Quakers aim to focus on what is essential and eternal, by exercising spiritually-led restraint in their daily lives. The testimonies are expressions of lives turned toward the Light, outward expressions reflective of the inward experience of divine leading, differently described by various friends and in changing eras. Washington, DC, June 1999. Since all human beings are children of God, Friends are called to love and respect all persons and to over come evil with good. So the seeds of war swell and sprout and grow and become strong until much fruit is ripened.
Friends thus use fixed prices rather than haggling and refuse to take oaths.
They bear witness publicly to their beliefs even if it might result in punitive consequences. Quakers try to be consistent in word and deed.