ЛЮБОВЬ К ВРАГАМ

Provide services to the children of your enemies both during life and after their death, during life, in order to thus be reconciled with their fathers, after death, in order to attract great mercy from God, receive countless crowns and also earn countless well-wishes from everyone, not only from those who have benefited you, but also from those who have seen it. This will protect you on the day of judgment; the enemies favored by [you] will be strong intercessors for you at the Judgment; you will atone for many sins and receive a reward. Even if you have sinned countless times, if you offer up a prayer that says: forgive your enemies, and your Father will forgive you your sins, with great boldness you will receive forgiveness of all your sins, and you will live here in good hope and enjoy universal favor. In fact, anyone who sees that you love both your enemies and their children, won’t he want to become your friend and acquaintance, and do and endure everything for you? When you enjoy such favor from God, and everyone prayerfully wishes you all the best, what kind of trouble can you then be exposed to and who will you not be happier in life? Let us not marvel at this only here, but also, having left here, let us observe this: we will go everywhere and, having each recognized our enemies, we will reconcile them with ourselves and make them sincere friends (1). Does so-and-so hate you and offend you? You love him and do good to him. Does he dishonor and revile you? Bless and praise him. But even after this he does not stop his enmity? In this case, he gives you a great reward. Truly, evil people, the more persistently they continue their enmity, despite our disposition towards them, the more glorious they prepare for us rewards and the weaker they make themselves. He who hates and does not stop hostility suffers, becomes exhausted, spends his life in constant war; and whoever is above these arrows stands far from worries, delivers the greatest benefit to himself, and not to the enemy, and, trying to reconcile with him and not be at enmity, saves himself from war and quarrel. So, let us avoid enmity with others and root out its root - vanity and love of money, because all enmity stems either from addiction to money or from vanity. If we are above these passions, then we will be above enmity. If someone insults you, bear it courageously; He did not insult you, but himself. If someone hits you, do not raise your right hand; at the same time he struck himself, striking you with his hand and himself with anger, and gaining a bad opinion from everyone. If this seems difficult to you, then imagine that someone in a rage tore your clothes, and say: who suffered the evil - you, who suffered this, or he, who did it? Obviously he is. Although your clothes are torn here, the one who did this suffered greater harm than the one who suffered, because whoever has a torn heart—which produces anger—hasn’t he suffered much greater harm than you, who have not experienced anything like that? Don't say the clothes are yours; he had already torn his own heart apart. Just as a disease - jaundice - cannot be detected unless the bile spills out and overflows its limits, so anger does not become immoderate unless the heart breaks. And just as you, seeing someone suffering from jaundice, even if he has done you thousands of evils, do not want to take on his illness, do the same with anger. Do not compete, do not imitate malice, but pity the one who does not curb this beast within himself and, first of all, harms and destroys himself. And that such people really harm themselves can be heard from many who, trying to stop hostility, convince those at war like this: spare yourself, you are harming yourself. Such is malice: it only harms those who feed it and perverts everything. So, wanting to take revenge on others, let us not deprive ourselves of a quiet haven. If someone, having suffered a shipwreck and drowning, began to revile you while standing on the ground, then, of course, you would not be offended and would not leave the ground to drown with him. Think the same way here: whoever insults and reviles you is subject to a shipwreck or a storm and drowns, falling into a whirlpool of anger; and you, enduring this courageously, remain calm in the pier, on the shore. If you get carried away with imitating him, you will drown not him, but yourself (2). Let us show all love to our enemies. Let us reject that ridiculous habit that many foolish people suffer from, waiting for those they meet to warn them with their greetings, and thus are not jealous of what contains great bliss, but pursue what is worthy of laughter. Why don't you greet him first? Because, you say, he expects it. But that’s why you yourself had to hurry so that you could get the crown. No, you say, I don’t greet him precisely because he really wants it. What could be worse than such madness? Since, you say, he strongly desires to provide me with an opportunity for a reward, that’s why I don’t want to take advantage of this opportunity. If he warns you with his greeting, then you will not receive any benefit, although later you will answer him in the same way; if you hasten to express your greetings to him first, then you, as if bargaining with his pride, will receive great benefit for yourself and reap abundant fruit from his arrogance. So, will we not be extremely mad when, having the opportunity to acquire such a great benefit with two words, we let it slip out of our hands and ourselves fall into the same recklessness for which we condemn another? If you accuse him of expecting a greeting from another first, then why are you imitating what you yourself condemn and trying to adopt as good what you yourself call evil? Do you see that there is nothing crazier than a person living in anger? Therefore, I beg you, let us avoid this evil and ridicule-worthy habit. This disease has dissolved countless friendships and caused many discords. Let us, therefore, warn others with greetings. If we are commanded to endure even when our enemies stifle us, force us to accompany them and expose us, then will we deserve any forgiveness if we so persistently refuse a simple greeting? You will say: I will be scorned and spat upon when I do him such an honor. So, so that man does not despise you, do you insult God? So that a raging slave equal to you does not despise you, do you despise the Master, Who has benefited you so much? If it is unreasonable that a person equal to you despises you, then it is even more unreasonable that you despise God, who created you. Moreover, note that he who despises you thereby provides you with an opportunity to receive a greater reward, since you endure this for God, obeying His laws. And what honor, what crowns can compare with this award? I am better prepared to endure all kinds of insults and contempt - for God, than to be respected by all kings, since nothing, nothing can compare with this glory. Let us seek this glory as the Savior himself commanded, and not caring in the least about human judgments, but in everything showing true wisdom, we will organize our lives according to it (6). You might be interested in: