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.Neither have I placed property in my wife’s name or in the names of my
children so as to conceal its true ownership. Every adult Korean has his
official stamp that he registers with the government and uses to sign
legal documents. I don’t have such a stamp.
You may wonder, then, what benefit I have received from working
hard and not eating or sleeping while others ate and slept. 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. If we have a sleeping bag, that is enough for us to sleep anywhere.
What is important is not how we live but the kind of life we
lead. Material affluence is not a condition for happiness. It is sad to me
that the phrase to live well has come to be defined in terms of material
affluence. To live well means to live a life that has meaning.
I wear a necktie only for worship services or special events. I don’t
wear a suit often, either. I generally wear a sweater when I am at home.
I sometimes imagine how much money is spent on neckties in Western
societies. Necktie pins, dress shirts, and cuff links are very expensive.
If everyone stopped buying neckties and used the money instead for
the sake of our neighbors who suffer from hunger, the world would be
a little bit better place to live. Expensive things are not necessarily the
best to have. Imagine what it would be like if the building were on fire.
Who would be the first to get out: Me in my sweater or some guy in a
tie? I’m always ready to run outside.
Some people might think I take conservation to extremes. I’m not
in favor of taking a bath every day. Once every three days is enough. I
also don’t wash my socks every day. In the evening, I take off my socks
and put them in my back pocket so that I can wear them again the next
day. When I am in a hotel, I use only the smallest of the towels that are
hanging in the bathroom. I flush the toilet only after I have urinated in
it three times. I use only a single square of toilet paper, after folding it
in half three times. I don’t care if you call me uncivilized or barbaric for
this. The same desire to conserve is true at mealtime. I have no interest
in elaborate meals. There may be all sorts of exotic foods and different
types of desserts in front of me, but I am not interested in those. I don’t
fill my rice bowl completely. It’s enough if it is three-fifths full.
The shoes I prefer most in Korea cost 49,000 won (about $40) at a
large discount store. The pants I wear every day are well over five years
old. The meal I enjoy the most in America is McDonald’s. Some people
call it junk food and don’t eat it, but I like eating at McDonald’s for two
reasons. It’s cheap, and it saves time. When I take the children out to
eat, we often go to McDonald’s. I don’t know how it came to be known
that I often go to McDonald’s, but now the chairman of the McDonald’s
Corporation sends me a New Year’s greeting card every year.
The message that I give to our members every year is “Spend money
carefully, and conserve on everything.” I tell them they should drink
water instead of buying ice cream or soft drinks. I don’t tell them this so
they can save money and become rich. I want them 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. I plan to give away everything I have built
up during my life before leaving this world. 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.
There is a song that I have always liked to sing. It’s an old popular
song that many Koreans know. Every time I sing this song it sets my
heart at ease and tears come to my eyes. It reminds me of my boyhood
when I used to lie in the fields near home.
You may say you will give me a crown with platinum and jewels,
But a shirt smelling of dirt and dripping with sweat is worth more.
A pure heart wells up within my bosom,
I can make a flute out of willow leaves,
And the sparrows sing along with my tune.
You may say you will give me enough gold to buy the world,
But an ox that will till the soil in a barley field is worth more.
The buds of hope sprout in my bosom,
I can talk freely with the rabbits,
And the days go by as I play my tune.
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.
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