Wealth and possessions are shackles that chain us to the fallen world. They promote greed and avarice, increasing self-centered desire. The love of money has been called “the root of all evil,” and materialism has become a great obstacle to humanity’s spiritual progress.
Traditionally, the path to God has required renunciation of wealth and attachment to material goods. Monks and nuns typically take formal vows of poverty. Yet ordinary people may live free from possessiveness, sacrificing wealth for the sake of a greater good.
Some contribute generously to charities; others forgo lucrative careers to care for a sick family member or to go on a mission to help people in need. They find peace of mind and great satisfaction having given up the anxiety of keeping and amassing material things for a life of giving and service.
Father Moon links the religious teaching of non-attachment with his philosophy of true love. He explains that God’s love begins from the foundation of non-possessiveness, while people who are attached to possessions find that their possessions get in the way of expressing love.
This principle applies not only to our relationship with God and in daily life with our loved ones, but also to the well-being of nations and this planet Earth.
Sun Myung Moon
Money as a Cause of Downfall
The love of money is the root of all evils. 1 Timothy 6.10
Woe is he… who has gathered riches and counted them over, thinking his riches have made him immortal! Qur’an 104.1-3
Do not race after riches, do not risk your life for success, or you will let slip the Heaven within you. Chuang Tzu 29 (Taoism)
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Deuteronomy 8.3, Matthew 4.4
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6.24
Riches ruin the foolish, but not those in quest of the Beyond. Through craving for riches the ignorant man ruins himself as he does others. Dhammapada 355 (Buddhism)
“I got this today,” they say; “tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too. I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am happy. I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity.” This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance.
Bound by their greed and entangled in a web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell. Bhagavad-Gita 16.13-16 (Hinduism)
When they see merchandise or diversion, they scatter off to it, and they leave you standing. Say, “What is with God is better than diversion and merchandise. God is the best of providers.” Qur’an 62.11
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let him sleep. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture; and he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil, which he may carry away in his hand. Ecclesiastes 5.10-15
The life of moneymaking is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful for the sake of something else. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.5 (Hellenism)
You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself— without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For discipline is perfect evenness of mind. Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill. Bhagavad-Gita 2.47-50 (Hinduism)
The impulse “I want” and the impulse “I’ll have”—lose them! That is where most people get stuck; without those, you can use your eyes to guide you through this suffering state. Sutta Nipata 706 (Buddhism)
Busy not yourself with this world, for with fire we test gold, and with gold we test our servants. Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic 54 (Bahá’i Faith)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Money can be ugly. It can be filthier than dung. People do not become evil because they are soiled with dung, but people who misuse money become wicked—filthier than dung. So I try not to use money for myself. I try to give all of it to others. (381:304, June 17, 2002)
Money can provide you with the things you desire: women, food, good clothes, and a fine house. Certainly we need money, yet money also can be a problem. When you have money, do you want to employ it to love others, or employ it to amass power? We need money, but it should be used to benefit the whole and to realize love. (116:18, December 1, 1981)
Power, wealth and knowledge, which worldly people ordinarily desire, are not the necessary and sufficient conditions for peace and happiness. True happiness is not proportional to how much property you own, nor is it obtained by multiplying external comforts.
The only sure way to obtain genuine peace and limitless happiness is to live for others and give to others with true love; when those deeds go around they will return to you. (294:68, June 11, 1998)
In creating the world as His object partner, God had no concept of possession. If a person has the concept that he owns things, then he cannot give more than he has. If he owns things worth one hundred dollars, he cannot give more than one hundred dollars’ worth of things.
On the contrary, God creates by investing and forgetting, investing and forgetting. God can invest infinitely because he has no concept of self. Do you understand this principle?
A person cannot be conscious of self when investing for his or her counterpart. To think, “This money is for me to use. This is my portion,” is Satan’s way of thinking. (287:265, 971005)
Humankind longs for a world of peace, free from war and suffering. Yet it is difficult to be hopeful when the traditional authority of national leaders and religions are supplanted by a “money solves all” mentality, which is utterly insufficient in the face of youth decline, family breakdown, drugs and AIDS. 294:61, June 11, 1998)
The world’s developed nations, while seeking for the ultimate material civilization, have fallen into its trap. Obsession for material wealth dominates the mind and spirit; the human soul has become the slave of matter.
The result is a collapse of true love. Although cities are lined with skyscrapers and the people enjoy material abundance, the lives of city-dwellers have become like a barren desert. In such desolation, an oasis of true love is nowhere to be found. Without true love, our society is a breeding ground for selfishness.
The most grievous victim of this selfishness is nature. The natural environment is devastated, the water and air are polluted, and even the ozone layer, which has been protecting humanity, is damaged. If this situation continues unchecked, humanity will reach the point where it cannot escape self-destruction, all due to the material civilization it has erected for itself.
The twenty-first century is the time to return to the original world that God desires. The age of material civilization will give way to an era of spiritual civilization, where spirit and mind are ascendant. The twenty-first century will arrive in just five years.
At this juncture it is my earnest desire that developing countries do not repeat the same mistake of developed nations and fall into the trap of material civilization, but take a lesson from them and dash into a world where the mind and spirit rule. (271:95-96, August 23, 1995)
Sun Myung Moon
Giving Away One’s Wealth and Finding Contentment with Little
Jesus said to [the rich young man], “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will by hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19.21-24
If beings knew, as I know, the fruit of sharing gifts, they would not enjoy their use without sharing them, nor would the taint of stinginess obsess the heart and stay there. Even if it were their last bit, their last morsel of food, they would not enjoy its use without sharing it, if there were anyone to receive it. Itivuttaka 18 (Buddhism)
Who is rich? He that rejoices in his portion.17 Mishnah, Avot 4.1 (Judaism)
Other people live to eat, but I eat to live. Socrates18 (Hellenism)
The Great Man—his face and form blend with the Great Unity, the Great Unity which is selfless. Being selfless, how can he look upon possession as possession? Chuang Tzu 11 (Taoism)
Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. Socrates (Hellenism)
Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Philippians 4.11-13
And he [Jesus] called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two… He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. Mark 6.7-9
This is the way of Torah: A morsel with salt shall you eat and water by measure shall you drink; and you shall lie upon the earth, and you shall live a life of hardship, and labor in the Torah. If you do thus, happy shall you be and it shall be well with you. Mishnah, Avot 6.4 (Judaism)
The Master said, “Incomparable was Hui! A handful of rice to eat, a gourdful of water to drink, living on a mean street—others would have found it unendurably depressing, but to Hui’s cheerfulness, it made no difference at all. Incomparable indeed was Hui!” Analects 6.9 (Confucianism)
Brothers should appropriate neither house, nor place, nor anything for themselves; and they should go confidently after alms, serving God in poverty and humility, as pilgrims and strangers in this world. Nor should they feel ashamed, for God made Himself poor in this world for us. This is the peak of the highest poverty which has made you, my dearest brothers, heirs and kings of the kingdom of heaven, poor in things but rich in virtues. Let this be your portion. It leads into the land of the living and, adhering totally to it, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ wish never to have anything else in this world, beloved brothers. Rule of Saint Francis (Christianity)
When we were sitting with God’s Messenger in the mosque, Musab ibn Umair came to us wearing only a cloak of his patched with fur. When God’s Messenger saw him, he wept to think of his former affluence. He then said, “How will it be with you when one of you goes out in the morning wearing a mantle and goes out in the evening wearing another, when one dish is placed before him and another removed, and you cover your houses as the Kaaba is covered?” On receiving the reply, “Messenger of God, we shall then be better than we are today, having leisure for worship and possessing all we require,” he said, “No, you are better today than you will be at that time.” Hadith of Tirmidhi (Islam)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
The wealth we have belongs to Heaven. It belongs to God. It belongs to those who are living for the sake of others. Therefore, let us not use our wealth for personal benefit. Otherwise, we shall perish. (399:18, December 18, 2002)
Is that handkerchief in your pocket yours? No, it does not belong to you. You think it belongs to you, but you are mistaken. You are mistaken if you think that your house belongs to you, and the land under your name.
You are mistaken if you think that husband, wife, sons and daughters are your husband, your wife, and your children, and therefore you may treat them as you please.
That concept of ownership is an evil way of thinking, which arose after the Human Fall. We did not know it, but behind the scenes, God has been working for thousands of years to straighten it out. Therefore, for our part, we have to deny ownership. We should give up the idea that we own anything of God’s creation. (293:172, May 26, 1998)
You should be willing to offer [to God] all your possessions without any reservation. You should be willing to burn them all, and then burn even the altar as a burnt offering.
You should not feel that you are qualified to own even your personal belongings. Then, after you finish fulfilling the role of a high priest, you will reap the fruits of all your offerings. Heaven will prepare them for you.19 (342:227, January 12, 2001)
God will remember and love the person who would gather up all of America’s wealth and give it to Africa. (91:24, January 16, 1977)
When you amass wealth, do not think about using it to benefit your children. Before bequeathing it to your children, you should devote it for the sake of the world. After all, your children should live for the sake of the world.
Therefore, your priority should be to offer your wealth to the world; then you can provide for your children.
God will bless you and your family if you have a heart to provide for your family members only after offering your wealth to your people and nation. Do not worry that your children will go without; God will feed them and care for them. (26:52-53, October 18, 1969)
Money is the result. Yet everyone is concerned about money without looking behind it at its cause. Why do we need money? We do not need it just to eat and live; we need it to connect with the purpose of the cause and to connect with the world.
Nevertheless, people do not have such a concept. Although they are resultant beings, people do not recognize that their purpose, and the purpose of their money, is to make the Causal Being happy.
If they did, they would understand that they should use their money to serve their parents, to share with their siblings and relatives, and to benefit their nation and the world. This is a universal law.
If your nation is pleased that you are wealthy, and if your parents and siblings are pleased as well, then you can freely enjoy your wealth. Wherever you go, everyone will be pleased.
But if others are resentful of your money while you alone are pleased with it, then you are bound to decline. From this perspective, business conglomerates that operate based on pragmatism, amassing great profits on the backs of their workers, will surely decline. They will be punished by Heaven. (117:101-02, February 14, 1982)
Moses lived in the opulent palace of the Pharaoh, but he belittled it, saying, “So what?” and thought more of his people. Therefore, he could become the leader of his people. (Way of God’s Will 1.3)
People in the everyday world can purchase a home, appliances, furniture, and live a comfortable life just by working eight hours a day. We Unificationists work 24 hours a day, yet we do not own our own homes and barely have enough money to live on. My goodness!
We are like beggars. Do you realize that we are different from the world? We are 180 degrees different. Yet under these circumstances, are we in despair? No, we live in hope. That is our pride. (107:83, April 6, 1980)
Sun Myung Moon