Happiness
God created man not for torments,
but for happiness and joy. True happiness isn’t simply given to man. It’s
almost always the result of a great work and feat. External successes and
material goods alone don’t bring happiness. The truth path by which man can achieve
the happiness that is possible in this earthly world is indicated in the words
of the Savior: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt. 6:33). That is,
first and foremost, strive to establish the desire for God’s Kingdom in your
souls, seek to know God’s truth and to love the Lord, and then everything else:
peace, joy, and earthly needs—food, drink, clothing, and so forth—will follow
on their own.
Happiness is the state of a calm,
joyful, and cheerful soul, and only a man with a clear conscience can
experience it. If a man’s heart and soul are troubled, agitated, and worried,
then even a man living in wealth and honors still won’t be able to be happy.
And conversely, when a man is calm and balanced, when he’s satisfied with his
position and grateful to God for all things, even if he’s poor and lacking in
many necessities, he’s happier than all rich people. A cheerful, hardworking
man with a pure, undefiled conscience, who, moreover, doesn’t seek much but is
content with the little given him by God, will certainly be as happy as
possible for a man in this earthly world. But a stingy, insatiable man, whose
soul is filled with malice, will never know happiness, for where there is no
peace, there is no happiness.
Slander
A man who loves to slander leaves
none uncondemned. What he won’t come up with, and what he won’t easily accuse
completely innocent people of! If he sees someone going to church every day and
praying fervently to the Lord, he’ll say he’s a Pharisee; and if he sees
someone going rarely, he’ll accuse him of lack of faith. If someone tries to
always speak truthfully to everyone, he’ll call him a misanthrope who doesn’t
wish good for others. He doesn’t like a calm and humble man—he’ll say he’s a
weakling. As for a man with a strong and firm character, he’ll say he’s cruel
and irascible… In general, such a man condemns everyone and disapproves of any
affair or undertaking. Don’t forget what a great sin it is to slander and
condemn your neighbor.
Trials
Any event or action that can
plunge a man into sin is known as a trial. Often, a man can recognize in
advance where or with whom and in what situation he could encounter danger and
avoid it. Danger is a circumstance or case in which a man must show the true
qualities of his soul. There are many such cases or circumstances throughout
life: joy and sorrow, happiness and woe, fear, persecution, illness, the death
of a loved one, and much more. By God’s providence, a man is exposed to dangers
so that by them he might be able to assess his own merits and come to know
himself.
Spiritual growth is impossible
without danger; danger elevates thought, purifies the consciousness, and
improves morality. Danger warns and sobers a man. You can’t make wine without
crushing a bunch of grapes, and it’s the same with man. You can’t bear good
fruit without the soul being troubled. Every danger must be treated with great
attention and understanding. And above all, we must remember that evil
shouldn’t plunge a man into hopeless sadness, and he shouldn’t lose his
cheerfulness and strength of spirit. Second, he must try to turn the danger to
his advantage, bringing joy, goodness, and success out of sorrow. You can do
this only once you arm yourself with hope and faith and amend your own
behavior. If danger strikes, give thanks to God, gather your patience, and show
humility.
Self-knowledge
Self-knowledge is when a man
studies himself and examines whether his actions are good or bad, whether he
has a good or bad character. Self-knowledge is the foundation of a good
Christian life. If a man didn’t realize a sin he committed at first, what failings
there are in his heart, then how could he repent of them and become better? The
process of self-knowledge isn’t easy—those who desire it will have to work
hard. A great benefit and spiritual grace will be given to us if we come to
know ourselves well and honestly admit to ourselves what specific shortcomings
we have and what exactly we’re guilty of before the Lord. If we do this, then
our subsequent repentance will be full and sincere, which will help our
correction. And if we’re not able to come to know ourselves well, then we not
only won’t be good Christians, we won’t be good at anything else either. He who
knows himself well will never condemn his neighbor.
Defender of purity
Living with an evil woman is a
great disaster and serious danger. A woman’s malice is the worst, because the
Lord originally gave women a tender heart and gentle character. But if a woman
changes the character given her by nature and becomes malicious, nothing could
be more repugnant. If a woman commands her husband, this is a great shame. No
matter how much better, more educated, more intelligent a wife is than her
husband, she still has to obey him. This won’t interfere with the family’s
well-being, because respecting and submitting to a husband can be well combined
with work and caring for the family.
The husband of an evil wife
always has a downcast face and a heart full of wounds, but the husband of a
kind and prudent wife is always happy and lives long on this earth. Both in the
Old and New Testaments, feminine modesty, being reserved in speech, kindness,
and caring for family and household are always glorified and affirmed. The
purpose of a Christian woman is to be a defender of purity, decency, and
morality, to strengthen marriage, to preserve Christian love between herself
and her husband and between family members, to be a support to her husband, a
guardian of the family hearth, and a support in the family’s well-being.
Blessed is the country and people
that have women of pure morality. Such a country will always be strong,
prosperous, and happy. Conversely, unhappy is the country and people where the
women have forgotten their role and purpose and instead flout Christian ethics
and morals. Such a country and such a people will soon weaken and decline.
Conscience
Two gifts that God has given to
man for the good of himself and others and which he should multiply are conscience
and faith. The conscience is an invisible judge sitting inside of everyone,
either praising or scolding us for this or that action. Anyone who wants to
more clearly envision what the conscience is should recall what unspeakable joy
and pleasure he felt when doing some good deed, and conversely, what a burning
sense of shame seized him when he committed some reprehensible or evil act.
That’s why God gave man a conscience—that it might be a good mentor for the
virtuous and a bridle for the evil and those who do wrong.
To increase this gift, a man must
strive in every way possible to make his conscience firm and sensitive. The
conscience in the human heart is like a fire that illuminates and warms. It’s
impossible to completely extinguish this fire. But anyone can ignite and
strengthen it, if he wants. And whoever acts this way multiplies the gift given
him and has the right to hope to hear from the Lord as a good, kind, and loyal
servant. And he who, on the contrary, has so reduced this divine fire so that
it doesn’t bother him at all and doesn’t prevent him from sinning is like that
slave who buried the talent he received from his master. It was for this that
he deserved God’s reprimand as a cunning and lazy servant…
He who enlightens himself with
Scripture thereby helps his conscience, but he who doesn’t nourish himself with
teaching is forced to rely only on himself. And if his conscience is darkened,
he’ll have no other means of distinguishing between good and evil.
At least once a day, a man should
take a look in that mirror that is always invisibly with him, known as the
conscience. If he looks into it thoughtfully and attentively, he’ll discover a
layer of dirt that has formed on its surface. Therefore, at minimum twice a
day, morning and evening, through prayer, tears, and repentance, a man should
clean this mirror of his soul, the conscience.
Family
Every man, above all, acquires
basic everyday habits and skills in his family— there his views and
beliefs are formed. In a family, he learns good or bad behavior; his character
is formed there, be it good or evil. Therefore, a God-fearing and morally pure
family gives rise to a good and kind man, and vice versa. A peaceful family
life and atmosphere of mutual respect and love are the foundation of firm
Christian morality and a pledge that it’s precisely in his family, in his home
that a Christian will be able to fulfill the commandments of Christ most
consistently.
The first commandment of Christ
is love. Where can it be manifested better, stronger, and more clearly than in
a family? It’s precisely in a family that a man’s heart is most clearly
revealed, showing whether he’s capable of loving his neighbor. If he’s not able
to sincerely, wholeheartedly love his parents, brothers, sisters, and other
relatives, then how can he love others?
Patience is a great virtue and
dignity that a man must first of all be taught, again, in his family. It’s in
the family that a man must every second, every day, show patience and
generosity. If people don’t forgive each other’s flaws and mistakes, they simply
won’t be able to get along with each other. The rejection of egotism, that is,
the ability to sacrifice your own interests for the sake of another, is an
important and highly necessary virtue. The best place to manifest this virtue,
this commandment, is also in the bosom of the family. Likewise, purity,
generosity, peacefulness, and other Christian virtues are most fully developed
and strengthened in a family.
Thirdly, nowhere is a man’s
character more clearly, well, and fully manifested than in his own family,
among his own loved ones. If a man somehow hides his true face outside the home
and tries to present himself to others as a completely positive person, then in
his family he’s in plain view every second and every act reveals his true face,
what he’s really like, good or evil. Home and family life are a mirror
reflecting the true character and nature of a man. For a Christian, his home
and family is a second church. Both in church and in his family, a man should
act purely, modestly, and virtuously.
Worshiping the Lord
The Savior teaches that God is
spiritual, and therefore our worship of the Lord must manifest itself in
spiritual acts and service to the truth. Pagan worship was only carnal, because
the pagans didn’t know the unseen God; they worshiped only what they could
see—the sun, moon, or stars. The Savior taught us that God is an unseen Spirit,
and therefore, worship and service to Him should also be spiritual. That means
a man must worship the Lord spiritually—in truth and righteousness, with good
morals and conduct. He who always remembers that God is everywhere present,
seeing and hearing all things, and therefore fears to anger Him with his bad
deeds and actions truly honors the Lord.
For the most part, we try to
serve the Lord with the flesh, forgetting about spiritual service and worship.
So, it’s not very difficult to endure fasting, but it’s a much greater virtue
and labor if you’re able to cleanse your heart from all sins, if you serve the
Lord with truth and good deeds. Fasting means nothing in and of itself if it
isn’t reinforced by other virtues. There are no better examples of spiritual
worship and the fulfillment of God’s commandments on this earth than parents
giving their children a good upbringing and children showing obedience and
respect for their elders. Today, this divine union between parents and children
has been broken. Children who fast but at the same time feel burdened by taking
care of old and infirm parents commit a terrible sin, because they violate the
first and foundational covenant given by God and fulfill the least and last of
them. Is this really spiritual worship of the Lord? There are many more
examples that demonstrate how far we are from spiritually worshiping God.
Sincere believers worship the
Lord spiritually and truly. Spiritual worship is turning to and striving for
the Lord with all our soul and thoughts, that is, complete submission to the
Lord with our thoughts and feelings, all the inner movements of the soul;
spiritual worship is reverence, the fear of God, and love.
Our worship of the Lord also has
external manifestations: Baptism, kneeling, Church singing, praying aloud,
fasting, celebrating feasts, building churches, and so on. All of this is good
and useful if it comes from and is based on spiritual worship. Without an inner
experience of the Lord, external manifestations of our faith alone bring no
benefit, but on the contrary, only harm. Try to arrange your life such that
your every word and deed, large or small, would be a manifestation of true
worship, respect, and love for God. Take human nourishment, for example. This
is a matter of the flesh, but if a man eats intentionally, not to indulge his
body, and always thanks God for providing food and uses the energy he receives
to glorify the Lord and do God-pleasing works, then eating can also turn into
service of the Lord. Similarly, other simple earthly deeds, if performed with
hope and love, will be grace-filled and God-pleasing.
Prayer in church
A man who wants to go to church
should prepare ahead of time. On Sunday, before going to church, he should try
to attune his heart and mind to prayer. If he brings his worldly worries with
him to church, then of course he won’t be able to pray well and with benefit
for his soul. Before crossing the threshold of the church, stop for a moment,
sit down in the yard, collect your thoughts, and ask yourself: “Where are you
going?” In church, you must stand before God, with the angels and the saints as
your witnesses. And first of all, you have to try, before entering the church,
to reconcile with everyone in your soul, not holding a grudge against anyone.
If you go to church overflowing with empty worldly worries and cares, only your
body will be there, while your heart and soul will be somewhere else
altogether.
When entering a church, don’t
think about taking a place at the front, but stand silently and modestly,
remembering where you are. It’s unacceptable and considered a sin to talk in
church, to look around (and even more so to walk around), to look each other up
and down. Try to listen carefully to the prayers and passages from Holy
Scripture that are being read. The Christian faith and teaching are expressed
in those prayers and hymns that are read and sung in church. Therefore, those
who listen to them carefully will know what our faith and teaching are.
At the same time, the heart of
the one praying in church mustn’t remain cold. You should feel either fear for
your sins and your unworthiness, or sorrow, or love for the Lord, or sweetness
and consolation, or some other spiritual feeling. If a man is indifferent or
feels nothing while in church, then his prayer will be cool and fruitless. A
man should love prayer as much as a hungry man loves food. The result of true
and fervent prayer is spiritual growth. True prayer warms a man’s heart and
improves his character; it melts the passions of an evil heart, like the rays
of the bright sun melt snow and ice.
If your heart feels peace, calm,
and tranquility after prayer, if your love for the Lord and others increases,
that means your prayer was good and proper. If your prayer was truly fervent
and full of grace, then when you leave the church, you’ll feel pity for even
your enemy and will be ready to embrace him. But if you still feel hostility or
an aversion to your enemy, then know that your prayer was false and fruitless.
As for those Christians who immediately upon leaving the church, right there in
the churchyard, start shouting and fighting, we can say that they didn’t pray
at all, that they only made some mechanical actions with their hands and body.
Love of God
Love of God is the most important
precept of Christian teaching and the foundation of a Christian’s life.
Therefore, we must work tirelessly to ensure that this feeling doesn’t waver in
us, and with it our entire spiritual life. When we love someone, we always want
to be with them, to see them and feel joy and comfort from them. But God is
unseen, and therefore we can’t wish for Him to be physically near to us. So
then how can we love God? Love for the Lord is manifested through love for what
is good, pure, and true within or without a man; God is supreme goodness,
purity, and truth. Therefore, whoever has the desire and longing for these
three qualities in his heart has love for the Lord.
Love for God is manifested in the
constant struggle between good and evil, purity and impurity in a man’s heart,
and that he tries to set truth and grace against lies and every impurity and
thereby defeat them. The same struggle between grace and sin is playing out in
the world, and only those who take the side of the former and are at enmity
with the latter truly love God. Love for the Lord is also manifested through
love for others. As St. John the Theologian teaches, if a man can’t love his
neighbor, who is ever before him, even less will he be able to love God, Whom
he’s never seen. Holy Scripture teaches that the main name for God is love, and
he who has no love will never be able to know Him. Holy Scripture therefore
calls us to love the Lord, because it’s necessary and useful first of all for
us, not for the Lord. If the thought of God constantly lives in the heart, then
a man can hope for the Lord’s love for him. These thoughts, aspirations, and
efforts purify, enrich, and elevate a man.
When we love someone, then we
praise him and rejoice when he’s praised by others, and conversely, we’re vexed
if he becomes an object of abuse and vilification. It’s the same with regard to
the Lord—he who sincerely loves Him always rejoices in His praise and is also
glad to meet those who bear love for God in their hearts. And conversely, when
he hears someone’s blasphemous speech, he’s deeply saddened.
Love for God is manifested in the
fulfillment of His covenants. The Gospel commandment to love the Lord
with all thy heart doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t love anyone in this
world other than God, but only that the love we have for the Lord in our heart
must be stronger, more durable, and higher than all other feelings. Love for
God alone should govern our entire lives. The Gospel also requires us to love
the Lord with all our soul and mind. The first indicates the difference between
love for the Lord and all other feelings, because love for the Lord is pure,
purely spiritual, and completely devoid of anything carnal. A man loves the
Lord with his mind only when he often thinks of Him, contemplating His will and
greatness. If we want our love for the Lord to be strengthened in our hearts
however possible, then we must often think about how much He loves us and how
much He’s done for our enlightenment and salvation.
Sources:
https://orthochristian.com/167902.html
and https://orthochristian.com/167910.html
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