Part 1. Becoming the Mayor of Your Hometown
By Won Pil Kim
Rev. Won Pil Kim, then president of our church in Europe, spoke about the meaning of tribal messiahship at the annual general meeting of the Unification Church of Germany. The date was September 24, 1989. His words are still insightful today.
Today, I originally desired to speak to the people who are not doing very well in their responsibility. But when I look around, I see many people who are doing well have gathered here! I had wanted to speak to the people who want to do well but have difficulties. So those of you are doing well can go back home. Do you want to listen anyway, even though you already know what I’m going to say? [Yes.] All right, you may stay.
Actually, for those who are doing well, it would be more appropriate to go somewhere in nature to take some nice moments together, sharing testimonies and returning gratitude to True Parents. Don’t you think that kind of meeting is necessary? We need to have meetings in which we can share our testimonies of success, on how we practice True Parents’ tradition and directions.
If you can realize the “Triple Up” witnessing goal, then my presence in Europe will no longer be necessary. Our mission is to create a world where even the Messiah is not needed, because each one of us has become a messiah. God and True Parents are necessary, but the Messiah is only needed to save the people from the satanic world by bringing them into God’s world. When everybody is restored, then the Messiah becomes the True Parents. On this foundation of making everyone into true parents, True Parents themselves will reach a new level, becoming the King of Kings.
As true children, just cutting our relationship with the satanic world and being engrafted to God’s lineage is not enough. After receiving our new life, we need to help True Parents save the people. Otherwise, the Messiah must do his job all alone. If that happens, how long will it take for him to restore all of humankind and how tired will he be? Father is getting old. That’s why we must all become second messiahs and start saving other people. Imagine how quick the restoration work will be! Let’s not make our True Parents suffer. Let’s take up our responsibility.
Leader consciousness
At the CARP Convention, Hyo Jin Nim sang some songs. While singing, he shed tears. He expressed poignantly through his singing: “I love True Parents!” This is the heart of a true child.
You are not members but leaders, each one of you. Those who are participating in this meeting are blessed and have already started your married life. Until now, you have received so much guidance and teaching from God. You have had many experiences in life and are educated people. Now you are the ones who must educate others. But you are still thinking: “I’m just a member.”
I want you to understand this point very deeply. I am a member myself, but I’m also a leader. Members are those people who receive instructions from above. They are not doing what they initiate, but what they are asked to do. Their nature is to just wait for a direction and follow. When leaders say nothing, a member does nothing.
On the other hand, a leader is in the position to guide members. His position is to give, while the member’s position is to receive. Leaders do things by themselves, under their personal responsibility.
I suppose you don’t like to be told things by others, but desire to act by yourselves. Why do you feel like that? Because you put yourselves in a leader’s position. Even when no one tells you what to do, you find direction by yourselves. Would you rather be a member or a leader? A leader’s position is better, isn’t it?
Many kinds of people are living in your village: a mayor, policemen, factory workers, shop owners, and so on. The mayor is the person who is in the position of a parent. Let’s suppose True Parents announce they will come to your village. Probably none of these people will prepare to welcome them, because they don’t know who Rev. Moon is. But if you were the mayor of that village, you would mobilize the entire village to welcome True Parents. You would organize the best house for True Parents to stay in, and True Parents would teach you how to make your village into God’s village. You would take Father’s speech seriously and try to practice it right away.
The present mayor, upon hearing that True Parents are coming, would not only not prepare anything, but he might even persecute and reject them. Looking from God’s point of view, does God prefer to have that Cain-type person as the mayor of the village, or you?
If this is what God, True Parents, the good spirit world and all brothers and sisters desire, the fact that you have been sent to your village means that you have already been spiritually assigned as the mayor. Everyone, please look at your situation.
Even though we are getting older, God wants us to be leaders because we are children of God and have received the Blessing. God desires you to be leaders both spiritually and physically. That’s why I want you to realize that when you go somewhere and find a place to stay, God guided you there so you could find the place He had prepared. You are sent by God and True Parents. God, True Parents and your national leaders assigned you to be the messiah of your town or village.
Ownership
In the original world there were no Cains or Abels, but only sons. Because of the fall, Satan invaded all levels of this world. How could Satan claim all these levels? Satan loved God selfishly, centered on himself. Therefore, he could not love people centered on God. Satan took the dominion away from Adam and Eve through his self-centered love. Lucifer did not hate God, but wanted the love of God centered on himself. He wanted to receive God’s love and then pass it on to Adam and Eve. He didn’t want to receive God’s love through them. This was the starting point of the Fall.
Adam and Eve followed Lucifer, inherited this self-centered love from him and abandoned their proper position.
Originally, God created man as the owner of creation, but his right of dominion was taken away by Satan. Children are in the position of inheriting everything from their parents, but because of Adam and Eve’s unity with self-centered love, their birthright was taken away by Satan. Restoring it cannot be done by inheritance or money, but only through true love.
What shall we do to restore God’s birthright at every level? Sacrificial love is the standard Father established to lay a victorious foundation. Satan cannot sacrifice himself for the sake of another. That’s why we are always asked to practice sacrificial love for the sake of others. Satan has made his nest within us, so when we practice sacrificial love he has to leave us. But when we are self-centered, Satan will automatically dominate us.
This world has been receiving self-centered love from Satan. If someone gives sacrificial love, everyone will automatically want to follow him. Everything in creation wants to receive higher love from God. Let’s take the example of your village. When you practice sacrificial love and serve the people even more than the mayor, people will start to follow you because they want to receive a higher love. The mayor cannot help but cooperate with you.
If you were the mayor and visited each house in your village one by one to share God’s love and words with them, they might not welcome you in the beginning because they don’t know you. If your love is self-centered, once they reject you, you won’t want to visit them anymore. But if you visit the people for their sake, even though you don’t like being persecuted, you’ll visit them again. Once you have won their trust, the next step is to discover what they need spiritually and physically. A “normal” mayor probably cannot do this for he does not know how to practice sacrificial love to this extent.
You may think that because you have many babies, you cannot visit people. But if you are really concerned about others, you will put your baby into the pram and then visit them. If you have love for the sake of others, you can do two or three things at the same time. When you think centered on yourself, you find many excuses; but if you have love for the sake of others, you will find a solution. For example, if you visit an elderly lady, you can ask her to take care of your baby, while you do something good for this old lady. In the evening, when your husband returns, together you can visit that lady, so that you can introduce your husband to her. What will this lady start to think about you? She will tell all her neighbors and relatives about you. If you start serving that elderly lady as if she were your parent, she will eventually trust you. One by one, you must serve all your neighbors in this way.
This world is very self-centered. In order to trust, people need someone with whom they can have give and take. If you continually serve your village for one year, who do you think people will trust? In this situation, the Cain-type mayor will seek your help. Before helping him, you can educate him through teaching him the Divine Principle. He will recognize you, saying that you should be the mayor. This is the way to restore the birthright.
On this foundation of unity between Cain and Abel, True Parents can come.