Patriarch Shio III: No one can prosper by income obtained through sin; no one can derive any benefit from it; on the contrary, such income becomes a punishment for a person

No one can prosper by income obtained through sin; such income becomes a punishment for a person, – this was stated by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia Shio III while preaching in the Cathedral of the Holy King David the Builder in Samtredia.

According to the Catholicos-Patriarch, a person who promotes and encourages the existence and commission of sin is punished even more by God.

“The Lord Jesus Christ says in today’s Gospel: what does it profit a person if he gains the whole world and loses and harms his own self? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? This already concerns, among others, those people who think that income obtained by the path of sin, through the means of sin, can be beneficial for a person, for a family, or if you will, even for the country. And of course such thinking is a very great mistake and ignorance of the laws of spiritual life, because by such income no one can prosper, no one can derive any benefit; on the contrary, such income becomes a punishment for that person, for such a person who obtains income by this path. I will not now list them; there exist many paths and means for this. And I will tell you more according to the teaching of the fathers of the Holy Church: not only is the one who obtains income by this path punished, but a person who promotes and encourages the existence of this sin and the commission of this sin is punished even more by God. So, dear brothers and sisters, let us well remember these words of the Lord Jesus Christ, that if anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me,” Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III stated.