Transforming Lust into Love and Chastity

The next deadly sin I want to discuss is lust. Lust is the absence of love and chastity. It is selfish and concerned with sexual self-gratification. It is interested in using others for sexual pleasure. Lust is a sin that is practiced by both men and women. It is common to both sexes.

There are three aspects of the soul: the intellect, the incensive aspect, and the appetitive aspect. The intellect is that part of the soul that receives divine revelation from God. With the intellect, one is able to perceive spiritual truth. The incensive aspect of the soul is that which generates vehement feeling, such as anger or ire. The appetitive aspect of the soul is that which desires food, sex, drink, pleasure, sleep, and things.

When we deal with the sin of lust, we become concerned with the appetitive aspect of the soul.

Before I discourse any further on this sin and its remedies, I will first say what lust is not. Lust is not looking at nude bodies. It is true that one may commit the sin of lust while looking at a naked person, but that does not always have to be the case. There are professional people, such as, doctors and nurses, who look at genitals and breasts on a daily basis without lusting after their patients. There are people who look at their children when they are nude without lusting after them. A man might look at his naked wife without committing the sin of lust. A woman might look at her naked husband without lusting after him.

However, I am not condoning pornography when I say this. People often develop an addiction to looking at pictures of nude people when they look at porn, but that does not always have to be the case. A law enforcement officer might look at child pornography without lusting after the children depicted in the pictures and become irate that someone would produce such filth. He would keep the pornographic pictures so that they could be used in court to prosecute the people responsible for using children in pornographic material.

Elderly people usually lose interest in sex because they have low levels of sex hormones. There are products on the market which are supposed to help them regain their sexual desire. An elderly man or woman who has low levels of a sex hormone might be able to look at a nude person or a picture of a nude person without having any significant reaction to it. They might be able to look without lusting. I think that this sin of lust is partially caused by a biochemical reaction produced by sex hormones.

It is possible to advance so far enough spiritually that one does not lust when one sees a nude person. St. John of the Ladder mentioned someone in his book who had advanced to that degree.

I was once told about an astonishing level of chastity attained by someone. "There was a man who, having looked on a body of great beauty, at once gave praise to its Creator and after one look was stirred to love God and weep copiously, so that it was marvelous how something that could have brought low one person managed to be the cause of a heavenly crown for another. And if such a man feels and behaves in similar fashion on similar occasions, then he has already risen to immortality before the general resurrection." ("Step 15: On Chastity," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John of the Ladder, p. 179)

So then, looking at nude people is not necessarily lusting after nude people, but looking at them might lead to the sin of lust.
 

Righteous Job the Longsuffering

In the Book of Job, Job says:

I made a covenant with mine eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin. (Job 31:1, LXX)

Although looking at a nude person may not be sinful, it may very well lead to this sin. Therefore, it is a good idea to refrain from doing so. Looking at pornography can lead to an addiction to porn. Looking at naked people can lead to some unhealthy form of voyeurism. Like Job, we should make a covenant with our eyes not to look, unless we have jobs like those in the medical profession that require us to look. Solomon said:

Let not the desire of beauty overcome thee, neither be thou caught by thine eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids. (Prov. 6:25, LXX)

Jesus the Son of Sirach said:

Turn away thine eye from a beautiful woman, and look not upon another’s beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman; for herewith love is kindled as a fire. (Ecclesiasticus 9:8, LXX)

and:

Stumble not at the beauty of a woman, and desire her not for pleasure. (Ecclesiasticus 25:21, LXX)

The sin of lust begins in the mind. Jesus said:

Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. (St. Matt. 15:17-20, NKJV)

Lust is the thought and desire of committing a sexual sin, such as fornication or adultery. Fornication is premarital sex. Adultery is sex with someone else's spouse. Lust leads to sins such as these. This is why it is important that it be conquered.

There are several things that one can do to prevent the commission of sexual sins. One of them I have already mentioned. Avoid looking at nude people and pictures of nude people. Another thing to do is to avoid places where people dress immodestly. This can be difficult to do, especially during the summer months. So many women and girls walk around in shorts and halter tops on hot days. Waitresses in some restaurants wear tight fitting short dresses. The beaches and the pools are populated with people who are wearing bathing suits. One must be aware that going to such places might result in one committing the sin of lust. Another thing that one can do is to pray whenever the thought of committing a sexual sin enters the mind. The Jesus Prayer is a good prayer to pray during such moments. "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Making the sign of the Cross is also good thing to do during such times. The sign of the Cross is a physical act of prayer that the demons do not like to see us make.

A woman who allows men to have intimate contact with her is not highly respected by the men who do so and by others.

A shameless woman shall be counted as a dog; but she that is shamefaced will fear the Lord. (Ecclesiasticus 26:25)

A woman who dresses immodestly is also ill-esteemed by others. Modest women command more respect than immodest women. So, a woman should not do anything to inflame the sexual passions of men. She should dress modestly and limit any contact with her body to a bare minimum. Intimate contact should be reserved for marriage.

Since lust pertains to the appetitive aspect of the soul, sins such as gluttony and greed help to fuel it. Periodic fasting can help one gain victory over this sin of lust. Fast from certain types of food for a period of time and focus your thoughts on God and spiritual things during the fast. Fasting is good for helping one to break a sexual addiction. Married people can purify their sex by practicing marital fasting. Marital fasting is the practice of abstaining from sex by mutual consent of both partners. (I Cor. 7:5)

Although we usually think of lust as being a sin common to single people, even married couples can lust for one another. Lust can even exist within a marriage. In the Book of Tobit, Tobias prayed:

And now, O Lord, I take not this my sister for lust but uprightly. (Tobit 8:7)

He realized that one can marry out of lust. A man can marry a woman out of lust and spend the marriage desiring to have sex with her so that he can selfishly satisfy his sexual appetite. She can become to him nothing more than an object of sexual desire. A woman can likewise do the same with a man that she marries. He can become to her nothing more than her "hunk" who keeps her happy in bed. Lust is not love. It is selfish. Love "does not seek its own." (I Cor. 13:5, NKJV) It is unselfish.

Sex does not have to be selfish. That, I think, is one of the lessons to be learned from the Book of Tobit. Tobias married Sarah uprightly and not for lust. (Tobit 8:7) He made love to her. They had children. (Tobit 14:3,12) Lust was not a part of their lovemaking.

I have recently read an article on sex on Orthodox Wiki on the internet. (http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Main_Page) This is a very good article. In this article, it says that one of the reasons for having sex is to achieve spiritual union. A couple should strive to become one soul with one another and not just one flesh with each other when they make love. So, sex can be a spiritual exercise between a man and his wife. It is possible to have sex unselfishly, thinking about the other person while doing so and not preoccupying oneself with egoistic desires and self-gratification.

Blessed Augustine wrote about what would have happened if Adam and Eve had never sinned. They would have made love to each other and had children. They would have had sex without experiencing any lust for one another.* Lust does not have to be a part of the sexual act. God never intended it to be so when He created sex. As Ashley Reynolds says, "Sex was God's idea."

Another reason for having sex is to express intimate affection toward one's spouse.** Sex is an intimate act that should be practiced by a man and his wife. The unmarried should abstain from sex. One Orthodox priest wrote that sex is a language. I think that this passage in Proverbs teaches that sex is for expressing intimate affection toward one's spouse:

Let thy fountain of water be truly thine own; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let thy loving hart and thy graceful colt company with thee, and let her be considered thine own, and be with thee at all times; for ravished with her love thou shalt be greatly increased. (Prov. 5:18,19, LXX)

Procreation is also a reason for having sex, but making babies is not the only reason for making love. There are other reasons which are just as honorable as that of procreation.

One of the ancient heresies that the Church Fathers opposed and refuted is that of the Encratites. They taught that God created evil when God created sex. They taught that sex is intrinsically evil. Sex is not evil, but the abuse and misuse of it is. Selfish sex is evil. Sex with someone who is not one's spouse is evil. Unselfish sex in the context of marriage with one's spouse is not.***

Another thing that one can do to transfigure lust is to seek for Someone more beautiful than one is in the habit of lusting after. Longing for God who is the epitome of beauty itself and the epitome of perfection is what I am talking about. In the Wisdom literature of the Bible, Wisdom is personified as a woman who is a superior alternative to the immoral woman who leads young men into Hell.

Say that wisdom is thy sister, and gain prudence as an acquaintance for thyself; that she may keep thee from the strange and wicked woman, if she should assail thee with flattering words. (Prov. 7:4,5, LXX)

Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth she order all things. I loved her, and sought her out from my youth, I desired to make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty. (Wisdom 8:1,2)

In the Old Testament, Wisdom often refers to the Second Person of the Trinity. St. Paul called Christ the Wisdom of God. (I Cor. 1:24) So, for a man who is struggling with lust, he can spend time with God, seek Wisdom and become a "lover of her beauty." For a woman who is struggling with lust, she can do the same. She can seek God and let Jesus be her husband. We are supposed to love God with all of our being. (Deut. 6:4,5) We are supposed to love Christ more than anyone else. (St. Matt. 10:37; St. Luke 14:26) We are supposed to love others because we love God. Prayer, Bible reading, and spending time gazing at Christ before His holy icon can help one gain victory over lust. If a man needs a female icon of God, the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos will do. She is not God, but she is a woman who bears the image and likeness of God more than anyone else who has ever lived. So, her icon is an icon of a female icon of God. If a man needs a woman's company, spend time with her. Pray Akathist prayers to her.

St. John of the Ladder said:

A chaste man is someone who has driven out bodily love by means of divine love, who has used heavenly fire to quench the desires of the flesh. ("Step 15: On Chastity," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John of the Ladder, p. 171)

St. Maximos the Confessor said:

He who has been granted knowledge of God, and fully enjoys the pleasure that comes from it, despises all the pleasures that come from the soul's desiring power. ("Third Century on Love," section 63, by St. Maximos the Confessor, The Philokalia, vol. 2, p. 93)

and:

God is said to be the originator and begetter of love and the erotic force. For He externalized them from within Himself, that is, He brought them forth into the world of created things. This is why Scripture says 'God is love' (I John 4:16), and elsewhere that He is 'sweetness and desire' (cf. Song of Songs 5:16, LXX), which signifies the erotic force. ("Fifth Century of Various Texts," section 87, by St. Maximos the Confessor, The Philokalia, vol. 2, p. 281)

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic said that when we long for God enough we start to fear losing Him.

Fear also comes into the argument. For the greater our longing for God the greater grows our fear; and the more we hope to attain God, the more we fear Him. If we are wounded by divine love, the sting of fear exceeds that of a thousand threats of punishment. For as nothing is more blessed than to attain God, so nothing is more terrible than this great fear of losing Him. ("Theoretikon," by St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic, The Philokalia, vol. 2, p. 43)

Loving God results in loving others. A man who says he loves God, but hates others is a liar. (I John 4:20) When we love others, we do not lust after them. A man who loves a woman will not view her as a sex object or seek to demean her in any way. A woman who loves a man will not view him as a sex object either. She will not be trying to seduce him and drag him into bed with her.

A man can love another man's wife without sinning against God. The way he does this is by praying that she remain faithful to her husband and praying that her marriage to him will last. A woman can love another woman's husband in the same way and not be sinning against God. Remember, I said that love is unselfish. There is an element of self-denial in love. Love gives. It does not get.

"Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up." (I Cor. 13:4, LXX) Love is humble and meek. Those who love are willing to be last and let someone else have what is best. "Love does not envy." (I Cor. 13:4, NKJV) They do not try to break up marriages or steady dating relationships.

St. Thomais of Alexandria

There are two other remedies for lust. One is marriage. Someone who has difficulty controlling his passions is better off to marry than to live a life of fornication. This is the advice of St. Paul. (I Cor. 7:2) However, even in marriage, as I have said before, there can be lust. That is why married couples should live ascetically by fasting from food and sex periodically. They need to purify their sex through such asceticism. The other remedy is the intercession of the Saints. It helps to get the Saints and the Mother of God to help us in our ascetic struggles toward holiness through their prayers. There is one Saint who is well-known for helping men deal with lust. That is St. Thomais of Alexandria. Her prayers have helped many men gain victory over lust. St. Mary of Egypt is a former prostitute. She can help women who struggle with lust. Ask for the prayers of the Saints and the Mother of God.
 

St. Mary of Egypt receiving communion from St. Zosimas.

So, I have provided here some advice on how to deal with lust. I have mentioned fasting, marital fasting, the Jesus Prayer, making the sign of the Cross, longing for God, and the intercession of the Saints as aids in conquering lust. I have also said that we should avoid looking at nude people and pictures of nude people unless we have jobs that require that we do so. We should avoid intimate contact with those of the opposite sex that we are not married to. Men and women should dress modestly. We should develop love for others and not lust after them. Love is unselfish. Lust is selfish. May God help us all to become chaste, holy, righteous, and loving people.

Steve

* But he who says that there should have been neither copulation nor generation but for sin, virtually says that man’s sin was necessary to complete the number of the saints. For if these two by not sinning should have continued to live alone, because, as is supposed, they could not have begotten children had they not sinned, then certainly sin was necessary in order that there might be not only two but many righteous men. And if this cannot be maintained without absurdity, we must rather believe that the number of the saints fit to complete this most blessed city would have been as great though no one had sinned, as it is now that the grace of God gathers its citizens out of the multitude of sinners, so long as the children of this world generate and are generated. (St. Luke 20:34)

And therefore that marriage, worthy of the happiness of Paradise, should have had desirable fruit without the shame of lust, had there been no sin. But how that could be, there is now no example to teach us. Nevertheless, it ought not to seem incredible that one member might serve the will without lust then, since so many serve it now. Do we now move our feet and hands when we will to do the things we would by means of these members? do we meet with no resistance in them, but perceive that they are ready servants of the will, both in our own case and in that of others, and especially of artisans employed in mechanical operations, by which the weakness and clumsiness of nature become, through industrious exercise, wonderfully dexterous? and shall we not believe that, like as all those members obediently serve the will, so also should the members have discharged the function of generation, though lust, the award of disobedience, had been a wanting.? (The City of God, Book XIV, chapter 23, by Blessed Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., vol. 2, p. 279, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

** He shows also, by the mention of the creature (the hind), the purity of that pleasure; and by the roe he intimates the quick responsive affection of the wife. And whereas he knows many things to excite, he secures them against these, and puts upon them the indissoluble bond of affection, setting constancy before them. And as for the rest, wisdom, figuratively speaking, like a stag, can repel and crush the snaky doctrines of the heterodox. Let her therefore, says he, be with thee, like a roe, to keep all virtue fresh. (Prov. 5:19) And whereas a wife and wisdom are not in this respect the same, let her rather lead thee; for thus thou shalt conceive good thoughts. (The Extant Works and Fragments of Hippolytus, "On Proverbs," by St. Hippolytus of Rome, 170-236 A.D., vol. 5, p. 173, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

*** An husband, therefore, and a wife, when they company together in lawful marriage, and rise from one another, may pray without any observations, and without washing are clean. But whosoever corrupts and defiles another man’s wife, or is defiled with an harlot, when he arises up from her, though he should wash himself in the entire ocean and all the rivers, cannot be clean. (The Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book VI, section 5, chapter 29, vol. 7, p. 463, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

The Philokalia, volumes 1 and 2, compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, translated by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, Faber and Faber, London, UK, copyright 1979 The Eling Trust

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, translated by Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell, Paulist Press, New York, copyright 1982 by the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle

Losing Greed

The next deadly sin I want to discuss is greed or covetousness. This sin can take many forms and be exhibited in many ways. Greed is the absence of detachment, contentment, and liberality.
Christ told us:

Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. (St. Luke 12:15, NKJV)

He also said:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (St. Matt. 6:19-21, NKJV)

He warned us that we cannot serve God and money. (St. Matt. 6:24) He also told us that a man's soul is worth more than all of the wealth in the entire world and even the whole world itself.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (St. Mark 8: 36,37, NKJV)

So then, having things is not what is most important in life. Retaining one's soul is far more important than becoming wealthy. What we focus our hearts on becomes our treasure for which we hope to one day have. If we focus our hearts on having temporal wealth, then temporal wealth is our treasure. If we focus our hearts on having the eternal riches God has promised us in the age to come, then those eternal riches become our treasure. We cannot live our lives seeking to please God and spend them trying to become wealthy at the same time. Greed and single-hearted devotion to God do not mix. One can lose one's soul seeking wealth for one's own sake. St. Paul said:

For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Eph. 5:5, NKJV)

The apostle also warned us about desiring wealth in his First Epistle to Timothy.

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (I Tim. 6:8-10, NKJV)

So, one can lose his soul while loving money.

The hog is the symbol of greed. For attribute click here.

Sometimes people become wealthy unexpectedly or out of some good fortune of providence that sends wealth their way. The Bible warns us:

If wealth should flow in, set not your heart upon it. (Psalm 61:10, LXX; Psalm 62:10, Hebrew)

St. Paul told St. Timothy to tell the wealthy Christians of his day "not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." (I Tim. 6:17, NKJV) As the Psalmist says:

I have delighted in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. (Psalm 118:14, LXX; Psalm 119:14, Hebrew)

This should be the attitude of Christians. Christians should seek eternal wealth by practicing righteousness and doing as much good as possible. (I Cor. 15:58; Gal. 6:9; Heb. 6:10) They should be just as content to be poor as to live in affluence.

A little is better to the righteous than abundant wealth of sinners. (Psalm 36:16, LXX; Psalm 37:16, Hebrew)

St. Paul said:

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:11-13, NKJV)

The last verse of this passage, Phil. 4:13, has often been quoted by those who preach the prosperity gospel to mean that we can become wealthy and famous through Jesus Christ. In the context of this passage, however, St. Paul was talking about excelling spiritually through Christ and not in gaining worldly wealth or social status. He was saying that he had learned to be content in whatever state he is in, whether he has a little or a lot, whether he is hungry or full. He said that He could accomplish this spiritual feat of contentment through Christ who strengthens Him. He told St. Timothy:

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (I Tim. 6:6, NKJV)

Becoming wealthy and famous was not one of St. Paul's lifelong ambitions.

St. John of the Ladder wrote:

If you truly love God and long to reach the kingdom that is to come, if you are truly pained by your failings and are mindful of punishment and of the eternal judgment, if you are truly afraid to die, then it will not be possible to have an attachment, or anxiety, or concern for money, for possessions, for family relationships, for worldly glory, for love and brotherhood, indeed for anything on earth. All worry about one's condition, even for one's body, will be pushed aside as hateful. Stripped of all thought of these, caring nothing about them, one will turn freely to Christ. ("Step 2: On Detachment," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John of the Ladder, p. 81)

The patriarchs of the Old Testament lived their lives in this world as if they were strangers and sojourners.

By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Heb. 11:9,10, NKJV)

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Heb. 11:13-16, NKJV)

Christians, likewise, are to think of themselves as being sojourners and strangers in this world. The Psalmist said:

My soul has long been a sojourner. (Psalm 119:6, LXX; Psalm 120:6, Hebrew)

King David governed Israel, but told God in the 38th Psalm:

For I am a sojourner in the land, and a stranger, as all my fathers were. (Psalm 38:12, LXX; Psalm 39:12, Hebrew)

St. Peter said that we Christians are "sojourners and pilgrims." (I Pet. 2:11)

St. Paul said:

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. (Heb. 13:14, NKJV)

Christ promised the entire world to the meek.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (St. Matt. 5:5, NKJV)

King David, who thought of himself as "a sojourner in the land" (Psalm 38:12, LXX), said that the righteous will inherit the earth and dwell upon it forever.

But the righteous shall inherit the earth, and dwell upon it for ever. (Psalm 36:29, LXX; Psalm 37:29, Hebrew)

St. Paul said that one of the promises that we Christians can hope to inherit along with Abraham is the whole world.

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world [Greek, kosmos, universe] was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. (Rom. 4:13, NKJV)

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise [of inheriting the entire universe] might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (Rom. 4:16, NKJV)

Actually, the word translated "world" from the Greek in Rom. 4:13 is kosmos and means universe. God has promised His children the entire universe. In the Book of Revelation, it says:

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Rev. 21:7, NKJV)

St. Paul told the Corinthian Christians, "All things are yours." (I Cor. 3:21)

So, Christians should live their lives not concerned about amassing worldly wealth and fame. They should live as if everything has already been promised to them by God, but they just do not get to enjoy the fulfillment of this promise yet. They should look at the world as presently belonging to those who do not know God and follow Christ, but will one day, after Christ returns to judge the world, become the sole property of Christians. Christians should view themselves as being "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Heb. 11:13) and dwelling "in the land of promise as in a foreign country." (Heb. 11:9)

Loving the world and befriending it makes us enemies of God.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (I John 2:15, NKJV)

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4, NKJV)

We are friends of God when we practice keeping His commandments. (St. John 15:14) We should pursue the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. (St. Matt. 6:33) Then, God will provide us with what we need.

Like Moses, we should regard afflictions as opportunities to gain eternal wealth.

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (Heb. 11:24-26, NKJV)

St. Paul said:

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Cor. 4:17,18, NKJV)

For the Christian, this life is the life of tribulation and trouble, not the life of eternal peace and blissfulness. Jesus said:

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (St. John 16:33, NKJV)

St. Paul said:

We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22, NKJV)

St. James, the Lord's brother, told us:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4, NKJV)

St. Peter said:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. (I Pet. 1:3-8, NKJV)

St. Paul said that we "rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Rom. 5:2, NKJV) The trials and afflictions of this life are opportunities to gain the virtue of patience. God will reward us in the age to come for our perseverance and patience in the midst of trials and tribulations.

We should be careful in case it should happen to us that while talking of journeying along the narrow and hard road we may actually wander along the broad and wide highway.

Mortification of the appetite, nightlong toil, a ration of water, a short measure of bread, the bitter cup of dishonor — these will show you the narrow way. Derided, mocked, jeered, you must accept the denial of your will. You must patiently endure opposition, suffer neglect without complaint, put up with violent arrogance. You must be ready for injustice, and not grieve when you are slandered; you must not be angered by contempt and you must show humility when you have been condemned. Happy are those who follow this road and avoid other highways. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ("Step 2: On Detachment," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John of the Ladder, p. 83)

St. Paul said that God blesses us with worldly wealth so that we can use it to help others.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (II Cor. 9:8, NKJV)

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. (II Cor. 9:10,11, NKJV)

The apostle told St. Timothy to tell the wealthy Christians to "do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." (I Tim. 6:18,19, NKJV)

The Lord said:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (St. Luke 6:38, NKJV)

St. John of the Ladder said:

The man of charity spreads his money about him, but the man who claims to possess both charity and money is a self-deceived fool. ("Step 16: On Avarice," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John of the Ladder, p. 187)

Greed does not have to necessarily deal with money. A man can become greedy for women or for a particular woman. A woman, likewise, can become greedy for men or a particular man. The Lord said:

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (St. Matt. 5:28, NKJV)

The Greek word translated "lust" in this verse is the same Greek word used in the Septuagint version of this Old Testament commandment and is translated there as "covet."

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; nor his field, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any of his cattle, nor whatever belongs to thy neighbour. (Exodus 20:17, LXX)

The Greek word translated "woman" can also mean "wife." So, these words of our Lord can be translated:

But I say to you that whoever looks at a wife to covet her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (St. Matt. 5:28, my modified translation)

King David had already committed adultery in his heart with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, when he desired to have her for himself. (II Sam. 11:2,3) They had not even had sex with each other and he had already done it with her in his heart.

A man can likewise commit the same sin of covetousness by desiring another man's girlfriend or fiancée. A woman can commit the sin of covetousness by desiring another woman's boyfriend, fiancé, or husband.

I think that compatibility is an important part in choosing a spouse for oneself, but married couples need to find contentment in having each other and not be looking for someone "better." "Godliness with contentment is great gain." (I Tim. 6:6)

I remember a friend of mine once told me, "You will always find someone better than you." He was talking about playing chess, but this applies to anything else. There will always be someone who is more spiritual than I am. There will always be someone who has more money than I do. There will always be someone who is better looking than I am. There will always be someone who is smarter than I am.

Now, married people should apply this same principle to one's spouse. There will always be someone who is better than the one you married in some respect. Just be content to have the one you have already gotten and do not look for someone "better."

Likewise, people who are not likely to marry in this present age and are single should be content to remain single. They should look forward to living in the age to come where there the angelic state will replace marriage as being far more satisfying than any earthly nuptial union. (St. Matt. 22:30; Isaiah 65:17-25, LXX; Eph. 3:21, NKJV) They should not covet someone's else's fiancé(e) or spouse. They should not try to break up a relationship with a boyfriend and his girlfriend so that they can have a steady dating partner.

One can commit the sin of covetousness by desiring anything else that belongs to someone else. We are supposed to be content with what we have.

One can become greedy for other people's possessions. Some people want what others have so much that they will go to any lengths to possess it. Christians need to learn contentment. God has already promised us everything in the end anyway. So, there is no need to regret not having the same things that others have. We must believe God's promises.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (II Cor. 5:7, NKJV)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1, NKJV)

Although we do not see the vast blissfulness promised us in the age to come, we must believe that it is ours as long as we continue to seek God and strive to do His will.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6, NKJV)

I think that one of the pitfalls that many fall into is the pitfall of trying to create a heaven for oneself in this life. Some modern preachers are actually preaching that God wants to bless us with a heaven in this life as well as in the next. This is not the traditional Christian teaching on this subject, however. The traditional Christian teaching is that a faithful follower of Christ may expect difficulties and imperfections now and perfection and blissfulness in the age to come. (See II Tim. 3:12.) People who become greedy and look for a heaven now in this present time may find themselves missing the true heaven later on the day of judgment.

In conclusion, remember the Parable of the Rich Fool.

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (St. Luke 12:16-21, NKJV)

Let us strive to be rich toward God.

Steve

Bibliography

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, translated by Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell, Paulist Press, New York, copyright 1982 by the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle

From Pride to Humility and Meekness

The first sin to have ever been committed is pride. This is the sin that resulted in the downfall of the archangel Lucifer. (Isaiah 14:12-15) Pride ruined him and turned him into the prince of demons. (Rev. 12:9; Eph. 2:2) Pride can also destroy each of us. We need to learn humility and meekness. Pride is the absence of humility and meekness.

In Ecclesiasticus, it says:

For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination. (Ecclesiasticus 10:13)

And in Proverbs, it says:

Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace. (Prov. 11:2, LXX)

Pride goes before destruction, and folly before a fall. (Prov. 16:18, LXX)

Pride brings a man low. (Prov. 31:23, LXX)

So, pride leads to further sin since it is the beginning of sin. Proud people ultimately end up being disgraced and ruined. They are brought low.

St. John Cassian says that pride corrupts the whole soul.

Just as a deadly plague destroys not just one member of the body, but the whole of it, so pride corrupts the whole soul, not just part of it. (On the Eight Vices, "On Pride," by St. John Cassian, The Philokalia, vol. 1, p. 92)

Furthermore, God resists the proud. (James 4:6) To be proud is to set oneself up against God.

"Pride was not made for men." (Ecclesiasticus 10:18) To be proud is to be less than human. God never intended for anyone to be proud, nor does He wish for anyone to be so. Pride does not come from God. It comes from the world set against God. (I John 2:16) It is a sin that entered the world created for God. (Rom. 5:12; Col. 1:16)

Pride is a denial of God, an invention of the devil, contempt for men. It is the mother of condemnation, the offspring of praise, a sign of barrenness. ("Step 23: On Pride," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, p. 207)

Pride is alien to every virtue. ("Step 23: On Pride," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, p. 211)

Pride is an impediment to faith in God. Jesus told the Jews, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (St. John 5:44, NKJV)

We must do what Jesus the Son of Sirach admonished us to do:

Humble thy soul greatly: for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms. (Ecclesiasticus 7:17)

Humility takes time and effort to master. The man who claims to be humble is not humble at all. St. John of the Ladder told about a man who claimed to be humble. A wise and very spiritual old man told him that he was not.

An old man, very experienced in these matters, once spiritually admonished a proud brother who said in his blindness: "Forgive me, Father, but I am not proud." "My son," said the wise old man, "what better proof of your pride could you have given than to claim that you were not proud?" ("Step 23: On Pride," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, p. 208)

Humble people are not conscious of their humility.

It is God's will that we give thanks (I Thess. 5:18), but often pride draws its strength from the giving of thanks. Like the Pharisee in St. Luke's Gospel (St. Luke 18:11), it is easy to develop pride when one starts comparing oneself with others who are "less fortunate" or "less pious" and saying things like, "Oh God, I thank you that I am not like that thief. I thank you that I am not like that harlot. I thank you that I have a better home to live in than those poor people on the other side of town." St. John of the Ladder said, "I have seen people who speak aloud their thanks to God but who in their hearts are glorifying themselves, something demonstrated by that Pharisee with his 'Oh God, I thank you.'" ("Step 23: On Pride," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, p. 207)

Like the publican (St. Luke 18:13), we need to humble ourselves before God and acknowledge our sins and imperfections. Repentance gives birth to humility. Jesus told the unbelieving Jews:

If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, "We see." Therefore your sin remains. (St. John 9:41, NKJV)

Failure to acknowledge one's spiritual blindness to God can hinder one from seeing one's sins. Failure to acknowledge one's sins can prevent one from acquiring humility.

Humility is important. Without humility, we cannot obtain victory over any sin. This is what St. John Cassian taught.

Humility of soul helps more than everything else, however, and without it no one can overcome unchastity or any other sin. (On the Eight Vices, "On the Demon of Unchastity and the Desire of the Flesh," by St. John Cassian, The Philokalia, vol. 1, p. 75)

Humility needs to become a way of life with us. Jesus said:

When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, "Give place to this man," and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, "Friend, go up higher." Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (St. Luke 14:8-11, NKJV)

Letting others have that which is best and taking that which others do not want. That is one way to practice humility. St. Paul said:

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. (Rom. 12:10, NKJV)

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3,4, NKJV)

We should give preference to others and not esteem them as better than we are. Humility can be practiced in small ways, such as, standing at the end of a long line or letting someone else exit a door before you. It can be practiced in even bigger ways by deferring a job promotion to someone else or helping someone else achieve something more significant than you yourself would have achieved. Jesus told His disciples:

If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. (St. Mark 9:35, NKJV)

Proud as a peacock. Pride is a secular virtue and a Christian vice. For attribute click here.

To practice humility is to live one's life contrary to the status-seeking ways of the world. It means to go against the grain of secular society and be different. Jesus told His disciples:

You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. (St. Mark 10:42-44, NKJV)

The more exalted we become in the eyes of others, the more humble should we be. In Ecclesiasticus, Jesus the Son of Sirach said:

The greater thou art, the more humble thyself, and thou shalt find favour before the Lord. (Ecclesiasticus 3:18)

It is a good practice to credit God with one's accomplishments rather than to credit oneself with them. Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." (St. John 15:5, NKJV) St. John of the Ladder said:

While it is disgraceful to be puffed up over the adornments of others, it is sheer lunacy to imagine that one has deserved the gifts of God. You may be proud only of the achievements you had before the time of your birth. But anything after that, indeed the birth itself, is a gift from God. You may claim only those virtues in you that are there independently of your mind, for your mind was bestowed on you by God. And you may claim only those victories you achieved independently of the body, for the body too is not yours but a work of God. ("Step 23: On Pride," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, pp. 208-209)

Banishing avarice, or greed, from one's soul is another task that must be undertaken in order to rid oneself of pride.

Nor will one escape pride, the first offspring of the devil, unless one has banished avarice, the root of all evil, since poverty makes a man humble, according to Solomon (cf. Prov. 10:4, LXX). ("Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts," by St. Evagrios the Solitary, The Philokalia, vol. 1, p. 38)

It is foolish to love money and material things and spend one's life trying to acquire great wealth when God has already promised His children everything in the afterlife. (Rev. 21:7; I Cor. 3:21,22) Jesus taught, "One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." (St. Luke 12:15, NKJV) Even when we have everything, we will still see that we can only be truly satisfied in our souls with God.

Learning to live with less even though one can have more is one way to rid oneself of pride and restore one's soul to its humble state.

People who seek material prosperity have a difficult time practicing humility because they gloat too much over their possessions and feel that having more and better things than others makes them better people than those with less.

Jesus is our supreme example of humility. He humbled Himself to the point of death on the Cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

With humility and meekness, comes knowledge of spiritual mysteries. Jesus the Son of Sirach said, "Mysteries are revealed unto the meek." (Ecclesiasticus 3:19) St. Symeon the Theologian said:

When he has spent time in contrition, in weeping, in prostrations, and in humbling himself, he begins little by little to know the things of God, and it is when he has reached this point that he learns "His will which is holy and acceptable and perfect." (Rom. 12:2) (On the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses, Vol. 2: On Virtue and Christian Life, by St. Symeon the New Theologian, pp. 54-55)

Meekness can be learned from Christ who is "meek and lowly in heart." (St. Matt. 11:29) "When He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." (I Pet. 2:23, NKJV) He is our supreme example of meekness.

St. John of the Ladder defined meekness in this way.

Meekness is a permanent condition of that soul which remains unaffected by whether or not it is spoken well of, whether or not it is honored or praised. ("Step 8: On Placidity and Meekness," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, p. 146)

To be a person who is not offended by the negative remarks of others is to be meek. A meek person will hear insults and not be affected. He will view himself as being less than others. So, praise as well as insult will not disturb him. St. John of the Ladder also says:

A sign of utter meekness is to have a heart peacefully and lovingly disposed toward someone who has been offensive, and a sure proof of a hot temper is that a man, even when he is alone, should with word and gesture continue to rage and fulminate against some absent person who has given offense. ("Step 8: On Placidity and Meekness," The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, p. 147)

Jesus said that it is the meek who shall inherit the earth. (St. Matt. 5:5) Inheriting the earth along with the rest of the renovated universe is one of the promises God has made to His children. [Rom. 4:13 — "World" in this verse is the Greek word, kosmos, which means universe. See also II Pet. 3:13 and Rev. 21:7.] It is important, therefore, that we learn to be meek.

Pride is the first sin — the sin that caused the archangel Lucifer to fall from Heaven. It produces disgrace and ruin. It corrupts the whole soul. It is the absence of humility and meekness. It hinders one from having faith in God. Gratitude is good, but it is possible to develop pride while thanking God. Humble people are unaware of their humility. Without humility we cannot overcome any sin. Pride must be overcome by banishing from ourselves the sin of avarice. We need to credit God with our achievements and not bask in the praises of others in order to become humble people. We need to develop a servant heart and esteem others better than ourselves. We need to reflect on our sins and weaknesses and repent in order to develop humility. We need to develop meekness and learn to be unaffected by praise or insult. Humble people acquire knowledge of spiritual mysteries.

Steve

Bibliography

The Philokalia, volumes 1 and 2, compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, translated by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, Faber and Faber, London, UK, copyright 1979 The Eling Trust

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus, translated by Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell, Paulist Press, New York, copyright 1982 by the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle

On the Mystical Life, volumes 1-3, by St. Symeon the New Theologian, tranlated by Alexander Golitzin, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York 10707, copyright 1995

The Seven Deadly Sins

There are seven sins that are commonly referred to as the seven deadly sins. All sin, however, is deadly and tends toward the dehumanization of a person. Sin, in the Orthodox Christian view, is not an addition to one's humanity. Instead, it is a subtraction from it. Sin is not natural. It is unnatural. To sin is to be less than human.

The seven sins that are called the Seven Deadly Sins are: pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Each of these sins is the absence of a particular virtue or a set of virtues. Pride is the absence of humility. Greed is the absence of contentment and/or liberality. Lust is the absence of authentic love, self-control, and/or chastity. Anger is the absence of mercy, patience, and/or kindness. Gluttony is the absence of self-control or temperance. Envy is the absence of contentment, love, and/or humility. Sloth is the absence of diligence, perseverance, and/or self-control.



Since these sins are the absence of virtues, we can eradicate them by practicing virtue. Certain ascetical disciplines need to be practiced in order to gain the victory over these sins. Such ascetical disciplines include prayer, fasting, Bible reading, and the remembrance of death.

Receiving the Sacraments is also important in this spiritual warfare to gain virtue and eradicate sin. Jesus said:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (St. John 15:5, NKJV)

and:

He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (St. John 6:56, NKJV)

We need to abide in Christ in order to bear the spiritual fruit of virtue. One of the things that we must be doing in order to be abiding in Him is to eat His flesh and drink His blood. We receive Christ's flesh and blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. In this Sacrament, our Lord disguises Himself as bread and wine and makes it possible for us to partake of Him. He imparts to us divine energy in this Sacrament to aid us in our spiritual battles. We also receive mercy from God in this Sacrament.

In some future blogs, I will talk more about these deadly sins and how to gain the victory over them.

Steve

Temptation

This life is a journey into eternity. During the journey of this life, those who seek eternal life and immortality must engage themselves in a spiritual battle to insure the safety of their souls. The spiritual battle involves encountering temptations to sin and achieving victory over such temptations.

We all have freedom of choice. We can choose to do good or to do evil. When we do good, we move ourselves closer to our ultimate salvation. (Rom. 2:7; 6:16,22) It is true that eternal life is a gift (Rom. 6:23), but we still must become servants of righteousness in order to obtain eternal life. (Rom. 6:22) When we do evil, we sin. Temptation precedes sin. Our regular and daily response to temptation determines the fate of our souls.

St. Mark the Ascetic said:

What repayment for all these blessings can you possibly make to Him who has called your soul to eternal life? It is only right, then, that you should live no longer for yourself, but for Christ, who died for your sake and rose again. In your struggle to acquire every virtue and to fulfil every commandment, always seek "the good, acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2), endeavouring with all your strength to pursue it. (Letter to Nicolas the Solitary, by St. Mark the Ascetic, The Philokalia, vol. 1, p. 153)

The spiritual tradition of the Church teaches that there are six stages of temptation: provocation, momentary disturbance of the intellect, coupling, assent, prepossession, and passion.

Provocation occurs when one receives the initial suggestion to sin. This is the first stage of temptation. This suggestion to sin may come from people or from demons. In The Shepherd, an angel tells St. Hermas that everyone has two angels assigned to him or her. One angel encourages one to do good and the other one encourages one to sin. (The Shepherd, Commandment VI) One can avoid the other stages of temptation by rejecting sin immediately after one receives the initial suggestion to sin.

If one is continually assaulted with the suggestion to sin, one should start making the sign of the Cross. This is a physical act of prayer that the demons strongly dislike. One can also start praying the Jesus prayer. This is a very simple, short prayer based on the publican's prayer in St. Luke's Gospel. (St. Luke 18:13) It is: "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The continual repetition of this prayer and the sign of the Cross will drive the demons away.

If the temptation is coming from people, then one must know how to respond to those who want to lure one into sin. The Jesus prayer, the sign of the Cross, and calling on the assistance of the Mother of God and the Saints might be necessary depending on how one is being tempted by others to sin. Openly confessing one's allegiance to Christ may also be necessary and might discourage others from trying to get one to sin. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in Heaven." (St. Matt. 10:32,33) In such a situation one is confronted with two choices: to openly confess one's allegiance to Christ or to deny Christ and participate in the sins others seek to involve one in. One choice is a step towards eternal life and the other is a step towards eternal damnation. (St. John 5:29) If one fears God, one will, of course, make the right choice.

In the Bible, there are several admonitions to abstain from the company of people who want to drag one into sin. (Prov. 1:10-19; II Cor. 6:14-18) We must associate with all kinds of people in this world, but it is not necessary that we adopt the interests and lifestyles of everyone. If someone wants you to go to a place where sinful activity is going on, all you have to say is no. If they ask why, you can start talking about your relationship with God and your quest for eternal life in His Kingdom.

The next stage of temptation is momentary disturbance of the intellect. At this stage, one has a thought to sin. The concept of sin is in one's mind. If one continues to dwell on this idea of committing sin, then one advances to the next stage of temptation, coupling. If one replaces the thought of sin with holy thoughts, then one avoids advancing to the next stage of temptation.

Prayer, fasting, and other ascetical labors are necessary to combat temptations when they have advanced beyond the first stage.

Coupling is the third stage of temptation. When one reaches this stage of temptation, one has already committed sin in one's heart. Coupling involves playing with the idea of committing sin, thinking about doing it and even thinking about how one will do it and possibly even avoid being caught doing it.

The fourth stage of temptation is assent. At this stage, one makes a mental decision to commit a sin.

The fifth stage is prepossession. One arrives at this stage when one has repeatedly committed a particular sin over and over again in the past. The sin becomes a habit.

One must exercise much effort to resist such sins when one has reached the fifth stage of temptation. Fasting, prayer, reading the Bible and other holy books, practicing the remembrance of death, and other ascetical practices are necessary to defeat a prepossession.

If one does not fight vigorously against a prepossession, then one will advance to the sixth stage of temptation, passion. At this stage, a particular sin dominates one's life to such an extent that one not only commits a sin by habit, but is overly preoccupied with the practice of that sin.

It is very difficult to defeat a passion. One must fast, pray, and try to continually weaken the tendency to commit such sins that have become passions. It takes a lot of help from God and a lot of asceticism in order to gain the victory in such cases.

Steve

Bibliography

The Philokalia, volumes 1-4, compiled by St. Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, translated from the Greek and edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, published by Faber and Faber, Ltd., London, copyright 1979 by The Eling Trust

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

The Devil and His Demons

In the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, it says, "I believe one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible." We Orthodox Christians believe in the existence of invisible things as well as visible things. Some of the invisible things are the angels.

Among the angels, there are holy angels who live in obedience to God and unholy ones who disobey Him. The angels consist of nine choirs: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, powers, dominions, authorities, principalities, archangels, and angels. There may be other choirs of angels, but these are the only ones that we know of and that are mentioned in the Bible.

The unholy angels are called demons. Their leader is Satan. There are different ranks among the unholy angels, just as there are among the holy ones.

Sometime before the creation of man, Satan led a rebellion against God in Heaven and got one third of the angels to follow him. (Rev. 12:3,4) Pride was the first sin. (Isaiah 14:12-15) Jesus the Son of Sirach said that "pride is the beginning of sin." (Ecclus. 10:13) It was the sin of pride that evolved into the sin of rebellion and sparked the Satanic revolt in Heaven.

After the creation of man, Satan developed the sin of envy. He envied man and wanted to cause his downfall. (Wisdom 2:24) He encouraged man to sin by lying to him and thus caused his death. (Gen. 3) The sin of envy produced the sins of deceit and murder. Jesus said that Satan is "a liar" and was "a murderer from the beginning." (St. John 8:44) He said that he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (St. John 10:10)

Later, after the creation of man, some angels of the lowest order fell into the sin of lust. They saw the female offspring of man and desired to mate with them. (Gen. 6:1-4) These fallen angels, according to some ancient writers, are the ones who introduced man to the occult arts of astrology and witchcraft.* In the Hebrew text of Isaiah, the name of a female demon is mentioned. Her name is Lilith. (Isaiah 34:14, NRSV) According to a Jewish myth, she seduced Adam and became his first wife.** According to Babylonian mythology, she seduces men in desert places. In the Book of Tobit, the name of another demon is mentioned. His name is Asmodeus. He lusted after a young Hebrew woman named Sara and killed her first seven husbands before they could consummate their marriages with her. (Tobit 3:7,8; 6:12-17) So, there are male and female demons who lust after humans and even try to encourage them to lust. In demonology, these demons are called incubi and succubi. An incubus is a male demon who lusts after human women. A succubus is a female demon who lusts after human men.

St. Paul told the Ephesian Christians that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual hosts of wickedness, that is, the demons. (Eph. 6:12) The demons are still working to cause the downfall of man. They oppose any of attempts of man to acquire the likeness of God and participate in the divine energies. They inspire people to do evil, encourage hate, and try to put man against man. They promote greed, covetousness, lust, sexual immorality, and sexual perversions. They try to undermine any work of God. They encourage the spread of heresies. Many of the modern heresies are just ancient ones taught by modern people.

We are supposed to abstain from every form of evil. (I Thess. 5:22) We need to shun sin in all of its forms. In the process of trying to abstain from evil, however, we often encounter attempts by the demons to pull us into evil. There is an ongoing warfare going on for the souls of humans.

Steve

* When, therefore, the number of men had begun to increase, God in His forethought, lest the devil, to whom from the beginning He had given power over the earth, should by his subtilty either corrupt or destroy men, as he had done at first, sent angels for the protection and improvement of the human race; and inasmuch as He had given these a free will, He enjoined them above all things not to defile themselves with contamination from the earth, and thus lose the dignity of their heavenly nature. He plainly prohibited them from doing that which He knew that they would do, that they might entertain no hope of pardon. Therefore, while they abode among men, that most deceitful ruler of the earth (II Cor. 4:4), by his very association, gradually enticed them to vices, and polluted them by intercourse with women. Then, not being admitted into heaven on account of the sins into which they had plunged themselves, they fell to the earth. Thus from angels the devil makes them to become his satellites and attendants. (The Divine Institutes, Book II, chapter XV, by Lactantius, 260-330 A.D., vol. 7, p. 64, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

These [the angels who had intercourse with human women] were the inventors of astrology, and soothsaying, and divination, and those productions which are called oracles, and necromancy, and the art of magic, and whatever evil practices besides these men exercise, either openly or in secret. (The Divine Institutes, Book II, chapter XVII, by Lactantius, 260-330 A.D., vol. 7, p. 65, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

** The New Revised Standard Version of Isaiah says:

Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest. (Isaiah 34:14, NRSV)

Lilith, according to ancient Jews and Babylonians, was a female demon. A Jewish myth said that she was Adam's first wife and that Adam had intercourse with her before having intercourse with Eve. Maybe some of this myth is true and some of it is false. Maybe she seduced Adam, but was not his first wife. Maybe she seduced him after he had some children with Eve. 99.99% of Adam's biography is missing from the Bible. We do not have a full, detailed account of Adam's 930 years of mortal existence.

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Forty

The ancient mathematicians thought more about the symbolism of numbers than many of us do today. They examined numbers to see what other numbers made up them. The number forty is the one I will deal with in this blog.

Forty occurs many times in the Sacred Scriptures. Both Moses and Elijah fasted for forty days. (Ex. 34:28; I Kings 19:8) During the times of Noah, it rained forty days and forty nights. (Gen. 7:4,12) Our Lord fasted for forty days, too. (St. Matt. 4:2) The ancient Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness before reaching the promised land. (Nehemiah 9:21) After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus walked on the Earth for forty days before ascending up into Heaven. (Acts 1:3-11)

Forty also occurs frequently on the Church calendar. There are forty days of Great Lent. There are forty days from Pascha (Orthodox Easter) to the Feast of the Ascension. There are forty days from the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6) to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14). There are forty days of Advent (November 15 to December 24). There are forty days from Christmas (December 25) to the Feast of the Meeting of our Lord (February 2).

Ancient mathematicians were particularly interested in the shapes of numbers. They arranged dots or objects into patterns to see what shape each number had. Three, for example, is a triangular number. Three dots can be arranged into the shape of a triangle. The triangle is, of course, a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Four is a square number because four dots can be arranged to form a square. Eight is a cubic number. Eight dots can be arranged to form a cube. Then, there are the spherical numbers. Twenty-five is spherical. Multiply five by itself and you get twenty-five. Twenty-five ends in five — the same number that is its multiple. Thirty-six is also spherical. Six times six is thirty-six and the last digit of thirty-six is six.

Forty is 4 times 10. There are four corners of the earth and four seasons. Ten is made up of 7 and 3. Seven represents the seven days of the week. It, therefore, represents time. Seven also represents perfection. Three is the number of the Trinity. Ten is a temporal and spiritual number. There are ten commandments. The first three pertain to God. (Ex. 20:1-7) The last seven pertain to man. (Exodus 20:8-17) The fourth commandment is about the Sabbath. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. (St. Mark 2:27) It is really a commandment that pertains to man. Forty represents the journey of this life toward the eternal inheritance in the Kingdom of God because it consists of the multiples 4 and 10. Blessed Augustine wrote about the number forty in one of his letters.

As to the reason why this life of toil and self-control is symbolized by the number 40, it seems to me that the number ten (in which is the perfection of our blessedness, as in the number eight, because it returns to the unit) has a like place in this number [as the unit has in giving its significance to eight]; and therefore I regard the number forty as a fit symbol for this life, because in it the creature (of which the symbolical number is seven) cleaves to the Creator, in whom is revealed that unity of the Trinity which is to be published while time lasts throughout this whole world, — a world swept by four winds, constituted of four elements, and experiencing the changes of four seasons in the year. Now four times ten [seven added to three] are forty; but the number forty reckoned in along with [one of] its parts adds the number ten, [as seven reckoned in along with one of its parts adds the unit,] and the total is fifty, — the symbol, as it were, of the reward of the toil and self-control. For it is not without reason that the Lord Himself continued for forty days on this earth and in this life in fellowship with His disciples after His resurrection, and, when He ascended into heaven, sent the promised Holy Spirit, after an interval of ten days more, when the day of Pentecost was fully come. This fiftieth day, moreover, has wrapped up in it another holy mystery: for 7 times 7 days are 49. And when we return to the beginning of another seven, and add the eighth, which is also the first day of the week, we have the 50 days complete; which period of fifty days we celebrate after the Lord’s resurrection, as representing not toil, but rest and gladness. For this reason we do not fast in them; and in praying we stand upright, which is an emblem of resurrection. Hence, also, every Lord’s day during the fifty days, this usage is observed at the altar, and the Alleluia is sung, which signifies that our future exercise shall consist wholly in praising God, as it is written: “Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, O Lord: they will be still (i.e. eternally) praising Thee.” (Psalm 83:5, LXX; Psalm 84:5, Hebrew) (Letter LV, chapter XV, by Blessed Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., vol. 1, pp. 312-313, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

Another interesting feature of forty is that it is made up of the multiples of 8 and 5. Jesus arose from the dead on the eighth day, the day after the Sabbath. The eighth day in Christian symbolism is the day with no sunset. It is the eternal day that we all hope one day to see. Blessed Augustine also wrote about the eighth day.

The Lord’s day, however, has been made known not to the Jews, but to Christians, by the resurrection of the Lord, and from Him it began to have the festive character which is proper to it. For the souls of the pious dead are, indeed, in a state of repose before the resurrection of the body, but they are not engaged in the same active exercises as shall engage the strength of their bodies when restored. Now, of this condition of active exercise the eighth day (which is also the first of the week) is a type, because it does not put an end to that repose, but glorifies it. For with the reunion of the body no hindrance of the soul’s rest returns, because in the restored body there is no corruption: for “this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (I Cor. 15:53) Wherefore, although the sacramental import of the 8th number, as signifying the resurrection, was by no means concealed from the holy men of old who were filled with the spirit of prophecy (for in the title of Psalms* we find the words “for the eighth,” and infants were circumcised on the eighth day; and in Ecclesiastes it is said, with allusion to the two covenants, “Give a portion to seven, and also to eight”) (Eccl. 11:2); nevertheless before the resurrection of the Lord, it was reserved and hidden, and the Sabbath alone was appointed to be observed, because before that event there was indeed the, repose of the dead (of which the Sabbath rest was a type), but there was not any instance of the resurrection of one who, rising from the dead, was no more to die, and over whom death should no longer have dominion; this being done in order that, from the time when such a resurrection did take place in the Lord’s own body (the Head of the Church being the first to experience that which His body, the Church, expects at the end of time), the day upon which He rose, the eighth day namely (which is the same with the first of the week), should begin to be observed as the Lord’s day. The same reason enables us to understand why, in regard to the day of keeping the Passover, on which the Jews were commanded to kill and eat a lamb, which was most clearly a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Passion, there was no injunction given to them that they should take the day of the week into account, waiting until the Sabbath was past, and making the beginning of the third week of the moon coincide with the beginning of the third week of the first month; the reason being, that the Lord might rather in His own Passion declare the significance of that day, as He had come also to declare the mystery of the day now known as the Lord’s day, the eighth namely, which is also the first of the week. (Letter LV, chapter XIII, by Blessed Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., vol. 1, p. 310, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

Eight when multiplied by itself five times, that is, eight to the fifth power, is 32,768. 32,768 is a spherical number because the last digit is 8, its multiple. Eight times five is forty.
As for the number five, we have five senses. There are five books of Moses. There are five books of Solomon.** Christ fed five thousand people using five loaves and two fish. In the Russian tradition, the priest uses five loaves of prosphora bread to do the proskomedia before the Divine Liturgy. Five is the number that makes up the Cross.
The very form of the Cross, too, has five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails. (Against Heresies, Book II, chapter 24, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 395, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Each of us must bear his or her own cross in the hope of one day enjoying eternal life in that eighth day, the day with no sunset.

And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. (St. Luke 9:23,24)

Forty, as Blessed Augustine says, symbolizes this life of toil and self-control.

Steve

* In the titles of Psalms 6 and 11 in the Septuagint.

** Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus). The last two books were not actually written by Solomon but are grouped with his three books due to a certain resemblance of style.

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts