Claim. Children inherit a life of faith not from instruction but from observing parents who arrive early, prepare devotedly, and treat church anniversaries as their own — so parents who skip pledge, devotion, and Sunday service forfeit their capacity to influence their children at all.
Elaboration. SMM ties parental example directly to children’s outcomes: “How can we call such people followers of God’s will? No matter how well they make excuses, they are living a private-minded life, not a public-minded one. There is nothing we can hope for or expect from such people” (2.1. A family life of faith educates the children, 31-271, 1970.6.4). Arriving early is doctrinal: “Blessed families… should arrive before the church service starts and create an atmosphere of grace for the many types of people who will attend… The number of such members determines the development of the church” (ibid). The pledge-service standard is unconditional — “You cannot expect your children to grow well if you do not even hold morning Pledge service or devotion time and go to Sunday service. Therefore, you should establish the four-position foundation centering upon True Parents” (ibid, 21-87, 1968.11.3). The model is exemplary, not lectured: “Parents should set a good example in their life of faith. In the family, they should show their children how fervently they practice all aspects of a life of faith” (ibid, 31-269, 1970.6.4). The implication: education-by-example is the only education that propagates.