Hello, my name is Margo Åkermark. I am a bahai and live in Sweden, in the county of Halland. I wanted to deepen a little on the subject of spirituality in relation to economy. These two – spirituality and economy – are often seen as two parts of life which have very little to do with each other.

Within the bahá'í faith, however, they are close related. I'd like to ponder a little on how our material means should be obtained and how it should be used. All of us need some kind of income to support ourselves and our families. Besides this our income can be used for the betterment of society. For us, bahá'ís, work is a form of worship and we should strive to earn a living through an honest craft or profession. A person with spiritual understanding could not be happy in richness, while the society around him or her is impoverished.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith states

Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree, if it is acquired by an individual’s own efforts and the grace of God, in commerce, agriculture, art and industry, and if it be expended for philanthropic purposes. Above all, if a judicious and resourceful individual should initiate measures which would universally enrich the masses of the people, there could be no undertaking greater than this, and it would rank in the sight of God as the supreme achievement, for such a benefactor would supply the needs and insure the comfort and well- being of a great multitude. Wealth is most commendable, provided the entire population is wealthy. If, however, a few have inordinate riches while the rest are impoverished, and no fruit or benefit accrues from that wealth, then it is only a liability to its possessor. If, on the other hand, it is expended for the promotion of knowledge, the founding of elementary and other schools, the encouragement of art and industry, the training of orphans and the poor— in brief, if it is dedicated to the welfare of society—its possessor will stand out before God and man as the most excellent of all who live on earth and will be accounted as one of the people of paradise.

The Secret of Divine Civilization by Abdulbaha (page 24 and 25)

Thank you very much for listening and I wish you wealth and happiness used for the good of mankind.