About the fight against cowardice. Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov: Cowardice is the result of lack of faith

Many people today do not consider cowardice a sin at all. They think that weak will is forgivable for a person. In fact, cowardice can lead to very serious consequences, especially if this quality is inherent in a person holding a responsible position. Why is cowardice so dangerous? How to overcome this quality in yourself?

Video: How to overcome cowardice before trials for faith?

What is cowardice?

Cowardice is a trait of human character, manifested in mental weakness, instability, susceptibility to other people's influence, cowardice and fear of acting according to one's beliefs and concepts. This quality is not a temporary state of the human psyche. If it is inherent in the individual, then it accompanies him constantly throughout his life.

Cowardly people constantly need approval and support from others. They are ready to easily adapt to other people's interests, to do what will be beneficial in this situation. In conflicts and disputes, a cowardly person always takes the side of the majority.

Why do people become cowardly?

Since cowardice is one of the properties of character, it can be assumed that its inclinations are laid in a person at birth. Some are naturally brave and courageous, while others are timid and cowardly. For one person, it is not so difficult to accomplish a feat, but for another it is an impossible task.

Video: Cowardice

IN early childhood parents can both suppress the rudiments and help the child to develop cowardice. The value of education in the formation of this quality of personality plays a huge role. If you constantly strive to protect and protect the child from all troubles and problems, extinguish manifestations of independence, leave the misconduct of the baby unpunished, you should not be surprised that, having matured, he will become a cowardly person. People brought up in this way are not capable of noble deeds, they are always waiting for someone to do all the work for them, they do not know how to make decisions and take responsibility for themselves.

The social structure also has a considerable influence on the formation of cowardice in a person. An environment in which money wins over justice, initiative is punishable, bribery and unscrupulousness flourish all around, and contributes to the strengthening of lack of will and cowardice in a person.

How to define a cowardly person?

Very clearly, the first signs of cowardice appear in adolescence. During this period, children are more susceptible to the influence of others. From what company a young person gets into, his future depends.

So many teenagers, because of their cowardice, begin to smoke, drink alcohol or even drugs just because everyone around them does the same. They do not want to lose the respect of their peers, to be an outcast and a "black sheep".

For an adult, cowardice is not just a bad character trait, but also a great sin. It manifests itself in the unwillingness to make important decisions, shifting responsibility for one's actions to others, the constant search for the guilty, the desire to avoid conflicts through flattery and hypocrisy. Cowardice is closely connected with indecision, fear, selfishness. Such people are ready for anything, just to shield themselves, to appear for others in the right light.

Is it necessary to fight cowardice?

Cowardice is, first of all, a sin, so it is imperative to fight it. It can lead to very terrible consequences that people cannot even imagine. If a cowardly person occupies a high position and the fate of other people depends on him, the consequences of a decision he has not made out of conscience can lead to tragedy.

An example of the manifestation of cowardice is the deliberately wrong sentence of the judge, as a result of which an innocent person will be sentenced to many years of imprisonment. This can happen if the person making the verdict received a bribe, or felt threatened to lose his position by superior people. Unfortunately, in modern world this is not an uncommon situation.

Cowardice interferes with Everyday life even the ordinary person. Due to indecision, such people find it difficult to create families, fail at work, and have problems communicating with others.

Video: Met. Sergius - Cowardice

How to overcome cowardice in yourself?

If you understand that you are a cowardly person, you should not let the problem take its course and ignore this sin. It is necessary to try with all your might to eradicate cowardice in yourself, to make an effort and show patience in the fight against it.

Video: Andrey Panasovets "How to overcome cowardice and go through defeat"

First you need to understand what exactly you are afraid of and why, what are your fears based on? Strengthening faith and daily prayers can help in the fight against cowardice. However, in addition to this, a person must develop in himself qualities that are opposite to cowardice, overpower himself, try to act according to his conscience. Winning this quality in yourself is not at all easy, but if you do this, then your life and the life of those around you will become much better.

Blessed is he who has not given himself room for doubt about God, who has not fallen into cowardice at the sight of the present, but awaits what is expected; who did not have an incredulous thought about the Creator of us (St. Basil the Great, 5, 162).

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Do not be cowardly, looking at the present, but look forward to that blessed and endless life, for then you will see that poverty, dishonor, and deprivation of pleasures serve the righteous for good (St. Basil the Great, 5, 318).

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Do not be cowardly when you see that in this life you are in disgrace, or in sickness, or in old age and poverty. He who feeds the birds of the air will not leave you without His providence (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 30, 501).

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Which souls succumb to timidity and fear, not having endured sorrows, even reach negligence, impatience and despair, pervert from the righteous path, and do not expect the Lord's mercy to the end; how can those who are found to be unrighteous gain eternal life? For every soul, for the sake of the Lord who died for us, until death is obliged to be magnanimous, to endure to the end and keep hope in Him, in order to thus be worthy of eternal salvation (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 31, 528).

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Do not be lazy because the world hates you; those who hate are very unfortunate, but those who are hated for Christ's sake are blessed. For He will come and reward everyone according to his deeds (St. Ephraim the Syrian, 32, 150-151).

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The cowardly and riches cannot benefit, the magnanimous and poverty will never hurt (St. John Chrysostom, 45, 176).

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Let us avoid... cowardice, let us hasten to the harbor of long-suffering, so that here too we can find rest for our souls... and achieve future blessings... (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 635).

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...<Малодушие>causes death, like carelessness. Cowardly not enduring insults, cowardly not enduring temptations... (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 558).

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The anger of a husband is tamed by a wise servant: who is cowardly and who can endure a man? (). Says it<царь Соломон>because cowardice is worse than anger. The latter can also be calmed down by a slave who does not have the courage of a free man, and<малодушия>not (can destroy). Just as the Lord is called an attacking tiger in relation to sinners and a stone of temptation for unbelievers, so is the coward among sinners (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 1124-1125).

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Arming yourself with the hope that future blessings will be given to those who erect glorious victorious monuments over vice, perfectly protecting yourself from everywhere, and building this strong wall with prayers, repel the attack of cowardice; because it will strongly take possession of a courageous soul, if, constantly dreaming of crowns, it will not endure sorrows (St. Isidore Pelusiot, 62, 48).

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There are some people who are so exhausted by the occurrence of sorrows that they renounce life itself and consider death sweet, if only to get rid of sorrows, but this comes from cowardice and much unreason, for such people do not know the terrible need that meets us. upon the exodus of the soul from the body (St. Abba Dorotheos, 29, 137).

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Let's not... weep and faint of heart, looking at the fact that our life saddens and torments the heart... (St. Theodore the Studite, 92,226).

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Let us not be cowardly, considering how little we can do on our own (St. Theodore the Studite, 92, 310).

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Cowardice and confusion are born from unbelief; but as soon as the ascetic resorts to faith, cowardice and embarrassment disappear like the darkness of the night from the rising sun (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, 42, 148).

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One righteous desert-dweller, noticing that his sick disciple expressed impatience with frequent sighs, said to him: “Do not be cowardly, my son! Your body, exhausted by illness, can be a saving medicine for your soul. If you are like iron in your deeds, then the fire of suffering will cleanse you of rust; if you are gold, then this fire will give more brilliance to your virtue ”(116, 79).

Cowardly… Spelling Dictionary

See fearful, cowardly... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian dictionaries, 1999. cowardly ... Synonym dictionary

cowardly, cowardly, cowardly; cowardly, cowardly, cowardly (book). Indecisive, weak-willed, cowardly, revealing cowardice. Cowardly person. Cowardly answer. Acted extremely cowardly (adv.). Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

See evacuation VV Vinogradov. History of words, 2010 ... History of words

craven- I see cowardly; Wow; m. II th, th; shen, shen, shen. see also cowardice, cowardice, faint-hearted, cowardly a) Showing cowardice, weak-willed, cowardly. A weak-minded person. b) ott ... Dictionary of many expressions

I m. One who shows cowardice. II adj. 1. Showing cowardice; indecisive, weak-willed. 2. Caused by cowardice, weak will. Explanatory Dictionary of Ephraim. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language Efremova

Craven, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, faint-hearted, ... ... Forms of words

Fearless heroic heroic valorous courageous intimidating undaunted courageous bold brave ... Antonym Dictionary

craven- small ear; briefly form of shen, shen ... Russian orthographic dictionary

Books

• Great Alexander the Great. The burden of power, Mikhail Eliseev. ALEXANDER THE MACEDONIAN was not only a military genius, but also a GENIUS OF POWER - not just a great commander who did not suffer a single defeat and deserved the glory of the new God of War, but also ...

Cowardice is a person's behavior, due to his psychological and moral characteristics, reflecting the impossibility or inability of a person to realize his desires or ideas in his real life space, to defend his views or support aspirations. A person can show cowardice by cowardice (where there are no objective threatening factors), envy (large and petty, because one’s own desires are blocked), manifestations of involuntary aggression (uncontrolled outbursts of discontent restrained by titanic efforts). The root cause of such a development of the psyche may be the fear of being unacceptable by the family (which raises subconscious fears of not surviving without the support of the pack), uncertainty, weakness of volitional manifestations or fear of the negative attitude of those who are opposed (actually or in) the chosen positions.

Cowardice is not temporary, but is a permanent feature of the psyche, therefore, only if lack of will and insecurity are permanent, then a person can be considered cowardly and consider this personality trait. If these traits appeared in a strong-willed and confident, courageous and aspiring person, then it is quite likely that the development, or a rather severe emotional shock that destroys willpower.

What is cowardice

Cowardice is considered a negative trait, both for the person himself and for those around him. This is a certain weakness that distorts the whole human life, requiring to appear in the outer space in a way that one does not want, to support unbearable ideas and not satisfy true needs. Everyone can show cowardice in situations that go beyond the ordinary and are on the verge of an important twist of fate. So we stop defending the rightness of a friend and become silent, valuing the workplace, or refuse to admit that we like what is now criticizing significant person. All these are small or big benefits that look like a betrayal of yourself.

A faint-hearted person himself lives hard, being in tension and living a separate fictional life, he still does not receive enough of the events necessary for his personality. Those who often have to contact such people are also quite unsafe, because if you are in a dominant position, then such a person will cave in out of fear (he will support you and love surprisingly the same combinations as you), but there is always a threat that you will be betrayed. It is impossible to know what such a person really wants, since he lives with an eye on others, but such attention does not at all reflect the desire to make them better. No, such a person will betray you and renounce, tell secrets or pretend not to know you as soon as the situation changes. Friendship and trust are out of the question, because these concepts require fidelity to the chosen person, nobility towards him, the immutability of one's principles and fortitude. In cowardice, all this is not.

Cowardice and cowardice are similar concepts and are often caused not by objective factors, but by the upbringing that a person receives. Usually children with such traits grow up in families where there was an authoritarian upbringing, and the will of the child was suppressed, which deprived him of the opportunity to learn to develop this quality. Cowardice also develops where impunity and lack of rights, violence and crime reign - in such conditions a person loses not only orientation in what is happening (after all, honesty and integrity in such societies are subject to punishment), but also gains experience of his own impotence against the outside world. Only the adjustment model, which turned out to be the most adaptive to survival, is assimilated. This can develop in the parental family, where the child is a priori weaker and obliged to obey, or in the course of teenage changes and clarification of leadership roles. The one who is weaker quickly learns that open conflict is not safe and begins to act covertly and meanly, showing humility on the external level.

The model of children's response, fixed in such situations, manifests itself in adulthood by cowardice and fear of living a chosen life, defending one's own interests either out of fear of punishment, or out of impotence and disbelief in a favorable outcome. This does not mean people, on the contrary, among the faint-hearted there are magnificent opportunists, then this quality can develop into a cunning of such a level that even those close will not understand what is happening. But, unfortunately, everything that develops as a result of cowardice is not a positive change, but only works for the further destruction of the personality. The dodgy mind is not directed at solving other people's problems, but only its own, and envy can direct activity to the detriment of others. The ability to avoid punishment, well absorbed in a negative environment, can give rise to criminals. For the person himself, this brings eternal bitterness, discontent and tightness, in addition to the fact that over time there is a risk of being left alone, as people begin to avoid such characters.

How to deal with cowardice

Cowardice and cowardice are always there, but it manifests itself in fawning, and stinginess, and indecision, and pretense. In order to overcome this habit and character trait in oneself, it is worth not eradicating what is in oneself by using the will (in case of cowardice it is weak and will not give results), but by developing the opposite qualities. Watch for yourself exactly how your cowardice manifests itself: if you are afraid to talk about your desires, then start voicing them, it’s better to do it small (on the offer to drink coffee, you can say that you want juice, and on the request to meet at five, say that you would like to do it earlier) .

Exposure to someone else's influence and the choice of someone else's desires as guidelines is a beaten track of cowardice. You can fight this with the help of pauses that should be taken every time you make decisions (and no matter how global they are - from choosing tea to choosing an apartment). For a while, listen to yourself and act in accordance with the desires of your inner state or needs, this is more effective and conscious than just starting to do everything contrary (by doing this, you do not free your life from the influence of someone else's opinion). Perhaps for the first time it will be possible to fulfill your desires only when they coincide with others, but even a simple remark is already good and you can refuse to fulfill someone else's opinion, i.e. to be on such a gray stripe, where neither yours nor anyone else's. Watch your manifestations, if your inner concept of world perception differs significantly from others, and you are afraid to stand out, then start with the manifestation of small differences. Perhaps it just seems to you that they are so different, but by showing your interest in public, you will find new (and most importantly real, with genuine interest) friends, and perhaps inspire others to make the same changes.

Make a to-do list for the day and solve it, and gradually include existing problems that you previously walked away from. Of course, shifting responsibility is more convenient and less scary, pretending that there are no problems also helps, but their solution will give new emotions. Try to help someone, not at his request, but when you yourself see that a person needs help and try to help yourself, instead of using others as a fulfillment resource.

Watch your words, if necessary - write down your promises and agreements. You can come up with a reward for a fulfilled promise and a punishment for a failed one - this will make you take this word more responsibly, choose when to give a 100% guarantee, and when to question your help in the required process.

New skills are formed for a long time, and reshaping your character is generally a long and difficult process, so tune in to notice small daily victories, you can write them down so that you can see how the changes are moving. At the same time, remember that you need to work on yourself every day, do not be cowardly, giving yourself a break or once again finding excuses to act in the usual way, better reduce the degree of risk and difference in your own behavior, choose safer situations, start trying among those who will support you. In the development of your will, it is always better to take a small step than not to advance at all, promising yourself to catch up.

Explanations:
Cowardice is expressed in the inability of a person to defend and implement the moral principles in which he believes, because of fear for personal interests, fear of incurring adverse consequences, fear of difficulties or disbelief in his own strength.

The ground for the development of cowardice in people is usually created by social injustice, the dominance of selfish interests, the oppressed and disenfranchised position of a person, and the suppression of initiative among the masses. All these phenomena are inherent in a class-exploiting society, where people are constantly faced with the fact that brute force prevails over rightness, crimes against morality go unpunished, the fight against evil, integrity and honesty turn against the person himself. In such an environment, naturally, conditions are created for the flourishing of unscrupulousness, connivance with evil; people lose a sense of responsibility for their actions, faith in the power of moral principles and in their own ability to put these principles into practice.
Therefore, when evaluating the manifestations of Cowardice, one must proceed from the social conditions of people's life.

Cowardice manifests itself primarily in the dependence of the individual on the opinions and actions of other people.
Consider a cowardly person stupid - and you will not see more absurd actions than those that follow from him. Tell him that he is ordinary, mediocre, cowardly - and for sure: all his manifestations will become unbearably boring, primitive and disgustingly timid.
It is not the faint-hearted man who is guilty of his shortcomings; it is not in itself that his spiritual defect leads to constant compliance, weakness of spirit and degrading acts. In unsightly manifestations of a cowardly character, the people around are guilty, first of all, using the natural pliability and softness of his mental disposition for evil.

Cowardice means that a person has no support in himself and therefore constantly needs the support of others. Only from someone else's opinion and suggestion does he gain faith in his own strength. But if the faint-hearted received the much-needed support, then it is difficult to find a more inspired person. His thoughts become flexible and witty, his actions are bold and courageous, and his character is persistent and strong. If you treat a cowardly person with respect, he will demonstrate rare examples of intelligence, selflessness, courage. Inspire him that he is brave, and a hero will appear before you, amazing with his valor and courage. Looking at him, you will not be able to believe that you yourself, by your own influence, have brought to light such vivid manifestations of human character.