Happy Labor Day!
We celebrate Labor Day, a federal holiday since 1894, on the first Monday of September as we reflect on the immense contributions of workers to our country.
The extraordinary legacy of our True Parents is underscored by faith, perseverance, and hard work. From tending to chores and family responsibilities throughout childhood, to publicly serving the world through the Unification movement and numerous global peace-building efforts, True Parents highlighted the value of every person and their personal contribution to society. They emphasized working hard with the heart to happily serve and care for others.
Below is an excerpt from True Father’s autobiography, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen (2009), in which he shares about the great benefits and blessings of our labor.
Excerpt:
People say I am one of the richest people in the world, but they don’t know what they are talking about. I have worked hard all my life, but I don’t own so much as a single house in my name ... I didn’t work so I could be rich. Money has no meaning to me. Any money not used for the sake of humanity, or for the sake of my neighbor who is dying in poverty, is nothing more than a piece of paper.
Money earned through hard work should always be used to love the world and carry out projects that benefit the world. When I send missionaries overseas, I don’t give them a lot of money. Yet they survive wherever they go. It takes very little for us to support ourselves ... To live well means to live a life that has meaning ... I want [our members] to have a consciousness of conserving in order to help the country and save humanity. We don’t take anything with us when we leave this world. Everyone knows this, and yet for some reason people are desperate to get their hands on as many things as possible.
The Heavenly Kingdom has plenty of treasure, and there is no need to take anything there from this world. When we understand that we are going to a place that is better than where we are now, there is no need to become attached to the things of this world ... Happiness is always waiting for us. The reason we can’t get happiness is that our own desires block the way. As long as our eyes are fixed on our desires, they cannot see the path we should follow. We are so busy trying to pick up the scraps of gold lying on the ground near us that we do not see the huge pile of gold that is a little way up the road. We are so busy stuffing things into our pockets that we don’t realize that there are holes in those pockets.
I have not forgotten what it was like to live in Heungnam Prison. Even the most terrible place in this world is more comfortable and more materially abundant than Heungnam Prison. Every object belongs to Heaven. We are only its stewards ... Live shedding sweat for earth, tears for humanity, and blood for heaven. There are no lies in the blood, sweat, and tears that people shed. There is only truth. There is no meaning, however, in the blood, sweat, and tears that a person sheds for his own sake. This great investment must be shed for the sake of others.
You can learn more about the history of Labor Day here, and get your copy of True Father’s autobiography available here.