Part Three of Three

Laws for the People of the World

But laws for the nations are not enough, because unless the people become better citizens and live a more God-like life, we shall not have a world of peaceful citizens. We must realize that from now on we are not just citizens of our own country, but, “world citizens” as well, and that whatever affects the people in some other land affects us, too. Some of the Teachings for the spiritual improvement and character development of the individual, as revealed by Baha’u’llah, are:

4. Obedience. Unless one is obedient to the Laws of God, he will find himself in trouble. Just as surely as he becomes ill when he disobeys the laws of health and right living, so man will become sick and troubled both mentally and physically when he does not obey the Laws of God. The great reason for the wars and upheavals in the world today, the strikes, the riots, the calamities, are due to the failure of mankind to obey the Laws of God. Each person always seems to think that his own way is right, and he continues to do what he wishes until he gets into trouble. Then he calls to God for help and wonders why he doesn’t find himself suddenly in a beautiful paradise. Besides obeying the Laws of nations, and personal Laws for this age, we must obey the rule of the majority. For instance, if a group of people get together and discuss something they want to do, they should finally come to agreement because more than half of the people come to the same conclusion. Once this conclusion has been reached, all of the people should follow it, even though they may not have voted in favor of the decision, and still feel that their own ideas were right. By following the rule of the majority even thought they may not agree with it, the whole group will see in a shorter time whether or not the decision was correct, and meanwhile there will be a united effort towards the fulfillment of the project.

5. Prayer and Action. How often have we prayed, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and how often have we gone out that very same day and done something we know was contrary to all of the teachings of the Prophets? As long as we do this we cannot expect to have the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Instead, we must learn to pray each day, asking God to help us to do what He wishes us to do. For this purpose Baha’u’llah has revealed daily obligatory prayers. For He says that prayer is both obligatory and indispensable. In the same way that our bodies need food each day in order to be healthy and strong, our souls, the most important part of us, need spiritual food in order to grow. And that food comes through prayer and meditation. After we pray, we should sit and think about the Words of God, and how we can apply them to our every-day life. Then we must practice those wonderful things about which we have just been thinking. For it is one thing to think of a nice way in which to please our parents and friends, but it is even better to really get busy and do that which will please them.

By Marguerite True