The Third Principle: Learn true love in the school of the family

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LESSON 18: The Nobility of Three Generations

1. The nobility of grandparents.

• Grandparents represent the past.
• Grandparents represent the spirit world. By honoring them, we honor all our ancestors, the entire spirit world, and God Himself.
• Grandparents represent God, who is eldest of all. God is the first ancestor of humankind. God was the Father of Adam and Eve, and the Grandfather to Adam and Eve's children. God longed to love His grandchildren, but He could not because of the Fall.
• God, Adam and Eve, and Adam and Eve' children were to have been the original three generations of Grandparents, parents and children. Just as grandparents like to see photos of their childhood, God wants to recover His "childhood days." Old people remember the experience of being children through playing with their grandchildren, as their literal memories have faded. God is the same.
• When grandparents love their grandchildren, as God desired to love Adam and Eve's children, the grandchildren feel God's love. Thus grandchildren multiply God's love horizontally.
• Finally the grandparents return to God when they go to the spirit world. Through their love for their grandparents, children gain a personal connection with the spirit world.
• Grandparents are to be honored for their accomplishments, which are the foundation upon which we stand.
• Grandparents' authority.
  • They have the wisdom of tradition and experience. They are the treasure-store of traditions and wisdom. They can guide both the parents and the grandchildren.
  • They receive gratitude for the foundation they laid.
  • They grant joy and blessings to their grandchildren, in whose lives they play a crucial role.
• We become complete as grandparents, when we love our grandchildren.
• Grandparents are never to be spurned or sent away to old-age homes. Grandparents isolated in this way are deeply sad that they cannot love their grandchildren.
• Grandparents can fulfill many roles in the home where they can find value and be appreciated; e.g. assisting around the house and yard, advice in business, connections with the networks of older men and women, maternity advice and child care, etc.

2. The nobility of parents.

• Parents represent the present-day reality; they are responsible for the welfare of the family in the present.
• They provide for their children and aged parents.
• Their love sets the tone for the family's spiritual life.
• Parents' authority.
  • It is derived from their sacrificial love.
  • Filial children naturally respect them.
  • Their authority expands as they serve and help support the larger society, earning respect from everyone around them.
  • Likewise, their authority in the family grows by virtue of the respect that they receive in the larger community.
• Contrast the leader who just gives orders with the leader whose genuine commitment and sacrifice instills respect and awe.
• We demonstrate our kingship by becoming:
  • True teachers
    • Give people a vision and teaching to help them in constructing an ideal society. Ronald Reagan offered a vision; George Bush did not.
    • Don't hoard wisdom; you cannot do it all alone; but give others the means to be successful. "If you give a man a fish, you will feed him for one day; if you teach him to fish, you will feed him for a lifetime."
  • True parents
    • Showing fairness in concern for others.
    • Actions which spring from selfless love.
    • Caring for all people even more than one's own children.
  • True owners
    • The challenge to be righteous in our use of wealth and property has defeated many leaders; its easier to be righteous when poor or oppressed.
    • Likewise we must be righteous in our use of power, to reverse the adage that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
    • True ownership is based upon true love, which means investment into the property, or investment of the possession for the sake of others.
• We have to work at changing our lifestyle to be worthy of the title of royalty.
• We have to overcome our bad habits and small-minded attitudes.
• We should derive true pride from virtue and a godly lifestyle.
• We all can become leaders in our communities, born out of a deep love for our neighbors and fellow citizens.
• We should be open-hearted in sharing God's love with others.
• The title of royalty is conferred upon us by others.
  • It is conferred by God, who justifies us (spiritual kingship).
  • It is conferred by our relatives and neighbors, who come to respect us and give us the stature of a leader because we serve them.
• This means we become spiritual teachers.
• We become the exemplary members of our clan.
• We become providers and helpers of those in need.
• We become natural leaders of the community.

3. The nobility of children.

• Children represent the future.
• They should grow receiving the love of both parents and grandparents. How they grow up reflects upon the parents and is a measure of their success or failure as parents. There is an African proverb which states, "Children are the clothes of a man."
• Children's authority.
  • They gain authority through the love they naturally coax from their parents and grandparents.
  • Their receptivity is their authority to receive proper education.
  • Parents and grandparents see their potential to fulfill great responsibility in the future. Therefore parents and grandparents are gratified and excited, and also are serious to educate the children well.
  • The children's opinions need to be respected in order to cultivate their proper sense of subjectivity.
  • The children's success brings joy and completion to the family.
• Children should be raised to be virtuous and honorable, with the qualities of nobility, courage, compassion, honor, etc.
• Likewise, they should conduct themselves with a sense of dignity and responsibility before their elders and before God. Dressing well at worship service, for example. Through filial piety, they can receive this tradition.
• Parents teach by example. The number one lesson is that of sexual purity.
• Jesus called the children to him, saying theirs is the kingdom of God. Children can surpass their parents, since they stand on their foundation. They have limitless faith, hope, imagination, creativity, enthusiasm, energy. Their growth represents the fruit of their parents' investment.

4. In summary, the true family encapsulates the basic forms of God's love and truth.

• The four ways of vertical ethics.
• The four realms of heart.
• The three stages of nobility of the family, comprising the nobility of the entire family ("realm of the royal family").

Nobility and authority is granted all members of the family of humankind. God is our Parent. All of humankind, as God's sons and daughters, are members of God's family, and thus inherit the authority and nobility of kings and queens. The next set of lessons explains the meaning of the universal family of humankind.

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MEANINGFULL ENCOUNTERS