The sin of verbosity. Idle talk is something Christians should avoid.
About the sin of idle talk
Metropolitan Longinus of Saratov and Volsk answers questions about the sin of idle talk
Interviewed Yulia Litnevskaya,
What is idle talk? Can an Orthodox Christian be sociable? Is it possible to talk about a third person without judgment? How to stop someone else from swearing? For what words will we give an answer at the Last Judgment? Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk answers questions about the sin of idle talk in an interview with the television of the Saratov Metropolitanate.
Ved.: Hello! “Silence is golden,” - those who follow this folk wisdom are not subject to the sin of idle talk. Whether this is so, we will find out today from Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk. Master, what is the sin of idle talk?
Metropolitan Longinus: Idle talk is a habit that is common to many people. I think that you and I cannot always avoid it when we talk about what is not useful for us. Probably the most striking example of this sin is judging the people around us. We often and with great ease, with desire, begin to condemn those around us. We all give each other reasons to do this from time to time. But we must know that this does not bring any benefit either to ourselves or to those about whom we speak, whom we condemn. The result, in the most literal sense, is idle talk, that is, idle talk that leads to nothing.
Idle talk is not only useless, but also very harmful for each of us. By judging or simply chatting without meaning, we seem to “chill” our heart and our soul. The Holy Fathers, speaking about idle talk, often used this concept. It's like a house with open windows and doors in the cold - nothing good can live there. Therefore, in the heart of a person who constantly talks idlely, over time, an emptiness forms, which does not allow anything good or kind to enter this heart. In addition, such a person gradually gets used to seeing only the bad in everything and everyone. There really is a lot of bad in our lives, but there is still more good. A person who talks idle forgets about this.
Ved.: Master, does a person who speaks about goodness, love, mercy and other virtues sin?
Metropolitan Longinus: If the person who talks about this does not move a finger to acquire these virtues, then he is probably sinning. Although, of course, talking about goodness, mercy, and love is much better than talking about other people’s sins.
Ved.: Vladyka, can an Orthodox person be sociable in general? Isn't this a sin?
Metropolitan Longinus: No way. And maybe, and should, because in communicating with people we educate ourselves, our feelings. In the end, when communicating with other people, we can talk about the most important thing - about God.
Ved.: Vladyka, we have received many questions. Alla writes to us: “One of my friends complains about her relatives and colleagues in almost every conversation with me. To sympathize means to support her in condemnation. Saying that you need to love and forgive - it turns out that I am pointing out her sins. I start to avoid communicating with her. Please advise what to do?”
Metropolitan Longinus: Probably, we need to express sympathy, but not the very fact of condemnation, when a person hears bad things about someone and assents: “Yes, yes, indeed.” And there must be sympathy for the state of the human soul, which sees only the bad, or which is suppressed by the bad that objectively occurs in our lives. Sympathy in this regard is necessary and, I think, useful. Of course, you need to console a person. It happens that a person, being, as it were, “buried” by negative impressions and emotions, comes to the conclusion that everything around him is terrible, bad, and nothing good, not even a ray of light, exists in this dark kingdom. This is not so, and we must try to convince a person of this, trying to show some good examples, including examples of good feelings in the people around us. It is imperative to try to awaken in a person a Christian attitude, correct Christian feelings towards the shortcomings of others and, in general, towards everything bad that occurs in this life. And the first of these feelings is condescension and pity. After all, a person who constantly judges is most often very demanding of others and is quite cruel towards them. And the Christian attitude is, first of all, pity and compassion. When a person has them, he is calmer about the shortcomings of others.
Ved.: Like Dostoevsky: “To forgive means to understand.” And in the Gospel: with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you(cf: Mark 4:24).
Metropolitan Longinus: Absolutely right. The main thing from which you can learn how people relate to each other is, of course, the Gospel. This is why it is very important to become a Christian in order to understand what is happening around you.
Ved.: Thank you, Vladyka. The next question is asked by Alexey: “Is a conversation between two people about a third person a condemnation if it is said objectively, that is, the truth about his negative actions, is it simply a fact stated?”
Metropolitan Longinus: For the purity of the experiment, it is necessary that there be a third person nearby - the very person being talked about. Then it will be absolutely sinless and truly evangelical: let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and what is beyond this is from the evil one(Matt. 5:37). It is almost impossible for a person to maintain objectivity in the situation described in this question. Some assessments and comparisons always begin, and the very first comparison that comes to a person’s mind is with himself. And the next thought: “I’m still a little better.” And here it’s not far from the famous gospel character with his words: I'm not like other people - I'm not like other people(Luke 18:11) Therefore, objectivity and, especially, dispassion are practically unattainable here.
In general, it is better not to judge or evaluate anyone, unless this is your job. If you are, say, a boss, then of course, if your subordinate is no good from a professional point of view, then you cannot turn a blind eye to this and pretend that everything is in order. Then you are already sinning more than this person. And in all other cases, I think you need to take a very gentle, calm approach to this.
Ved.: Thank you, Vladyka. The next question is asked by Lydia: “Dear Master! How to stop your husband from swearing? It seems to me that he does not quite understand the negative side or even the harmfulness of such speech.”
Metropolitan Longinus: A very difficult question. To be honest, I have a hard time imagining how this can be done. First of all, you need to constantly remind a person that this is intolerable, bad, that using obscenities, especially in front of women and children, is under no circumstances allowed, and it’s not worth it without them either. But how effective this will be depends on the relationships in the family. If a husband loves his wife, he will try to hear her request. If he doesn’t hear, it means that there is a relationship in the family in which this request will remain in vain.
Today it is the habit of many people, of all kinds, not only ordinary people, as it was before, but also quite high-ranking ones, including quite intelligent ones, to speak this “language.” Unfortunately, it is spreading more and more widely, and can have nothing but negative consequences. The fact is that the general level of culture of our people has sharply declined over the past decades, and continues to decline. This is very bad. After all, the fact is that this phenomenon itself cannot be considered in isolation from the context, from the general state of our society. This is a very characteristic manifestation of the general depressing state of morality and culture.
Ved.: Vladika, Mary writes to us: “Hello! Help me understand the meaning of the words “if you are angry, do not sin.” Thank you".
Metropolitan Longinus: This is connected with the patristic understanding of the anger that is permissible for a person. You must be angry at sin, at some kind of lawlessness, but at the same time not sin, not allow anger and its consequences into your heart, and also in no case spread this anger to any of the people.
Ved.: Is it possible?
Metropolitan Longinus: I think that with a long enough experience of inner attentive life - yes, it is possible.
Ved.: Vladyka, Anton writes to us: “Explain what the words from the first letter to the Corinthians mean: “Let your wives be silent in the churches.” Should this be taken in the literal sense of the word?
Metropolitan Longinus: This refers to preaching and teaching. Never in ancient times did a woman have a voice in any assembly, and in a church assembly a woman does not have the right to teach the faith, theologize, or somehow raise her voice. This is an ancient practice that is still preserved today. This does not mean that a woman, say, cannot read or sing in the choir.
Ved.: But let women not approach others and say: you don’t stand like that, you don’t dress like that...
Metropolitan Longinus: The apostle hardly knew that this would happen over time, but I think that his words can be extended to this case as well. Sometimes it is necessary to make a remark, because now there are too many people who can afford monstrous things in the church. I have a difficult relationship with women who have made or are making comments in church. I know how noble indignation in recent years has filled all our media, church and non-church, with regard to these women, terrible “grandmothers” or, as one person said, “Orthodox witches,” and so on. But I have a slightly different attitude. I believe that all the same, there should be people in the church who are not rude, but gently, with love, but still show a person entering the church for the first time how he can and should behave there. Yes, it’s very bad when we offend a person who comes to church, and as a result he leaves and promises himself to never cross the church threshold again. But it’s no better when such a person begins to offend those people who are already in the church with his behavior and attitude. They are people too and deserve to be treated kindly. Therefore, this question is more complicated than it seems at first glance.
Ved.: Vladyka, Svetlana writes to us: “The Savior said that he would demand an answer for every idle word. But it is human nature to forget. In his old age, he no longer remembers much. How will he give an answer?
Metropolitan Longinus: This is a figurative expression. Of course, every idle word of a person will not be remembered in the literal sense. It seems to me that what we need to keep in mind here is not just idle talk, but our empty promises, the empty vows that we sometimes make. For example, a person said something and did not do it, he promised and did not fulfill it. For this, of course, a person will be asked, this is what is said in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, a person is warned about how much attention he should pay to what he says, what he promises, to what comes out of his mouth.
Many years ago, my men's small group discussed the topic of language discipline. When we read one chapter from the book “Spiritual Disciplines of a Godly Man” (Kent Hughes) and the corresponding verses from Proverbs, we all felt the urge to shut up and say nothing more! However, we quickly realized that this was not the method. It would be too easy to remain silent. The right decision would be to take the difficult path of self-discipline - the path of applying wisdom in the sphere of taming the most “mighty piece of muscle” in our body. This got me thinking about the dangers of verbosity. A lot of them. Here are some of them:
- Verbosity opens the door to sin
“When you talk too much, sin cannot be avoided, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”(Prov. 10:19). “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”(Prov. 21:23). “He who guards his mouth guards his soul; but whoever opens his mouth wide will be in trouble.”(Prov. 13:3). These verses seem to show that the more we talk, the more we sin. We can find the reason for this in the important and sad truth that is recorded in James. 3:8: “But none of the people can tame the tongue: this is an uncontrollable evil; it is filled with deadly poison". You should discipline yourself by refraining from speaking when you need to remain silent. This is one of the signs of wisdom and maturity. “A wise man is temperate in his words, and a prudent man is cold-blooded. And a fool, when he is silent, may seem wise, and he who shuts his mouth may seem prudent.”(Prov. 17:27, 28).
- Verbosity breeds gossip
Webster's Dictionary defines a gossip as “a person who relays someone’s chatter and rumors”. That is, gossip consists mainly of chatter and rumors. However, it is important to understand that this is not simply a matter of conveying only accurate information. There are things (even true ones) that are simply unnecessary and even immoral to convey. The negative consequences of gossip cannot be counted. Gossip ruins friendships: “The one who covers up the offense seeks love; and whoever reminds him of him again removes his friend.”(Prov. 17:9). Gossip creates conflicts: “Where there is no more wood, the fire goes out, and where there is no earpiece, discord subsides.”(Prov. 26:20). Gossip destroys trust. They are akin to betrayal. “Whoever walks as a carrier reveals the secret; and whoever opens his mouth wide, do not communicate with him.”(Prov. 20:19). Gossip hurts others deeply: “The words of the earphone are like delicacies, and they enter the interior of the womb.”(Prov. 18:9). Puritan Thomas Watson said: “Scorpio carries poison in its tail, and a slanderer carries poison in its tongue. His words cut like porcupine quills.”
- Verbosity is the enemy of listening to others
We are all guilty from time to time of not listening to others because we begin to come up with an answer in our head even before our interlocutor has finished expressing his thought. Proverbs calls this behavior foolishness: “Whoever gives an answer without listening is stupid, and shame on him.”(Prov. 18:14). “Have you seen a person who is rash in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”(Prov. 29:20). This idea is confirmed in the New Testament by James: “Let every man be quick to hear and slow to speak”(James 1:19). Notice the connection between the willingness to listen and the willingness to remain silent. Obviously, if we want to learn the discipline of listening, we need to talk less. And vice versa: if we want to talk less, we need to learn to listen. Thus, if I make a conscious decision to learn to listen carefully to others, I will not interrupt them. And if I am more careful with my words, it will make me a more attentive listener.
- Verbosity often feeds the desire to brag
Boasting is a result of our pride in what we have or do. Braggers differ from gossipers in that they talk more about themselves than about others. Proverbs warns about this too: “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; let someone else praise you, and not your tongue.”(Prov. 27:2). “Many praise a person for his mercy, but who can find a truthful person?”(Prov. 20:6). “Like clouds and winds without rain, so is a man who boasts of false gifts.”(Prov. 25:14). Boasting upsets God because it is fueled by pride. We should heed James's warning: “Now listen to you who say: “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and we will live there for one year, and we will trade and make a profit”; you who do not know what will happen tomorrow: for what is your life? steam that appears for a short time and then disappears. Instead of telling you: “If the Lord wills and we live, we will do this or that,” you, in your arrogance, become vain: all such vanity is evil.”(James 4:13-16).
- Verbosity can lead to flattery
It would be a foolish idea to improve upon Kent Hughes's unrivaled definition of flattery: “Gossip is when you say something behind a person’s back that you would never say to their face. And flattery is when you say something to a person’s face that you would never say behind his back.”. The Bible condemns flattery for the selfish motives that lie behind it. “A man who flatters his friend spreads a net for his feet.”(Prov. 29:5). The harlot finds her victim through flattery (Prov. 2:16-18; 6:24; 7:21). When in the past I met a flatterer, I often wanted to interrupt him with the phrase: “Just tell me what you need”. Be on guard when someone praises you excessively, insincerely, and not entirely objectively.
- Verbosity often leads to idle chatter
If we find it difficult to tame our tongue, one day we will find ourselves engaging in idle chatter. In Ave. 14:23 says: “From all labor there is profit, but from idle talk there is only damage.”. In other words, constant talking without any action eventually leads to want. We should be sobered by Jesus' warning that one day we will all have to give an account for our chatter: “I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment.”(Matt. 12:36). The prospect of being responsible for our words before the Judgment Seat of Christ is a powerful deterrent (if we remember this) so as not to say too much.
- Verbosity can breed foul language
Foul language—what we might call “swearing” or indecent name-calling—is incompatible with the life of a child of God. “With it (the tongue) we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse men, created in the likeness of God. From the same lips comes blessing and curse: it must not be so, my brethren.”(James 3:9-10). It should not be that on Sunday we sing praises to God, and on Monday we curse someone. “Does sweet and bitter water flow from the same opening of a spring? My brethren, a fig tree cannot bear olives, nor can a vine bear figs. Likewise, one source cannot pour out salty and sweet water.”(James 3:11-12). Thus, our status as a new creation in Christ should be reflected in our rejection of corrupt words (2 Cor. 5:17).
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- Verbosity can cause great harm
“So the tongue is a small member, but does a lot. Look, a small fire ignites a lot of substance! And the tongue is fire, the embellishment of untruth; the tongue is in such a position between our members that it defiles the whole body and inflames the circle of life, being itself set on fire by Gehenna.”(James 3:5-6). The National Fire Center reports that in one year, 2,000 fires destroyed 8,422,237 acres of wilderness, and that federal agencies spent $1.3 billion to fight these fires. We can measure the number of forests destroyed by fire, but who can measure the devastating damage caused by language? One spark is enough! One sentence!
Taming the tongue is an extremely difficult task. But not impossible. If we show love and practice tongue discipline, the Holy Spirit will produce in us the fruit of “self-control,” i.e. self-control (Gal. 5:23). As we grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, we become more and more like a “perfect man” (mature, fulfilled) who “does not sin in word” (James 3:2). Let's pray about this.
How are idleness, despondency, lust and idle talk related to each other? Archpriest Igor Prekup continues to reflect on the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.
There is a single spirit in idleness and despondency, lust and - one, although it seems strange: as for idleness and despondency - wherever it goes, well, idle talk, okay, let’s say, but what does lust have to do with it?
Firstly, it is worth paying attention to the fact that despondency is by no means a “flat” phenomenon. It should not be reduced to depression, powerlessness, just as idleness should not be reduced to laziness. This phenomenon is voluminous and multifaceted, let’s say. To reduce despondency to depression is, at least, superficial. Not to mention the fact that identifying certain spiritual states with similar, even if they have a somewhat common etiology, mental phenomena is incorrect.
And the point is not just that mixing different discourses is bad manners. These are different areas of research: related, yes, but different, since the psyche and soul are not the same thing, just as the human body and the clothes on it, although they influence one another - body temperature warms up the clothes, clothes retain heat; the composition of the fabric affects the physical well-being (think about wearing a sweater made of uncleaned wool), and the body, with its design features and movements, affects the condition of the clothes ("bubbles" form somewhere, the seams are unraveling in certain places, the shoes wear down in a characteristic way) - however less, they are not identified (although “they are greeted by their clothes,” and they, in fact, often say a lot about a person, and vice versa, the attitude towards a person is involuntarily transferred to his clothes, and parts of the clothes of saints, almost along with their relics, have been venerated since ancient times as bearers of the grace of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19; 12)).
Therefore, when you read or hear that “depression is despondency,” there is a desire to stake you and send you for a retake. is being treated with medication - no, because this is a passion, a phenomenon of a spiritual nature, you can’t help with chemistry.
Despondency overwhelms a person due to his cowardice: at the sight of difficulties he gives up, he sees no point in either resisting opponents or trying to overcome circumstances: nothing depends on him, everything is already predetermined...
It comes to completely anecdotal situations. My relative, a neurosurgeon, told about one assistant that every time during an operation some kind of situation happened, not even an extreme one, but simply requiring the adoption of vigorous measures, for example, bleeding opened, so he literally gave up his hands and walked away from him. table with the words: “Well, that’s all... that’s all...” The surgeon told him: “Clamp! Otherwise, in fact, “everything” will happen!” - and he remains in prostration and repeats like a mantra: “That’s all...”.
Comical, yes. Idiocy is always comical. You can, of course, brush it off, a coward, they say. He's a coward, but that's not the point. Fear gives an impulse, but what does this impulse activate in a person? In this case, it can be stated that with that would-be assistant there was an attack of despondency: it’s all over, doing anything is useless, pointless. This is precisely despondency, not despair - there is nothing to hope for here: there is a specific situation in the present, but there is no strength to solve it. And they don’t exist because a person allowed himself to fall into despondency, allowed passion to take over him (dejection entails despair, but that’s a separate conversation). But he allowed it - here you have both idleness and paralyzing laziness...
Likens despondency to a “deadly worm,” which concerns not only the flesh, but also the soul itself, “it is a moth that eats not only bones, but also the mind, a constant executioner, not cutting ribs, but destroying even the strength of the soul, continuous night, hopeless darkness, storm, hurricane, secret heat that burns more powerful than any flame, war without truce, disease that obscures much of what is perceived by vision.” He explains that the soul, being “enveloped in a cloud of despondency,” is unable to “neither calmly listen to anything useful nor say anything,” and what is very important: in this state it “soon suffocates if it does not have a hand to support her".
St. Petersburg speaks about the same thing. Neil of Sinai: “...The soul, when despondency surrounds it from everywhere, soon becomes depressed if it does not find someone who would stretch out a hand to it and console it.” What does it feel like to “reach out a hand” to someone who is not willing to “calmly listen”?
And, nevertheless, there are no excuses for us, such as “it’s my own fault”, “what can I do if a person doesn’t want to help himself”, “but he didn’t ask me for help” (didn’t call, didn’t invite, didn’t complain ). In a state of despondency of such a “passive” type, conducive to dull isolation, a person is unlikely to ask for help. He doesn't even have the strength for that. Everything is blocked internally. This is exactly the case when there is no need to (supposedly humbly) wait until they call for help or seek advice.
However, when we say that despondency is the cause of idleness and laziness, let’s not forget that these vices have not only a “passive” but also an “active” form. “Despondency,” writes St. John Climacus, - encourages strangers; exhorts to give alms from handicrafts; diligently encourages to visit the sick... exhorts to visit the mourning and faint-hearted; and, being itself cowardly, inspires to console the faint-hearted”...
Oh, what a “gold mine” these words are for those who, justifying their selfishness, question the goodness of the mercy of their neighbors, the quality of their responsiveness, generosity, hospitality, and collect arguments against the reproaches of their conscience! How convenient, referring to St. John, to discredit someone’s sincere impulses in order to calm down once and for all about your hypocrisy!
I hasten to disappoint: St. John Climacus, listing the signs of the “active” form of despondency, is talking about those people who themselves do not burn with either hospitality or mercy, but are zealous in all this in order to distract themselves not so much from the passion of despondency itself, but from that melancholy. which it produces in the soul; they care about those who are far away, avoiding caring for their neighbors, in particular those at home, and from working on internal problems generated by passions, including despondency.
By the way, about longing. The instructions of the prmts have been preserved. Maria Gatchinskaya prof. THEM. Andreevsky, thanks to whom this instruction came to us in all its accuracy, clarity and sophistication of thought. “Melancholy,” M. Maria told him, “is a spiritual cross - it is sent to help those who repent, who do not know how to repent, that is, after repentance, they again fall into their previous sins... And therefore - only two medicines treat this, sometimes extremely serious, spiritual suffering.
We must either learn to repent and bear the fruits of repentance, or with humility, meekness and patience and great gratitude to the Lord, bear this spiritual cross, our anguish, remembering that bearing this cross is imputed to the Lord for the fruit of repentance... But what a great consolation it is to realize that your melancholy is the unconscious fruit of repentance, subconscious self-punishment for the lack of the required fruits. From this thought, one must come to tenderness, and then the melancholy will gradually melt away, and the true fruits of repentance will begin...”
Dejection is an extremely difficult and dangerous passion. If a person subject to it is not able to “come to tenderness” and bear this cross with humility and gratitude to God, then it would not be a sin to either engage in something that would help overcome melancholy, or to have a moderate amount of fun, just so as not to break down or fall into disarray. into despair. Therefore, if there are symptoms of an “active” form of despondency, this is not a reason to swoop down on a person and begin to expose his condition, simultaneously exposing the vanity of his desire to do good.
Moreover, a natural good desire can be sincere, and thanks to despondency it was simply released, as if under the pretext of creating a positive psychological background, and here we are with our “spiritual exhortations”! - and we will seal it, brand it as a deceptive maneuver... No, still, a lot will do here, just to prevent the quagmire of despondency from swallowing the sick person. A lot, yes, but in moderation, gradually coming to the idea of the need to solve spiritual problems by spiritual means.
Of course, when struggling with despondency, it is worth remembering the support points of this passion, so as not to unwittingly feed them and create even more favorable soil for it. Therefore, it is appropriate to remember the warning of St. John Climacus, that the mother of despondency is vanity.
So much for the connection with arrogance.
It is only at first superficial glance that lust has nothing in common with either despondency or idleness. On the contrary, covetousness is a natural consequence of spiritual idleness: a departure from work on oneself, from building one’s soul, from spiritual growth into career growth, a distraction from one’s inner insignificance to external significance. Lust for power is a manifestation of vainly self-affirming activity characteristic of despondency (use of official or hierarchical position, including age - lust for power on a family scale, for example). Lust for love has a very strong connection with despondency through vanity.
However, just as it is incorrect to reduce idleness to laziness, it would be incorrect to reduce lust for power. The cause is not reducible to its effect. , speaking about love of power, focuses our attention on the essence of this phenomenon: “If God is not the Lord and Master of my life, then I myself turn into my master and ruler (the credo of secularism - I.P.). I become the absolute center of my own world and view everything from the point of view of my needs, my opinions, my desires and my judgment."
The thirst to excel - passionate, all-encompassing, all-consuming, subjugating all other aspirations and needs, determining the perception of reality, of everything and everyone - this is what greed is. St. Ephraim used the word φιλαρχία <филархия> ; ἀρχή <архи> - the beginning, and hence the meaning of heading, commanding as rule, domination, but in essence it is primacy, which can strive for power, for domination, for subordinating someone or something to one’s will (from one’s own kind to natural elements) , or maybe not pursue these goals, being content with the rapturous consciousness of the achieved primacy (“Am I the cutest in the world, / The most ruddy and whiter of all?”).
Lust, not interested in governance, not striving to rule, is by no means a harmless phenomenon at the level of petty pride (and Pushkin convincingly showed this with the example of an evil stepmother). The desire to excel at any cost will force you to master the art of manipulation, will force you to make selfless efforts to achieve your goal, not disdaining to eliminate competitors. Envy has not yet been canceled.
She, cursed, prompted Dennitsa to fight against God, she also prompted him, in anger at the Father, to violate His image, inclining a man to disastrous betrayal, she also aroused in Cain a deadly hatred of his brother and became the cause of the first murder. Again, in Cain there was “only” a desire to excel, and not to rule, but the Lord looked only “on Abel and his gift” (Gen. 4:4) ... on Abel, who became a prototype of Christ, Who was also killed out of envy.
BUT. Lossky, discussing the types of evil, divides all so-called “negative values” into two categories: satanic evil and evil as a product of earthly egoism. The latter is expressed not in love for evil as such, but in preferential interest in oneself in the sense of concentration on one’s own experiences and inattention to other people’s lives, lack of interest in it, while “satanic evil is the pride of an actor who does not tolerate the superiority of God and other actors over himself, striving to put himself in the place of God and occupy an exceptional position in the world, above other creatures."
Earthly egoism sometimes pushes people to commit terrible crimes, but the villain himself is not happy at the same time, he would prefer not to cause harm to anyone or damage anything, for the sake of obtaining certain benefits, but... he doesn’t see any other way, he doesn’t like it in itself the means by which he achieves his goal, he does not rejoice in the grief of those who suffer because of him (although little by little he can get a taste for it) - he is simply “fighting for a place in the sun in the form of a garage.”
Satanic evil is a different matter: its core is the desire for primacy for the sake of primacy: to rule in order to experience one’s dominance, to enjoy it, to compete in a dispute not in order to establish the truth, but in order to force the enemy and the audience to admit that they are right, and if not prove , so impose it! Lust for power gives rise to lust for power and encourages one to love power as a means to revel in one’s primacy, one’s dominant position.
Lust, rooted in the vicious idleness of the spirit and fed by vanity, which gives rise to despondency, inevitably expresses itself in idle talk ( αργολογία <аргология> ). Which, however, is better to talk about, God willing, another time.
Have you ever wondered: what if Christ comes to judge us today? What if I die today? What then? How will I be justified at the Last Judgment? How will I get through the ordeal?... I often think about this. After all, in essence, there is no sin for which we would not have to answer at the ordeal, no matter how unimportant the sin may seem to us. For example, idle talk! Who seriously takes idle talk as a sin! We are so used to talking a lot without need or benefit that we don’t even realize what we are saying and think: “Oh - nothing! It’s not a great sin!” And some simply cannot agree that it is sinful to even say simple, kind words. But the Lord Jesus Christ directly said: “For every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).
Do you see? We will give an answer not for some evil, bad, harmful word, but for a simple, ordinary, but idle word.
What kind of idle words are these? And these are the words that we pronounce, as they say, out of nothing to do; empty words, without any inner dignity and meaning; words that mean nothing and have no purpose, that do not cause any need, have no useful use. So... we talk just to say something. Our whole life passes in idle talk and idle talk: both in personal family life, and in public places, everywhere and everywhere, wherever we are. In our conversations and conversations we hardly come across a reasonable, useful, soul-saving word, and, as a rule, our entire conversation consists of a collection of idle words.
How scary, D.! Let's look back at our lives and clearly imagine where we are going and what awaits us in the future eternal life, even if only for the sin of idle talk.
In order to more clearly imagine the severity of this, as it seems to everyone, “unimportant” sin, let’s try to make a small mathematical calculation: in order to read the “Our Father” prayer three times, and slowly, it takes only one minute, that is, in one in a minute we say one and a half hundred words. This means that in one hour we speak nine thousand words. But which of us is such an ascetic whose conversation in twenty-four hours a day would be calculated in one hour? Of course, in the life of every person there are days that he spends in silence out of necessity, when there is no one to talk to, but... this is not a feat! Well one poet said:
And no matter how much dumbness is a feat,
Still, free silence is better!
In fact, if a person is forced to remain silent, and his thoughts wander everywhere and idle talk with his mind and heart with himself and with the one he is thinking about, then what good does his silence do to him? It would be better if he praised God out loud in private!
This is the purpose of abstaining from idle words, so that it is easier to assimilate unceasing prayer.
I have such spiritual children who love to talk. And you know how difficult it is to refrain from judging in a conversation. I have to deal strictly with such people, I impose penance: read the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian: “Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk (bow to the ground)”, “Give me the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love , to Your servant (bow to the ground)”, “Hey, Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are You forever and ever. Amen (bow to the ground). Then twelve small bows. For each bow, say: “God, cleanse me, a sinner.” After this, repeat the entire prayer: “Lord and Master of my belly... (bow to the ground) and have only soul-saving conversations, and for everyday use the conversation should be thirty-three words per day. They do it - well done! Of course, there are sometimes breakdowns, not without it, but mostly they stick to the blessing. And some even ask themselves: “Father, give me a penance of thirty-three words, otherwise I will talk a lot.”
So, my friend, let's continue our counting. This means that in one hour we can utter nine thousand words, useful or idle. And if we talk for a total of ten hours a day, it means that we speak ninety thousand words per day; per week - six hundred thirty thousand; for a month - two million seven hundred thousand, and for a year - more than thirty-two million.
If every word is compared to a grain of sand, then in one year of our life more than thirty million grains of sand will be put on the scale. Can you imagine? This is a whole bag! And, of course, the scales will immediately lower us to the bottom of hell for the sin of idle talk alone.
We do not forget serious sins, we lament, we force ourselves to correct ourselves, but such minor verbal sins, which we do not pay attention to, can imperceptibly lead us to hell without any sinful deeds.
They say this: “No condemnation means salvation without difficulty.” You can add: “Idle talk is an inconspicuous ruin.”
Every word, no matter how small or insignificant, on the day of the Last Judgment will appear with us at the Judgment and will testify either for us or against us.
You see, my friend, how unhelpful and even harmful empty, idle talk is. I think now you will be more careful in your words, especially when we look at the sin of condemnation.
Schema-abbot SAVVA. FRUITS OF TRUE REPENTANCE
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For every idle word that people say, they will give
they are the answer on the day of judgment (Last Judgment)"
Jesus Christ (Gospel of Matthew 12:36).
Idle talk as a personality quality is a tendency to talk idle talk in the spirit of eloquence, to utter empty, idle words.
Idle talk has come to visit silence. And - well, talk incessantly: about this, about that... about this, about that... And silence is silent. Only my eyes fill with tears. He couldn’t stand the idle talk and said: “I am making you happy and happy, but you are becoming sadder and sadder.” And anyway, why are you silent? “I’m not silent,” answers silence. - I think! Since the moment you arrived, you have already said 2253 words. And everything is about nothing! - How many? - I didn’t believe the idle talk. -2253... more precisely - already 2254! — the silence improved. “And this is when you can be condemned for every idle word.” How many of them have you said in your entire life? - I? - the idle talk began to think and began to count. It counted... it counted... But it just couldn’t count. Because even when he was counting, he continued to talk idle, increasing the already huge figure...
Idle talk is the spirit of idleness in words. The spirit of idleness is the spirit of spiritual emptiness. The soul of an idle talker does not work. The tongue gushes with empty words, spews out empty words with no feelings behind them. Idle talk is the revelry of idle language. Idle talk is a sin of the tongue.
A person with pronounced idle talk tends to talk beyond measure or on empty, unspiritual topics. Gravitating towards eloquence, he decorates his verbal diarrhea with beautiful, idle words, but nothing comes out except shaking the air. Idle talk can only count on a fool who likes candy wrappers and embellished words.
Idle talk is the enslavement of the mind by the spirit of idleness. A reasonable person will instantly identify and expose idle talkers. His mind begins to rebel when he registers the fact of pouring from empty to empty. Tara-bars - rastabars may appeal to empty talkers, but not to the muscular mind. Practical and rational, he does not understand how one can waste his energy in vain on weaving words, chatter and chatter.
The fatty minus of idle talk is precisely that it greedily devours the energy of the speaker. For example, an idle talker must prepare a report for tomorrow's seminar. He goes to the library, but unfortunately meets the same idle talker. The verbiage has begun. Three hours passed unnoticed. Finally, the idle talkers parted. But for some reason I didn’t want to go to the library. There is no energy to prepare a report. The energy, and with it inspiration, enthusiasm, the desire to make a favorable impression on the audience, somehow incomprehensibly disappeared somewhere. What kind of vampire drained the energy? The vampire in this case is idle talk. Draining energy is the fingerprint of idle talk, its signature, its distinctive feature.
Idle talk is always the enemy of action. Saltykov-Shchedrin in “Poshekhon Antiquity” writes: “The work goes on in deep silence, because Arseny Potapych does not tolerate idle talk.” Carrying balusters is one thing, but working is quite another. Here you need to solve specific problems, and not pound water in a mortar. To babble endlessly is the prerogative of idle talk. A busy person has no time to talk into the wind. Krasnobaysky phrase-mongering is alien to him, he is not used to throwing words and grinding his tongue.
Archpriest Igor Prekup claims that idle talk is the prerogative of those who pretend to be “high calm” and talk about high topics. The author is idle when he begins to talk about topics with which he neither sympathizes with his mind or heart, or, as it were, yes, sympathizes, is even capable of adequately reacting emotionally and giving correct moral assessments of events or someone’s actions, but... he himself will not not only do what he admires, but will not even support his neighbor in this. For “ideals are one thing, but life is another.” Such a person, talking about “high matters”, about principles, about ideals, about heroism, about love, and finally, about sacrifice, talks idlely.
Moreover, the one who talks idlely is not just about ideals, but about eternal truths, about God, about holiness, about virtues... and has no connection with deeds. And he says, maybe everything is right. No, of course, it often happens that a person, discussing these topics, speaks complete nonsense; here idle talk doesn’t require a lot of intelligence... although, it must be admitted that often smart people buy into the complete nonsense of a chatterbox who has just picked up terminology, or even invents scientific neologisms on the fly. The worst thing, however, is if idle talk is done competently: quotes only from blessed sources, the voice is muffled, the eye is moistened with a tear, the intensity of piety is on the verge of crossing a barrier similar to the sound one: just about, it seems, bang-bang!!!.. - and no near him: moved to heaven. All the words themselves are true: something from Scripture, something from the Fathers, somewhere an aphorism from the ancient Greeks or Romans (and even “in the original language”!), or even just a folk proverb or screws up the saying - everything in itself is impeccable... But in the context of what the conversation is about, in the context of the goal pursued by the speaker, his entire structure of sacred components, covering up or, even worse, justifying some kind of nasty thing, this whole sarcophagus a stinking corpse, decorated with sacred phrases - all this is a pharisaical lie; Moreover, the lie is somehow blasphemous precisely because of the sacred “building material” used.
“An idle word,” teaches St. John Chrysostom, “is a word incompatible with the matter, false, breathing slander, and also, according to some, an empty word, for example, arousing indecent laughter, shameful, shameless, indecent.” If you think about it, prayer can also be idle talk, for, as St. Ephraim the Syrian, an idle word is “a promise of faith that is not fulfilled in practice. A person believes and confesses Christ, but remains idle, not doing what Christ commanded.”
Idle talk appears like a jack-in-the-box when a person has stupefied his mind with alcohol. A.P. Chekhov writes: “After a pre-dinner drink, he develops a thirst for idle talk.” The mind, having inhaled the vapors of alcohol, finds itself in a world of illusions, where everything is beautiful and festive. A tipsy person, until he has reached the stage of embitterment, begins to spread marks with his tongue, which is called scratching his tongue, while trying to beautifully exaggerate everything, to present it in an illusory light. Suddenly there was an unexpected kindness towards all people. But this has not yet exceeded the norm. Then goodwill will disappear and resentment, anger, and capriciousness will appear. It is not surprising that wives do not tolerate their husbands' idle talk. First husbands rant, then talk idlely, and then make scandals.
Life is given for personal growth, for getting closer to God, and not for pathetic idle talk. Russian poet A.N. Pleshcheev writes:
And we teach willingly,
That laziness is shameful and harmful;
Why not eat heavily?
Yes, idle talk, life is given.
Peter Kovalev
