Man reacheth perfection through good deeds, voluntarily
performed, not through good deeds the doing of which was forced upon him. And
sharing is a personally chosen righteous act: that is, the rich should extend
assistance to the poor, they should expend their substance for the poor, but of
their own free will, and not because the poor have gained this end by force. For
the harvest of force is turmoil and the ruin of the social order. On the other
hand voluntary sharing, the freely-chosen expending of one’s substance, leadeth
to society’s comfort and peace. It lighteth up the world; it bestoweth honour
upon humankind.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
