O SON OF BEING!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words #55

I recently used this quote in some devotions that I hosted focused on the topic of fire.  In particular with this quote, we contemplated using fire to test the purity of gold and in turn using gold as a temptation to test the loyalty and honesty of servants.  Upon further viewing of this passage I noticed something I missed the first time around though – the way that ‘We’ begins with a capital letter signifying that perhaps it is referring to God and and us alike.  Could humanity be like the gold that God is referring to being tested by the fires of hard experiences in our lives, while also being the servants of God and tested by the trappings of materialism?  Detachment is often associated with this quote and can be seen in the beginning words where we urged not to pay too much attention to the mundane things of this world, but to focus on the spiritual world.

Photo credit: Baha’i Media Bank: Award-winning fire dancer, Hogan Toomalatai, performing at the Baha’i jubilee festivities in Samoa.

O SON OF EARTH!
Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me; and wouldst thou gaze upon My beauty, close thine eyes to the world and all that is therein; for My will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell together in one heart.

~ Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words #31

Having God in our lives and placing nothing else but Him at such a high station is both a challenge and a reward.  It is not possible for both the supreme goodness of God to coexist alongside the darkness and evil of temptations of other facets of our earthly lives.  Once again, this impossible duality makes it difficult for us to not only choose one or the other, but to fully commit to it, though once we have have chosen God, it is what will keep us on a spiritual path.

“’We really want this to be a blessing, … We want to give them a place where they can dance to healthy music and be dressed in a way that isn’t offensive. It’s an atmosphere free of temptation, focused on good, clean fun.”

As a Baha’i, I have a hard time understanding the motivation behind this event, and I am concerned for the message that it sends to these students.  I question if whether or not these parents’ intentions of providing their children with this escape from the larger society could cause deeper problems.  By segregating their teens they are likely not doing as much to protect them as they are creating a divide and teaching them that those who are different are bad.  If these kids continue to believe that those who would dress differently, or have fun in a different manner than their own invented guidelines permit than all they will accomplish is to have them learn to remove themselves from society.

Unfortunately, they seem to have been taught that things that have not been deigned to be “Christian” are not appropriate for them:

“A large portion of popular culture is inappropriate for a Christian lifestyle,” said Cullen Kollack, 16, a junior at Gateway Charter School. The Christian prom is a "safe place" for teens, he said.

Baha’is are taught to live amongst people, all people, no matter what their beliefs and practices may be.  I shudder when I see religion used to separate people and not to unite them.  There is no reason why these children cannot attend the same kind of prom that every other child does and still have fun no matter how they want to dress or dance.  If they are strong enough in their convictions to organize their alternative prom, I should think they are also strong enough to be able to attend the “regular” prom and still behave in accordance with their beliefs.

The question of what exactly is meant by a “Christian lifestyle” is still out there.  I have searched the New Testament and I found no references to proms, music with “suggestive” lyrics or backless dresses.  There is a phone number to call to get more details on the dress code and I am very tempted to call!

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

~ Psalms 149:3 (KJV)

They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.

~ Job 21:11 (KJV)

Whenever I see this I am reminded of people in relationships such as a marriage, a parent and teenager or even close friends.  When one person feels vulnerable, confused, alone or hurt, some terrible things can be said.  It is illogical that we would be so callous to one of the people who is the most dedicated to us in the world—one of the few who actually cares very deeply about us personally and will love us unconditionally.

Unfortunately, it seems to be human nature to take out our aggressions and make external all of our negative feelings and unleash them upon this person who loves us so much.  Perhaps, this is not entirely self-defeating… I have a theory that our sub-conscious minds select the people to be the recipients of our grief who are able to take it on and still love us for who we are because of who they are.  Are we, perhaps, able to know who can absorb our anger and turn it into love, and therefore, feel safe lashing out at this person this way?

I have a feeling that many people are doing the same things when they turn away from God.  The comments that a just God cannot exist if such a tragedy should befall them, are hurtful to God and akin to the teenager daughter telling her mother she hates her, or of the husband frustrated at not getting a promotion at work berating his wife, or even the woman who was just dumped by her boyfriend and starts an argument with her best friend.  Every time we question His authority, whether or not He is working our lives, or why He has done what he has, we are lashing out at God.

Why do we lash out at God?  Why do we lash out at the one who loves us the most?

NOTE: Although the saying “lashing out at the one who loves us the most” has been heard before, it was hearing it in a song by Rich Mullins, who was a wonderfully talented Christian musician, that first inspired this post.

It is not just by means of morality and religious observances, not by great learning nor by attainments in meditation, nor by living alone, nor by thinking,"I am enjoying a spiritual happiness which ordinary people do not know" that a bhikkhu* achieves peace if he has not achieved the elimination of inflowing thoughts.

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

I imagine those “inflowing thoughts” to be the temptations and desires of this world.  The Baha’is are instructed to resist the desires of materialism and placing the accumulation of things above service to others and to God.  But, in this Buddhist text we see that no matter what else we do in our efforts to become closer to God, such as adherence to observances, prayer and meditation will mean nothing if we cannot eliminate the inflowing thoughts.

* Bhikku is the term for an adult Buddhist monk. 

Waste not your time in idleness and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others.

~ Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 26 (Tablet of Bisharat)

Baha’is spend a lot of time and energy in service of others.  Although it can be tempting to focus on one’s own desires and wishes, the service of others can be one of the most rewarding experiences of one’s life and will return its favors many times.  Spending time in another’s company, praying with a friend, helping a local school to build a new playground or visiting nurse home residents, or reading to a sick child are all forms of service that benefit others—the satisfaction and bonds with another person or a community that these acts of service will initiate will return to the individual.