"We all have our choice between justice and injustice"
Power of Choice
The development of spiritual qualities is not controlled by nature. Although the soul aspires to spiritual things, the acquiring of spiritual qualities depends upon effort. It is in this domain that man has been given free will. This is very similar to a bird which in flight must use its wings to counteract the force of gravity. If it fails to do this, it will be pulled down instantly by this force.
“How lofty is the station which man, if he but choose to fulfil his high destiny, can attain!” 1
“All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition.” 2
We have the free will to do good or bad and we have to use our volition to lead a noble life. But to have free will does not mean we can control everything. There are things that are bound to happen to us over which we have little control.
“In all the action or inaction of man, he receives power from the help of God; but the choice of good or evil belongs to the man himself.” 3
“Some things are subject to the free will of man, such as justice, equity, tyranny and injustice, in other words, good and evil actions; it is evident and clear that these actions are, for the most part, left to the will of man. But there are certain things to which man is forced and compelled, such as sleep, death, sickness, decline of power, injuries and misfortunes; these are not subject to the will of man, and he is not responsible for them, for he is compelled to endure them. But in the choice of good and bad actions he is free, and he commits them according to his own will.
For example, if he wishes, he can pass his time in praising God, or he can be occupied with other thoughts. He can be an enkindled light through the fire of the love of God, and a philanthropist loving the world, or he can be a hater of mankind, and engrossed with material things. He can be just or cruel. These actions and these deeds are subject to the control of the will of man himself; consequently, he is responsible for them.” 4
While the social conditions under which we make choices differ, we all have moral agency and thus moral accountability. For example when it comes to justice, personal responsibility is as significant as social responsibility
“Each man has been placed in a post of honour, which he must not desert. A humble workman who commits an injustice is as much to blame as a renowned tyrant. Thus we all have our choice between justice and injustice.” 4
One of the most potent forms of social control is to conceal from an individual his/her own power of choice. This is not to say that person ceases to choose. But rather, that she/he has a strong tendency to make choices in conformity with the expectations of peers simply by assuming there are no alternatives.
“Man can voluntarily discontinue vices, nature has no power to modify the influence of its instincts. Man has consciousness, volition, memory, intelligent power, divine attributes....” 5
“Each man has been placed in a post of honour, which he must not desert”
1-Baha'u'llah
2-Baha'u'llah
3- Abdu’l-Baha
4-Abdu'l-Baha
5- Abdu’l-Baha
6-Abdu'l-Bah