A long time ago, in one very good book, I read a parable about mercy and compassion: “Once upon a time there lived a man. He was very pious and prayed earnestly to his God. Every morning at dawn he went out onto the porch of his house and opened the sacred book. And when he began to pray, every time people passed by his house... different people. He saw their weakness and suffering, but since he was faithful to traditions and customs, the man did not break away from his “sacred work.” One day a beggar wanderer, all in rags, passed by his house and asked for water. Seeing him, the righteous man fell into despair and cried out to God in anger: “Lord, You are our creator and benefactor, You have mercy and save, why can’t You do something to help this unfortunate man?” There was no sound in response. The man waited for a long time for God to answer him, and when he was completely desperate, he suddenly heard: “And then I created you”! A beautiful parable and I often use this metaphor in my work. It has a very deep meaning, but it is not always clear from the first reading. The compilers of the book, mentioning this parable, focused on material assistance to those who find themselves in difficult situations. And they even asked their readers a question: “What would you do so that there are fewer hungry and outcasts in the world?” Apparently, hinting that, they say, you and I are from a different stratum, God created us and gave us this, that, in addition, third... and that crowd of beggars with rattling bowls are marginalized and second-rate. - What can I do alone, and why do anything for the sake of a stranger, a person unknown to me? He has his own destiny - I quietly justified myself. The themes of good and evil, cruelty and mercy, love and hate, truth and lies are worn out to holes. Many copies have been broken, tons of paper and liters of ink have been transferred, but the question remains open. And it will never close as long as humanity lives. Well, I’m there too))) From childhood we are taught that it is good to be kind and bad to be evil. However, alas! – not everyone manages to behave well. And if it does work out, it won’t be as expected. Every second of my clients comes to a consultation with a grudge against their loved ones, the reason for which is not always obvious to them. In my practice, there was a case when the mother of a six-year-old boy came to me and said from the doorway, “My son is a loser!” How can this be? ? What happened? - The thing is, my mother continued, that my son follows the lead of his peers, fulfills all their requests, steals sweets from the house, but they tease him, humiliate him, do not want to play with him. Our conversation with this woman did not was long. After listening to the complaints, I asked her one single question: - What did you teach your child, what values ​​did you instill? - Well, of course! I taught him to be kind, share with everyone and not fight with anyone! – answered the mother. “Well, your son follows your instructions exactly.” Isn’t that right? The woman looked up at me in surprise, sighed loudly and left the table. All! Our conversation ended there. She probably expected a different reaction, maybe even sympathy, but she still didn’t want to understand that she was trying to teach her son to manipulate other children, and the impudent boys did not allow him to do this, and only because too small for such adult games. Now the baby will have to look for other ways to express himself. Now let's return to our parable. What does God expect from us, sending the poor, the disadvantaged, the wretched to our doorstep... Kindness? But which one? Feed, clothe, put on shoes and give money for the trip? Is this mercy? Is this what compassion is? Yes, situations are different and sometimes our alms help someone survive. And it also happens that we ourselves need the support of our neighbor. But this does not bring us closer to the Creator. It’s so easy to manipulate someone to whom you have done a “good deed,” isn’t it? And how easy it is to hook us into a “sense of duty” “just by intercepting a hundred rubles from a friend before payday. And how many “pluses to karma” we earn by transferring 10% of the profit to charitable foundations! And few people realize what.