Time, Service, Responsibility

Time is such an interesting thing. Why is there time? Did we create it out of our minds, or does it truly exist in a forward backward motion (and in the case of some physicist, upwards and downwards)?

My thoughts though... Time, or at least the limitation in terms of how "long" we are allowed to live give us a sense of priority and necessity. See-we live for only so long. There are millions, no, infinite amount of choices we can make with ourselves. We need to decide what we want to do.

In a letter dated January 28, 1939, the Guardian writes, "There is no time to lose. There is no room left for vacillation. Multitudes hunger for the Bread of Life. The stage is set. The firm and irrevocable Promise is given. God's own Plan has been set in motion. It is gathering momentum with every passing day. The powers of heaven and earth mysteriously assist in its execution. Such an opportunity is irreplaceable. Let the doubter arise and himself verify the truth of such assertions. To try, to persevere, is to insure ultimate and complete victory."

It is time to teach. It is time to serve. The beauty is now we need to define service. The word service is very interesting in our modern world. In Middle School, Junior Youth are taught service is something meant to help others. Very true fact. But they are taught to look at that phrase in such a shallow way. Yes, we need to help other people-but does that service have to show forth at the given moment? If I study hard-with the intention to do well on an exam which assists me on my path to college or graduate school where I intend to learn a skill (i.e. Medicine, Research, Law) with which I can help my fellow man-is that not considered service for the long run? Why can we not teach Junior Youth that by studying, they are doing service? We tell them all the time they need to study to get a good job and make money. But look at all of the college dropouts who are now billionaires. Look at the multimillionaire movie stars, athletes, musicians, etc. Sure, they are giving us entertainment service, but the productivity is lacking. Many had natural talent and luck which allowed them to succeed.

But this is not a place to complain about such people. I personally enjoy much what they bring. However, we need to begin to redefine service is and bring a new social reality to the word.

Lastly, from the first Tablet to Napoleon III, Bahá'u'lláh wrote, "Ours is the responsibility to avenge the oppressed and succor the helpless." This is our service.

The goal is the unification of mankind. Everything we do must be in line with this ultimate goal, if we so desire it. Whether reading and memorizing the Writings, the key is to understand the purpose and implement it into our daily lives.

Take for example the first Hidden Word, which I believe we went in depth on a while back:

O SON OF SPIRIT! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.

It is easy enough to memorize. But now the comprehension. Why should we have a pure, kindly and radiant heart? To be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting. But so what? We become an unconquerable territory-i.e. we are steadfast in our Faith not only to Bahá'u'lláh, but also in whatever task is at hand-in this case, service to the world (which is essentially the task bestowed upon us by Bahá'u'lláh). But lets take it a step further. How can the betterment of the world be achieved? Pure and goodly deeds, commendable and seemly conduct! Wait, how can perform such deeds and possess such conduct? It returns back to the pure, kindly and radiant heart. It all goes and links together.

As for another example, lets look at the Dawn Breakers. Why are we told to read it? Sure, they are the one's who came before us and it is always good to have a sense of history-but what comes of it? To quote Mullah Husayn, "May my life be a ransom for you. Are you not pleased with me?” The idea is to see their service and the level of sacrifice they brought forth. It is not the time to give our lives, sure. But it is the time to serve.

My favorite form of art has to be story telling. Perhaps one day we can have a retelling of the above.

If you have any comments, please leave them below. I want to know what you have to say.