천일국 경전방

Raising Children In God's Will by Rev. Sun Myung MoonChapter 3. How to Raise ChildrenSection 2. Need for Family Education 1)  Reasons for Correct Child-rearing Without the fall, the family should consist of men and women who are God's true sons and daughters. They are one with God.  Men and women must become one, whole and complete. Couples do not exist just for themselves. Children need parental education. They must be prepared in all things. (53- 69)  The children wanted by God who can live in Eden must be sons and daughters of universal character. They must be qualified enough to have dominion over all creatures. (118-285) 2) The Fall of Man Requires Education Education is necessary to save humanity. Education is necessary. Man's ancestors fell because of ignorance. I will be brief since you already know about the Principle.  Adam and Eve remained ignorant as they moved to take over the dominion of this world. As they were growing up they had not understood God's teachings.  They fell not because they knew what it was, but because they didn't. Our ancestors didn't know the path of righteousness so that their descendants cannot surpass their ancestors in this knowledge.  We have had many great historical figures and religious leaders, but none has been able to provide the correct path that God had taught. No religion, no philosopher, no statesman, has been able to illuminate the path.  Because of this, our history continues the heritage of our ignorant ancestors, deviating from God's principles. This is what I see. So, we must educate the ignorant humanity.  This is a problem. A good education can restore God's knowledge but a bad education has prevailed. That's our current state. (136-198) Because of the fall, we need a messiah. Without the fall, we would not need one. Because of the fall, we lost our God. Because of the fall, we lost our basic human character.  Without the fall, we would have retained the basic knowledge of God. But this is not the work of God, not the work of God. That's the condition already established for us. We need no more.  If we were one with God, there is no knowledge lacking in our midst. We would not need any education dealing with the fundamentals of man.   What is the basic problem of man? It's food. Then survival. Then, after the two are taken care of, love emerges. Have you learned how to eat since you have been born?  We were born with the natural ability to eat. We must eat. When our mouth touches something we naturally want to eat it.  Therefore we naturally seek to fulfill more than eating, surviving, and loving. We should move from these goals, onto the world of solid feelings, then onto the world of solid values in order to avoid the fall.   However, because we have fallen, everything is in reverse. We must make right what is in reverse. When a baby is born, he comes head first, his buttocks last.  This must be reversed. We look like humans but we are not. It's our dilemma, all because of our fall. Therefore we must struggle against this fall concept. What must we realize in order to reverse this state of being?  Controlling the fall concept is more important than wanting a messiah. We must fight the fall concept. Our strength gets stronger as we increase our struggle.  (55- 13)   The individual is a product of history, as are the family, the nation, and the world. Among all the products, how large is the product of good? How much good has the world produced altogether? I want to know.  In your own environment, what percent consists of good? In your own personal character, what percent consists of good? I want to know.  When we consider how much evil and how good there are, we recognize that good is surrounded by evil.  There is no education needed to do evil. It's easy to do evil, no education needed. Our history began with evil so that no one needs to learn to do evil.  Do you need to learn to do evil? We need to learn to return to human morality and the dictates of conscience as our standards. What kind of education?  Even with one that centers on good and on conscience, how many of us live up to the standards? Anyone can do evil without any learning. Anyone can pass that course. (36- 57)  Do we need an education for evil? Don't we? No need to learn about evil. No need to teach to do evil. If you just leave them alone, they naturally turn evil.  Just follow the body and evil takes over. Isn't that so? [Yes] Hey, you grandpa there, if you follow your body, is that good or evil? [We become evil.] No, you can't even think about being good. You surely become evil. (38- 303)   3) Family Education Through Religion Did Jesus have a family he could love? Did Jesus love his mother? No, he couldn't. Did he love his father? His father was a step-father. Did he love his brothers? He couldn't love his brothers.  Whom did he love? As the epitome of love, Jesus wanted to love his mother and father but couldn't.  Because Adam and Eve did not learn about love, Jesus tried to teach his mother and father how to live in love. But his mother and father did not listen to him.  To teach love, one must transcend Judaism and the Bible. Because Jesus came as the representative of God, for the father, for the bridegroom, for the brother, Mary's household should have treated him as God's representative.  Jesus should have addressed to Joseph, "Hey, you Joseph!" as Joseph was not his father. He should have addressed to Mary, "Hey, you Mary!" as Mary was not his mother.  They should have received education from him. Did they accept the education?  From a human perspective they were father and son, but from heaven's perspective Jesus was Lord, God's representative, they should have followed his education on the ways of love.  Jesus should have taught his parents, his brothers, and should have told them about the kind of woman for him. Did Jesus give that kind of education? Does it say so in the Bible? It's all about empty rhetoric on how go to heaven. (51-188)   Historically, Koreans are similar to the Jews. Koreans are the Jews of the far east. Korea was the reason for the Sino-Japanese War, as it was for the Russo-Japanese War, and the War of the Pacific.  Korea is the thorniest problem of Asia, as it is the most talked-about country at all international meetings at the United Nations. Isn't that strange? But through all these trials and tribulations, Korea has not disappeared.  The Korean people are excellent as individuals. They are as good as anyone one-on-one. But their parental education was poor. Since our real father failed in educating us, we must be educated by a step-father to create a great people. That's the task of the Unification Church. (18-238)  What does religion teach? Does it teach you to eat, drink and be merry as the body dictates? It's getting more and more difficult to teach the young as time passes. (18-64)  Heaven is made up of heart and soul, not a kingdom of religious theories or religious denominations, just heart and soul. Why is God seeking people and holy persons?  It is to make sons and daughters. What kind of sons and daughters? The kind of sons and daughters whom God can take into his confidence and confide in them how he feels. (9-294)   4) The Limits of World Education We live in a world full of uncertainties about learning and teaching. One can learn evil very easily. Nor can one rest his mind easy.  The Communists are everywhere, right next door. One can get into a wrong argument, with a terrible consequence.  (12-97) People up to now have taught their sons and daughters so that they can have a good family life. That's all in reverse.  Our days are all turned up side down. We must achieve good heaven, a good world, a good nation, and a good society to achieve a good personal life.  This principle has been turned up side down because of the fall. People say, "If I can live well, then my family can live well, then our society will live well," which is all in reverse. It's all up side down.  Heaven looks at this kind of world and wants its humanity to end this up side down way of thinking. "To revert back to restoration, you must beat your bodies," it says.  Christianity has been persecuted because of this insistence, as have been the Christian family, the Christian nations, and the Christian world. (8-105)  What use is there in today's American educational methods? You must cut off everything at the root, must cut off everything, cut off everything completely. (105-187)  What is it that the American young follow in pursuit of their individualism, their self-interests? Its pragmatism, and this philosophy of profitable life must be completely, 180 degrees, reversed, turned the right side up.  What happened to a nation once based on Christianity? This is not the work of God, but of the Satan who plays with them. Do you understand what I am saying? [Yes]  I also understand that you have been getting the individualistic education in America and have grown accustomed to the self-centered way of life, and all this makes your work very difficult.   (66-29)  As I travel across America I feel revulsion about living in America. I also feel our children should not be educated in America at all. (25-141)  5) Goodness is the Purpose of Education People everywhere want to be good and hope to be good. Don't our teachers stand behind the podium and teach, saying to their pupils, "You must become good Koreans in the future"? In the same way, we teach students in middle school, high school, and in college to be good people as the purpose of education.  (41- 262)   There are absolutely no good persons who live for their individual self. What kind of education, what kind of moral standards do we have in Asia? For the attainment of good.  (64-114)  Many people don't understand that goodness brings its reward. But, we do understand, however difficult, the importance of moral beliefs as the purpose of our education and the goal of the humanities? No.  But, why not? We prefer the higher plateau of perfection to our low fallen position. Heaven cannot educate us all in one-to-one teachings so that, through education, it teaches us indirectly and symbolically. We must recognize that the teachings tell us to be good and do good. (65-118)  What is good? It is the locomotive of progress. Therefore we must give. Give what? Not the rejects, not the hand-me-downs, not the leftover foods. We must give our lives.  Not only our lives, our only true love. This is parental love. For this, we at the Unification Church try the parental love, working like slaves, sweating for the earth, shedding tears for mankind, and bleeding for heaven. (34- 246)   6) The Most Important Lesson Why do you like Reverend Moon when you meet him? Why do you feel that way? You feel that way because through him, more than through your husbands, your national leaders, your other teachers, you feel you get closer to the heavenly principles.  It's not his human accomplishment, it's just the way of truth. Love must precede education. There was love before the Creation. That is the truth.  All things, including the humans made up of all things, want to return to God's love. That's the truth. (147-298)   All of you are like that too. Which do you prefer, to die in God's love or to die without it? Which do you prefer? [To die in God's love] You will choose to die in God's love.  So, do you feel confident about dying in God's love? [Yes] Raise your hands if you believe that. If you believe it, your flesh and blood will be the flesh and blood and energy sources of your people. The same principle, isn't that so? All good leaders want to die for love.  What is the most important lesson to teach in education? The most important lesson is: "If you have to die, die for love." This lesson is more important than a degree from Harvard University. Do you understand what I am saying? [Yes] What do you think we the Unification Church should do? What do you think we should do? "Let's die for the highest love, the love for God and humanity," that's what we should do.  The movement was put into motion, and the direction set, for this purpose. Men and women were created for this purpose, fathers and mothers began everything for this purpose, sons and daughters began everything for this purpose, everything in the universe was given as a gift of love for this purpose. This is the only lesson there is in our education. There is no more. If you live by this principle, you will stand firm before God without shame. Do you understand this? [Yes]  Now, God is in heaven, an ideal heaven. Who can live in heaven close to God? One who is like God himself. If God says love your enemy, then the person who does everything to love his enemy is the one who sits close to God in heaven. How is it, isn't that so? [Yes, it is so] Don't you like that? How about that? (laughter) Looking at it this way, what is the most important lesson in education? What is the most important cultivation of mind? In all education and the cultivation of mind, we must learn and cultivate to love the enemy. That's the only conclusion.  Patience in Chinese character consists of a dagger above a heart. Did you know that? That's the meaning. If you want to accomplish a large task, you must endure the dagger hundreds, thousands, and millions of times. (124- 155)  7) Rearing, not Bearing, is More Important Parents shouldn't be overjoyed that they have a son. They should worry about how to rear him as a worthy son. Only then can they say they understand heaven's principles. It's wrong just to bear sons without this understanding.  One should worry as to how to make the son worthy of and useful to his nation. If one wants a son for his nation then everything begins from the nation. This is very important. Are you now standing before God as his true sons and daughters?  Then you are free to move in any direction, east or west. You are moving horizontally and are progressing on the plane. Then you can reach the goal no matter which direction you take. Then you will do well either in school or at work.  It's all right for the person to go to college as long as he keeps his correct bearing. It's all right for him to have a job with his correct bearing. Various styles and directions come to the same goal, although it may appear that one is not moving on a straight line.  (34- 23) You all recognize how tough it is to raise children. Children are your flesh and blood. They shed tears if their mothers shed tears. They lament if their fathers lament, all in one mind. It is tough to raise these children, however. When we look at it, we realize that we are not God's children.  We simply look the other way when God sheds tears. We simply shrug when God laments. It's because we have inherited the Satan's flesh and blood. Rather, we rejoice when God laments. We laugh when everything is in ruins.  Think about the labor that God must endure to guide and reform this humanity. How can God work through human history if he cannot find the hundreds, thousands, ten thousands that would lament along with God? (42-257)  You think Reverend Moon's way is sure to bring about his ruination. No, his is history's splendid way. I have been persecuted and chased by the world, but who is the successful one? All those who persecuted me are dead now, and all the foundations that I laid are now coming my way.  You've seen the movie, "The Ten Commandments" where the sea is split to allow the Israelis to cross, and you know it matters not whether you are on this side of the sea or the other, because blessings come across the sea, even across the Pacific Ocean.  They come looking for their rightful owner. With this much evidence, do you think your teacher Reverend Moon, the fighter, is on the verge of ruination? "No," You must teach your children well. Why do I say this? Because we must teach the tradition centered on the Abel family.  (130-311)