On Humility

Dimitrios Panagopoulos

"The gate of heaven is humility" (Abba John)

 

Strive to endure the insult and the humiliation that people do to you, without being disturbed or indignant within your soul, in order to gain boldness before God.

Every harsh word that a person endures, knowingly and willingly, without having at all been at fault toward the one who insults and wrongs him, is indeed at that moment a crown of thorns which he places upon his own head, yet he will become blessed and joyful, because at a time unknown to him, he will be crowned with an incorruptible crown.

The perfection of humility is for a person to endure with joy humiliation and every unjust and false accusation. For the person who has truly acquired the virtue of humility within his soul, when he is unjustly accused, is not disturbed, nor does he try to defend himself and show his innocence in the injustice done to him, but accepts the slander as truth, does not try to persuade people that he was slandered, but seeks forgiveness as if he were truly guilty.

There were even people who had acquired the virtue of humility to such a degree that they willingly accepted to be regarded as sinful and unchaste, while they themselves were pure and innocent. Others endured the accusation of adultery, while in reality they were very far from such a sin, and they accepted to bear upon their shoulders, with tears, the weight and fruits of a sin which they had not committed, and with weeping and lamentation they asked forgiveness from those who had wronged and slandered them, for a sin they had never committed—even at a time when their soul was crowned, because it was in a state of complete purity and chastity. Others again, so as not to be glorified for the great virtue hidden within their soul, through various gestures and actions presented themselves to people as if they were mad, while in truth they were salted with divine salt, and in inner peace steadfast, so that for their great perfection and purity, the very holy Angels of heaven proclaimed their accomplishments in spiritual struggles. But as for you, do not think that you have acquired the virtue of humility, when you cannot endure even a simple accusation. If you truly want to see within your soul whether or not you are humble, try to find yourself in all that we have said.

He who has humility does not concern himself with the insults that people do to him, because he always has in mind his sins, the constant remembrance of which becomes for him an armor that protects him from anger and vengeance, and he endures everything that happens to him. For what reproach and what shame could anyone cause him greater than that which he feels before God for his sins?

If the demons see that someone has been insulted or has received an affront, or has been wronged, or has suffered anything else and is grieved—not because he suffered harm, but because he did not endure the assault of evil with forbearance and meekness—they fear that person very much, because they understand that he has found the path of truth and walks according to the commandments of God.

Once Saint Makarios, while on the road, encountered the devil who was holding a sickle and tried to strike the Saint with it, but was unable to. And he said to him: I am greatly tormented by you, Makarios, and I can do nothing to you; for whatever you do, I also do. You fast, and I eat nothing at all; you keep vigil, and I never sleep; there is only one thing in which you surpass me. Abba Makarios said: What is that? And the demon replied: Your humility! And because of this, I can do nothing against you.

If someone ever remembers the one who saddened him or insulted him or wronged him or did him any other harm, he ought to remember him and regard him as a physician of his soul and from the depths of his soul to pray for him.

And if he entertains thoughts against him, he must know that he is doing harm against his own soul, just like the demons.

Rather, he himself becomes a demon and an enemy to his own self, because he does not desire to be freed from wickedness, but wishes to suffer from an incurable illness. For if he were not truly sick, he would not think evil of the one who saddened or harmed him, and who was sent to him by Christ as a physician and, through the insult or harm he caused, benefited him—because in this way the passion that was hidden within him was revealed.

If he truly desires to be healed, he ought to regard that person as a benefactor and accept whatever he does to him as a healing medicine sent by Christ, and give thanks for all these things, even though at the moment they cause him bitterness and pain. For the sick person never willingly accepts surgery or cauterization or drinking purgative medicines, but even thinks of them with disgust. However, when he convinces himself that without these it is impossible to be freed from the illness, he surrenders himself to the physician, knowing that with a little disgust he will be freed from a long-lasting disease. The one who brings you harm and insults is the cautery of Jesus, but he frees you from the wound of greed and pride. But if you are unwilling to endure all these things, and not only do not give thanks, but even think of avenging yourself against your enemy, then you are like someone who says to Christ: "I do not want You to heal me, I do not accept Your medicines; I prefer that my body rot from my wounds." And then what will the good Lord do for you? Know, brother, that the one who avoids the temptation by which his soul would have been benefited had he endured it, avoids and loses eternal life.

The humble person uses every sorrowful thing he hears or suffers because of the malice of others as an occasion to reproach and revile himself. And if it ever happens that the humble person is troubled by the insult and injustice he suffers, he immediately hastens to pray, and through prayer the disturbance of his heart is soothed. Not only does he do this, but also, when he is troubled, he rebukes and reproaches himself with severity, saying to his soul: “Why are you angry, wretched soul? Why are you troubled like the foaming ones? This very disturbance proves that you are sick; for if you were not sick, you would not be suffering. Why, miserable soul, have you ceased to accuse yourself and now accuse your brother because he revealed to you the illness that was hidden within you and unknown until now? Imitate Christ, Who ‘when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten.’”

Some once went to Abba Agathon, wishing to test whether he humbly accepted everything that happened to him, and they said to him: “Are you Agathon? We have heard about you that you are a fornicator and proud.” And the Elder replied: Yes, it is as you have heard. They said again to him: “Are you Agathon the talkative and slanderer?” And he said: I am. And again they said to him: “Are you Agathon the heretic?” And the Elder replied: I am not a heretic.

Then they asked him, saying: Tell us, why did you accept all the false accusations, but not this one? He said to them: The former I accept, because they benefit my soul. But heresy is separation from God.

Yet let us also be discerning, so that, supposedly for the sake of humility, we may never accept something that would separate us from God.

Abba Arsenius once recounted the following: While an elder ascetic was sitting in his cell, he heard a voice saying to him: Come, and I will show you the works of men. He rose and went out, and the voice led him to a certain place and showed him an Ethiopian, who was cutting wood and making a great load with it. He then tried to lift the load and could not; and instead of removing some of the wood to make it lighter, he kept cutting and adding more. He did this for a long time. Then, after they went a little further, the voice showed him another man who was standing over a pit of water, drawing water from it and carrying it to a cistern that had a hole; and through that hole the water returned into the same pit. And again, the voice said to him: Come, and I will show you another work of men. And he then saw a temple and two men on horseback, each holding a piece of wood sideways in his hand, facing one another. They wished to enter the temple through the gate but could not, because they held the wood sideways.

Neither of the two humbled himself to go behind the other and to hold the wood straight in order to be able to pass through. Thus, both remained outside the gate.

These, he said, are those who weighed and measured everything with precision and pride and returned measure for measure, and never bent to humble themselves and correct themselves and walk the humble path of Christ. Therefore, they remain outside the Kingdom of God. And the man who was cutting the wood is a person with many sins. And instead of humbly confessing them and repenting, he adds other iniquities upon his sins. The one who was drawing water was a man who indeed did good works, but lacked humility, which, if it had been present, would have removed from within him every trace of bitterness; for this reason, he lost even his good works. It is therefore fitting for a person to pay attention to what he does, so that he may not labor in vain and to no purpose.

***

• That very man shall be saved who does not reject the medicines, and these are the pains and sorrows that come through various causes. He who rejects them does not know what he is working toward in this life, nor what he will take with him when he departs. (St. Maximos)

• A brother asked Abba Euprepios, saying: How does the fear of God come into the soul in the beginning? And the elder replied: If a man chooses humility and poverty, the fear of God soon comes upon him.

***

• Abba James said: Just as a lamp in a dark place gives light, so also the fear of God, when it enters a man's heart, enlightens him and teaches him all the virtues and the commandments of God.

 

Greek source: https://katanixi.gr/peri-tapeinoseos-dimitrios-panagopo/