Metropolitan Anthony (Packanich) explains who is most subjected to fears and what consequences fear and panic can lead to.

Look around. What's happening? Fear manipulates people. Fear holds a person's soul in its robbing hands.

A person defeated by fear stops to be a human, stops to feel compassion and love. He can only be afraid and panic.

Let's remember the words of one of the proverbs, which today, when fear conquers an increasing number of human hearts, make a new sense.

"The thing feared by the evil-doer will come to him, but the upright man will get his desire."(Proverbs10:24).

Who experiences fear? Wicked one. The one who has evil in his heart and he is afraid that the reverse evil will overtake him. This, by the way, always happens.

What about the righteous man? He is not afraid and does not panic, because he is under the protection of the Lord, and the blessing of God rests on all his deeds.

What follows from these words? Fear is the destiny of the wicked ones. Fear is a sign that the gospel commandments and values have not become the foundation and center of life, and the Lord has not become its Manager.

The Savior repeatedly repeats: "Do not be afraid!" How many people hear this call? Perhaps someone thinks that these words were said two thousand years ago to completely different people. No. This is being said now to each of us. The gospel is a living book.All the words in it live today, not yesterday or tomorrow, they are aimed for those who listen to them.

If a person does not disengage himself from the yoke of fear, a total loss will wait for him. Fear cuts off the path to salvation, tough mind, kills hope. Fear is a bad adviser. It serves evil, and it will never give good advice.

Fear breeds panic. And panic is the real killing of people. Neglect of our neighbor, lack of mercy and unwillingness to help another are the consequences of panic moods.

A person living in fear thinks only of his own skin and gradually turns into an animal. Fear damages the soul and displaces everything Divine from it, only the mundane remains.

But let us remember what Christ tells us: "Don’t be afraid; just believe." (Mark 5:36). Christianity is a hope in God and for God. This is complete trust in Him, this is the realization that nothing will happen to us without His will. And if a christian managed to talk about fear, so he should talk about the "fear of God", the fear of being left without God, the fear of pulling awayhimself from the Lord with hissins, his anger, fearfulness and distrust of Him.

As long as God is with us, we just cannot be afraid.

Recorded by Natalia Goroshkova