The patience of troubles and its importance in the iconomy of salvation and Orthodox spirituality
The patience of troubles and its importance in the iconomy of salvation and Orthodox spirituality

Summary/Abstract: After his fall, man began to have troubles, which,willingly or unwillingly he had to endure. Man's powers have weakened, his nature was altered by sin, lust, the tendency to do evil have entered into him, sin and passions have taken root in him, man no longer has communion with God, he can no longer work virtue easily, being deprived of God's help, he returns more to the worldly pleasures. Man has to face all kinds of troubles and pains, diseases and shortcomings that come upon him. Mainly, man suffers from three kinds of trouble: pain that comes from the work of virtue, pain that comes from sins, and pain that comes from God's indulgence to return from sin.The work of virtues assumes, besides its good purpose, certain obstacles which man must carry with patience, but these obstacles are much easier than those which come from the fall into sins, than the consequences of sins and passions, which are much heavier than the work of virtue. They aim at strengthening the soul in the work of good.To do good is not easy, especially at the beginning of the road in the work of virtue requires effort, which man must carry patiently,but, for the work of virtue, the path becomes easier, because man is helped by God in doing good. At the beginning of the work of virtues,man must make a sustained effort to achieve them, to endure certain needs, to have patience in order to overcome difficulties. After awhile, however, the temptations diminish, the obstacles become easier, especially since God also helps him in doing good.36The troubles that man must face and over come, are coming,first of all, from the envy of the evil one, who wants to prevent the work of man and his advancement by virtue. The devil puts all kinds of obstacles in the way of man. Of course, he would have no power without the permission of God, which allows the temptation of the devil to strengthen the man in the work of good, to harden him, to be tested in the act of virtue, and to appreciate what he has accomplished. In the work of virtue, other pains and troubles come to man from himself, from his interior and exterior, from the weakness of human nature, then from his fellows, from the world in which he lives. Almost any good deed arouses opposition from peers, when a man commits a good deed there is always someone to hinder him, to mock him, to oppose him, sometimes to envy him or even to humiliate him.The toils of virtue must be taken willingly, for otherwise man will have more troubles. If man does not decide to go on the path of virtue, but takes the path of sin, being deluded by the pleasures with which he is baited, man will have to suffer much more trouble than those arising from the struggle to achieve virtue. In the beginning,sin offers pleasure then it is always followed by troubles. God has related the troubles to sin, so that man should turn from evil to repentance and not to punish man. In fact, even when he punished man to earn his bread by the sweat of his face, when he fell into sin,God did not punish man himself, but gave him work so that he would not be lazy, and even more so, chosen not to sink into sin, but to learn to work virtue.For the sinners, say the Holy Fathers, they are indeed in need,useful for the troubles of righteousness, which is why God allows them, in a pedagogical way, to return them to repentance and help people in their troubles. For better or for worse, God helps man to walk in the way of good and salvation. By providence it leads him to37good, and by judgment he "whips" him continuously in such a way that man turns from evil.The Holy Fathers teach us how we can misappropriate a virtue as great as the patience of tribulation: through much prayer to God to rid us of tribulation, and to help us endure it, when it comes,by contemplating His works and meditating on the meaning of life and, above all, by the thought of God's reward, in the past or future.

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