I was reading on another site about the Bahá'í faith and came upon a statement, which read: "All of humanity suffer when one commits wrong, and all benefit when one does good. The best often suffer the most for humanity's misdeeds." Can you help me understand what this means?
2007-03-01 07:53:24 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
this is also a jewish idea. wrong being not sin in the christian aspect of the word, but better translated as a missed opportunity for good. basically means that the more you take responsibility for helping others, the better the world is. it's about not leaving the wrongs of the world to be fixed by others, and it's about realizing how much power you have to effect both positive and negative change. you have perhaps had people in your life that never understand why what they do effects others negatively - they always make comments like "it's my life - it shouldn't matter to anyone else what i do" - those people are always hurting those around them but use this attitude to negate responsibility. the idea behind this statement is that in reality everything we do effects those around us, whether we want it to or not.
2007-03-01 08:14:39 · answer #1 · answered by mommynow 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would compare the statement to the "ripple effect" or the axiom "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". If one injures another, the consequences can be far-reaching, even perhaps global. The commission of a wrong generates negativism in the world; likewise, such an action may precipitate other similar events, having created a situation where revenge may be seen as necessary by those affected indirectly by the misdeed. Wars are examples of (righteous?) avenging run amok (often) wherein frequently the innocent are horrifically victimized. Conversely, an act of generosity or a loving gesture, charity, or caring may likewise inspire others to respond in kind positively -- as in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when aid and assistance inundated the stricken region. Another example of goodness's outreaching to the world would be those organizations which endeavor to save the children of the world through sponsorship. Humans have a tendency to follow the examples of their fellow humans so that goodness begets goodness and evil begets evil.
2007-03-01 14:02:29 · answer #2 · answered by Lynci 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If my neighbor crapped on his kitchen floor, how does this "affect" me?
2007-03-01 07:58:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋