XII. От злых удаление

“We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly, and not according to the tradition which was received from us” (2 Thess. 3:6). To gain security, freedom, fun and prosperity, it is very useful to remove evil people from the community (Interpretation of Psalm 139). Communication with evil people causes great harm, for, as the Apostle Paul says: “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33 - Conversation 5 on the Book of Genesis). Just as diseased eyes harm healthy ones, and just as someone who has leprosy infects a clean person, so communication with evil people spoils and corrupts good people. And Christ commands not only to avoid such people, but also to cut them off, saying: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you” (Matthew 5:29 - On Psalm 4). Evil people do more harm than poisonous snakes, for they openly carry their poison, while these people secretly and insensitively infect every day (On Psalm 4). An evil person is his own enemy, so it is impossible for anyone to be friends with him and have agreement (Conversation 7 on the Acts of the Apostles). Discourse on avoiding the evil ones Nothing harms a Christian, especially a young Christian, more than bad company. For just as communication with the good is a school in which, without books, a person learns Christian philosophy, that is, an honest and holy life, so communication with the evil is the cause of extreme corruption of a person, even if he were by nature good or well-educated; but when he communicates with the corrupt, it is difficult and almost impossible for him not to become corrupt. For anger is nothing other than resin, sticky, and little by little, insensitively creeps in until it completely takes possession of a person. They say that when healthy eyes look at sick ones, they themselves receive harm, but no benefit is done to them: so a good person, living with an evil one, becomes spoiled, and does not correct him. “Whoever touches resin will be blackened, and whoever enters into communication with the proud will become like him,” says the Scripture (Sir. 13:1). Consider, Christian, with whom you want to have fellowship, and until you know completely, do not pester anyone, so as not to fall into the abyss of destruction. It is better to live with animals than with evil people. You might be interested in: