June: Day 20: Holy Hieromartyr Methodios of Patara

June: Day 20:
Holy Hieromartyr Methodios of Patara
 
(On Dissatisfaction With One's Condition)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Hieromartyr Methodios, whose memory is celebrated today, lived at the end of the 3rd century and was a bishop in the city of Patara in Lycia. From his youth he was distinguished by his love for God and the Church, so he entered the Church clergy and became a priest, and then a bishop. He was a very learned man. 

In his time there were disputes about Origen's teaching on the pre-existence of souls and evil spirits, and many were carried away by this teaching. Saint Methodios, through his teachings and writings, exposed the error. He suffered many sorrows for this. Finally, he accepted a martyr's death for the faith of Christ. Saint Methodios left many works written very eloquently.

In his essay on free will, Methodios, in rebuking those who are dissatisfied with their participation, says: “To grumble about the lack of earthly blessings is not wise: a person should be above everything earthly; God created a person for activity, and not for pleasures that relax the soul and body. Perfect equality is impossible – diversity is an attribute of perfection; poverty is allowed either as a punishment for sins, or as a warning against sins.”

II. Let us turn our attention, brethren, this time to these words of the Holy Hieromartyr Methodios, denunciating dissatisfaction with one’s condition.

Dissatisfaction with one's own lot, which often leads people to envy, is a common affliction. The entire human race is dissatisfied with something. For instance, if we consider the stages of life, we see that children wish to grow up quickly, the young seek to appear older, and the elderly remain unhappy with their gray hair, hiding their age while lamenting: "Where has our youth gone?" The childless are unhappy about not having children, while those with children yearn for freedom from family burdens. Each individual perceives their own sorrow as especially heavy. Furthermore, there are those who seem to possess all the gifts of happiness yet still complain about their fate. Moreover, they do not consider dissatisfaction with their lot a sin.

What are the reasons for dissatisfaction?

a) The first reason is an insatiable and weak will. Alexander the Great conquered almost all of Asia and was not satisfied. Solomon enjoyed everything and had everything one could wish for, and yet he was dissatisfied. A strong will would always say to a dissatisfied soul: "Now shut up and finally be satisfied!"

b) The second reason is laziness and inaction. The servant mentioned in the Gospel, who grumbled at his master, was lazy. Is it surprising, after this, that he was not content with one talent? He would not have been content even if he had five talents. Work makes a person content, but laziness, on the contrary, takes away even what a person has: “But from him who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”

c) The third reason for dissatisfaction lies in the biased comparison of ourselves with others. We always perceive the circumstances of others as being better, and we believe that we would be happier and more content in their position. However, this is a biased comparison of ourselves with others. We focus solely on one aspect of the life of a well-known individual, one that resonates with us—namely, their successes and advantages—while overlooking their inner life, which may be filled with various anxieties. We also fail to consider whether our own strengths and abilities would be sufficient to attain the status or condition of those close to us. In doing so, we make a new mistake: we inevitably compare ourselves to those who have advanced beyond us in external prosperity or who are happier than we are. No; if we set aside the particulars and looked more closely at our own lives, we would see many comforts and advantages that others are deprived of – we would see many faces whose situation, in comparison to ours, is, so to speak, much worse. When you are unhappy, compare your unhappiness to that of someone even more unfortunate than yourself, and you will find solace in your heart.

The third cause of dissatisfaction is rooted in a biased comparison of ourselves with others. The situation in which others find themselves always seems better to us, and we think that we would be happier and more contented in the situation of others. But these are biased comparisons of ourselves with others. We look only at one side of the life of a certain person, which is closer to us, at his successes and advantages, but we do not see his inner life, which may be full of various anxieties. We do not pay attention to whether our strength and abilities would be sufficient for the rank or condition in which our neighbor finds himself? In this case, we make a new mistake: we certainly compare ourselves with those who have gone ahead of us in external well-being, or are happier than us. No; if we, putting aside details, looked more closely at our own life, we would see in it many such conveniences and advantages that others are deprived of - we would see many such people whose situation, in comparison with ours, is, so to speak, even much worse. When you are unhappy, compare your unhappiness with the situation of a person who is even more unhappy than you – and you will find peace in your heart.

III. Brethren! Having abandoned dissatisfaction with our lot, which is both unreasonable and sinful, let us seek the means to be content with our situation. The following means can be indicated for establishing contentment with our lot in our souls.

a) One should compare oneself in terms of the gifts of happiness more with those who remain behind us, and not with the particularly fortunate individuals who stand above us.

b) It is necessary to set oneself a goal in life, and a correct goal. The proposed goal in life will bring our thoughts and desires into unity; it will occupy us after waking up in the morning and until evening sleep; it will constantly excite our powers to activity. True, many have such goals, for example, an artist has his art, a merchant has trade, a farmer has the cultivation of his fields, etc. But here again is our trouble, that for the most part our goals in life are incorrect, that time changes them; for example, an artist for some reason can no longer engage in his art, just as a merchant who has lost his capital can no longer engage in trade: in such a case, these people begin to feel bored, remain dissatisfied with their lot. So what is the correct, unchanging goal in the life of each person? In general, it is work for God, for the salvation of the soul, in a word, one must seek “the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” When the goal is set correctly, then life will be filled with content, and a person will have no time to be bored and dissatisfied.

c) It is necessary to realize that due to our sins we are not worthy of what we have, that only the immeasurable mercy of God grants us various blessings, which we do not value when we have them. Ingratitude to God for His countless blessings on the one hand, and too high an opinion of oneself on the other, is the main root of dissatisfaction with one's position. If these two feelings are destroyed in a person, he will be content with little.

d) Finally, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let us never forget that wealth, honor, glory, pleasures, incessant entertainments, and various joys that man seeks, and envies those who are surrounded by them if he fails to find them, place a person in an extremely dangerous state and lead him down that broad road, along which one can easily arrive at eternal perdition. Therefore, let us not envy anything that is considered earthly happiness in this world, and let us be content with our condition of poverty, illness, hard labor, and various tribulations, which can readily lead us to the Kingdom of heaven.

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.