Love (Growing Cold)
- Michael Haldas
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
“The Lord says that because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12). Usually this point is presented as some sort of social collapse through the spread of mass intolerance in society: People, they say, will turn into beasts and begin to destroy each other. One consequence of such a conviction, which is rarely expressed clearly, is the search for a plan of social welfare that prevents social conflict at any cost. That is, at a subconscious level, people fear “sharp edges,” they are afraid to insist on traditional values insofar as this might lead to social pressure and conflicts, and so on…models of tolerance for sin have, evidently, their deep mental basis in a fear of the end of the world, in a myth based on an incorrect understanding of the Gospel, which today continues to be actively supported, but now through more subtle techniques.” (Priest Roman Savchuk)
“How should we understand the words of Christ on “love waxed cold?” One of the ancient commentators says that this primarily has to do with the cooling of love for the Truth: “The words of this multitude of teachers of doctrines opposed to the truth…bring about such harm that they cause even a fervent love for truth, which formerly consisted in simplicity of faith, to cool due to their conception of the Divine mysteries.” And, actually, the Savior directly links this “cooling of love” to the “abounding of iniquity,” namely to the distortion of Truth, in consequence of which…“the disciples will not be able to find consolation even in love!” (Priest Roman Savchuk, St. John Chrysostom)
“When love grows cold, then ego, pride and jealousy take over and divisions result. We are very good at discerning the faults of others but that kind of discernment is not one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Words that belittle, tear down and destroy need to be replaced by words that edify, strengthen and build up. “Love comes first in our church life, and foremost love for Christ.” (Fr. John Jillions)
“It is a clear process of deterioration throughout the world that is being foretold here [Matthew 24:3-14], a disintegration that Christians have witnessed happening around them to some degree in many places in various times. What we glean from this passage today is that the disappearance of basic human values will surpass even the atrocities of our present day, as wickedness multiplies and the love of many will grow cold. This is something that goes beyond even the limits of hard secularism into a condition of either militant atheism or the outright worship and subjugation to evil as the supreme power of this world…If the love of many is growing cold, it is because they chose no longer to see the imago Dei, the image of God, in themselves and in others. It is because they see human beings as fungible economic entities instead of as eternal spiritual beings.” (Archbishop Demetrios)
“Regardless of a person’s own nature, if I love him, I am ready to do anything for him, whatever my heart dictates. I love him, and so I am willing to wash for him, to clean after him, to spend thirty years by his bedside, to sacrifice myself for him, to give everything, and to go anywhere. This is love, but such love is rarely seen today. Everyone strives to please themselves, which is why there are constant quarrels, fights, hatred, ill-will, misunderstandings, and mutual suspicion—because no one truly knows what love is. Love has grown cold, and people don’t even realize what is necessary to attain it. The more self-denial and self-sacrifice a person brings to the pursuit of love, the more they acquire divine qualities and the more they partake of this love. This is what spiritual life is about.” (Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov)
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