Share our wealth.

 

210. Share our wealth: One of the teachings found in the religions of God is that we need to share our wealth with those in need, that in heaven we will obtain spiritual wealth from God:  Christianity: Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Acts 4:32 “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” Acts 4:33 “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of The Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:34 “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,” Acts 4:35 “And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” Acts 4:36 “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,” Acts 4:37 “Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” 1 John 3:17 “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” God loves those that give of their own free will.  Judaism: Deuteronomy 15:7 “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which The LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:” 15:8 “But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.” Deuteronomy 15:11 “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” Proverbs 3:27 “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” Proverbs 19:17 “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto The Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again.” Isaiah 1:17 “Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Job 29:12 “I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.” Job 29:13 “The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.” Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. 4 Ezra 2:20 “Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,” (Deuterocanonical Apocrypha)

BAHA’I FAITH: “Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is voluntary sharing of one’s property with others among mankind. This voluntary sharing is greater than equality, and consists in this, that man should not prefer himself to others, but rather should sacrifice his life and property for others. But this should not be introduced by coercion so that it becomes a law and man is compelled to follow it. Nay, rather, man should voluntarily and of his own choice sacrifice his property and life for others, and spend willingly for the poor,”

(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith – Abdu’l-Baha Section, p. 288)

 BABI RELIGION: “Regarding the communality of property, there is no evidence that this ever became part of formal Bábí practice and doctrine other than, as Curzon has remarked, in the New Testament sense of ‘the sharing of goods in common by members of the faith, and the exercise of alms ­giving, and an ample charity’. Indeed, in so far as the Báb’s own teachings relate to economic matters, the central element is undoubtedly the expressed need for the creation of a more favourable environment for trade rather than any egalitarianism. According to a controversial account in the {Nuqtatu’l-Káf} ({The Point of the K}, an early Bábí history), however, Quddús advocated something of the kind during the conference of Badasht, and, more definitely, the defenders at Shaykh Tabarsí shared their goods in common, but then only in the context of a self-perceived heroic and self-renunciatory struggle against the forces of evil!”

(Peter Smith, The Babi & Baha’i Religions, p. 46)

 Babi Religion: “I also found out that since their persecutions they, to a great extent, have adopted the practice of the primitive Christians of having part of their goods in common in order to help one another especially the needy.”

(Moojan Momen, The Babi  and Baha’i Religions 1844-1944, p. 195)

 ISLAM: 177. “It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah (God) and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah   2)

Islam: 31. “Speak to My servants who have believed, that they may establish regular prayers, and spend (in charity) out of the Sustenance We have given them, secretly and openly,”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  14)

Islam: 35. “For Muslim men and women — for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise — for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  33)

Islam: “Some goods came to Allah’s Apostle from Bahrain. The Prophet ordered the people to spread them in the mosque it was the biggest Amount of goods Allah’s Apostle had ever received. He left for prayer and did not even look at it. After finishing the prayer, he sat by those goods and gave from those to everybody he saw. Allah’s Apostle did not get up till the last coin was distributed.”

(Hadith, Bukhari Vol 1, Book 8, # 413)

 ZOROASTRIANISM: 4. “He is in verity the bestower of blessings, and to Him, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! we render, (and his do we make) Your greatness, Your goodness, and Your (spiritual) beauty, and let this man, the cattle owner, approach to guard over us; and may he be our watchman together with the Righteous Order, and with store for our nourishment and full generous liberality, together with sharing of the goods, with gentleness, and with Ahura Mazda’s  (God‘s)sacred Fire!”

(Zoroaster, The Zend -Avesta, Avesta – Yasna 58)

 Zoroastrianism: Denkard. Zoroaster, “Nobility is this whoso possesses mighty earthly resources in full abundance for the use and benefit (of others), and appreciates and consumes and bestows (those) mighty resources which are for him on others, for (averting) afflictions, for which, from whatever cause they may arise,”

 HINDUISM: 226. “Let him, without tiring, always offer sacrifices and perform works of charity with faith; for offerings and charitable works made with faith and with lawfully-earned money, (procure) endless rewards.”

(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapter 4)

 Hinduism: “Krishna. Fearlessness, singleness of soul, the will Always to strive for wisdom; opened hand And governed appetites; and piety, And love of lonely study; humbleness, Uprightness, heed to injure naught which lives, Truthfulness, slowness unto wrath, a mind That lightly letteth go what others prize; And equanimity, and charity Which spieth no man’s faults; and tenderness Towards all that suffer;”

(Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr))

 BUDDHISM: 13. “Miserly people certainly do not go to heaven. Fools for sure do not praise generosity, but the wise man who takes pleasure in giving is thereby happy hereafter.” 13. “The wise find joy in generosity, and because of it become blessed in the other world.” 17. “Speak the truth, don’t get angry, and always give, even if only a little, when you are asked.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 1 and 2 (tr. J. Richards))

 Buddhism: “People give according to their faith, or as they feel well disposed, always give, even if only a little.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 1 (tr. J. Richards))

 SABEANISM: “Display kindness, show compassion.” Be giving of that which you have to those in need. “And every man who giveth oblation; will be made to shine On the day of deliverance.” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapters 74 and 76)

BAHA’I FAITH: “Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá’u’lláh p. 93)