For example! The Christian faith has always taught us that only for the sake of Christ and in the Name of Christ is good real, true good, for there is only ostentatious good, done for the sake of some benefit or gain. If it is strongly said of someone that "he does a great deal of good," this does not at all mean that he is a really good person, for, as our faith teaches us and as the very experience of life shows, it is possible to do good with an evil purpose, and this, of course, will no longer be true good, but only an outward appearance of good. And you need to run away from such "good" to save your soul.

And how much such "good" is happening now, behind which some mercenary calculation is hidden! And people do not notice this or do not want to notice it, and are even very susceptible to such "goodness": "If only they give me money, and why, for what purpose they give it, does it matter: "Money does not smell!"

True, all this happened in the old days, but never on such a huge scale and as often as now, when literally everything is bought for money.

In the past, bodily slavery was widespread, but now it has been replaced by a much worse one – spiritual slavery. And people voluntarily sell themselves into this slavery, depersonalizing themselves and renouncing all that is holy... for money or for any earthly goods in general.

There were times when people were ready to go to the most terrible torments and even death for the Name of Christ. And now, when no one persecutes, tortures, or kills them for Christ's sake, they often sell Christ themselves, having been deceived by certain earthly goods. And this imaginary good, of which there are many workers today, is often done now precisely for this purpose – to turn people away from Christ, plunging them into spiritual slavery.

With each new year, and in this regard, we see more and more "progress", and, what is especially frightening: Christ is sold not only by ordinary "Christians", but also by Christian clergymen, up to the bearers of a high hierarchical rank.

But what is most terrible of all is that with each new year, as the press and the very life around us testify, the moral sense of people becomes more and more dulled, and they begin to reconcile themselves to all the most savage and ugly phenomena of modern modernized life, from which only recently a healthy moral sense turned away with indignation and disgust and resolutely condemned them. Also "progress"!

Thus, before our eyes, there is a gradual, but recently very intense, moral preparation of people for the acceptance of the Antichrist – for his easy painless enthronement.

This is what every new year should remind us of!

Но напоминает он нам и еще о чем-то, самом для нас важном, от чего зависит жизнь наша в вечности.

С каждым новым годом приближается расплата за все злые дела тех из нас, кои любят только ветрено и легкомысленно проводить время, «прожигая жизнь», стремятся весело и безпечно растрачивать драгоценное время, данное нам для подготовки к вечности, и убаюкивают себя уверением, что еще далеко до «конца» и наивной надеждой на какой-то призрачный «прогресс», якобы ожидающий нас на земле.

Нравится ли это кому-нибудь или не нравится, но Слово Божие совершенно ясно и недвусмысленно нас об этом предупреждает и предостерегает: неправедный пусть еще делает неправду; нечистый пусть еще сквернится; праведный да творит правду еще. – Се, гряду скоро, и возмездие Мое со Мною, чтобы воздать каждому по делам его (Апок.22,11-12).

С новым годом, приветствуем вас, бpaтие … и «с новым счастьем», как говаривали в старину, которое – будем это помнить! – доступно только тем, кто познают и глубоко прочувствуют суету и тщету всего земного и искренно обратят свои мысленные взоры к небу, отонудуже и Спасителя ждем, Господа нашего Иисуса Христа (Флп.3,20), Который откроет нам «новое небо» и «новую землю», когда и будет «все новое» (Апок.21,5). – Аминь.

Фарисейство в наши дни.