Practical Economic Suggestions for Everyday Use (Part Two)
Since we do not have the Bahá’i economic system in place as yet, we may think that we cannot do anything to bring it about and we must wait for its arrival. But that is not really true. There is so much we can do as individuals, and in our communities, that is economic in nature, and we can do it without realizing that we are participating in economic activity. Our participation will set the example for the rest of the world and at the same time prepare the ground for the time when the World Commonwealth will come into being.
The Universal House of Justice reminds us that time has come to pay greater attention to our economic side of our lives and take steps to improve the economic prosperity of the world.
“Although Baha’u’llah does not set out in His Revelation a detailed economic system, a constant theme throughout the entire corpus of His teachings is the reorganization of human society. Consideration of this theme inevitably gives rise to questions of economics. Of course, the future order conceived by Baha’u’llah is far beyond anything that can be imagined by the present generation. Nevertheless, its eventual emergence will depend on strenuous effort by His followers to put His teachings into effect today. With this in mind, we hope that the comments below will stimulate thoughtful, ongoing reflection by the friends. The aim is to learn about how to participate in the material affairs of society in a way that is consistent with the divine precepts and how, in practical terms, collective prosperity can be advanced through justice and generosity, collaboration and mutual assistance.” -The Universal House of Justice, March 1, 2017
Unfortunately, money is a yardstick that we use to measure poverty, wealth, failure and success. My wish is that as we spiritually grow and expand our spiritual horizons, we will adopt a spiritual yardstick to measure our lives. Money cannot and should not be the only means of measuring our life’s achievements.
Today, more than your heart and intellect, you need the power of your imagination, because you are going to picture yourself in the future. Once you do that and grasp the beauty of peace, love and harmony and see how the sufferings and misery have been removed and man no longer has to fight to survive in his economic life, you will bring yourself back to the present and hopefully you will start making small changes in your economic activities that will lead to the fundamental changes in order to lay the foundation of a new and wonderful economic behaviour based on spirituality and not greed.
Abdu’l-Bahá often talked about very complex subjects, but He made them simple and easy to understand, and my personal belief is that economics doesn’t have to be daunting or confusing, especially when it comes to action. These suggestions are intended to be clear and straightforward to encourage you to participate in economic actions with increased awareness. They are meant for everyone, whether or not you are knowledgeable about economics. Hopefully, you may find these suggestions useful, and they will empower you to act and also help you realize what an incredible power we have as individuals to transform society in every way, including economic ways.