The Lord said, “Love your neighbor.” Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov once expressed this very well: “And who is your 'neighbor'? The one who is next to you. Your wife is your neighbor. Your husband is your neighbor. Your daughter is the closest one.”

Often, it happens that it is easier for us to show patience and humility not at home, but with strangers. To remain silent in response to a remark at work, to say a kind word to colleagues. And this, of course, is good. Just as it is wonderful to do good deeds and engage in charity. But sometimes, a desire for praise and vanity creeps in. Out there, you might be thanked and appreciated. But at home—not always. No one will praise you for tidying the room or ironing the trousers.

It is easier not to get irritated somewhere else than it is at home with our loved ones. Our close ones will forgive us—they are our own. With outsiders, we try to make an impression. But what is inside us is seen by God and our closest ones. After all, love is not a feeling, but a quality of the soul.

It turns out that we do not know how to love. And our “closest ones” suffer. I think about this and realize my spiritual weakness, my immaturity, my inability…

How can one learn that very love which “does not seek its own, endures long, and is merciful”? It is possible, if every day you examine your soul, recognize your weakness, and ask God for help.

How important it is to make the commandment “love your neighbor” the main one. And not to think about how others see you, but about what your soul truly is and what your “closest ones,” those who are next to you, actually feel. Lord, help me gain wisdom and learn this quality of the soul.

Original article: radiovera.ru/samye-blizhnie-marija-chugreeva.html