Hello.
We all want to be successful, right?
Let’s talk about success. What is success? What do you consider
success?
In America especially there are a lot of
kids who graduate from Ivy League schools; by mid-twenties or late twenties
a lot of people become millionaires. When you make a lot of money it does
give you a lot of opportunity to move into things and do things that you
want to do.
In the end success is defined by
individuals. It is true because it connotes something that has to do with
one’s career. Is success just based on your career? A career doesn’t have to
last until the day you die; you can retire I guess. What’s today’s average
retirement age, sixty? It used to be sixty-five but it’s going down right?
Now it’s going back up again, but anyway something like that.
I guess the way that we should look at
success; it should be about a lifetime. It’s one’s lifetime and you should
define it as such, because the way that we look at Father is basically that.
He’s a successful teacher. He’s a successful father of mankind, and because
of His lifetime work we define his example as something to be revered.
That’s what we’re trying to do; to commit our life to follow that kind of
exemplary life. And He’s still moving on right? He didn’t retire yet. I
don’t think He’s going to retire till the day He ascends to Heaven, that he
dies.
So when I look at my family model pretty
much that’s how you define success in my family. I don’t know about other
people, but it’s because of family tradition that’s what I have to accept. I
could make my own definition of success. I could define it in my own way
just like everybody else in a free society. But because of what I choose to
accept that’s pretty much what defines success in my family. If you can’t do
that, if you don’t have something that’s within you that you can make that
kind of commitment you have the definition of success then you have no goal.
You feel father is rich and owns a lot of
land. "Oh if I acquire this land and that land this property and put it
together I’ll have a billion dollar company." You can think like that
statistically. You can think like that as if that is your right. But nobody
in the world will recognize that as success. What success? That’s just
privilege gone bad. That would be the reality. You can certainly do that….
If I do pray, and I rarely do, but if I do
pray, I pray that "Father, you had a great start! I want your ending to be
great as well." That’s what I want to see happen to him. I want that to be
the legacy. I don’t want anything to be changed as far as that is concerned.
In order to do that, even in my own family, you really have to understand
your father’s course. It’s not that simple trying to care for other people.
That’s a very difficult thing and making people believe as a generation goes
forward, making that connection is very difficult. Even my father is having
a hard time achieving that. That’s the reality. It’s not that simple.
And how do you even connect to your own
generation. Where is your input? Where is your sacrifice? Do you sacrifice
truly for the sake of belief or do you show sacrifice for the sake of show?
What is it?
Then we should have politicians come and
preach all the time in churches all around the world. Even in the secular
world they try to distinguish between politicians and preachers right? Of
course they both screw up all the time, but still there’s a distinction. One
has to do with governing a society and one has to do with governing the
hearts and minds of people, the soul of human kind. One is about the
physicality more so and the other is about spirituality, right? That’s the
basic difference.
And there’s this institution called
education that tries to govern, tries to manage the mind of people, the
intelligence of people.
I define success as people who give their
lives to God. Wow! That is the ultimate success. There are many degrees of
success. People see success in all sorts of ways, BUT THAT’S HOW I SEE IT!
And how do I have to go about evaluating that success? How do I give my life
to God? How does one give one’s life to God? Where does it start from?
Maybe you’re lucky if you just get zapped
with the Holy Spirit. (Laughter) "I’ve changed. I just want to dedicate my
life to God from now on." You’re lucky, but most people don’t. They do
through all sorts of individual situations to make that determination. A lot
of people do out of desperation as well. They’ve got no where else to turn
so "I’ve got nothing so what the hell do I have to lose by turning my life
over to God? Let him take care of my miserable situation." You can do that.
Most of you made choices, or are trying to
make choices in that way because I see some young people here. People that
are at my age and above you have no choice. That’s how you made it Okay?
(Laughter) That is how you’re going to die.
If you can do one thing by yourself and if
you have groups of people who can work together for the sake of each other
just following all the basic principles of goodness, I think we should try
to encompass that first before you try to TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, talking
about messiah stuff, that we’re a better religion than yours stuff. I think
that’s the first step. We should try to do that and help each other
physically then on a larger scale then we can afford to take care of each
other intellectually and expand the mind and then ultimately it’s up to you
to connect to your spirit.
It takes that kind of formative essence.
You need that kind of basic foundation to achieve that kind of spiritual
connection, I believe. And that we lack! Its like "every man for himself, go
figure it out on your own." We have all been through a workshop and it’s
very limited. You cycle forty days three times for 120 days. What is that?
And somehow you can go out and change the world? Well you try. And you try
to move up the church ladder. What happens? The same bureaucracy, so what’s
the difference between them and us? Nothing, I don’t see anything different.
That’s a problem. What can we do? Can we
do something about this situation? I think so. It’s important to empower
individuals within the church. You have to give more and more information
that is critical in doing our work. Because sharing that information in a
more easily acceptable way, more efficient, more effective ways. Let them
familiarize with that stuff because familiarity breeds confidence. When one
gets confident, that’s something. It gives willingness to commit to action.
That changes people. Having just basic information about the essence of
principle, but this is society and society is different than the essence of
principle. You have gone down like this (gesturing to the focal point at the
bottom of a V shape) but now you have to go back up.
You might have found the focal point,
that’s all the workshop does, try to give you a focal point, and this is how
Father connects to God… That’s it! That’s where it ends! Now you’re going to
go out there and conquer the world? Now you’re going to go out and build the
kingdom by yourself? Give me a break! That’s unreal. Why are you not doing
more of that kind of stuff? You have to start somewhere. That’s what we can
do.
I found another host if you want more of
it it’s called http://www.definingmoment.eu/ to focus more on the European
nations. I also found another Spanish speaking host.
We have to get to know Europeans; we have
to get to know Hispanics; we have to get to how they think in all sorts of
different religions, about their culture, about themselves. The more we know
the better. If you have that information it will give you confidence. That
power will generate you into an active person. I believe that. We won’t stop
at that. We’ll branch out into giving more advice on pragmatic things,
finances or whatever.
We can do that, get that kind of network
moving and working, invite hosts, all sorts of guests, and get that
critical, useful, practical information and just delegate it to you all.
That’s what the church should be doing.
Father’s course is more of overall and
centering on Him and we are bound by that tradition, but after it we have to
be independent. Father’s course is a very dependent course, a course of
dependency. It has to be. But the next phase is a more independent phase. We
have to realize our greatness centering on Father’s vision and let that
proliferate out into the world and make a difference.
Yes we need body; we need an organization,
sure I understand that concept, but it will go toward that direction unlike
the structure and organization during Father’s lifetime. We’re not going to
make a dependent structure; it’s going to be more independent, but in what
way? Bearing the heart and spirit of Father’s teaching.
Not just "You do this and that! I’m in
control!" Those idiots! You walk around crap not because you’re afraid of
it, but because you don’t want to get your shoes dirty. Those people make me
sick. Hey, it’s not my problem right? You have to love, you can’t kill
people. (Laughter) Anyway… wouldn’t you like to see that happen?
(Yes).
I believe that we can literally see
change. I believe that we can literally see our progress if that is the
basic reality in this church. If we take care of that basic stuff we can
literally see our own progress. Collectively of course you will see more.
That’s how you compete with other religions. If you don’t have something to
show you can’t win. You can win by bluffing. What if they will fight you?
You got to have what it takes to take the blows. Otherwise it is only a
bluff. That is what we need to do. I think we should encourage that
kind of stuff, and open up to each other.
I can’t be here at the last Sunday (of
this year) because I have to say hello to my folks, but after this there
about six more left. My condition's done. You like what we got here?
(Yes) You want me to show up for one more year? (YES!) We’ll
talk about it later. (Laughter)
I know that’s doable. I can see it in this
very small kind of model. But it will work. It will work. I
believe in it with all my heart. It’s not just coming from me. It’s
coming from somewhere else too. I believe it. So, I think your success
is how you define it, not just with your body or with your head, but with
everything that you’ve got. Right?
See you next week.
