Sun Myung Moon
March 1, 2009
As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, Pages 61 - 65
Photo date and location unknown
When I was attending Kyeongsung Institute in Seoul, in those days, there was a streetcar line that ran from one end of the city to another. The price of a ticket was just five jeon (one jeon is the equivalent of a penny), but I didn't want to spend that money and would walk all the way into the center of the city. On hot summer days, I would be dripping with sweat as I walked, and on frigid winter days I would walk almost at a run, as if piercing my way through a bitter arctic wind.
I saved the price of a streetcar ticket and gave the money to people who needed it more than I did. It was such a small amount it was embarrassing to give it, but I gave it with a heart that desired to give a fortune. I gave it with prayer that this money would be a seed for the person to receive many blessings. Every April, my family would send me money for tuition. But I couldn't stand by and watch people around me who were in financial difficulty, so the money wouldn't even last to May. Once, when I was on my way to school, I came across a person who was so sick he seemed about die. I felt so bad for him I couldn't pass him by. I carried him on my back to a hospital about a mile and a quarter away. I had the money I intended to use to pay my tuition, so I paid the bill. However, once I paid the hospital, I had nothing left. In the following days, the school repeatedly demanded I pay my tuition. My friends felt sorry for me and took up a collection for me. I can never forget the friends who helped me through that situation.
The giving and receiving of help is a relationship that is matched in heaven. You might not realize it at time, but thinking back later, you may understand, "Oh, so that's why God sent me there at that time!" So if a person who needs your help suddenly appears before you, you should realize that Heaven sent you to give that person to help him, and then do your best. If Heaven wants you to give the person ten units of help, it won't do if you only give him five. If Heaven says to give him ten, you should give him a hundred. When helping someone, you should be ready, if necessary, to empty your wallet.
If I receive a favor, it is important to me that I repay it. If I cannot meet the person who did this for me, it is important for me to remember that person in my heart. I need to live with the sincere thought that I will repay the person by helping someone else.