Enemies of Themselves

Archimandrite Seraphim (Aleksiev)

Delivered at the Knyazhevo Monastery "Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos" on June 4/17, 1984, on the eve of the Apostles' Fast. Published in the book The Spiritual Life of the Orthodox Christian.

 

Beloved! The topic of my word to you today is “Enemies of themselves.” What does this mean?

Among sinful people today, the opinion is widely spread that in this world of malice and enmity, a person must fight against his enemies, who cause him so many harms, and that if he treats those around him meekly and humbly, they will crush him. Unfortunately, these thoughts are shared by many Orthodox Christians as well. They look upon those around them as their adversaries. No one considers that he himself, according to the words of St. John Chrysostom, is his own greatest enemy through his passions—pride, self-love, and ruthless egoism. In conflicts, each one blames the other, each considers himself justified before his conscience to be angry at his neighbor who has offended him and caused him either material or spiritual harm.

As a confessor, I have heard more than one Christian say: “He hurt me deeply! I no longer want to see him before my eyes!” To my objection: “But you must forgive him! If you do not do this, God will not forgive you either!” – they usually reply: “Alright, I will forgive him in my heart, but I do not want to meet or speak with him. He harms my soul.”

But let us ask ourselves: is this widespread opinion true, that a person suffers harm to his soul from those who are hostile toward him?

In order to resolve the question posed, let us first of all clarify what is truly harmful for us. Truly harmful for us is only that which makes us sin before God and defiles our soul, created in the image of God. From the point of view of the Holy Gospel, the entire dignity of man does not consist in that which he possesses as external earthly distinctions: wealth, glory, knowledge, talents, etc., but in his inner virtuous life in Christ, in which is manifested the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4).

Virtue—this is the true dignity of the Orthodox Christian! And if we have labored to acquire such virtue, no man is capable of depriving us of it, not even the devil himself! We can be deprived of it only by ourselves, if we betray Christ, abusing our free will.

God has given man an immortal soul, destined to be the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity (John 14:23). This soul is like a fortress inaccessible to enemies! No adversary can seize it by force and enter it in triumph. If we daily and hourly see many human souls falling into the hands of the tempter devil, it is because man himself becomes his own betrayer, as through the gratification of his passions—pride, vengeance, malice, etc.—he opens the doors of his soul to the devil and gives him the keys to it! If he does not himself open the doors of his soul to the enemy, no one can slip in and harm him! Here are the proofs of this:

Let us suppose that someone offends you and deeply wounds you with words. If you endure with faith in God, with hope in Him, and with love toward Him, your soul will not only suffer no harm from another’s malice, but on the contrary, it will be further strengthened in virtue and will shine with the light of Christ’s virtues—meekness, patience, and humility (Matt. 11:29). And with these virtues, you will see before you the gates of Paradise opened!

It is a different matter for your offender. He gravely sins against himself when he shows malice and causes himself great harm through his hatred. Yes, he causes himself such harm as even the fiercest demons, with all their hatred toward us, cannot cause us. Of course, if the offender repents and confesses his sin, he will drive out from his soul the devil with whom he had allied himself for his own destruction. And by breaking with the devil, he will free himself from the infernal bondage of sin (John 8:34) and will again receive into his hands the keys of his soul. But if he does not bring forth repentance, he will bring upon himself eternal destruction.

And so, both the offender, if he does not repent, and the offended, if he does not bear the offense bravely but decides to take revenge—both receive great harm from their mutual hatred. But—take note!—they receive this harm not from one another, but each from himself. Therefore, it can be said that the one who sins is his own greatest enemy.

According to the words of St. John Chrysostom, the one who has been wronged, as soon as he begins to grow angry because of the evil done to him and to blaspheme, receives great harm to his soul—not from the wrongdoer, that is, from his enemy, but from his own impatience and spiritual weakness. (St. John Chrysostom, Homily on the fact that he who does not harm himself cannot be harmed by another. – Works, Vol. III, Book 2. St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 480.) If he were to endure, he could, through the apparent harm caused him by his supposed enemy, receive great spiritual benefit. And that benefit is eternal salvation! Of course, when your enemy offends you, he does not have the salvation of your soul in mind. But God turns things in such a way that this enemy, against his own will, becomes a benefactor and co-laborer in the great work of your soul’s salvation, because he gives you the opportunity to endure, to pray, and to forgive. Blessed is the one who suffers wrongs, for through his patience he adds new deposits to his soul’s treasury of virtues. But the one who causes evil to his neighbor, without later repenting, is most wretched, for he will inherit after death the same fate as the greatest evildoer—the devil.

Glory be to God, Who has ordained things in such a way that we may benefit even from another’s evil for our own good!

What is required is only that we cause no evil to anyone, judge no one, have firm faith in God, and treat one another with love, as Christ Himself commands us: A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another (John 13:34–35). Let us understand that just as we are weak in soul and cannot always endure offenses with good-heartedness and make use of them for our salvation, so too the souls of our neighbors are weak and frail. If we wish to fulfill the Gospel commandment to love others as ourselves (Matt. 22:39), we are obliged not to place stumbling blocks before them on the path of salvation. The great Apostle Paul teaches us: Put not a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in your brother's way (Rom. 14:13). Let brotherly love continue (Heb. 13:1). Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Moreover, we must always remember the profound thoughts of St. John Chrysostom: “He who takes care not to cause harm to himself—no one else can harm him. And on the other hand, he who does not wish to be vigilant and fulfill that which he is obliged to do (i.e., God’s commandments)—to him, no one can bring benefit.” (Ibid., p. 489.)

Beloved! What conclusions shall we draw from all that has been said thus far? Our salvation does not depend on the good attitude of our neighbors toward us, but on ourselves. Our neighbors may be very kind and gentle toward us. However, if we are negligent regarding our salvation and inclined toward sin (for example, toward pride, judgment, fornication, gluttony, and the like), their love will benefit not us, but themselves. For despite their goodness, we will perish. And conversely—if we decide to struggle manfully with the passions within ourselves, then whatever insult, vengeance, or other evil others may do to us, their malice will not touch the immortal principle within us, will not cause any spiritual loss to our soul, but on the contrary, will enrich it, if we prove to be manful and patient. In this sense, the Savior also teaches us: In your patience possess ye your souls (Luke 21:19). Evil will destroy the one who does it, but not the one who endures it. The one who does evil perishes, and the one who endures evil is saved. The strongest confirmation of this we see in the lives of the holy martyrs. Having endured so many evils and torments, they now shine like suns in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 13:43)!

And so, let us from today make the decision not to cause evil to anyone, but to bravely endure the evil caused to us. And let us recognize the salvific truth that no one will be guilty of our perdition except we ourselves—through our passions, through our faint-heartedness, through our lack of faith… And having recognized this, let us say to ourselves: “Enough of being enemies of ourselves! Enough of hindering our own salvation! Let us begin to draw spiritual benefit both from the good, for which we must give thanks, and from the evil, which we are obliged to endure with patience.” And then God will have mercy on us and save us. Amen!

 

Bulgarian source: https://st-maximus-confessor.org/%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B5-%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%B2-%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%8F%D0%B6%D0%B5/