Rearing Monarchs #12:

A Child’s Own Moral Virtue
Unification Thoughts, April 2022

Welcome back
And thank you for your continued interest in these Unification Thoughts.

If you’re joining us for the first time, the focus of this series for we Golden Agers is to look into the key role of grandparents in helping to raise our grandchildren¹. This article is the 11th in the series and its basic premises are from 1) the Realms of True Love—in which Father and Mother Moon introduce a fifth realm of divine love—and 2) the Three Great Kingships—which inspires the title of this series. If you take a look at those two links, you’ll at least understand the perspective of the preceding 10 articles, if not the details.

Where we left off…

We’ll continue looking into the 2nd kind of education our grandchildren need—an Education of Norm. Norms are the standards of conduct that they’ll need to succeed in life². In January, February and March, we’d been looking at the ethical norms of Godism. This time, we’ll look into its moral norms and the virtues that express them. First, let’s remember Godism’s special distinction between ethics and morality:

The important difference for our discussion today is that morality is related to the First Blessing (whereas ethics is related to the Second one). Knowing this can help us better visualize what a person who’s achieved the First Blessing could be like.³ And a clear vision can help us guide our grandchildren’s moral development with better focus and meaningful intention.

But before I get into the theory, please let me first share a relevant testimony. Some years ago, one of our college students was asked to teach a session for middle- and high-schoolers at Shehaqua family camp. People that age are confronted with disingeniously named social values—at school, at play, in media, in music, clothing, etc.—that are very often at serious odds with the principled culture of heart that our community champions. And so our young ones are caught in a difficult dilemma of how to behave. Do they take the easiest path and try to fit in? Or do they take a stand and risk ridicule and persecution by their peers, and even censure by their teachers? Knowing this first-hand, the college student chose to give a talk about Unification Thought’s moral values⁴. At a certain point, he displayed a list of these values and gauged that—as you might expect—many of the young people weren’t terribly interested. So he did an experiment and asked the boys to observe. He then asked the girls how they would feel about meeting a boy who had these moral virtues (indicating the list on the screen), and the girls lit up and enthusiastically expressed their appreciation. He then turned to the boys’ side of the room and sure enough, they were now reconsidering that there might be some practical value in moral virtue after all.⁵

Individual Order

So let’s look more closely at what’s behind this. We’ve previously looked at vertical and horizontal order, so this time, we’ll look at individual order. Individual order refers to the inner integrity of each family member—the relationship between their mind and body which manifests in their personal character. This is analogous to the self-maintenance of the planets in our solar system, as this figure illustrates:

The figure indicates that a planet in a solar system maintains its proper position and orbit by rotating on its axis. The small print reads:

“Every heavenly body in the universe exists in a certain position, forming an inner four position foundation…” • New Essentials of UT, p. 285

The “inner” 4PF refers to the subject–object relationship between a planet’s axis and its surface. The “outer” 4PF refers to its relationship to the sun and other planets.

UT then completes the thought, that this inner relationship applies to people as well:

“…By the same token, internally within a human being, harmonious give and receive action must be made between the spirit mind and the physical mind, thus forming an inner four position foundation. The norm of behavior in forming this inner four position foundation is morality.”
• New Essentials of UT, p. 285

Individual Virtues

So just as natural law sustains and supports the integrity of each heavenly body, moral law supports the integrity of each person. UT then names specific virtues through which moral law is expressed:

If you think about it, you’ll realize that these moral virtues are actually extremely attractive (as our young campers clearly noticed). For example, take a look at some of the most popular heroes and heroines in movies or anime. They’re admired because they’re exceptional people, but it's not just their physical strength or super-power that commands attention. They likely exhibit some impressive moral virtue and character. That’s what makes them so heroic and attractive! The original part within most young people instinctively responds to exceptional virtue; they admire it and even aspire to it. So each one of these moral virtues is a valuable goal for personal development:

The “etc.” indicates that they aren’t necessarily the only ones, but they’re great starting points for a child to work on, as they develop their character and pursue their First Blessing.

Cultivating moral virtue

As noted in our last few sessions, every moral virtue that UT mentions here could also be examined in depth. That could include the intriguing exercise of looking into the original ideograms that were translated. (It would probably clarify why those virtues that are nearly synonymous in English, were nevertheless included in the UT list.) But for this article, we’ll just go with selected definitions from thefreedictionary.com (in quotes), sometimes followed by my personal observations (in parentheses):

Purity: “Freedom from spiritual or moral defilement; innocence or chastity” (This virtue is remarkably attractive to our original minds. We respond to it in nature, in plants and animals. And young people are impressed to find it in someone, given today’s amoral environments.)

Honesty: “Truthfulness; sincerity” (A person willing to speak truthfully to someone who cares about them; or because of sincere care for someone or something, even at the risk of being misunderstood and rejected.)

Righteousness: “In accordance with virtue or morality” (A person with the resolve and ability to speak out or to do the right thing in a difficult situation.)

Temperance: “Abstinence from or moderation in drinking alcoholic beverages; Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression” (A level-headed person, able to moderate their emotions and desires.)

Courage: “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution” (A person who can feel fear and yet say or do a difficult but necessary thing.)

Wisdom: “The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting” (A thoughtful person with the insight and experience to back up their words and actions.)

Endurance: “The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress” (A person who’ll persist for the sake of something important, despite weariness, discomfort or pain.)

Self-control: “Control of one’s emotions, desires, or actions by one’s own will” (A person who does not allow their emotions and desires to overcome them.)

Independence: “The state or quality of being independent… self-reliance” (A person who can reliably manage by themself when necessary.)

Self-help: “The act or an instance of helping or improving oneself without assistance from others” (A person who is resourceful enough to find their own solutions when they must.)

Fairness: “Having or exhibiting a disposition that is free of favoritism or bias; impartial…Consistent with rules, logic, or ethics” (A person who can be trusted to handle ambiguity or disagreement in an unselfish and Principled manner.)

Diligence: “Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking” (A person who’ll fulfill a responsibility or complete a task thoroughly and to the best of their ability.)

Innocence: “Freedom from sin, moral wrong, or guilt through lack of knowledge of evil. …Freedom from guile, cunning, or deceit” (Like a pure person, an innocent one is a treasured find in an amoral culture.)

Self-reliance: “Reliance on one’s own capabilities, judgment, or resources; independence”

Dignity: “The quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect. …Inherent nobility and worth” (This can come when a sincere person can see their original self and value from God’s standpoint.)

Integrity: “Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code” (A person who holds values and principles dearly and strives to act according to them.)

Etc.: As with all the ethical and moral virtues we've been discussing, there can certainly be more. But I trust that the reason these virtues are specifically named in the UT texts is that they are a crucial set to build on.⁶

I hope it’s clear how these would be true, beautiful, and good personal characteristics for us to nurture in our grandchildren.

An important detail

We've been talking about mind-body unity, but it’s important to remember that in Godism, this unity is centered on God, which is what makes it the “First Blessing”. And so filial piety to God (previously discussed as a primary vertical virtue) is deeply intertwined with moral virtue. Thus the emphasis on cultivating hyojeong within oneself, towards God.

So whereas ethical virtues—both vertical and horizontal—are avenues for the love of God to flow to each member of a family, moral virtues can also be understood as expressions of a person’s love towards God. In other words, the truest, deepest motive for striving to be a moral person would be to give comfort and joy to God. As the Principle of Creation explains, the purpose of the Three Blessings—and in this case the First one—is for joy. We would feel joy as we experience the vibrance of our inner harmony, and HP would delight in the enjoyment of our divine resemblance!

Conclusion

As indicated in Table 1 at the start of this article, UT’s Theory of Education explains that moral education is actually related to perfection of the First Blessing. Practically speaking, it results in a child becoming a person of character:

I’ll close by saying that when I taught young people at workshops, I’d ask them if they expected to automatically become fully mature and responsible when they hit the age of 21. They’d of course answer “no”. So I took that opportunity to urge them to not waste their growth and completion stages by only playing around. It’s also valuable time that they should use to develop themselves.

And now, thinking of our grandchildren, I’d say that we should ensure that they don’t waste their first 21 years aimlessly—especially their teen years onward. Let’s reflect deeply on these words:

“According to heavenly law, parents were meant to be true parents, as well as true teachers. The education that children need most is not the education of knowledge or techniques. The most important education for children is ethical and moral education. This education for life is essential and can be taught only by parents at home. Children learn, feel and resemble their parents’ most valuable examples of love and the basic order of life. Children need a model they can learn from and follow. …There is no teacher more important than parents who can show a child the correct direction in life.” • Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, Anthology Book 2, Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 3

And in the three-generation family, Heavenly Parent depends on the grandparents to point out the ultimate direction.

◀ Previous article • ❖ • Next article ▶