As Orthodox Christians we must resist speaking against another, for if we judge another it is because Satan wishes to drag us down into the sin of thinking we are better than them. The best defense against the Evil One is to stand united in prayer with one another. We must not give in to the temptation to judge anyone, but rather pray for those who may disappoint or hurt us. To do anything less is to fall short of the Glory of God. We must all stand strong against the temptations that would divide us. It is Christ who sustains us and in turn we must sustain one another. It is Christ who unites us, and the devil who divides us. This truth must be forefront in our thinking if we are to gain victory in spiritual warfare.
“Seven brothers were ill in one hospital. One
recovered from his illness and got up and rushed to serve his other brothers
with brotherly love, to speed their recovery. Be like this brother. Consider
all men to be your brothers, and sick brothers at that. And if you come to feel
that God has given you better health than others, know that it is given through
mercy, so in health you may serve your frailer brothers.” (St. Nikolai of
Serbia)
When we think we are better than whose lives are given
over to sinful living, all the while becoming puffed up that we are not like
them, we become worse than them. Knowing the truth, we reject the mercy and
love that God has bestowed upon us, for we refuse to extend God’s love and
mercy upon those who’ve been placed before us. Thinking we are better than
them, we are in all actuality far more sinful than them.
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/morningoffering/2017/09/losing-the-battle/
CONVERSATION