It follows from them that any passion is always a reason, and sadness human heart– is already a consequence of addiction. Therefore, it is necessary to direct the main efforts to eliminate this cause so that our lives are at least a little filled with joy.

We define addiction as a strong craving for something, which indicates weakness human will, about the impossibility of stopping yourself in your desires and whims. A weak will is a sign of a sick soul. Just like flabby muscles are the lot of dystrophics, people who are unable to perform even minor physical work. Strengthening the will is the most important work of a Christian, which is accomplished by constantly overcoming one’s desires and plans. It will be useful for us to fulfill simple rule: do more of what you don’t want to do. For example, in the morning immediately get out of bed after the alarm clock rings. Before your morning cup of coffee, do your due diligence prayer rule. On the way to work, read a chapter from the Gospel. You can and should also say hello to your neighbors in the elevator, thank the janitor for cleaning the entrance, and give up your seat to an elderly person on public transport. We can continue further, but it is important to say that the named works for God and signs of attention towards others are performed by an ordinary person without much zeal, largely making an effort on himself. And this is already spiritual work, whose name is self-compulsion.

Addiction can be likened to a wall that stands between a person and God. It completely captures the mind and heart, forcing it to serve itself. Addiction is always a betrayal of God, a type of spiritual adultery. Most people find themselves in this state, and their lives are filled with emptiness and meaninglessness. In the place of God are money, the cult of the human body, open selfishness, and all kinds of entertainment. Addiction often occurs in family life when one of the spouses has an affair; it can be so serious that it can destroy a marriage. Many people are addicted to alcohol computer games, viewing porn sites or horror films. I know the story of how an adult man - the head of a family and the father of two children - became addicted to watching bad films. He watched this abomination in the presence of his wife and even small children. I bought porn magazines and, after reading them, left them in the apartment in the most visible places. The wife’s requests and then scandals were not successful: the man could not overcome his addiction. But understanding still came to him. He worked as a driver. One evening, approaching the garage at low speed, he wanted to stop the car. But, pressing the brake, I felt that the pedal had sunk to the floor. The car gently drove onto the curb. He immediately realized that the brakes had failed. At that moment, an inner voice pierced him: “This is your last warning!!!” The man realized with horror that the brakes could fail in the city at any major intersection! Returning home, this man got rid of the disgusting products, and then - and this is the main thing - deeply repented for his addiction.

People who are addicted to bad habits are similar to each other in one way: their hearts are sad, or more precisely, they suffer and therefore are deeply unhappy.

Modern man is often exposed to all sorts of disorders, from which it is one step to persistent depression and deep despondency. The reason for this is the failure to fulfill our desires. We want a lot in life, but God not only does not give what we ask for, but often takes away even the most necessary things. Due to a lack of understanding of what is happening, many give up and many perplexed questions arise: “Why is everything so bad?”, “Why live at all?” Those who had modest experience of “fighting despondency” were convinced of a simple truth: the more you have fun, the more sadness and melancholy squeeze your heart. Sinful fun “intoxicates” the soul for a short time, gives some kind of muddy joy, but after such a “hangover” life becomes even more sickening.

The world, which has fallen away from God, is the main deceiver of man and the culprit of many broken lives. He who is immersed in the bustle of the world will never overcome despondency and sadness.

The Monk John Climacus says that there is only one way to overcome sadness – “by hating the world.” This requirement of a mentor of Eastern monasticism is impossible for most people to fulfill. The reason is weak faith and unwillingness to change anything in your life. It would be helpful for all of us to meditate on the words of Holy Scripture: “The sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10). No matter how much you have fun, your soul will not become easier. Internal devastation is a very alarming sign, indicating a meaningless life, which is entirely in slavery to passions. Sadness of the heart becomes a stable state, because a person has deprived himself of the most important thing - God. Only God can restore forgotten joy, lost peace of heart, meaning and purpose in life.

Love for the world and life with God are incompatible concepts. A choice must be made that requires sacrifice. Without sacrifice nothing will happen.

What is the main sign of affection and love for the world? “The Ladder” indicates the reason for “addiction to something visible.” This “visible”, as well as the audible, tangible, tasted, keeps a person in enslavement. The Holy Fathers expressed such a passion for earthly pleasures in an exact comparison: an eagle caught in a noose with just one claw; he flaps his wings, even rises a little above the ground, but cannot fly away, because the net holds him. Even a small addiction to something temporary is a dangerous state for the salvation of the soul. “Is there something on earth that I cannot live without for even one day?” You need to ask yourself this question more often.

Predilection for the “appearance” comes on different scales. For some, thoughts about death, old age, inevitable illnesses and illnesses are a reason for despondency and bad mood. Living too well and comfortably, I want, of course, even more, and most importantly, never die. Such sentiments indicate that a person is completely “chained” to the earth and only in temporary life feels confident and completely safe; eternity does not exist for him. Visible world and earthly life is what he, according to the Ladder, has an “addiction” to.

The scale of affection may be more modest, but in spirit it is just as ungodly. Let us remember the sayings of our contemporaries: “I can’t live a day without TV...”; “I don’t know how I will live if my beloved cat (or lap dog) dies...”; “My son is the meaning of my whole life, I live only for him...” Many people cannot live without a cup of coffee, a smoked cigarette, a bath... Almost everyone has an addiction to things, food, relatives, friends, their habits, tastes , principles of life. What if at some point a person loses it all? It’s good if God allows loss in this life, but what if death decides everything? What should the soul do when it leaves the body with all this “visible”, temporary and material?

What stands as a wall between God and man is a serious temptation that must be overcome.

God in His love for man is very jealous and does not tolerate any competitors. He who loves His creation with perfect and purest love has every right to demand a similar pure feeling for Himself.

It is justified to care only about the essentials for temporary life. Excess and luxury are like pound weights that pull a person tightly to the ground. What is the point of collecting and buying something that will in any case go to others in this life or after it? “For we have brought nothing into the world; It’s obvious that we can’t take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, we will be content with this” (1 Tim. 6:7-8).

With this saying of the Apostle Paul we will end our spiritual conversation. Amen.

On the evening of February 27, 2017, Monday of the first week of Lent, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated Great Compline with the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrei Kritsky in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. At the end of the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the flock with a sermon.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

A sinful outlook on life often forms sinful attitudes towards life circumstances. Many of these sinful habits are called addiction: a person clings to something or someone, often giving all the strength of his soul. A person subject to addiction becomes enslaved; the mind ceases to control the situation and is no longer able to influence what is happening.

Usually, addictions are associated with some kind of pleasure, with positive emotions, which is why people so often become dependent on them. But if addiction is not put an end to, it will acquire very dangerous qualities. Former joy fades into the background, pleasure turns into suffering - this state is called passion.

The words “passion” and “suffering” have the same root. Often, addiction, leaving the control of the human mind, develops into passion, and passion destroys a person. We know how people who are obsessed with the desire for alcohol first get pleasure, and then fall into a terrible addiction. Addiction becomes passion, and as a result, the physical body is destroyed, spiritual forces are destroyed, families are destroyed, and a person dies, burning from this passion...

The state when people are able to control their feelings and minds is called dispassion in the language of patristic ascetic writing. Dispassion is not indifference. Dispassion is the ability of the mind to maintain the ability to control the development of events. If the mind controls feelings, thoughts, and actions, then with the power of the mind a person is able to protect himself from addiction and, even more so, from passion.

Reflecting on the topic of dispassion, Saint John Climacus, abbot of the Sinai monastery, says that a truly dispassionate person is one who has subordinated all his feelings to reason. And in St. Basil the Great we find even more significant words: “With dispassion, the distorted image of God is restored in man.”

Indeed, when we lose freedom, when we become a toy in the hands of the elements, the image of God, which is certainly associated with the gift of freedom to man, becomes darkened. A person turns into a creature whose behavior and thoughts are no longer strictly determined by his will and mind, but by feelings and circumstances. It is known that passion most often leads a person to severe shocks. But, in addition to the fact that passion is accompanied by suffering, it is also grave sin. Many holy fathers, ascetics, devoted their reflections to this dangerous spiritual phenomenon, which can really destroy a person.

What to do to overcome passion? The same John Climacus says that victory over passion always takes time. This is a long journey that a person can successfully overcome only with God's help, because a person clouded by passion does not have enough strength of his own to say “no” and start new life. Even if something like this is said, then most often no action follows these solemn words.

In order to really overcome passion, you need to realize your sinfulness. A person must understand that addiction or passion is not just a circumstance of life. You need to realize that a person suffering from passion is personally guilty of what happened to him, and therefore repentance before God, awareness of his sinfulness, awareness of his helplessness are an indispensable condition for getting rid of this scourge.

And from repentance we need to move on to practical steps. The same John Climacus, and after him some other ascetics, build a system for overcoming passion. It begins with the struggle that a person declares to his thoughts. If a thought leading to actions is condemned by a person who has taken the path of getting rid of passion, if the thought itself is given a fight, if the thought ceases to please the person, then this is the first victory on the path to getting rid of passion.

But fighting thoughts is not enough. It is necessary to move on to the fight against actions, and here God’s help is especially required: prayer, confession, communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, reading relevant ascetic literature, which sets out advice for a person who wants to free himself from the heavy captivity of passion. This path is long, and there can be both victories and defeats. It rarely happens that a person who has taken the path of getting rid of passion easily and a short time walked the entire distance. It requires persistent struggle, it requires exertion of strength, but only such a struggle, with the help of God, can lead a person to liberation from passion.

Saint and Lent gives us a wonderful opportunity to control our thoughts, to ask ourselves the question: do I have passions that can develop into passion? Sometimes addictions begin as if with little things, but gradually take over a person’s consciousness and feelings, deprive him of freedom of choice, turn him into a toy of circumstances, into an unfree being. That is why we must subject even small biases to severe reflection, not sparing our pride, asking ourselves hard-hitting questions and answering them honestly. Without this first and very important step there is no further path.

Holy and Great Lent provides us with such an opportunity. Through attending divine services, through personal prayer at home, through confession and communion, we are immersed in the element of grace, we touch Divine grace, we are able to feel real help from above. That is why we should never neglect the opportunity to worthily pass through the field of Lent. Restrictions on food, refusal of entertainment, and other actions that must be performed in order to be able to concentrate all internal forces - all this is not easy for a person who does not have the skill of fasting, but the result can exceed all expectations.

This happens very, very often, when it is during Lent that new horizons open up before us, new opportunities for spiritual growth and victory over ourselves. And may the Lord help us during the Holy Pentecost to learn to control our feelings and, through touching the grace of God, to gain the true gift of freedom, to rise above all external circumstances, especially sinful ones that give rise to human passion. May the Lord help us with this! May the Mother of God and the holy saints bless you throughout the entire period of the Holy Pentecost! Amen.

How to overcome the sin of judging your neighbor?

The sin of condemnation comes from spiritual blindness. A person sees evil in another person without noticing it in himself. Christianity begins with the opposite - you need to see yourself completely overwhelmed by sin. We have all the passions. Another thing is that they do not develop simultaneously: today - one, tomorrow - another, but the fact that we are carriers of sin, the seed of eternal death, is obvious. Christianity begins with spiritual insight, when a person sees that he is hopelessly ill, and life is not enough to be healed. Therefore, he pays all his attention only to himself - to the life of his mind and heart, to the struggle with his passions. And only under this condition can condemnation be defeated. Condemnation is the sin of the Antichrist, because judgment is given only to God. Often we condemn something in a person that he has long since repented of, and we are thereby liars about his life. We must never condemn, remembering that God often allows us to fall into the sin in which we condemn another person. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1).

What to do when you step on the same rake, condemn yourself, bring repentance, but cannot completely eradicate this sin in yourself?

We need to turn more decisively to the experience of the Church. The Holy Fathers give advice for curbing absolutely all passions. It is said about all Christian virtues. If a person is truly concerned about the fact that he is constantly overcome by gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, theft, condemnation and other passions that all people have, then he will definitely find the right way out of this situation. Most often it happens like this: a person struggles with half his strength, or perhaps uses only one tenth of the effort to change. The Apostle Paul says about this: “You must strive in the fight against sin to the point of shedding blood” (See Heb. 12:4). The fathers have an expression: “It is better to die in struggle than to live in sin.” Not a single person can say that he turned to God, deeply repented of what he had done, prayed a lot, used fasting, the Sacraments, consulted with his confessor, read the Gospel, looked for an answer from the holy fathers and, unfortunately, could not find the answer anywhere, how fix your life. We will never hear this. Basically, everyone talks about the weakness of their faith and unwillingness to fight, that is, to curb their passions and desires. Many suffer, for example, from drinking wine. They came to confession, repented, held out for a day, a day later they again step on the same rake - they again buy a bottle, a snack and take the same path. True repentance requires struggle, self-effort. Repentance is a change in life in which there is spiritual achievement.

What is an addiction?

What is an addiction and how do you know if a person has it and what measures should you take then? What are the external and internal symptoms?

The concept of addiction comes from the word passion, when our heart becomes attached to the earthly, temporary and external. You can only cling to God, realize Him as the main source of Love, without which we cannot live. Partiality is the very wall that is erected between God and man. I have a passion for animals delicious food, one’s own beauty, fashionable clothes... Whatever a person does, addiction is inevitable: books, TV, collections, trips, etc.
Christianity is a life in which a person puts God first. When a person has an addiction to something, he seems to say: “I cannot live without this. I can’t help but drink a cup of coffee, go through the day without watching TV, calling someone, buying something... I can’t live without it! I’ll live for a day or two, and then I definitely need to do it.” The question arises: when the soul leaves the body after death, how will its desires be fulfilled? How will you do it there? This is impossible! There will be no one’s own body there - neither food, nor drink, nor entertainment - none of this will be possible. And from this the soul will languish, suffer and suffer. That is why, without denying the necessary concerns about our body, we always talk about this: in bodily life we ​​need to do only what is necessary. Any excess is harmful and it occurs because a person is damaged by sin. An appetite for a beautiful life is born. A person cannot eat in moderation, but wants a lot and tasty; can’t dress just so as not to freeze in the winter - but he definitely needs to be fashionable and beautiful, etc. Look carefully at yourself - no matter what we do, we do everything with passion. There is no measure in our behavior. A person who deeply loves something temporary sins against God. The Lord is the giver of every good for us. He wants to teach us to love Him in return. Therefore, sometimes these objects of addiction are destroyed by God, so that there is no wall separating a person from Him.
It is especially difficult for a person when he loves someone, but this is not the will of God. We priests often have to deal with these situations. There are so many examples in our literature when people went from unhappy love to terrible acts. Each work contains a story of an unhappy broken heart from unrequited love. Why? Because the heart, stricken by sin, cleaves to money, power or person. Most often, it is not so easy to part with such an addiction in order to forget it all. Passion has taken too deep roots. The Church says: “Man, live carefully, watch what you love, so that you do not cross the forbidden line.” The Lord wants you to always observe the norm in your desires, curb your passions and not give them food. Unfortunately, we are doing the opposite. Our passions are ripening, growing and gaining strength by leaps and bounds. By feeding your passions, you thereby complicate the subsequent struggle with them. When a person begins to see the light and understands that this needs to be dealt with, the struggle will be much simpler and easier.
In my opinion, you need to cool your heart towards this world. In order for it to cool down, it must be warmed up with another, spiritual filling. And the Church truly offers us that which can truly satisfy a person. It is important to decide on this. But we are scared, we are afraid of something. “I, they say, will renounce the world and become a black sheep. I stopped going to parties, I talk less, I don’t drink” - “Well, that’s okay - you’ve become a Christian!” You need to endure two or three months, a year will pass and your friends will forget about you, those with whom you cannot build normal relationships, those who will constantly pull you down, will stop bothering you. Therefore, always ask yourself the question: “Is there something in my life that I cannot live without?” If conscience is silent, thank God, it means there are no attachments! Remember how the Gospel says: “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” The hand seduces - compartments, the leg - compartments. It is better to enter the Kingdom of God without an eye, without a leg, without a hand, than to destroy your soul by having them. It is better here to give up what is called addiction. This is an important aspect of life that we need to comprehend together in order to move forward correctly.

How to deal with everyday sins, such as irritability, verbosity, lustful thoughts. Is there a single recipe for dealing with them?

Question from Andrey. He asks for advice on how to deal with the everyday sins that we commit from confession to confession, such as irritability, verbosity, lustful thoughts. Is there a single recipe for struggle, or should everyone look for their own way, consulting with their confessor?

Christianity is a life in which spiritual creativity must be present. The Lord specifically created us free. Everything in Christianity is based solely on our desire. God does not need a blind follower of His instructions, but a son who, out of love, does the will of the Father.
It's good that you worry about everyday sins. Many people are sure that the most important thing is not to commit mortal sins: murder, fornication, theft, blasphemy, etc. Let's give a simple example. A terrible mortal sin can be likened to a huge stone. If you hang it around your neck, you will immediately go to the bottom and drown. Small sins are like grains of sand, small pebbles, but which can also be collected into a huge number in a bag, and with this bag you can also drown. Reasoning is necessary everywhere. Every sin that a person commits deprives his heart of the grace of God. Loss of grace is the beginning of spiritual death.
How specifically to deal with the everyday sins that we commit in our lives? First, we need to realize that we cannot avoid sinning at all. This is a kind of Christian axiom. The Lord specifically allows us these minor falls to teach us humility. It is very important to notice these little things. The Gospel says that he who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much (Luke 16:10). Christianity begins from the moment when a person worries about these little things, that he sins not only in major ways, violating the main commandments of God, but also in these everyday little things, such as: careless speech, condemnation in word or thought, overeating, lustful ideas and etc. The most effective way here is frequent confession. Sin does not tolerate light; the devil fears reproof. I advise you to come to confession as often as possible. You don't even need a spiritual guide for this purpose. It is enough to approach any parish priest and briefly repent to him of condemnation, gluttony, irritability, envy, bad, unclean thoughts, etc. You will immediately feel that the strength of these passions will weaken.
Sincere repentance brings special joy to the soul - the grace of God. The reason we commit our daily sins is because of our unclean heart. If you strive correctly and lawfully, then the grace of God will purify it. Over time, it will become like a snow-white bride's dress, on which even a small dirty spot can be seen. A person sees minor sins only when his own heart is pure. A heart infected with sin is like dirty clothes, which are covered with dust and dirt, and the extra stain may not even be noticed. If you acquire inner purity, then against the background of this purity you will notice all the flaws and the spiritual dirt that will stick to your soul. Clean clothes always make a person happy. As soon as some kind of impurity appears, you immediately want to clean it. Therefore, watch your heart, and then you will always worry that you have sinned again through irritability, condemnation, envy, unclean thoughts, etc. You won't want this. It is very important that God sees that we are disgusted with sinning, we don’t want it. And, since a person cannot cleanse himself, he is not Baron Munchausen to lift himself out of the swamp by his hair, then such a feeling of weakness in the fight against sin will turn a person to Christ and His Church. You need to love prayer, Holy Scripture, the Sacraments, the temple, worship, that ascetic way of life, which is a harmonious system of correct spiritual behavior, where, on the one hand, a person fights passions, and, on the other hand, implants the gospel virtues in their place .
So don't let your guard down! You have entered a special period when the main intensity of the struggle passes into your heart. You stopped being rude, swearing, you probably don’t drink, don’t steal, don’t fornicate. But don’t stop there and don’t calm down. It is very important to God what is in our souls. The main battle is within us. This is an invisible war that takes place on the borders of the human heart. Therefore, call on God for help, humble yourself before Him, pray to Him, try to show love in your life not in word and tongue, but in deed and truth, as John the Theologian writes (1 John 3:18). And then the grace of God will come to you and cleanse you from everyday sins, and you will feel joy and a surge of spiritual strength. God's help to you in the matter of salvation!

Today's Gospel tells about the calling of Peter, Andrew and two more brothers by Christ - James and John Zebedee. We all know well that they were fishermen and for them fishing was not what we today would call the word “hobby”, that is, a favorite activity that can fill the time of another weekend. No. Their work gave them the opportunity for at least some kind of existence and food. In this sense, the act they committed, to leave everything and follow the One whom they knew so little, is amazing. St. John Chrysostom writes: “ See what their faith and obedience is like. They were busy with their own business (and you know how tempting fishing is); but, as soon as they heard the call of the Savior, they did not delay, did not postpone until another time, did not say: “let’s go home and consult with our relatives”; but leaving everything, they followed Him just as Elisha followed Elijah" Indeed, the Gospel is relevant at all times and every person can compare his life with it. If we find ourselves in this situation: either leave everything earthly, even the most dear to our hearts, and follow Christ, or, guided by everyday logic, as we mostly do, think and decide that the Savior, and with Him salvation, They will wait, because now the catch may be especially rich.

Actually, for a huge number of Christians, this evangelical situation is repeated day after day, month after month, year after year. We constantly expect that, tomorrow, there will definitely be a time when, finally, we will pay attention to God and our own soul. But for some reason this time does not come. And it will not come, because for me my work, my family, my business turns out to be much more important than some kind of Kingdom of Heaven, from which no one has ever returned. The reason for this is a strong attachment to what in Christianity is usually called earthly, transitory, perishable.

In patristic literature one can find many examples of how ascetics treated even the most insignificant things they had dispassionately. Here is a good idea, Rev. Abba Zosima of Palestine: “ It happens that someone, having despised many treasures, becomes addicted to the needle.(by the way, the needle for hermits was a very important household tool) and this addiction causes him confusion and anxiety. Then the needle takes the place of his treasure. This is how someone becomes a slave to a needle, or a cupola, or a mantle, or a book, ceasing to be a servant of God" It turns out that our passions, whatever they may be, reveal in us a love for earthly things and, accordingly, its absence for heavenly things. Therefore, one of the most important deeds of a Christian should be an impartial attitude towards what God has given us, so that if necessary, we could completely painlessly part with what we love excessively.

Modern practice of Orthodox piety. Volume 1 Pestov Nikolay Evgrafovich

Chapter 9. Addiction

Chapter 9. Addiction

Nothing should possess me.

Addiction must be distinguished from passions.

As we know, Satan constantly attacks the souls of people.

The goal of his efforts is to remove the soul from God by all means available to him. He tries for us to create for ourselves our own idol, to whom we would give our heart instead of God, about whom we would constantly think.

This is why he seduces us various types earthly blessings - wealth, fame and power; seduces with all kinds of passions for people, animals, things, science, technology, art, secular literature, poetry, sports, etc.

In particular, Fr. writes about the danger of addiction to art. Alexander Elchaninov:

“The mysterious sphere of art, so captivating, so bewitching, brings its servants so little closer to what we consider the truth; For them, the usual traits are selfishness, pride, greed and glory, often extreme sensuality. In any case, the sphere of art is not a spiritual sphere, but a region of pure soulfulness.”

Often the object of passion itself may not be at all reprehensible, but it will occupy the heart, will be in the foreground or too place of honor, will be the idol of the heart. And in this case, he will separate from God and interfere with the fulfillment of His commandments.

For example, partiality (not Christ's love) for children or loved ones can lead to renunciation of God. An addiction to property, science, or some type of material gain can so dominate a person that he has little or no attention to God and to keeping His commandments.

There are also attachments to good, blessed objects, but even here they will be an obstacle to the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God and spiritual growth. So, for example, for the sake of an addiction to reading spiritual books, a Christian may neglect prayer, his duties towards his neighbors, etc.

Abbess Arsenia says this about all types of addictions:

“If you happen to get carried away by something (or someone), then this temporary consolation defiles the heart, makes a person no longer capable of accepting the Lord, in a word, moves him away from his goal.” At the same time, addictions always deprive a person of peace. As the ascetic of piety I. I. Troitsky says: “If in your soul there is even a small passion for something or someone, then you will not escape sorrow.”

In some cases, addictions can have a detrimental effect on the health of the body (for example, addiction to wine, tobacco).

How to overcome addictions?

Here it is very important to detect them in yourself in time, or, in medical terms, to make the correct diagnosis of your spiritual illness. This is usually not easy, and a Christian is often inclined to consider as good that which comes from the evil one, hinders his spiritual growth and oppresses the soul.

That is why it is very important to live under the guidance of elders or to have experienced spiritual fathers who could point out mental illness in time.

In the absence of such, one must listen carefully to the opinions of spiritually close ones. The Lord is so merciful that we can receive His instructions and help from everywhere, if only we are humble and sharpen our spiritual ears.

The method of treatment for addictions is still the same as for all diseases of the soul: an ardent request for help to the “Physician of our souls and bodies,” a persistent prayer for deliverance from addictions.

Here it should be said that the Lord Himself often sends beneficial healings to His chosen ones to get rid of addictions. The subject of passion often takes the most honorable place - the first place in a person’s heart, which should belong only to God. Therefore, partiality is intolerable to the “zealous God” as it defiles the heart and alienates it from God.

Even righteous people have some kind of strong addiction - like an Achilles heel in their spiritual body of virtues. This is where God directs healing. There are many examples of this in the Bible.

Thus, the patriarch Jacob loved Rachel, but first received Leah as his wife. He loved Rachel's two sons most of all - Joseph and Benjamin; but of all twelve sons, the Lord takes away Joseph, and subsequently Benjamin remains a hostage in Egypt, etc.

By sending such tests, the Lord shows His chosen ones that their heart is not such that everything in it is likened to “hatred” (Luke 14:26) in comparison with love for God.

So often, only through experiencing difficult trials can the human heart be healed of addictions.

The significance of earthly passions is clearly reflected during the transition of the soul to the afterlife: it is difficult for a soul to die that has many earthly passions and attachments. Good then for those who freed themselves from them in time.