145. Пчела, жалом уязвляющая

They say that when a bee stings someone with its sting, it dies itself. A Christian suffers in the same way when he somehow offends and embitters his neighbor. He cannot offend his neighbor without causing his own greater and graver offense. And the more he offends his neighbor, the more he offends himself; and the more he hurts others, the more he hurts himself. Because when you offend your neighbor, your offense touches God Himself, for the commandment of God destroys, which does not command you to offend anyone, but commands you to love everyone and do good to everyone: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39). Such a person offends himself more than the other. Why? Because he offends others in the body, but offends himself in the soul; another's body, but wounds and embitters his own soul. For the better and dearer the soul is to the body, the greater its resentment, ulcer and bitterness are than that of the body. For whatever sin a person commits, his soul is wounded and embittered. He sins against his neighbor; and accepts the ulcer in his soul. With his sin, like a sting, he hurts himself. Satan, as a spirit hostile to man, always seeks and tries to lead man to sin. If you sin, man, you give yourself up for offense to the devil. If you persecute a person, the devil is already persecuting you. If you steal good from a person, the devil has already stolen the good of your soul. If you seduce and deceive a person, the devil has already seduced and deceived you. If you slander a person, you have already given yourself over to the devil’s slander. If you blaspheme and scold a person, you have already given yourself over to the devil. Whether you beat and wound a person, the devil already beats and wounds your soul. If you laugh at a person, the devil is already laughing at you. If you despise and humiliate a person, the devil will already despise and humiliate you, and so on. This is how every person sins and punishes himself. His very sin is execution for him. If he offends another, he himself is offended; wounds - and is wounded; embitters - and endures evil; hits - and gets beaten; kills - and is killed; deprives - and is deprived; Slanders - and is slandered; condemns - and is condemned; blasphemes - and we blaspheme; scolds - and he is scolded; He deceives and is deceived; deceives - and is deceived; humiliates - and is humiliated; laughs - and is ridiculed. In a word, whenever he does evil to his neighbor, he does greater evil to himself; for he does evil to his neighbor’s body temporarily, but he does evil to his own soul forever. So the sinner fills himself with more than the measure he gives to his neighbor. Therefore the Holy Spirit says: Come, children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who loves life and wants to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful words. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and strive for it. The eyes of the Lord are turned to the righteous, and His ears are to their prayer. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to destroy the memory of them from the earth (Ps. 34:12-17). You might be interested in: