Much has been said and written about such a negative phenomenon as immature eldership, when some clergymen or other people present their delusional fantasies as some kind of spiritual gifts, trying to manipulate others for their own benefits: spiritual (satisfaction of their own pride and vanity) or material. In any case, such person wants to bring another person not to God, but to himself. He wants to bind others to himself, so that they become dependent on him. And here the immature elder tends to use religion, often covertly, as a tool for this binding.
But there are many good writings on this issue. I would like to talk about the other side of the coin.
The law of economics says demand creates its own supply. There is a demand for immature elders, and this demand is quite large. Hence the supply. People sometimes want to give their lives to a priest, and not just to give, but to climb onto the priest and ride on his shoulders. They themselves want to be bound.
A priest is a priest. As one priest said: “My business is a censer.” Often a priest knows neither where it is better to put a bathtub in the bathroom, nor how to properly feed the pigs, nor what pills to take for a certain illness, nor when to water the garden, nor which bank it is better to invest your savings in, nor in which car workshop to repair your car, nor whom to marry, have children or not, nor which school is best for your children. A priest can give his advice, can pray for you, but his word is not the ultimate truth. If the priest has answers to all these questions, then you need to run away from him. Because everyone should mind their own business: an agronomist deals with plants, an accountant – with finances, a plumber – with pipes, a doctor treats illnesses, and a priest serves God and deals with spiritual issues.
No one will live your life for you. And very often people are afraid to live. They are afraid to be alone with themselves. Afraid of themselves. Don’t love themselves. Don’t love their life. They want to cling to someone and pass on their life to this person: let him think for me, let him decide everything for me and let him be responsible for me as well.
Talking to people, I came to the conclusion that in eighty percent of cases, the problem, and often the sins of a person, lie in the fact that this person does not love their life. Hence there is often fornication, alcoholism, drug addiction, despondency, irritation, and anger. As well as, many other sins.
But don’t be like that! Love the life God has given you. Love the life alone with God. He breathes next to you. He lives next to you. He supports you. And a priest is the person who will take you by the hand and lead you to God. And he will say to you: “Here He is! Now speak, talk with your Creator.” Because in the end, everyone will answer to the Almighty for their actions themselves. And no one can live somebody else’s life for them. And you (you personally!) must find the Face of the Living God in your life and learn to live before His Face.
Translated by pravmir.com
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