much you have wished to listen to their voice and how much you have comforted them. All must be done not for your own sake but for public purpose. "How to become a leader," is the topic of today's sermon, yet can you bear that kind of cross in order to become leaders? [Yes] In order to do so, this kind of training is necessary. Before becoming a leader of a thousand people, can you pass such training as one leader? You must ask yourself. We must undertake the training based on the question of whether or not each one of us can become a leader who can be completely trusted as a friend or a teacher. In order for you to become a leader, in order to be in charge of a church, you need to have the training to act as a leader on behalf of one absolute person. In order to become a leader over one person, one must take responsibility for both good and bad aspects of that person. You should not be thinking that you will be responsible only for the good things and not for the bad things. You have to first be responsible for the bad thing and say, "You be responsible for the good things." What separates you from that person is not something good but something bad. The conclusion that we arrive at is that unless one becomes a leader who can be responsible for the bad things, there is no other way but to be separated. In order to digest bad things and supplement with good things, an individual cross must be born. When you become a leader in the future, you must think about this. You must answer yourself, whether or not you can become a complete leader as an individual leader. You must be able to answer "Yes." Next, when you ask yourself if you can become a leader of the family, as long as you can answer "Yes," you will have no problem in serving as a leader of a church. When you make the determination to take responsibility for the sake of one family and lead them to the church, you must bear the cross of that family. If you are willing to bear the cross that none of the members of the family could bear and take care of the problem, then until that cross is brought to some resolution, that family will be in the position to obediently receive your guidance. This is the type of training that is needed. Next, if this is done centering on one church, then you will have no problem serving as both the head of a household and the church leader. You can take care of a church. Looking at the issue centering on the church, you are to become someone who will say, "I will be responsible for all the difficulties of the church. I will take your responsibility in your place." When the church is experiencing difficulty, if you take responsibility for all the things that the members are responsible for, then until the leader completes the responsibility of the cross that he bears the members must receive the guidance of the leader. This is also true for the leader of a nation. To us who have set ourselves on the restoration of the world for the coming days, the answer to the question, whether or not we can manage this responsibility is quite simple. If in making plans for America now, if I live for the sake of America and have faith in it more than God does, then what do you think would happen? We can conclude that God cannot judge this nation. In order to bring judgment, He must first give me something greater first. In other words, as long as I love, believe in, and live for the sake of America, God can only judge it after bringing something greater; otherwise, he cannot take it away or strike it. Do you understand what I am saying? [Yes] (72-313) 6. Serve Members Like Kings In order to become a master, in order to become the master of ten people, then you must be able to serve the ten people. Otherwise, it cannot be done. You can never govern them. Accordingly, when each of you go back to your church you should become one with the members and become the two wheels, in other words, between you and the members, one should become the right wheel and the other should become the left wheel to proceed forward smoothly. If you are moving forward and pick up speed after having achieved such a state, then no matter what large house you crash into you won't even be scratched, and even if you crash into a big rock, you will be able to shatter that rock into pieces. For this reason, if you become one and move forward, you will certainly make a progress. (50-345) You must treat those who come to visit you as kings, you must serve them as kings, and you must attend them like kings. Teaching them in this way, you should deal with them in such a way that they will wonder, "Our teacher is treating me who is nothing as if I am a king and serving like a king, so how can I serve he who is really like a king?" You must set such tradition. You must understand that this is where the qualifications as a son of God will be granted. (89-290) Serving people like king is also a form of indemnity. Everything is the law of indemnity. No matter how evil that person is, if you serve him like a king, even if he does not receive your devotional heart, God will take it in. If that person leaves the Unification Church no longer believing in it, then you will inherit all the blessings that his good ancestors have accumulated. This is a fearsome tactic. This is the way to seize the blessings of the whole, of ten thousand people. It is harvesting them. It is reaping them. It's the same thing. What do you do about America opposing Rev. Moon? The same Principle will apply. Do you understand what this means? [Yes] This is the path that the priest must walk. You cannot be so confident and proud without fulfilling your portion of responsibility. You cannot go astray. You cannot judge anyone in your heart. You yourself are the sinner, you are the priest who failed to complete your responsibility; so how can you judge others? Do you understand? [Yes] When you go back now, you should serve all the members in this way. You are to serve members in this way. Now, can you sleep in the house that the king was served in? You must exert yourself to the utmost. When this can be done, from now on, a new tradition will be established in America. This is how I see it. Do you understand now? [Yes] Do you understand what the priest must do? [Yes] You must carve your own flesh and draw your own blood. You must take your blood and flesh out and offer them. Then, you must add your heart onto it to offer them together. Until now, you have only been wage-workers. Being wage-workers was good. You have been following me because I have been taking responsibility. However, you have to understand that now is a different time. Do you understand? [Yes] (89-293) |