" “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."- Exodus 22:21
" So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God."- Leviticus 25:17
" Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." - Romans 13:10
" Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived... " 1 Corinthians 6:7-9 NASB
"He Loved Righteousness
In modern Greek, ... a 'just' or 'righteous' person is someone who is blameless in his dealings with others., and it is in this sense that the elder used the term.
He made a distinction between this human righteousness in which one does no injustice to one's neighbor, and divine righteousness, in which someone consciously endures injustice while giving thanks. Divine righteousness is for a person to prefer to sacrifice his will, his peace, his being right, in order to help and give peace to another.
The more spiritualy advanced someone is, the fewer rights he lets himself have...'Throw human reasoning and human righteousness away', the elder recommended. 'Enter into divine righteousness'...
Someone who's worldly and ignorant has a lot of rights...
.. the elder believed that, in his life too, the just God grants spiritual and even material gifts to people who consciously endure injustices, according to their situation.
In a letter he wrote, 'I saw the great unlimited righteousness of God. There was a soul who had been treated unfairly while he served sinful people without any thought of gain for himself. Within a month as a novice, he ascended to Divine vision and lived the mysteries of God.
The most beautiful moments of my life have been times when I suffered injustice. Anyone who accepts injustice accepts into his heart Christ, Who was treated unjustly.'
The elder practiced this divine justice in his life. He happily accepted injustices, and he was so sensitive that he conducted himself in such cases in a refined way, with discretion, so he wouldn't hurt or insult those who were treating him unjustly. He thought of them as his benefactors, prayed for them, and sent them gifts...'we think they do us wrong. But injustices actually help us. If we don't wrong ourselves, there is no one who can do us wrong. We wrong ourselves when we neglect to live spiritually. We live spiritually when we keep the commandments.'
So much did he love and practiced divine justice, that he preferred to be wronged rather than to do wrong to another and to be punished because of those he had wronged... He would beg mercy from God for any injustice he might have committed out of ignorance.
If we do not practice divine righteousness, we won't be able to advance in the spiritual life, and our prayers won't be heard... 'The whole world could have changed. But there's no justice, so prayers aren't heard'.
And yet, the prayer of even one righteous man is enough to propitiate God for the entire world. " From Elder Paisios of Mount Athos excerpts from pages 422 to 426.
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos - by Hieromonk Isaac is published by the Holy Monastery of St Arsenios the Cappadocian, Chalkidiki Greece 2009
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos (†1994) is perhaps the greatest and most revered Elder of the Orthodox Church of our time. Even though he lived the monastic life in obscurity on the Holy Mountain of Athos in northern Greece, he became a shining light for thousands of faithful who flocked to see him. His life, miracles, and teachings continue to touch the hearts of people throughout the world to this day. Unquestionably, this present biography (written by his spiritual disciple Elder Isaac), which is the most authoritative account of his life, will inspire readers forevermore.
Hard cover, 752 pages with numerous photos and icons. Published by The Holy Monastery of Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian
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