Feb. 24, 2011 – “A man should never neglect family for business”

     Last night at family evening Hoon Dok Hae, with Fujiko-san and the girls gathered in the prayer room, we read Father’s autobiography, p. 84, the chapter entitled “A Command that Must Be Obeyed”.

     Father, in 1946, had headed out to pick up rice he had bought for his young family, when he received a revelation from God to go immediately to North Korea. Without returning home to tell his wife, he left straightaway for Pyongyang in Communist territory, where he began to preach.

     My 15-year-old daughter Masha looked at me and quoted Walt Disney: “A man should never neglect family for business.”

     She and I looked at each other and nodded knowingly, because yesterday we had been talking about that very point.

     Fujiko-san would have no part of that dialogue, because she is a “fundamentalist”, for whom Father is always right, no matter what.

     Well, our daughter is a Blessed Child with a good head on her shoulders, and my own father’s penetrating intellect, and she knows better without anyone telling her.

     Walt Disney is one of America’s most respected and beloved entrepreneurs, who invested himself, going bankrupt many times, to realize a wonderful dream: Disneyland and the famous Walt Disney Syndicate.

     If anyone, Disney is an icon of the entire period from the 1930s right up to the present, and had probably had more influence on movies, art, children’s books, and fashion than any other single person.

     Disney represents healthy, happy, prosperous family values, moral lessons, and folktale tradition.

     So, True Father comes as the Messiah… and shall we turn away from, throw away and abandon all other exemplary men and women, teachings, books, lessons, traditions, culture, languages, democracy?

     In fact, some Unificationists are of that faith and conviction. I would call them Fundamentalist Unificationists.

     We met many of these on MFT, where you focus upon nothing but the goal, Father’s words, the 40-day competition, the team spirit, with single-minded determination.

     Fundraising team members don’t read the Bible, or Steven Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, or Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. Those things are looked at askance.

     In my time, the only books were the Holy Song book, Divine Principle, and Way of God’s Will.

     By practicing absolute faith and single-minded dedication, we would accomplish miracles. It’s true — I experienced many incredible, unbelievable things!

     But many members graduated from MFT with resentment, complaint and accusation.

     We had almost universally neglected our families during our MFT stint — which could extend for as long as ten years. I did seven myself.

     Once upon a time, at age 14, Hyun Jin Nim snapped at Father, “Are you my parents or the Unification Church parents?”

     At that time, when Hyun Jin Nim was in his ascendancy, Dr. Seuk, our Continental Leader, told us this story in order to express how much True Parents had sacrificed their family for the public mission, and at the same time, how much the True Children had suffered.

     But, at the same time, in conveying such contents, a message is transmitted on two levels.

     There is a “politically correct” Unification Movement viewpoint; and at the same time, subterraneously, the soul of one man is appealing to the soul of another.

     In a way, it could be compared to the Communist official party line: “This is what we are supposed to believe. This is how the good Soviet Citizen thinks and practices.”

     I have often wondered and struggled, “Why are we not bringing results in witnessing?”

     I came to several conclusions over many years:

     1) Newly joined members find that we are not actually loving one another in the way that we present ourselves to new guests at workshops and witnessing centers.

     2) People desire freedom and happiness in their original minds, and perceive that they will be deprived of these things if they join this movement.

     3) There is an intense force of jealousy on the part of other members toward any person who brings a new guest or spiritual child.

     4) The subconscious of a witnessing member is subliminally speaking to the subconscious of a guest, “Look at me: I’ve gotten into this. But please don’t you do likewise…”

     5) We are not living a well balanced lifestyle — denying our body, denying our family, denying society, denying the world.

     Now, Jesus Christ exhorted his disciples to be prepared to deny these things for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

     In this sense and in some others, the Unification Church is truly practicing Jesus’ teachings better than anyone else.

     However, not in all ways are we superior to other churches, other societies, other families, other corporations.

     In other words, we are better in some ways but not all, and therefore we stand to learn from others and improve ourselves.

     In other words, we all must live in one world together in a state of healthy balance and give-and-take.

     We need each other.

     Especially, we need our families.

     The time eventually comes, after graduating from the MFT, when we should return to our homes and do “Home Church”.

     But how can we win the hearts of people whom we have been denying, when, in fact, ultimately we depend on these people more than anyone else?

     We find ourselves in the position to return home with a deep apology, lots of lost ground to make up for, lots of indemnity to pay.

     This situation applies even within the True Family.

     Even in the True Family, the heartistic damage done by years of neglect and sacrifice for the sake of the public mission has to be undone, restored, and healed.

     If not, then we see phenomena happening within the Blessed Families and even the True Family where a family member leaves with bitterness.

     “A man should never neglect family for business.”

     Walt Disney was after all right; and my daughter, a 2nd gen., was perceptive enough to recognize and point this out.