The parable genre is distinguished by its simplicity and depth. The Lord Himself told parables to His disciples. Everyone can understand the parable, but not everyone will comprehend its deep meaning. These simple, often dry texts give us food for thought, forcing us to think about them again and again. This book contains more than 300 well-known and not so well-known parables that monks, elders, and ascetics told each other - these are 300 drops of wisdom that have come down from the depths of centuries.

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The given introductory fragment of the book Living water: 300 drops of wisdom. Collection of the best Christian parables (A. N. Logunov, 2014) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

Approved for distribution by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church 13-301-0054

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About gratitude and trust in God

One great ascetic, while performing a divine service, saw Angels next to him. But he was not strong in dogmas and, out of simplicity of soul, learned from the heretics the order of service, which he adhered to, not realizing his mistake.

Once a man in the rank of deacon, versed in dogmas, came to his service, and the elder performed the liturgy with him.

“Father, what you said during the ceremony does not agree with the Orthodox faith, but was taken from heretics,” said the deacon after the service.

But the elder, who again saw the Angels during the service, did not pay attention to his words.

“You are mistaken, father, the Church does not accept this,” the deacon repeated.

After all these reproaches and denunciations, the elder, seeing the Angels the next day, as was his custom, asked them:

- That's what the deacon told me. Is it true?

“Listen to him, he speaks correctly,” the Angels told him.

- Why didn’t you tell me this yourself?

- God arranged it so that people should be corrected by people.

There lived a king, great and powerful. No one could compare with him either in strength or health, but for some time he felt the emptiness in his heart and the meaninglessness of his life. And he decided to go on a journey to find joy and consolation.

One day, at the end of a long day, the king stopped to rest in the shade of dense trees, next to a field, and suddenly he saw: one ox was lying in the field, another was standing harnessed, and a plowman nearby, right in the arable land, knelt down, raised his hands and exclaimed:

- Thank You, God, glory to You! The wanderer was surprised and asked the peasant:

-What do you thank God for?

“How can I not thank Him when I am a sinful person and deserve to die, but instead God takes from me only one ox, which he gave me last year.” Glory to You, God!

“But how are you going to plow this field now?” – the king was even more surprised.

“Nothing,” the plowman’s face lit up with a quiet smile, “the Lord will manage.”

The king felt ashamed that, living in abundance, he could not smile like this man, who trusted in God in everything.

Then he took several gold coins and gave them to the peasant.

- Go ahead and buy yourself a new ox. Today I learned a lot from you and I am grateful to you.

“Didn’t I tell you, my lord, that God will not leave me!” - exclaimed the plowman, looking at the gold. – Glory to You, God!

In joy, the king went home and, approaching, saw from afar that his palace was on fire.

- Thank You, God, glory to You! - the king exclaimed, falling to his knees and raising his hands. “I was not grateful when You generously gave to me, now I am doubly grateful for what You take away.” The time has come for me to work for Your glory, I believe that You will not leave me!

And the king found faith in God, and with it the meaning and joy of life. With a light heart, he began to build a new palace and did not forget to thank God every day for everything.

One official, leaving the office, looked at the emperor's palace and thought: “What a pity that I was not born into a royal family, life could have been so simple ...”, and walked towards the center of the city, from where the rhythmic knocking of a hammer and loud screams. Workers were building a new building on the square.

One of them saw an official with his papers and thought: “Oh, why didn’t I go to study, as my father told me, I could now do light work and rewrite texts all day, and life would be so simple...”

And at that time the emperor walked up to the huge window in his palace and looked at the square. He saw workers, officials, sellers, buyers, children and adults and thought about how good it must be to be in the fresh air all day, doing manual labor, or working for someone, or even being a street vagabond and not thinking at all. about politics and other complex issues. “What a simple life these simple people must have,” he said barely audibly.

The Mother of God appeared to the Monk Job of Anzersky and indicated the place where he should look for a source of water for the monastery. When the found source was equipped and consecrated, the monk said to the brethren:

- Do not grieve, brothers, and do not be faint-hearted, but always trust in God. The Lord, with His omnipotent Word, brought forth from the abyss sources of water, sweet for all living on earth, faithful and unfaithful; So will He really leave us, His servants, and not nourish us? - With these words, he scooped up water and joyfully handed the cup to the brethren.

Someone complained to Elder Paisius Svyatogorets about his health and said that he had high blood pressure.

– Your pressure is from constant internal anxiety. Go to the owner of the grocery store, buy good indifference from him,” the old man smiled good-naturedly, and then seriously continued: “Never try to solve everything yourself.” Solve the easy problems that you can handle, and leave the difficult ones to God, He will do it better.

One man had two cherry trees in front of his house. He often approached them and they always asked him for something. One of them demanded every time: “dig me in,” then “whiten me,” then “give me something to drink,” then “take away excess moisture from me,” then “shade me from the hot sun,” then “give me more light.” . And the other cherry tree always repeated the same request: “My lord, help me bring a good harvest!”

The owner was equally merciful to both, looked after them, listened carefully to their requests and fulfilled all their desires. He gave one cherry everything that it demanded, and the other only what he considered necessary. How the strong trunk and branches of the first cherry tree shone! Its abundant foliage was dark green and spreading, like a thick tent. While nothing remarkable could be said about the other.

When the harvest time came, the first cherry produced small, rare fruits, which, due to the dense foliage, could not ripen, but the other one brought a lot of ripe and very tasty berries!

If God allows something to happen to us, it is only something that will later turn out to be good for us. This is the story Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets told about himself.

One day I was returning from the village to the monastery and was in a hurry, because the sun was already setting, and I did not want to miss the usual time of the evening prayer rule. And then, halfway along the way, I see a man with two mules loaded with firewood. One of the mules fell on one side, the other on the other. And the owner himself is in danger. He needed help. We managed the mules and carried the wood up the trail. It took about twenty minutes. The man thanked me warmly: “Thank you a thousand times!” I quickened my pace again to catch up.

- You saved me! You saved me! – he shouted words of gratitude after me.

And having climbed the pass, I saw that about twenty minutes walk ahead, huge stones were falling onto the path - torn off pieces of rock, as if fired from a sling. That is, if I had not stopped, I would have died, but God arranged it so that another person needed help - and I was saved. They also said “thousandfold thanks” to me!

In an instant I understood all this and shouted from the top of the pass:

- You saved me! You saved me! Thank you

A certain man went to church from an early age, but in his youth, as often happens, he departed from the Lord, did not go to church for several years and did not pray to God. The Lord was pleased to bring him back into the fold of the Orthodox Church in an unusual way.

One day Baptists came to his house and, leaving, left the Bible. The young man began to read, and every word of the Gospel resonated in his soul with warmth and joy. Childhood faith returned to his heart along with childhood memories.

When the sectarian came again to invite the young man to his meeting, he met another man who flatly refused to join the sect.

“We have more love among ourselves than the Orthodox,” the Baptist gave the usual argument.

“If this is so,” the young man answered him, “then why do you not receive communion from one cup, like us, but each from a separate one?”

And when asked to be baptized, he said firmly:

– I have already been baptized once.

A young man is blind. It was a strange blindness. As soon as he lay down, his vision returned. He stayed in bed for a long time, not daring to get up often, lest he one day discover that his sight had completely left him. He became weak and thin. His family took poor care of him. And one day the sick man cried out to the Lord to restore his health.

– I will give myself all to You, God! - he said.

And God restored his sight. The healed man remembered his promise and turned to the priest for advice on what kind of sacrifice he should make to God. He advised him to take something as a gift to the monastery.

The man did just that. I bought oil and candles and went to a famous monastery. On the way, he got lost and came to another monastery, small and little-known. How happy the monks were! What he brought was precisely what they lacked in the last days. They struck up a conversation with the abbot, and suddenly he asked:

– Why don’t you want to give all of yourself to God? Why don't you become a monk?

The words that were spoken were those that the man who had regained his sight once said to God, praying for health and making a vow! This shocked the young man, and he remained in the monastery forever.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, while still in the rank of archimandrite, served the liturgy in Tver. The bishop's service was taking place, and when he began the proskomedia, he turned to the bishop:

- Remember me, Holy Master!

– May the Lord God remember your bishopric! – the bishop suddenly responded, and when he came to his senses, he added quietly: “May God grant that you become a bishop.”

And on this day in the capital they were choosing a bishop for Voronezh, seven candidates had already been approved, and suddenly the metropolitan said:

– Let’s include Archimandrite Tikhon from Tver.

Some were embarrassed by his youth, but still he became the eighth candidacy.

And what? They drew lots three times, and each time it was written on the piece of paper: “Archimandrite Tikhon.”

Thus, the Lord Himself indicated His chosen one, through the lips of the bishop, remembering him as a bishop, with the timely thought of the Metropolitan, including him in the list of candidates, and, finally, by a threefold lot.

One peasant reaped a rich harvest of melons and quickly made good money for himself. He still had a small portion of the harvest left when the price of melons and melons fell sharply. He was very unhappy.

“But you’ve already managed to make good money on them,” a merchant he knew once told him. - Thank God for this!

– I should be grateful not to God, but to my calluses! – he got angry.

The next year his melons grew small, about the size of a fist. Having met by chance again with that merchant, the peasant began to complain to him about the crop failure. The merchant smiled and asked:

- Where, brother, were your calluses?

One man asked the sage: “Why on earth should I fulfill the commandments when there is no visible profit for me from doing so?”

“When you are sick, you call a doctor,” the elder answered, “and the doctor gives you medicine.” Do you always understand why he gives you this particular medicine and not another? But you trust the doctor who treats your body and take the medicine. Why do you trust God less, who heals your soul?

A certain rich man once called his son, showed him his treasures and said:

- My son, look and choose for yourself what should I leave you behind: my wealth or my faith in God?

“Earthly treasures are perishable,” answered the wise son, “leave me your faith.”

After this, the father distributed all his property to the poor and soon died, and the son became a poor man and placed all his hope only in the Lord.

There was in the same city a rich and famous, but pious man, and his wife was a match for him. When their only daughter reached the age of the bride, the pious mother said to her husband:

“We have enough wealth, which means we should look for a groom for our daughter, not a rich one, but a meek and God-fearing one who would make her happy.”

“You’re reasoning correctly,” the husband answered, “and I think I’ll leave the choice to God Himself.” Let's go to the temple, pray fervently, and then whoever the Lord sends first to church, let him be the husband of our daughter.

They did so, and the first to enter was the wise young man. The bride's parents began to ask who he was and where he was from. When the young man told them his father, whom they knew well, and they heard that the young man was not married, they glorified God and exclaimed:

“Christ Himself chooses you as the husband of our daughter, take her and our property.”

And the young man lived with his wife happily ever after in prosperity and piety. Blessed indeed is he who places all his hope in God, seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven.

A certain person wanted to take part in the construction of the temple. He went to the mountains, looked for a granite slab there, broke it out, hewed it, polished it and decided to donate it to the temple. He began to look for porters, but no one agreed to deliver such a huge stone to the temple for less than five altyns, and the man did not have that kind of money. But suddenly four peasants come up to him - small, frail - and say:

- So be it, we will bring your stone for half an altyn, only you must help us. We will put this stone on your back, and we ourselves will support you on four sides.

“Yes, this heavy slab will crush me right away,” the man answered.

- Decide for yourself, and think about why you want to make a gift to the temple: to try for God or to show off in front of people.

The man thought and said: “I want to try for God.”

He prayed and offered his back.

The men put the slab on his back, but for some reason it turned out to be lighter than light. They quickly reached the temple. The man turned around to pay the peasants, but there was no trace of them.

This always happens: if you do a good deed for the glory of God, not only people, but also Angels come to help.

Once upon a time there lived a man. One day he was getting ready to go work in the vineyard and said to his wife:

- Tomorrow early in the morning I will go to the vineyard.

“If God wills, you will go,” the woman answered.

“Whether God pleases or not,” he answered, “I’ll still go!”

The next morning, while it was still dark, he left the house and headed towards his vineyard. But on the way there was such a downpour that he had to quickly return home. It was not yet dawn when the man knocked on the door.

- Who's there? - asked the wife.

“If God wills,” he responded, “then it’s me, your husband.”

One old man once said that a horse turning a mill wheel would eat the grain that was put there if it were not blindfolded.

In the same way, the Lord often hides from us, out of His mercy, the good that we do. Otherwise, seeing our good deeds, we would begin to consider ourselves better than we really are, and our pride would destroy the value of all good deeds.

A certain man who survived a shipwreck was thrown by a wave onto a small uninhabited island. He was the only one left alive and now constantly prayed for God to save him. Every day he peered into the horizon in search of a ship approaching to help.

Finally exhausted, the man decided to build a small hut from floating logs to protect himself from the rain and wild animals.

But one day, returning home after a hike in search of food, he found his hut shrouded in flames: the smoke rose in a column to the sky. The worst thing was that all his supplies were lost, and he was left with nothing at all.

Now the man could not contain his despair and anger.

- God, how could you do this to me? – he shouted, sobbing.

Early the next morning he was awakened by the whistle of a ship approaching the shore. The ship came to save the unfortunate man.

- But how did you know that I was here? – the man asked the sailors.

“We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

Remember, man: the next time your little shack burns down, it could be a smoke signal sent by God to save you.

The Greek ascetic of the twentieth century, Elder Porfiry Kavsokalivit, possessed many gifts from God and could foresee the future of man. One day he shamed his spiritual child for swimming in cold water and risking dying of a heart attack.

“Father, but you told me that I would live for many more years,” he objected. - How can you now say that I could have died yesterday?

“What I told you is true,” answered the elder. – The lamp of your life has oil for many years. But if you drop it, the oil will spill and the lamp will go out. That is life! God gives us the valuable gift of life; we accept it and are obliged to protect it, and not expose it to senseless dangers. Be careful with your lamp!

One man asked the elder whether God grants forgiveness to sinners. And the elder answered:

- Tell me, if you cut your arm or break your leg, will you cut them off and throw them away as unusable?

The man replied:

- Well, I do not. I will treat them until I recover.

The elder concluded:

“If you care so much about your body, will God really not be merciful to His own image?”

Saint Theophan the Recluse said: “Everyone has his own cross, and everyone’s only salvation is his cross.” Do not envy another by considering his cross to be lighter: no one can know the weight and gravity of the cross except the one who bears it. It is certain that no matter what cross you take up, none will suit you except yours.

A certain monk, exhausted under the weight of suffering, prayed to the Lord to change the cross, which seemed heavy to him. The Lord, appearing to the crusader in a dream, offered him many crosses. But whatever he laid upon himself, not a single one fell on him; only the last one came, and this was the one that was entrusted to him by the Lord.

One ascetic asked God: “Lord!” Why do some people die young, while others live to a ripe old age? Why are some poor and others rich? Why are the wicked rich and the godly poor? And I heard a voice from heaven:

- Pay attention to yourself! And these are the judgments of God, and there is no benefit for you to delve into them.

Legend has it that in ancient times swallows could not move to warmer regions for the winter. And when snow fell and frost struck, they suffered cruelly and died. Seeing this, one merciful man took pity on them and began to do everything to teach the swallows to fly south.

He gave them signs - the swallows did not understand them, he lured them with food - it did not help, he frightened them and drove them south - in vain. Nothing worked for him. Then he began to pray to God that the Lord would turn him into a swallow. God fulfilled his wish and turned the man into a swallow that could think and feel like a man. Then the bird-man easily explained himself to the swallows and took them away to warmer lands in the fall. This is how swallows learned to fly south.

So Christ became a Man among people, so that they, chilled from earthly bitterness, could lead them in a new way, to warm lands, to the Kingdom of God, where there is no illness, no sorrow, no sighing.

One holy bishop explained the miracle that the Lord performed by feeding five thousand people with five loaves:

– Imagine: a certain king came out of his palace and scattered gold coins in front of his subjects. The poor will rejoice because they received gold, and those who love the king will rejoice because they saw his face. And the poor will again wait for the king to receive gold, and the lovers will again look at his face. Five thousand people, satisfied with the five loaves, became hungry again by morning, and the miracle of the Lord still feeds those who love the Lord and see in the miracle the appearance of the King of Heaven.

The monk complained to the elder: “It is not always easy to find out what your duty is.”

“On the contrary, it’s very easy,” answered the elder. “That’s what you least want to do.”

The young monk asked the elder: “Father, should I now completely renounce the world?”

“Don’t worry about it,” answered the elder, “if your life is truly Christian, the world will immediately renounce you.”

A peasant was walking along the road with his son. The son was telling something to his father and told him a lie. The peasant realized that his son was deceiving him: “Now, son, we are approaching the bridge.” This bridge is not simple, but magical - it collapses under those who tell lies.

When the son heard this, he was afraid and confessed to his father that he had deceived him.

The peasant and his son stepped onto the bridge, and suddenly... it fell through.

“But I deceived you,” the peasant confessed to the boy when they got ashore. – There are no magic bridges.

Sometimes our thoughtless words do not lead to such consequences.

We walked side by side until we came to a large hall in which there were many Angels. My Angel-mentor stopped and said: “This is the Receiving Department.” Here we receive all the petitions and petitions to God that people express during their prayer.

I looked around, it was very noisy and lively, and around me there were full of Angels who were sorting petitions - whole piles of papers written by people from all over the world - there were scrolls, sheets of paper and just notes.

Then we walked along a long corridor until we came to the second department. And then the Angel told me: “And here is the Delivery and Packaging Department.” Here the Grace of God and the mercy of the Lord, which people asked for, is distributed and sent to them.

And I again noticed that there were a lot of people here, very lively. A huge number of Angels worked in this department, because people were asking for so many things, and accordingly so many things were being prepared to be sent to earth.

And finally, at the very end of the long corridor, we stopped in front of a door that led into a tiny room. To my great surprise, there was only one Angel sitting there, who clearly had nothing to do.
“And this is the Department of Acknowledgments,” my friend Angel quietly told me, slightly embarrassed.
- How is it that there is no work here? – I asked. “This is very sad,” the Angel sighed. – After people receive everything they asked for, very few send thanks.

– How can you send your Gratitude and notification that you have received God’s Grace? – I asked.

“Very simple,” answered the Angel. - Just say: - Thank you, Lord!

– Why should people send their notifications in receiving God’s Grace? – I asked.

– If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your body, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, then you are richer than 75% of the people in this world!
If you have money in the bank, money in your wallet, and even change in your piggy bank, then you have already entered the 8% of wealthy people in this world.

And if you received this message, then you are among the 1% of people in the world who are given a chance. If you woke up this morning and felt healthy and not sick, then you are clearly happier than many who will not even survive today.

A parable about gratitude, envy, smart and not so smart actions, about human wisdom

"The Shepherd and the Royal Treasurer"

One king had a treasurer. The king loved him very much and trusted him in everything. Other royal officials were jealous of him and planned to destroy him.

They learned that the treasurer has a room in his house where no one goes except him. They learned that this room is always locked, and the treasurer never gives the key to anyone.

“He has treasures from the tsar’s treasury collected there,” the envious people thought, “the tsar’s treasury is in his hands, the tsar trusts him, so it’s not difficult for him to hide as much as he wants.” And they reported to the king that the treasurer was stealing from the royal treasury and was keeping the money in his house. The king himself wanted to find out the truth, went to the treasurer’s house and ordered the doors of the room that the envious people had told him about to be opened.

The treasurer gladly fulfilled the king's order, led him out and unlocked the door of the room; the king saw four bare walls, a simple pine table and a bench. On the table lay an old knapsack, the kind that shepherds wear, and a shepherd's horn; and there was nothing else in the room. The king was surprised, and the treasurer told him: “I was formerly a shepherd, tending sheep. You, sir, took me and gave me a high position, but I did not forget who I was before. Great is your mercy, I live in honor and luxury, but I have many worries and grief. Every day in this room I remember my former happy life, when I was a simple worker: no one envied me then, and I had no enemies.”

March 27, 2012

Gratitude

let's talk O thanks. There is a popular proverb: “Debt is worth paying.” Each of us, at least once in our lives, provided help and received in return.

It doesn't matter what form gratitude takes. The main thing is that it should come from the heart. I think that real gratitude should not be confused with modern “gratitude.” Now they say: “I will thank you,” “I must thank you,” “my gratitude will know no bounds,” etc.

Unfortunately, this is forced, and most likely refers to a bribe or corruption. Such gratitude corrupts people and makes them greedy. greedy, evil.

The real one makes a person cleaner, kinder, more beautiful. True gratitude comes from the depths, passing through the heart. Let's be truly grateful to God, ourselves, life, family and friends, and the world around us. Love and goodness to you!

Parable of Gratitude

One windy evening, the dry leaf on which the ant was sitting was torn off and fell into the river. The ant's tiny heart cried out to God for help. God prompted a kite flying over the river, went down to the water and picked up a leaf with its beak, instilling in it that it was a fish or a frog. And although the bird was very disappointed, the ant was incredibly happy that he was on solid ground.

“God turned into a bird and saved me,” he thought and decided that he should thank this kite and all the other birds.

One day, during his morning jog, he saw a hunter aiming an arrow at a bird. Remembering how a bird once saved his life, the ant bit the hunter on the heel. The archer's hand trembled and the arrow flew past the target.

Everything in the world is interconnected. and even the ant is ready to repay his debt.

People may forgive you for the good you have done for them, but they rarely forget the evil they have done to you. (Somerset Maugham)

Reviews (20) to “Gratitude”

1. nadezhdapol
   27 March 2012 at 20:18

   Gratitude - I give thanks! To everyone and everything!
   Thank you!

2. Alla
   March 28, 2012 at 8:24 am

   Yes, gratitude makes people more responsive, the main thing here is sincerity! And the parable is correct! Good is most often forgotten, and evil remains in the memory as a resentment for a long time, although it would be better to forget it...

3. Vitaliy
   March 28, 2012 at 9:23 am

   Nadyusha, as always, you are right and accurate!

4. Vitaliy
   March 28, 2012 at 9:24 am

   Allah agrees! Thank you!

5. Aksana
   March 28, 2012 at 9:42 am

   Unfortunately, people are vindictive, and they cannot forgive even involuntary evil for a very long time.

6. Oksana
   March 29, 2012 at 6:43 am

   The words of Somerset Moy very well show the essence of man... Unfortunately, man is just like that

7. Vitaliy
   March 29, 2012 at 8:48 am

   Perhaps you are right Oksana! But still a person strives to be better!

8. Airat
   29 March 2012 at 12:15

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9. Irina
   March 30, 2012 at 10:54 am

   The ability to thank is one of the most important qualities. But from the heart! Indeed, everything in the world is interconnected.

10. Vitaliy
    30 March 2012 at 16:50

    I agree with you Irina!

11. mrs. interesting
    30 March 2012 at 17:10

    If you do good, it is better to never count on gratitude.
    Otherwise, you will live with the thought that everyone around you is not grateful, and good deeds have no meaning.

12. Vitaliy
    30 March 2012 at 17:20

    Can't argue with you!

13. Alla
    March 31, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    We just have to remember to thank the universe for everything we have. And we have a lot.

14. Vitaliy
    31 March 2012 at 15:01

    Golden words Allah!

15. Andrey
    31 March 2012 at 17:41

    Gratitude is a simple thing, but there is so much behind it...

16. Vitaliy
    31 March 2012 at 17:58

    Andrey! You got the point across exactly! Thank you!

17. Anatoly
    March 31, 2012 at 11:07 pm

    And you need to do good and give thanks from the bottom of your heart!

18. Vitaliy
    01 Apr 2012 at 13:26

    I agree with you, Anatoly!

19. Vitaliy
    03 Apr 2012 at 21:04

    Yes, Aksana, there is such a sin!

20. Vitaliy
    03 Apr 2012 at 21:12

    In one city there lived a very rich and arrogant man. He was single, did not communicate with his relatives, despised his neighbors and often ridiculed them among his friends, gentlemen as important as himself. However, he did not even like his friends, and he often reproached heaven for the fact that he was not the richest, not the most famous and not the most revered person in the city.

    The Lord was tired of listening to the envious complaints and lamentations of this man, that when he threw his entire fortune down the drain, he did not even want to extend his helping hand to him. When curses rained down from the lips of the ruined man against God and the Heavenly Powers, an accident occurred - lightning struck his house (all that was left of him), and it burned to the ground.

    The man cried bitterly and wandered off to seek refuge with his friends. However, none of them ever accepted it. And some, wincing in disgust, only mocked the grief of yesterday’s friend. At night, hungry, tired and cold, in desperation he knocked on the window of his neighbor - a poor widow with two small children. She did not hold a grudge against him and wholeheartedly offered him shelter and food.

    In the morning this man knelt in the temple and, bursting into tears, asked the Lord for forgiveness for his stupidity and pride. The kindness and generosity of the commoner he once despised deeply touched his soul. He prayed: “Forgive me, Lord, for not appreciating Your gifts and not thanking You for Your mercy.”

    He soon made peace with his relatives and they helped him build a small house. So he began to live in peace and harmony with everyone.

    Several years have passed. The poor widow, who took him in during the most difficult days of his life, died, and her children were left orphans. They knocked on his house and asked for shelter. The man sympathized with them, but refused:

    My house is tiny. You knock on the door of those who are richer. I'm used to living alone...

    The orphans left, saddened. And the next morning the man could not get out of bed - an unknown illness chained him to it. The man wept bitterly and cried out to God in despair:

    Again I angered You, paying for my stupidity with my health. Why are you punishing me so harshly?

    The Lord answered him bitterly:

    Because you don’t know how to be wise without suffering and grief.

    The man understood everything. He begged forgiveness from the poor orphans, and they happily entered his house and helped him overcome his illness. Then the man thanked the Lord for his mercy a second time. From now on, every moment he rejoiced at the presence of loved ones and their voices, echoing in his heart with an echo of inexpressible happiness.

    One day, when he was sitting in the yard, playing with his grandchildren, his former important friends passed by the house. They recognized him and began to make fun of his small house, his poor clothes and his games with the children. And he only raised his gaze to Heaven and thanked God.