21. After a person had turned away from God’s
commandments and became subject to His condemnation, sin had enslaved him and
like a narrow and deep abyss of bitterness, having pervaded inside, captured
the soul to its very deepest recesses. Likewise, we can compare the sin within
us as a large and leafy tree, whose roots stretch deep into the soil. Thus
having entered our soul, sin had overwhelmed it to its deepest recesses,
becoming a habit that begins in our childhood and with the years, grows ever
stronger leads us toward the vile.
21. Sometimes, good intentions are performed for
the sake of self-glorification and public acclaim. But before God it is as same
as a lie, a theft and similar sins, as it is said: "For God has scattered
the bones of him who encamps against you" (Psalm 53:5). The sly one seeks
a gain for himself even in our good deeds. He is very inventive in order to
deceive us with worldly desires. When a person becomes attached to someone
through physical love, the sin then snares him, binding him with shackles and
dragging him down with his heavy burden, not allowing him to gather his
strength to return to God. Whatever a person loves in this world is what
burdens his mind and will not give him an opportunity to gather his strength
and return to God. The level of our physical attachment determines the strength
of the passion that wars with us. This is how the whole human race is
tested…When a person is caught by his own self-willfulness and begins to love
something, this love shackles him and he is incapable of striving totally
toward God. Thus, for example, one might love his house, another — wealth,
another — highly complex earthly scholarship to secure public acclaim; another
loves power while another — fame; another loves entertaining parties, another
to spend his time in "wool gathering" and pleasures; another deludes
himself with idle thoughts; another, because of ambition seeks to sermonize;
another takes pleasure in laziness and idleness while another is attached to
elegant apparel; another gives in to earthly concerns; another loves to sleep,
or joke, or swear. Whatever attaches a person to the worldly, large or small,
it restrains him and does not allow him to collect his strength.
30. If you see someone exalting himself and is
arrogant about his abilities, know that even if he created great signs and
resurrected the dead….he is being robbed by an evil spirit without realizing
it. Even if he performs miracles — do not believe him because the sign of a Christian
is to hide from others any gifts that God have deemed him worthy to receive.
Having the riches of a king, the Christian hides them as though to say:
"These are not my riches, someone else put them there." If someone
says " What I have acquired is sufficient for me, I don’t need any
more," — he is already not a Christian but is in a state of delusion and
has become an instrument of the devil. Because rapture in God is insatiable,
the extent of one’s savoring it and partaking of spiritual blessings is the
measure by which the hunger for it is increased. Such people have a fervent and
unstoppable love for God. The more they succeed and acquire, the more they
acknowledge themselves as beggars.
36. Like traders sailing on a ship during fair
winds and a calm sea fear that sudden strong winds and turbulent waters may
place their ship in danger before they reach port, so do Christians, even
though they feel benevolent winnowing of the Holy Spirit, , fear that an
ill-wind may arouse a turbulence of passions. Consequently, it is essential to
take great care in order to reach the tranquil port of eternal life and eternal
joy — the cities of Saints, Heavenly Jerusalem and the Churches of the
firstborn. (Hebr. 12:23).
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