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(Gal.4:28–5:10; Mark 6:54–7:8) The Lord reproaches the Pharisees not for the external orders and rules of behavior they have established, but for their addiction to them, for the fact that they settled on only external worship of God, without caring about what was in their hearts. It is impossible without the external. The highest inner requires the outer as an expression and as its vestment. In fact, it is never alone, but always in union with the outside; Only in false theories are they separated. But again it is obvious that the external alone is nothing; its value depends on the presence of something internal in it, so if it doesn’t exist, then at least don’t have it. Meanwhile, we are greedy for appearances and appearances, in which the internal is imagined and in which it takes a certain form, to the point that, having fulfilled the external, we remain calm, not thinking about whether the internal is there or not. And since the internal is more difficult than the external, it is very natural to get stuck on the latter, without reaching out to the former. How can this be? You must rule yourself, and keep in mind the internal, always strain towards it through the external, and with the external, consider a matter to be a matter only when the internal is combined with the external. There is no other way. Attention to oneself, sobriety and wakefulness are the only levers for raising our stout and self-absorbed nature. It’s wonderful that someone who has the inner never leaves the outer, although he doesn’t attach much value to it. You might be interested in: