Elder Joseph the Cave-Dweller: The Three Enemies

For three enemies wage war against the human race: the demons, our own nature, and habit. Apart from these, there is no other warfare.

So then, if you remove the demon who torments all mankind, we shall all be good. It is to him that you should attribute the injustice; him you should hate, him you should condemn, and him you should regard as your enemy to the end.

The other enemy, as we have said, is nature, which, as soon as a person comes to know the world, resists the law of the spirit and demands everything that leads to the destruction of the soul. Here, then, is another enemy, worthy of hatred until the end of your days. This enemy you must judge and condemn.

In addition, we also have a third enemy—habit—which, because we become accustomed to committing every kind of evil, becomes an ingrained disposition in us, takes the place of a second nature, and establishes sin as a law. And this likewise requires an equal struggle, so that we may receive divine transformation and deliverance. Here, then, is the third enemy, worthy of perfect hatred.

If you want your neighbor to be good in every respect, as you would like him to be, separate these three enemies from him by the grace you possess. This is what justice is, if you wish to find it: pray to God that He may deliver him from these enemies. Then there will be harmony between you.

But if you seek justice in some other way, you will always be in the wrong, and consequently grace will be compelled to come and go until it finds rest in your soul. For a person is entitled to have within himself as much grace as he gratefully endures temptation and uncomplainingly bears the burden of his neighbor.

 

 

Translated from the Russian edition.