We all may have more faith than we realize.

In writing emails with a friend, he said he had no faith, but he is a very caring, nurturing, loving and honest person. What I pointed out to him is that according to Baha’u’llah he had more faith than he realized because of what Baha’u’llah says about faith — “ The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds” — and that he was a person of many good deeds, so he had a lot more faith than he realized.

Often we think faith is an intangible thing that you can’t get hold of or understand, but by Baha’u’llah’s definition faith is also a very real and down to earth reality and virtue. This definition of faith by Baha’u’llah, and becoming a Baha’i, completely redefined the way I approach life. Now I think of all I do as acts of faith and to bring joy and mystery into people’s lives.

As an artist and poet this has affected what I paint and write about, because Baha’u’llah has also said that work done in the spirit of service to humanity is now considered by God as identical to worshiping in the churches, temples, mosques and other holy places of worship.

To me this redefines what faith is about, and I now firmly believe that many people who are not outwardly faithful religiously are in fact very much so, including many atheists who say they have no belief in God whatsoever, for some of the most ethical and moral people, who believe very much that life is all about living a good life of deeds and action, have in fact more faith in a religiously way than some people who claim they are religious but live a life of hypocrisy in that they say one thing but in reality live a life of selfishness.

Of course there are many religious people who do live according to the teachings of love thy neighbor as thyself and the other divine teachings, and I know many religious people like this. My father was such a person. He had a very deep love of and belief in God but never went around talking about it, instead he lived the life.

As an example, at his memorial service in 2010 at the Elijah Kellogg Church in Harpswell, no one could ever remember one instance of him saying a negative thing about another human being. And I can’t remember one time when he was critical of me or spoke a harsh word to me growing up. And I remember him expressing a lot of love for us kids and for all people.

He was so renowned for his honesty, reliability and trustworthiness that people spontaneously came to him for advice. He was an excellent listener and never spoke a word about himself such as bragging of what he had accomplished in life. His name is Stephen Barclay Wilson and his final resting place is behind the Elijah Kellogg Church.

About never saying a negative word about any one, Baha’u’llah says “ Beware, beware, lest ye offend any soul, even to the extent of a grain of mustard seed.” and again, “How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others.” These teachings have transformed my life.

I used to believe it was all right to speak my mind to any one even if it may hurt them, but now I see words as deeds, and saying only good words is like doing only good deeds that define this new faith definition.

Tim Wilson lives in Harpswell.