Sincerity is the foundation-stone of faith. That is, a
religious individual must disregard his personal desires and seek in whatever
way he can wholeheartedly to serve the public interest; and it is impossible
for a human being to turn aside from his own selfish advantages and sacrifice
his own good for the good of the community except through true religious faith.
For self-love is kneaded into the very clay of man, and it is not possible
that, without any hope of a substantial reward, he should neglect his own present
material good. That individual, however, who puts his faith in God and believes
in the words of God—because he is promised and certain of a plentiful reward in
the next life, and because worldly benefits as compared to the abiding joy and
glory of future planes of existence are nothing to him—will for the sake of God
abandon his own peace and profit and will freely consecrate his heart and soul
to the common good.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)
