12/14/2020
Olga Lysova-Brodina
One of the essential components of unconditional love is wise and balanced strictness that gently yet resolutely protects the pure part of the child’s soul from the passions and outer evil.
The Orthodox worldview is fundamentally different from the humanist one because in addition to the good and virtuous aspect, it considers the deep-rooted defectiveness of man, original sin, generic defects, our passions, and personal sins as the main obstacles to unconditional love both for parents and children.
It’s important to understand that if God gave someone a child, it means that He has faith in him, that he or she has a talent for parenting, though it might be in an embryonic, latent state! It also means that this is a huge responsibility before God and one’s children. This talent has to be developed.
