Prepare for Temptation

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Prepare thy soul for temptation:
Speech at the Council of the Japanese Orthodox Church (July 1887)

  In the Holy Scripture it is said: "Son, when thou comest to serve the Lord God, prepare thy soul for temptation: direct thine heart, and be patient.  And be not hasty in time of adversity: cleave thyself unto him, and turn not aside, that thou mayest grow up in thy latter end" (Sir. 2:1-3).  All of us here, of course, have begun to serve God, and thus we know well that to serve God means to compel ourselves to labor.  But we also know that in this service there is great joy.  For God, the all-seeing, not only sees those who serve Him, but also helps them, and the merciful loves them.  However, the path of serving God is full of dangers and stumbling blocks, weaknesses and falls, and therefore the Holy Scripture teaches us that if you want to serve the Lord God, then prepare your soul for temptations.

There are two kinds of temptations: the first kind are trials coming from above; the second kind are temptations from below.  The Scripture tells us the following about temptations from above: “As gold and silver are tried by fire, so God tries the heart of man” (Proverbs 17:3).  Gold can be pure, mixed with alloy, and counterfeit.  When tested by fire, pure gold suffers no harm, but on the contrary, becomes even more beautiful; gold with foreign alloys separates its pure part; and counterfeit gold eventually turns into something that has no value.  Similarly, a person’s virtues can be real, they can be mixed with conceit and pride or other passions, or they can be completely counterfeit, not real, as was the case with the hypocritical Pharisees.  Thus, temptations coming from above determine the quality of a person’s virtues.  God knows the heart of man from the very beginning, therefore temptations are not sent so that God may know what our virtues are, but this is done for the sake of man himself, so that if he sees in them an admixture of lies and counterfeiting, he will repent and turn to good.  May we not be deprived of such temptations coming from above.

But besides this, there is another kind of temptation, namely, the temptations that come from the devil, who puts darkness into a person’s thoughts, pours various kinds of impurity into his heart, brings him into confusion and, thus, leads a person to evil deeds with the purpose of turning away from God the souls of people who work for Him.

We who have begun to work for God must always remember that we are in the midst of these temptations and enticements.  The Scripture says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8-9).  All catechists and priests are under the close attention of the devil, who, wanting to defeat them, releases many fiery arrows.  The most harmful of these arrows is self-satisfaction and pride.  For many catechists go out to preach while still quite young, and people already call them teachers and instructors.  It is not surprising that the devil, taking advantage of this, easily instills pride in them; and how many ministers of the Church have already been struck down by this arrow!  Every year I graduate many catechists, but many of them fall.  What is the reason for this?  All this comes from self-satisfaction and pride.  If any Christian tries to admonish them, then they are enraged by this.  The devil has many other fiery arrows with which he strikes down those who are unable to resist him.  Such are all those without exception who were excluded from the list of catechists.  And how many, brethren, have begun to work for God, but were unable to pass through temptation and fell.

How sad this is!  Therefore it is very important that we always prepare ourselves for temptations, for this is the foundation of our strength.  If we do not prepare ourselves, we will always be overcome by temptations.  The devil will strike such people with his arrows and kill them.  Now, before the beginning of the Council, I, recalling the past and imagining the future, decided that all this must be told to you as the most important and most significant.

The Holy Scripture clearly tells us what methods we must use to prepare ourselves for temptations.

First, “direct your heart” (Sir. 2:2), that is, guard your heart, correct your deeds and acquire virtues, and in this way you will avoid falling into temptation.  Just as a ship, if it is well looked after and well managed, will not be afraid of storms or raging waves, but if it is not well looked after, there is danger of its being wrecked; and just as a horse, if it is not well managed, is apt to run away and eventually capsize or fall into a pit, so with the heart of man: if it is not well managed, what will happen to it?  Only that the devil, coming to us, will put all sorts of evil designs into our thoughts and will throw our hearts and our actions into disorder.

Secondly, “be patient.” Man is naturally inclined to evil, therefore, in order to overcome temptations, it is necessary to be willing to endure various kinds of labors and sorrows, to restrain ourselves and direct our hearts to the truth. If we do not endure labors and sorrows, we will not be able to overcome anything, for without labors and sorrows who can overcome the enemy?

Thirdly, “Cling to God and do not turn away” (Sir. 2:3).  Having clung to God, we will be safe in any temptations, just as a ship that has reached the harbor is no longer afraid of storms.

I wanted to tell you this word, brothers, before the beginning of the Council, and I want you to put this word in your hearts and keep it.
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Re-posted from our Odessa website
http://odessa.ruschurchabroad.org/ru/ugotovi-dushu-tvoju-vo-iskushenie-slovo-na-sobore-japonskoj-pravoslavnoj-cerkvi-ijul-1887-goda

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more good articles on this website:
 Another Heresy
http://odessa.ruschurchabroad.org/ru/mitropolit-agafangel-eschjo-odna-eres
 How ROCOR was formed
http://odessa.ruschurchabroad.org/ru/o-nas/istorija-rpcz/

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