September: Day 30: Teaching 2:
Saint Michael, First Metropolitan of Kiev
(Our Idolatry)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Saint Michael, First Metropolitan of Kiev
(Our Idolatry)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. More than 900 years have passed since our forefathers accepted the Christian faith under Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and his great fellow laborer in the work of spreading the faith, the first Metropolitan of Kiev, Saint Michael, whose memory is celebrated today.
II. Glory and thanksgiving to God: the times of paganism have ended, but has idolatry ended? Are we who have accepted the law of Christ free from the service of idols? No. Worship of statues and material idols has ended, but worship of spiritual idols, the service of the devil, has not ended. Spiritual idols are sinful passions: whoever serves them and seeks to please them serves the devil. There are three such principal idols to which, unfortunately, we Christians also often bow down and render service: these are our “love of honor, worldliness, and gratification of the flesh.” “Everything that is in the world,” says the Holy Apostle John, is “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).
a) The first spiritual idol is love of honor and pride. “That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination before God” (Luke 16:15), says the Lord. And the devil himself became the first worshiper and servant of this idol, devised by the devil, when he rejected obedience to the Creator and imagined that he would be a god. Our forefathers, too, were deceived by the devil and bowed down before this idol when they imagined that they would be “like gods.” All who dream of their own merits, who love honor and glory, who seek distinctions and advantages over others, worship and serve this idol. And what do they not sacrifice to this idol!
Here is one who strives to attain a high rank and position so that he may exalt himself before others and delight in the thought, “I am not like other men” (Luke 18:11). Such a proud disposition is service to the spirit of pride. Here is another who serves specifically for honors and rewards, undertaking labors and exertions and sparing neither his time, nor his strength, nor his health—for what? In order to receive one distinction or another. Such ambitious service is a sacrifice to the demon of vainglory. Here is a third who gives alms, makes donations to institutions established for the service of God and neighbor, builds or even adorns the churches of God—but for what purpose? For his own glory, to receive praise from society and from those in authority. What is this, then, if not a sacrifice to the demon of love of glory? Here is yet another who lives luxuriously, associates with important and distinguished people, and all for what? For his own vanity... Such vain extravagance in the spending of his possessions is a sacrifice to the demon of self-indulgence.
All these and similar sacrifices on the part of man are precisely sacrifices to idols. Consider it yourselves: whom does a person serve in such cases, for whom does he labor, whom does he seek to please and honor? God? No, but his own sinful desires and passions. Therefore, he serves them, and in them and through them, he serves the master of vices and passions—the devil and his accomplices.
b) The second spiritual idol is worldliness. This idol is worshiped and served chiefly by the covetous and the lovers of money. The Apostle Paul expressly calls covetousness “idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). As is well known, the covetous direct all their attention, all their concerns, and all their labors toward acquiring earthly treasures, and then increasing what they have acquired by every possible means; while the lovers of money guard their treasures, considering them more precious than their own souls, and if they ever lend to others, they do so only for their own profit, so that they may later take back their own with interest.
Tell me, then: to whom do they devote their labors and their lives, if they have no thought either for God or for their souls, but only to satisfy their passion for earthly treasures and blessings? To whom?... To Mammon.
The lovers of finery and fashionable dress also worship and serve this same idol, bringing to this foolish passion continual, countless, and most costly sacrifices... Indeed, they serve it as slaves serve their master, as creatures serve their god! “For by whom a man is overcome, by the same is he brought into bondage,” says the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 2:19).
c) The third spiritual idol is gratification of the flesh. The Holy Apostle Paul expressly considers service to the flesh and the belly to be idolatry, and says that for the gluttonous, the belly is their god. “Such,” he says, “do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly” (Romans 16:18); “whose god is their belly” (Philippians 3:19).
Oh, what a great god we have indeed—the belly! We serve it our whole lives, give all our possessions as a sacrifice to it, undertake all our labors, devote all our concerns, endure all our hardships for its sake, as though our only purpose were to please it. Not only do we continually concern ourselves with “what we shall eat or what we shall drink” (Matthew 6:31), but we also strive to enjoy our food and desire to “eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). How, then, can our belly not be our god, if we serve it so zealously, take such careful pains to please it, and sacrifice so much to it?
III. There are also many other lusts of the flesh, and even “dishonorable passions” (Romans 1:26), which some who bear the name of Christians do not refuse to serve and to which they sacrifice everything, leaving nothing for the benefit of their souls, as though their life consisted only in what is on earth...
So, you see, brethren: even Christians are not all free from idolatry. Therefore, we too must more often remind ourselves of the commandment of God: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” And there are many, so very many, such spiritual idols that their number scarcely equals the number of demons, evil and unclean spirits.
Saint Ephraim the Syrian, in his prayer, certainly named only a portion of our passions when he mentioned “the spirits of idleness, despondency, lust for power, and idle talk.” And if every passion, whether great or small, is an idol for a person, one before whom he bows down and whom he serves, then how great must be the multitude of these idols among Christians whenever they live in vices and passions?
Ah, brothers! It is frightening even to think about such idolatry! And yet it truly exists. Indeed, many, very many Christians deify their passions and thereby commit spiritual idolatry. And what an idolatry that is opposed to God and destructive to the soul! Christians have entered into a covenant with God; they have renounced Satan and all his works and have united themselves to Christ. They are to serve and worship the one God, and not their enemies; they are to fulfill the will of their Creator, and not the will of the evil demons; the Christian soul is to be the temple of God, and not a dwelling place for passions...
O beloved! Let us take care to bring the light of Christianity into our minds and hearts, into our deeds and actions, into our entire lives. Just as we have rejected all material idols, the idols of paganism, so let us reject all carnal and spiritual passions. In their place, let us establish within our souls Christian and divine qualities: humility, faith, obedience to God, love, beneficence toward our neighbor, abstinence from sinful passions, and the preservation of purity of soul and body.
Thus let us serve “the living and true God” (Hebrews 9:14) and worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Then, and only then, shall we be true Christians, people truly “called out of darkness into His marvelous” divine “light” (1 Peter 2:9), and “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” ([Titus 3:7]).
Our God, glory to You!
(Compiled from “The Sower of Piety” by Archpriest Nordov.)
II. Glory and thanksgiving to God: the times of paganism have ended, but has idolatry ended? Are we who have accepted the law of Christ free from the service of idols? No. Worship of statues and material idols has ended, but worship of spiritual idols, the service of the devil, has not ended. Spiritual idols are sinful passions: whoever serves them and seeks to please them serves the devil. There are three such principal idols to which, unfortunately, we Christians also often bow down and render service: these are our “love of honor, worldliness, and gratification of the flesh.” “Everything that is in the world,” says the Holy Apostle John, is “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).
a) The first spiritual idol is love of honor and pride. “That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination before God” (Luke 16:15), says the Lord. And the devil himself became the first worshiper and servant of this idol, devised by the devil, when he rejected obedience to the Creator and imagined that he would be a god. Our forefathers, too, were deceived by the devil and bowed down before this idol when they imagined that they would be “like gods.” All who dream of their own merits, who love honor and glory, who seek distinctions and advantages over others, worship and serve this idol. And what do they not sacrifice to this idol!
Here is one who strives to attain a high rank and position so that he may exalt himself before others and delight in the thought, “I am not like other men” (Luke 18:11). Such a proud disposition is service to the spirit of pride. Here is another who serves specifically for honors and rewards, undertaking labors and exertions and sparing neither his time, nor his strength, nor his health—for what? In order to receive one distinction or another. Such ambitious service is a sacrifice to the demon of vainglory. Here is a third who gives alms, makes donations to institutions established for the service of God and neighbor, builds or even adorns the churches of God—but for what purpose? For his own glory, to receive praise from society and from those in authority. What is this, then, if not a sacrifice to the demon of love of glory? Here is yet another who lives luxuriously, associates with important and distinguished people, and all for what? For his own vanity... Such vain extravagance in the spending of his possessions is a sacrifice to the demon of self-indulgence.
All these and similar sacrifices on the part of man are precisely sacrifices to idols. Consider it yourselves: whom does a person serve in such cases, for whom does he labor, whom does he seek to please and honor? God? No, but his own sinful desires and passions. Therefore, he serves them, and in them and through them, he serves the master of vices and passions—the devil and his accomplices.
b) The second spiritual idol is worldliness. This idol is worshiped and served chiefly by the covetous and the lovers of money. The Apostle Paul expressly calls covetousness “idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). As is well known, the covetous direct all their attention, all their concerns, and all their labors toward acquiring earthly treasures, and then increasing what they have acquired by every possible means; while the lovers of money guard their treasures, considering them more precious than their own souls, and if they ever lend to others, they do so only for their own profit, so that they may later take back their own with interest.
Tell me, then: to whom do they devote their labors and their lives, if they have no thought either for God or for their souls, but only to satisfy their passion for earthly treasures and blessings? To whom?... To Mammon.
The lovers of finery and fashionable dress also worship and serve this same idol, bringing to this foolish passion continual, countless, and most costly sacrifices... Indeed, they serve it as slaves serve their master, as creatures serve their god! “For by whom a man is overcome, by the same is he brought into bondage,” says the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 2:19).
c) The third spiritual idol is gratification of the flesh. The Holy Apostle Paul expressly considers service to the flesh and the belly to be idolatry, and says that for the gluttonous, the belly is their god. “Such,” he says, “do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly” (Romans 16:18); “whose god is their belly” (Philippians 3:19).
Oh, what a great god we have indeed—the belly! We serve it our whole lives, give all our possessions as a sacrifice to it, undertake all our labors, devote all our concerns, endure all our hardships for its sake, as though our only purpose were to please it. Not only do we continually concern ourselves with “what we shall eat or what we shall drink” (Matthew 6:31), but we also strive to enjoy our food and desire to “eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). How, then, can our belly not be our god, if we serve it so zealously, take such careful pains to please it, and sacrifice so much to it?
III. There are also many other lusts of the flesh, and even “dishonorable passions” (Romans 1:26), which some who bear the name of Christians do not refuse to serve and to which they sacrifice everything, leaving nothing for the benefit of their souls, as though their life consisted only in what is on earth...
So, you see, brethren: even Christians are not all free from idolatry. Therefore, we too must more often remind ourselves of the commandment of God: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” And there are many, so very many, such spiritual idols that their number scarcely equals the number of demons, evil and unclean spirits.
Saint Ephraim the Syrian, in his prayer, certainly named only a portion of our passions when he mentioned “the spirits of idleness, despondency, lust for power, and idle talk.” And if every passion, whether great or small, is an idol for a person, one before whom he bows down and whom he serves, then how great must be the multitude of these idols among Christians whenever they live in vices and passions?
Ah, brothers! It is frightening even to think about such idolatry! And yet it truly exists. Indeed, many, very many Christians deify their passions and thereby commit spiritual idolatry. And what an idolatry that is opposed to God and destructive to the soul! Christians have entered into a covenant with God; they have renounced Satan and all his works and have united themselves to Christ. They are to serve and worship the one God, and not their enemies; they are to fulfill the will of their Creator, and not the will of the evil demons; the Christian soul is to be the temple of God, and not a dwelling place for passions...
O beloved! Let us take care to bring the light of Christianity into our minds and hearts, into our deeds and actions, into our entire lives. Just as we have rejected all material idols, the idols of paganism, so let us reject all carnal and spiritual passions. In their place, let us establish within our souls Christian and divine qualities: humility, faith, obedience to God, love, beneficence toward our neighbor, abstinence from sinful passions, and the preservation of purity of soul and body.
Thus let us serve “the living and true God” (Hebrews 9:14) and worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Then, and only then, shall we be true Christians, people truly “called out of darkness into His marvelous” divine “light” (1 Peter 2:9), and “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” ([Titus 3:7]).
Our God, glory to You!
(Compiled from “The Sower of Piety” by Archpriest Nordov.)
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
