If anyone curses us, we praise, who drives us – that we suffer – the common man it may even at first glance be confusing, he said.
Because the assertion of the Apostle is radically different from how we react to resentment, at the injustice.
– Do we praise the one who curse us? – asked the Patriarch. -No, on the contrary, we try harder to pozloslovit.
Especially when a lot of possibilities for this give the Internet and socialnye network as the part of information space, which, according to the Patriarch, full of struggle, hatred, slander, insults.
How much pain from what we slander and backbiting backbiting answer. And suffering can not do anything, if something is not as we thought should happen. The only thing that holds us back sometimes, according to the Patriarch is subordinate to the higher authorities, that impatience can and cap to give. Or a strong person that doesn’t surrender their interests. But if everything is equal, or close is weak, then how will we tolerate slander or to praise those who we will blaspheme. So what says the Apostle Paul? And that means his word is allegory, some fantasy, a parable? It seems to us that so happens in my life. But the Apostle Paul, said the Patriarch, speaks of how this is supposed to be in life.
Because every evil that good does not stop, continues to operate among the people and to expand. The answer evil for evil does not stop those on whom it is directed, and begets the desire to strike even stronger. Happens, according to the Patriarch, the escalation of evil. And now people say, well, our world is where we all fall down? And point to the good films of the 50’s and 60’s- “it’s our parents about our childhood”.
And like the political conditions were not the best, and the material conditions of life, but look at the faces in those old movies, it’s the same with others.
– This means, – concluded the Patriarch – that we as a civilization become worse, not better, despite all our amazing technological achievements.
And if the person is not capable of evil to return good strong mind, education, power and technical means, it can be a very scary person.
the Answer to evil with good, as that encourages us, the Apostle Paul stops the evil. Otherwise it is impossible to stop.
the One to which we return good for evil, may not appreciate this.
But someone won’t appreciate, but someone will undoubtedly think, I’m sure the Patriarch, and surprised by the response good for evil.
Good for evil, or at least the absence of reciprocal evil, if there is no force for good – this is what stops the world from decay and destruction, said the Patriarch. And it often demonstrates in international Affairs, in the field of exterior floor��Tiki. “Well if all sorts of nonsense, including the use of weapons, immediately responded with weapons of even greater power, then perhaps the world would not exist. Because every day we are told that somewhere out there someone was killed, … the collision occurred”.
But people looking for a peaceful solution to the problem. And not because all are pious, and because they understand that responding to force with force, you only contribute to the escalation of force and claim to be evil. In the sphere of foreign policy understand this, because the consequences could be dire, he said.
– We know that if there are conflicts, the world community seeks both to remove from the agenda the subject, to reconcile the warring, to stop not by force but by talks, said Petrarch. But if it is clear to those involved in policy, how much it should be clear to us, Orthodox people who today are taught by this amazing message of the Apostle Paul requiring from us not to return evil for evil.
Let’s try at least once to pray for those who have crushes, oppresses, or is perceived by us as an enemy, urged the Patriarch. And then to look into the eyes of this man. Not expecting that he will improve, just watch. “I assure you, not in 100 percent of cases, but in many you will correct the person who have done evil, to help him realize his wrong,” – said the Patriarch.
According to him, indeed, many cases where Dating return good for evil, people were convinced of sin, came, asked for forgiveness and repented.
This is the most powerful and convincing reality, he said, as it may seem to someone not very realistic.
If evil has always responded to evil, then evil would have in the world than good. And when this is so, the world will perish. Because evil is not viable. His perspective is nothingness, death.
the coming of the Antichrist is a global victory of evil. But where there is goodness, there is life.
the Patriarch called to hear the great appeal of the Apostle is to do good in spite perpetrated against us evil, to say it even when you need to endure, clenching his teeth, and never succumb to the inertia of evil.
And recalled, relying on the dictum of Saint Gregory of Nyssa that evil comes from our volition, and in the hands of each person – his personal life and future, but in the hands of all mankind the life of the whole human civilization.
