Reformers Who Failed in Reform
The Malicious
Many participated in movements of reform and failed because they did not walk in reform through a sound spiritual path. Among these are:
The person whose only purpose is the truth, stripped of any other purpose, can work in reform with a pure heart and with a spiritual manner.
But if a purpose exists, the heart will not be upright and the tongue will not be truthful. Psychological factors begin to lead to policies and methods in order to achieve something within the self…
If the purpose is love and partiality, these (reformers) fail, for they may praise wrong policies merely out of bias, or defend persons no matter how wrong their actions may appear, or change the image of the facts to serve those persons.
And if the purpose is hatred or revenge, we see those who call for reform opposing merely for the sake of opposition, and in a manner that overflows with malice.
They may invent matters and present them as material for criticism. They may lose control over their feelings and their nerves, descending to insults, accusations, and defamation, to satisfy what is in their hearts of hostility.
One of the wise men spoke the truth when he said:
“A person must one day descend into hypocrisy if there is something in his heart that he wants to hide.”
Reform needs a sound conscience. And a sound conscience does not agree with bias or with revenge.
Reform should be built upon truth and honesty. The malicious are far from the truth. Often people discover them, or they reveal themselves, and in all this people lose confidence in them and they fail.
The malicious may oppose a person; if he achieves for them a purpose, they return and change their policy toward him, turning from one extreme to the opposite. Thus they fluctuate according to what suits their purposes.
The malicious may begin with friendship and turn into enmity… It is the self that moves them, not the common good.
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – El-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Five) – 4-2-1977.
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