The primary way that most people contribute to society is through their labor. We spend our adult lives working to provide for our families and ourselves, yet before we receive any benefit, our labor adds to the overall wealth of the nation.
Furthermore, labor is one way by which we take after God, the Maker of heaven and earth. God created us to find satisfaction in our labor and to enjoy its fruits. By our work, we become co-creators with Him.
No society can be prosperous unless its members are educated to have a work ethic and have the opportunity to better themselves through their labor. A practical function of religion is to encourage the virtues that make for economic success: industry, thrift, dependability, responsibility and integrity in the workplace, and the love of one’s job.
Although certain religious traditions exalt a life of poverty and mendicancy above a productive life of work, most traditions promote honest work and self-sufficiency, even for members of the clergy.
Although most religions reject a life devoted solely to worldly profit, they value work as having divine approval when its gains are spent appropriately—in serving others, charity and proper worship.
01All Work Is Sacred and in the Service of Heaven
Work is worship. Virashaiva Proverb (Hinduism)
Great is labor; it confers honor on the laborer. Talmud, Nedarim 49b (Judaism)
Abu Hurayrah said, “While we were with the Prophet a young man appeared. We said, ‘This young man should sacrifice his youth, energy and strength to worship Allah.’ The Prophet heard what we had said and replied, ‘Nothing is in the way of Allah except that a man be slain in the way of Allah, or a man feed his parents, or a man feed his family, or a man strive to support himself. These are in the way of Allah.’” Hadith of al-Soyouti14 (Islam)
How can he become wise who handles the plow… the smith sitting by the anvil… [or] the potter sitting at his work?… All these rely upon their hands, and each is skillful in his own work. Without them a city cannot be established, and men can neither sojourn or live there. Although they are not sought out for the council of the people, nor attain eminence in the public assembly… They keep stable the fabric of the world, and their prayer is in the practice of their trade. Ecclesiasticus 38.25-34 (Christianity)
A favorite saying of the rabbis of Yavneh was: I am God’s creature and my peasant neighbor is God’s creature. My work is in the town and his work is in the country. I rise early for my work and he rises early for his work. Just as he does not presume to do my work, so I do not presume to do his work. Will you say, I do much and he does little? We have learned, “One may do much or one may do little; it is all the same, provided he directs his heart to Heaven.” Talmud, Berakot 17a (Judaism)
All appointments are from Heaven, even that of a janitor. Talmud, Baba Batra 91b (Judaism)
Love work and hate lordship. Mishnah, Avot 1.10 (Judaism)
The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every craft… And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereon, and all the furnishings of the tent.” Exodus 31.1-8
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Whatever I do on earth, even working in a factory, is material to enrich my eternal life. (216:127-28, March 9, 1991)
You should not be halfhearted about your work. If you are, you will never amount to more than an errand boy, and an errand boy can never establish himself. So, when you work, you should invest all of your heart in it.
Think that you were born for the work, as if it were your eternal spouse. In order to make the relationship with your spouse absolute and eternal, it requires investing and forgetting, investing and forgetting. Likewise, only by your investment will you form an absolute relationship with your work. (330:117-18, August 14, 2000)
Economic activity sets up a relationship between the worker and the materials he works with. You should love the things you make and sell; they are your object partners. By doing business with them and loving them, you impute to them a value equal to yourself.
Thus, if you are worth 100, then each product of your business will also be worth 100. If you are worth 1,000, then your product—even a small, inexpensive pocketbook—will be worth 1,000.
Why does a fountain pen that once belonged to a famous person sell for thousands of dollars at auction? Even though it was for his casual use, it holds that person’s love as his object partner, which imputes to it his great value. (102:126, November 27, 1978)
Rather than regarding an industry as important, we should place greater value on the people who work in that industry. Rather than regarding science as important, we should place greater value on the scientists.
Rather than regarding art as important, we should place greater value on the artists. But what is the current trend? An industry is valued, but not its workers; science is valued, but not its scientists; art is valued, but not artists; diplomacy is valued, but not diplomats.
The human beings in each field are devalued. What happened to the people? They have been devalued. (99:116; September 10, 1978)
This morning at the opening of the Washington, D.C. church, [its director] Col. Bo Hi Pak was probably happy, but I was not. Why? It is because we purchased a church building that had been built by others.
It would have been better if we ourselves had built this church from scratch. The Mormons who built this church cut slabs of marble from mountains more than 9,000 feet high and carried them here.
You worked for about two months repairing and painting the building, but it took the Mormons three years when they first built it. I wish that you would have invested greater love and effort than the Mormons, but as it is, how can you compare your devotion to this building to theirs?
You who worked refurbishing the building, do you think you are better than them? You say yes, but are you confident that God, who knows the building’s history, would agree with you? I had another thought when I walked into the building. The Mormons built this building with lots of energy and hard work, but then they sold it. They abandoned it and then went out and built a new temple.
The important question is: did they put more heart, tears and sweat into building their new and bigger temple than their forbearers did for this church long ago, or did they just put up money and give the plans to a contractor to build it? Did they build it with their money, or with their heart, sweat and labor?
That is an important question, though they do not know it. Put yourself in the position of God. Would He rather dwell in a big new marble temple or in a small and humble temple that was built by the members’ labor and devotion? To God, the size of the building means nothing. Whether it is beautiful or plain means nothing.
From this perspective, God would rather be in this building than in the newly built Mormon Temple. If you, Unification Church members, are more sincere and dedicated than the present-day Mormons, if you are actively taking responsibility to save this city, then surely God will continue dwelling in this place that has a tradition of dedicated believers—the Mormons of old—who worshiped Him here with rejoicing. With this in mind, I entered this building. (95:254-55, December 4, 1977)
02The Virtues of Industry, Hard Work, and Self-Reliance
Let one practice here good industry; let one make the needy prosperous. Avesta, Visparad 15.1 (Zoroastrianism)
When the prayer is finished, scatter in the land and seek God’s bounty, and remember God frequently, that you may prosper. Qur’an 62.10 Idleness is the enemy of the soul. The Benedictine Rule (Christianity)
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond, and want like an armed man. Proverbs 6.6-11
Weeping is not the answer to poverty; a lazy man who is hungry has no one to blame but himself. There is no place where one cannot achieve greatness; only the lazy prospers nowhere. There is no place that does not suit me, O Divinity! Yoruba Proverbs (African Traditional Religion)
He who says, “It is too hot, too cold, too late!” Leaving the waiting work unfinished still, Lets pass all opportunities for good. But he who reckons heat and cold as straws And like a man does all that’s to be done, He never falls away from happiness. Digha Nikaya 3.185 (Buddhism)
Life is sweet for the self-reliant worker. Ecclesiasticus 40.18 (Christianity)
When you eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Psalm 128.2
We were not idle when we were with you, we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you. It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone will not work, let him not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living. Thessalonians 3.8-12
The little that one produces [oneself] with a broken hoe is better than the plenty that another gives you. Buji Proverb (African Traditional Religion)
One who claims to be a saint And goes about begging— Touch not his feet! He whose livelihood is earned through work, And part given away in charity— Such a one, Nanak, truly knows the way to God. Adi Granth, Var Sarang, M.1, p. 1245 (Sikhism)
The person who extends a loan to the needy is greater than the one who gives charity, and one who associates a poor person with him in business enabling him to earn for himself is greater than all the others. Talmud, Shabbat 63a (Judaism)
A clansman has wealth acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten. At the thought, “Wealth is mine acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten,” bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This is called “the bliss of ownership.” A clansman by means of wealth acquired by energetic striving… both enjoys his wealth and does meritorious deeds therewith. At the thought, “By means of wealth acquired… I both enjoy my wealth and do meritorious deeds,” bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This is called “the bliss of wealth.” Anguttara Nikaya 2.68 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
“You wealthy families, I see you drinking and dancing, enjoying yourself like the grasshopper in the fable. Meanwhile, I will work so hard that my waistline will shrink like that of the ant.
Go ahead, you grasshoppers! Keep singing, dancing, and joking around! I will be the ant who keeps digging until I have built my own house and produced enough dirt to cover your graves.” If this is your attitude and way of life, you will revive the souls in hell and become kings and queens of the Heavenly Kingdom. (339:146, December 10, 2000)
Hard labor relieves insomnia and stress; it is especially good for people who spend their time only thinking. If you office workers were to do even a day’s labor at the construction site, it would relieve all your stress.
If you cannot sleep because of stress, I recommend you go down into a tunnel and work there, digging the tunnel for several days. Then you will have no problem sleeping. (230:168, May 1, 1992)
If you are a large tree, many birds will build their nests in your branches. Therefore, when you walk around soiled with dung, you should keep your internal dignity. Be a superb person who can dance pleasantly to the rhythm of the universe. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)
We should experience fun in everything that we do. Farming should be fun; plowing with sweat running down our faces should be fun; carrying heavy things should be fun, too. I did all kinds of labor. As long as we are in harmony with nature and deal with every situation and relationship we face, we can succeed at just about anything. (355:96, October 3, 2001)
You need money to succeed in your mission. No one will give it to you; you have to make it with your own hands. I built the worldwide foundation for this movement with my own hands; no one did it for me.
Even if I were a castaway on a deserted island, I could survive. I know what mushrooms are edible, which herbs are good to eat, and which are poisonous. If I have a string and a hook, I can make a fishing pole and catch as many fish as I need.
I know how to be self-sufficient wherever I go. My educational philosophy is that before you reach your thirties, you should be trained to be as self-sufficient as I am. (117:24-25, January 30, 1982)
There is no work that I, Sun Myung Moon, cannot do. In a mine, I become a miner and endure the hardships there. It may be difficult, but I think that even in that mine I have to fulfill God’s will. I once lived among thieves deep in the mountains. I did not participate in their thievery, but I found a way to survive there.
On the ocean, I am a fisherman’s fisherman. In the field, I am a farmer’s farmer. Wherever I may be on this planet, I am a man who is capable of making a solid foundation within three weeks with my bare hands. (273:305, October 29, 1995)
Those who want to live off the government’s welfare benefits will never prosper, no matter how many years may pass. People who are indebted to others can never be more than servants.
Rather, you should spend your life on earth helping others. If you have helped others in this life, then when you cross over to the next world, you will arrive at a high realm.
However, those who live for their own sake, who prefer to receive rather than to give, and who are in debt to others will end up in the dark regions of hell. (248:98, August 1, 1993)
END OF BOOK CHAPTER