1) Public Life of a Minister

When I speak to you, I might look good, but for this I live a life of confinement for several weeks, or sometimes even for several months. Is this a private life or a public life? It is a public life. How wonderful it would be if you could live freely? If I could, my life would be better than yours. Whatever I did, I would not be defeated by anyone. I am a capable man.

You do not understand how hard it is for me to live the life of a religious leader. I'm pressure to penetrate and understand the minds of neighbors and even of criminals. Of course, I have to do the same with others. So one could say that I am living in cooking pot and my life is truly difficult day and night. After all, would God not watch me during the nighttime? He would watch, day and night. Thus, my life seems truly unbearable. However, if I endure it, I somehow find ways to cope with it.

Suppose that you are living such a life as well. Then through whom would God work? He would like to work through such a person. God will travel back and forth through people who are living a public life for the world. What does that mean? God will pack his bags and come and live with people who are more public-minded, and if He finds people even more public-minded, He will go to visit those people and stay with them. He will move around that way. (31-254)

When you look at the world, the person who is in a public position is pitiful. What if even though he does his best, due to his mistake before the Will 1,000 years of merit is taken back? Such is the feeling of a debtor who does not have money to pay back to a creditor although his due date is approaching. I have been living such a life so far. (46-55)

My history has not been written yet. However, once I die, it will be. Then, what if it is found that I did things inappropriate from the Principle's viewpoint? I shall be in trouble. The question is whether or not I could be supported by the Principle as to why I led such a life. If something is very wrong with it, I could come to lose everything that was accomplished so far. That is why the position of a leader is difficult.

A leader should not lie down first no matter how tired he or she may be. Such is the position of a responsibility-taker. A leader lives with the heart of a sinner, who is not called yet. If he is full with food, he should repent. If he slept to his heart's content, he should repent as soon as he got up from bed. (62-133)

Even when you eat, you should always think whether this eating is for a public purpose or a personal purpose. You should eat for the sake of the 30 million people of Korea and the people of the world. If Korea wants to make the world serve its own country, Korea will perish. The same applies to America. Only when America wants to become a nation to serve the world, will America prosper. If at the time of President Nixon America had became a nation for Asia, it would have had hope for the future; but since it retreated from Asia, the nation had to decline.

Let us wait and see how far it can go. Whatever it does, it will be defeated and will eventually perish. I have been talking about this for a long time. From the time when America reduced the size of its appropriations for foreign aid it started to decline. President Kennedy is a good example. From that point on, a history of tragedy started, and, he could not enjoy his full life-span and even died at an early age.

Then, who will not perish even after his or her death? Who can make contributions for the sake of the world even after his or her death? They are public-minded people, leading a public life. Right? For what did Confucius, Buddha, and Jesus live? You must understand that they were not nationalistic. They lived and died for the world. In order to build an ideal world, even at the risk of their own lives, they aggressively faced all kinds of problems and did their best to resolve them, trying to build a better world. That is why they could join the group of people who can be called saints. (36-74)

Even when you take the first step in the morning, you should think whether it is for the public purpose or not. And when you go to bed after finishing your daily work, you should reflect whether or not it was public-centered or personal-centered. Further, looking back on your yearly life, or your entire life, you should reflect whether or not you led a public life or a personal one.

After working hard for others for the public purpose, I would fall asleep without realizing how tired I was, and in the morning I would wake up totally refreshed. From such an experience, you should realize, "Ah, this is a life of living the Principle." But if you think, "Well, I slept only three and a half hours last night. Therefore, I should sleep at least 6 hours," your entire body will feel like a thousand or ten thousand pounds, with pain all over the body.

I am saying that you should not calculate your sleeping time, and think, "Since I did not sleep enough yesterday, I'd better make it up today." Yet that is what you do, right? It is like a case in which you think, "Since I am fasting on Sunday morning, I'd better eat more on Saturday evening." (laughter)

If you do such fasting, it does not mean anything. On the contrary, it is better for you not to fast because if you eat more for dinner the night before a fast, you will get more hungry. Go ahead and try it. After having your stomach stretched from a full dinner, if you keep it empty the next morning you will feel more hungry. Isn't it true? (laughter) (44-161)