A worldly life is incompatible with the path to God. To seek after pleasure, wealth, fame, and material comforts inevitably distracts from pursuing a spiritual purpose.
More than harmless distractions, such worldly passions and attachments drag the soul to hell. Hence, scriptures contain numerous admonitions to avoid conforming to the world and its values.
Wise men and women regard worldly achievement as an illusion. They do not delight in worldly pleasures, but devote themselves to God’s will. At all times, they seek to remain detached from worldly thoughts and sense impressions.
They measure achievement by spiritual progress rather than by the standards of worldly success. In some religions, separation from the world is achieved by physical isolation in a monastic community.
More often the boundaries are invisible, enforced by moral suasion and church discipline. For people who are “in the world but not of the world,” their lives may appear outwardly ordinary, yet the inner content of their lives is quite different, without attachment to the world’s prevailing values.
Sun Myung Moon
Not Conforming to the Ways of the World
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12.2
As a sweet-smelling, lovely lotus may grow upon a heap of rubbish thrown by the highway, even so a disciple of the Fully Enlightened One outshines the ignorant worldly people in wisdom. Dhammapada 58-59 (Buddhism)
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16.26
A man came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do it, will cause Allah to love me and people to love me.” He said, “Renounce the world and Allah will love you; renounce what people possess and people will love you.” Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 31 (Islam)
Do not serve mean ends. Do not live in heedlessness. Do not embrace false views. Do not be one who upholds the world. Dhammapada 167 (Buddhism)
A complete disregard for all worldly things, perfect contentment, abandonment of hope of every kind, and patience—these constitute the highest good of one who has subjugated his senses and acquired knowledge of Self. No need to attach yourself to things of this world. Attachment to worldly objects is productive of evil. Mahabharata, Santi Parva 329 (Hinduism)
Stagnation: To conserve his stock of virtue, the superior man withdraws into himself and thus escapes from the evil influences around him. He declines all temptations of honor and riches. I Ching 12 (Confucianism)
The sage patterns himself on Heaven, prizes the Truth, and does not allow himself to be cramped by the vulgar. The stupid man does the opposite of this. He is unable to pattern himself on Heaven and instead frets over human concerns. He does not know enough to prize the Truth but instead, plodding along with the crowd, he allows himself to be changed by vulgar ways, and so is never content. Chuang Tzu 31 (Taoism)
He who has found the Mother [Tao] And thereby understands her sons [things of the world], And having understood the sons, Still keeps to its Mother, Will be free from danger throughout his lifetime. Close the mouth, Shut the doors [of cunning and desire], And to the end of life there will be peace without toil. Open the mouth, Meddle with affairs, And to the end of life there will be no salvation.21 Tao Te Ching 52 (Taoism) Vimalakirti wore the white clothes of a layman, yet lived impeccably like a religious devotee. He lived at home, but remained aloof from the realm of desire, the realm of pure matter, and the immaterial realm. He had a son, a wife, and female attendants, yet always maintained continence. He appeared to be surrounded by servants, yet lived in solitude. He appeared to be adorned with ornaments, yet was always endowed with the auspicious signs and marks. He seemed to eat and drink, yet always took nourishment from the taste of meditation. He made his appearance at the fields of sports and in the casinos, but his aim was always to mature those people who were attached to games and gambling… He engaged in all sorts of businesses, yet had no interest in profit or possessions. To train living beings, he would appear at crossroads and on street corners, and to protect them he participated in government. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 2 (Buddhism)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
If you still carry relationships with the self-centered, fallen world, you cannot walk the way of God’s purpose and Will. (21:102, November 17, 1968)
The secular world covets wealth, knowledge, and power as the most important things. However, these three things cannot connect you to God. What connects you to God? True love. (270:308, July 23, 1995)
In this world, what people most admire are fakes. Therefore, the genuine article does not come before you straightforwardly. It may appear to you as upside-down… Would you welcome a person who walked on his hands with his feet in the air? Maybe so, but at least he is whole.
Would you still welcome him if he were really malformed? Therefore, the Bible teaches that those who seek to die will live and those who seek to live will die. It means that those who seek to perish will succeed and those who seek to succeed will perish; those who think they are foolish are eminent and those who think they are eminent are foolish; those who seek to live a difficult life will be wealthy and those who seek to live a wealthy life will be beset by difficulties. (102:251, January 14, 1979)
You should possess an earnest heart, rooted in the eternal world beyond time and space. With such a heart, you should be able to endure, overcoming worldly labors, hardships, and even the fear of death.
To gain victory on your individual path, you should be able to deny all attachments, despise all pain, and walk forward with dignity. (7:97, July 19, 1959)
We will not trade our commitment to God for any amount of gold or all the power in the world. We will not sell ourselves for money, power or women. We are not so cheap. Rather than lead a treacherous life on a worldly throne, I prefer to be unchanging and live as a beggar. (124:253, February 20, 1983)
Give up your desire for material possessions, your hopes for your children, your love for your spouse, and even your self-love. Do not hold on to these attachments; then you can go beyond the world. Only when you cut off every element within yourself that is conducive to ambition and to human attachments can you become an offering for the sake of the world. (2:118, March 10, 1957)
Those who cherish their worldly situation and relationships cannot avoid the judgment of the Last Days. To avoid judgment, you must turn away from the world and escape its ways.
You should not follow worldly trends. For this reason, religions teach: “Abandon the world!” “Cut off all relationships with the world!” “Do not associate with the world!” “Don’t compromise with the world!” “Cut yourself off from the world!” “Deny the world and seek higher awareness!” Only people who follow this path will see the dawning of a new ideal.
By not compromising with the world, religion cultivates the determination to go beyond the mistakes of the past, press forward in the present, and break through to a new future. (21:136-37, November 17, 1968)
People who have inherited the satanic lineage characteristically put themselves first. America these days, despite its Christian cultural roots, has become a nation of individualism.
With so-called secular humanism, people are confused about their direction in life and seek happiness by external stimulation.
What are the consequences? They fall off the cliff as lepers. Men and women love and cuddle with each other day and night, but they are bound to acquire AIDS, wither, and fall. (187:241, February 11, 1989)
Sun Myung Moon
Denial of Worldly Comforts and Pleasures
Come behold this world, which is like unto an ornamented royal chariot, wherein fools flounder, but for the wise, there is no attachment. Dhammapada 171 (Buddhism)
Pleasure lies in gold, silver, women, and delicate objects; Pleasure lies in mounts, soft beds, mansions, and attractions of the palate. With all such pleasures, how may the Name find place in the mind? Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.1, p. 25 (Sikhism)
Hillel used to say, “More flesh, more worms; more wealth more care; more women more witchcraft; more maidservants more lewdness; more menservants more thieving; more Torah more life; more assiduity more wisdom; more counsel more understanding; more charity more peace.” Mishnah, Avot 2.8 (Judaism)
The streams of this world are dirty and its springs are turbid. Its window dressing and its show is beautiful but destructive. It is a quickly ending deception, a speedily fad- ing light, a hurrying shade, and a weak and unreliable protection. It is so deceptive that it waits till those who abhor it start taking interest in it, and those who do not know its deception are attracted by it, and are satisfied with it, then it shows scanty regard for them, it snares and captivates them, and tying the rope of death round their necks drags them to their graves. Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 86 (Shiite Islam)
From endearment springs grief, from endear- ment springs fear; for him who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, much less fear. From affection springs grief, from affection springs fear; for him who is wholly free from affection there is no grief, much less fear. From attachment springs grief, from attachment springs fear; for him who is wholly free from attachment there is no grief, much less fear. From lust springs grief, from lust springs fear; for him who is wholly free from lust there is no grief, much less fear. From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear; for him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief, much less fear. Dhammapada 212-16 (Buddhism)
But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them. Ephesians 5.3-7
“And ye shall be holy unto me, for I, the Lord, am holy” [Leviticus 20.26]. Even as I am holy, so be you holy. As I am separate, so you be separate. And “I have severed you from the other peoples that you should be mine” [idem.]. If you sever yourselves from the other peoples, then you belong to me; but if not, then you belong to Nebuchadnezzar and his fellows.” Rabbi Eliezer said, “How can we know that a man must not say, ‘I have no desire to eat pig, I have no desire to have intercourse with a woman whom I may not marry’; but he must say, ‘Yes, I would like to do these acts, but what can I do? My Father who is in heaven has forbidden them.’ Because it says, ‘I have severed you from among the nations to be mine.’ He who is separated from iniquity receives to himself the Kingdom of Heaven.” Sifra 93d (Judaism)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
The things of this evil world do not lead us to the gate of happiness; rather they drive us into the snares of death. (47:49, August 19, 1971)
Heaven’s emotions are in contradiction with humanistic emotions. God does not dwell where people are comfortable, and people must negate themselves to be in accord with Heaven. This is a fact. Therefore, a religion that accommodates itself to the world does not last long. (51:187, November 21, 1971)
In this world where good and evil are ever in opposition, your body pulls you to become evil while your mind pulls you to be good. Hence your mind cannot completely control the body, and you are caught in the middle, constantly going back and forth.
You are better off following a religion that places God’s will as absolute; then you can go to a place that is separated from the satanic world. Leave this world beset by the opposition of good and evil, and live a life of putting goodness first in a separated realm. If you practice such a life, then you will live eternally in the good sovereignty in the spirit world. (36:82, November 15, 1970)
In order to accomplish your responsibility, you should stand firm, denying everything that has an emotional connection with Satan—Satan’s love, Satan’s recognition, and Satan’s lineage. Why?
When Adam was walking the course to fulfill his portion of responsibility, he carried with him all of Satan’s emotions.
That is why he failed. What about you? In seeking to accomplish your portion of responsibility, have you cut off all your emotional attachments to Satan’s world? No, you have not been able to cut them off.
Can you accomplish your responsibility without cutting them off? No, you cannot. That is why you must deny yourself. (139:250, January 31, 1986)
Pioneers and people who move history do not seek worldly pleasures. They have the spirit of an explorer who strives to overcome every obstacle on the way to his goal, the promised destination. (7:87, July 19, 1959)
We should be eternally different from the satanic world. We should be 180 degrees opposite. Furthermore, we should have nothing to do with alcohol, drugs, free sex, and homosexuality.
Instead, we should be indignant that Satan has destroyed countless good people through these evils, utilizing false love to leave a trail of sorrow through history.
We should be indignant that Satan has compelled Heaven to make countless sacrifices. (244:148-49, February 1, 1993)
Many American parents encourage their children to date and worry about them if they do not. On the other hand, I teach, “Do not date! Do not touch women!” Whose teaching is more in line with Heaven? (122:263, November 21, 1982)
Sun Myung Moon