What are the seven deadly sins? Deadly sins in Orthodoxy: list in order and commandments of God

One of the lists of sins in the works of Christian theologians and spiritual writers: pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and laziness (or despondency). This list is not based on biblical texts, but has become generally accepted since the time of Thomas... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Seven deadly sins. Wed. Sins lead to death that will not be forgiven to a person. Wed. 1 John 5, 16 17. Mortal sins named in scholastic dogma (from the 12th century) and especially in the Catholic Catechism for the people: Arrogance, Stinginess, ... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

SEVEN DEADLY SINS- - human sins that came “from the root of all evil - pride”: vanity, envy, anger, despondency, stinginess, gluttony, wastefulness. These sins, in turn, give rise to a number of others: from vanity comes disobedience and arrogance, from... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

Seven deadly sins- these are those sins that are not forgiven to a person even after his death. These include: vanity, arrogance, envy, anger, despondency, stinginess, gluttony, laziness (wastefulness). These sins give rise to others - disobedience, arrogance, arrogance, greed, etc... Fundamentals of spiritual culture (teacher's encyclopedic dictionary)

Seven deadly sins- stable combination For believers: seven especially serious sins, which are a violation of divine instructions. Encyclopedic commentary: Envy, stinginess, debauchery, gluttony, laziness, anger and pride are considered especially grave sins.… … Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Seven deadly sins- ♦ (ENG sins, seven deadly) in Roman Catholic theology, the seven most serious sins or offenses in relation to morality: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony (greed), anger and laziness... Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms

Seven deadly sins- Outdated. Very big vices, unforgivable offenses. He himself said, his wife irreconcilably bent, that the matter was unclean, as if Ivan had already been caught red-handed, caught, and only out of incomprehensible stubbornness refused to admit to being seven mortals... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language

Wed. Sins unto death that cannot be forgiven to a person. Wed. 1 John 5, 16 17. Mortal sins named in scholastic dogma (from the 12th century) and especially in the Catholic catechism for the people: Arrogance, Stinginess, Lechery, Anger, Gluttony, ... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

Book A very big flaw. BMS 1998, 137 ... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

SEVEN DEADLY SINS- if these S.S.G. were performed in full consciousness, then they endangered the life of the soul. Many other, less significant sins are known as venial sins. One of the lists of such S.S.G. is as follows: Lucifer - pride; Mammon - stinginess; Asmodeus -... ... Eurasian wisdom from A to Z. Explanatory dictionary

Books

• The Seven Deadly Sins, Pavic Milorad. Composed of several short stories, Milorad Pavic (1929-2009) considered the book “The Seven Deadly Sins” to be an indivisible novel. As if in a magic mirror with a hole, Dante’s “Inferno” is reflected here...
• The Seven Deadly Sins, Pavic Milorad. Composed of several short stories, the book 171;The Seven Deadly Sins 187;Milorad Pavic (1929-2009) considered it an indivisible novel. As if in a magic mirror with a hole, Dante’s reflection is reflected here...

Every sin separates a person from God, the source of life.

With seven deadly sins. A sin that leads to death for all humanity, regardless of their religion. Know your enemy by sight, remember sevenmortal sins.

WITH mortal sin in Christianity is a serious sin that entails the loss of the salvation of the soul in the absence of repentance. This term is widely used in Catholic theology, where a doctrine is developed that distinguishes between serious and ordinary sins. The term is also used in a similar way in some non-Catholic churches, including Orthodoxy. But there is no such definition of mortal sin, which is contained in specific Catholic doctrine (Encyclopedia).

IN In this article I will try to remind the reader and draw his attention to sin leading to death. The goal is to remind us of what we have stopped giving importance and attention to. Sin does not prolong life, but... We encounter manifestations of sin every day; it manifests itself in various areas of our lives. We see this around us in real life on the Internet and on television. It is important to understand and not forget that the sinful nature surrounds you and the world in which you are, remember this and be fully armed, prevent sin from entering your life.

WITH mortal sin is not based on biblical texts and is not a direct revelation of God, but the bible reveals and warns about each of these seven sins, if possible I will try to convey this.

TO Briefly about where the teaching about the seven deadly sins came from. Beginning of the 5th century, the Greek monk Evagrius of Pontus created a list of sins, and it numbered eight. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gregory I the Great reduced the list to seven elements. Later Christian theologians objected to this teaching. However, this teaching still exists today.

D Let's look at these seven sins, and what Holy Scripture says about them. The Bible has sufficient words to lead a person away from sin. I ask you not to judge harshly if I was not able to fully convey this.

1. Pride- this is excessive faith in one’s own capabilities, which comes into conflict with the greatness of the Lord. In the Bible in the book of the prophet Jeremiah it is written

(Jer.50:31-32) “Behold, I am against you, O pride, says the Lord God of hosts, for your day has come, the time of your visitation. And pride will stumble and fall, and no one will lift him up; And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all around him.”

This verse clearly shows us how the Lord God deals with pride.

2. Envy– displeasure at the sight of someone else’s happiness and pleasure at his own unhappiness. The Holy Scriptures in the book of Solomon's parables speak very clearly about envy..

(Prov. 14:30) “A gentle heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.”

3. Anger- This is a feeling of strong indignation and indignation.uh

(Prov. 27:3) “Heavy is the stone, the weight, and the sand; but the wrath of a fool is greater than both of them.”

4. Laziness- This is the avoidance of spiritual and physical work. It is written in the word of God

(Prov. 26:13-16) “The sluggard says; "There's a lion on the road! lion in the squares! The door tosses and turns on its hooks, and the sloth on its bed. The slothful man puts his hand into the cup, and it is difficult for him to bring it to his mouth. The slothful man is wiser in his own eyes, the seven who answer thoughtfully.”

5. Greed– this is an excessive desire for material enrichment, thirst for profit, rejection and ignorance of spiritual principles.

(2 Cor. 9:6) “I will say this; He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

6. Gluttony– this is an unrestrained desire to consume more food than is required for the body. In the book of Jesus son of Sirach

(Sir 37.33) written; « For from too much work comes illness, and satiety leads to cholera.”

7. Voluptuousness- This is a passionate desire for carnal pleasures.

(Gal.5:19) “The works of the flesh are known; They are adultery and fornication, uncleanness and lasciviousness.”

(1 John 2:1-2) “My little children, I write this to you, no matter what you sin, but if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

T Geologists claim that every person, without exception, since the time of Adam and Eve, has been damaged by sin. Sin darkens the mind, weakens and captivates the will, and compresses the human heart with sadness and despondency. Blessed is the one who realizes the cause of his grief - sinfulness, and not life circumstances or the actions of other people. A correct diagnosis also leads to healing - through the pursuit of righteousness, through humility, repentance and meekness.

N We must not forget that any sin removes us from God, the source of life, and we must not forget that sin is dangerous, since it inevitably entails other sins

D Dear reader, do not forget to leave your review or addition to this article.

Contrary to popular belief, the expression “seven deadly sins” does not at all indicate certain seven actions that would be the most serious sins. In reality, the list of such actions can be much longer. And the number “seven” here indicates only the conditional unification of these sins into seven main groups.

For the first time such a classification was proposed by St. Gregory the Great in 590. Although, along with it, another classification has always existed in the Church, numbering not seven, but eight main sinful passions. Passion is a skill of the soul that was formed in it from repeated repetition of the same sins and became, as it were, its natural quality - so that a person cannot get rid of passion even when he understands that it no longer brings him pleasure, but torment. Actually, the word “passion” in the Church Slavonic language just means suffering.

St. Theophan the Recluse writes about the difference between mortal sin and less grave sin: “ Deadly sin there is one who robs a person of his moral and Christian life . If we know what moral life is, then defining mortal sin is not difficult. Christian life is zeal and strength to remain in communion with God by fulfilling His holy law. Because every sin that extinguishes jealousy, takes away strength and relaxes, distances one from God and deprives Him of grace, so that after it a person cannot look at God, but feels separated from Him; every such sin is a mortal sin. ...Such a sin deprives a person of the grace received in baptism, takes away the Kingdom of Heaven and delivers it to judgment. And all this is confirmed in the hour of sin, although it is not accomplished visibly. Sins of this kind change the entire direction of a person’s activity and his very state and heart, forming, as it were, a new source in moral life; why do others determine that mortal sin is the one that changes the center of human activity.”

These sins are called mortal because the falling away of the human soul from God is the death of the soul. Without a grace-filled connection with its Creator, the soul dies and becomes incapable of experiencing spiritual joy either in a person’s earthly life or in its posthumous existence.

And it doesn’t really matter how many categories these sins are divided into - seven or eight. It is much more important to remember the terrible danger that any such sin poses, and to try in every possible way to avoid these deadly traps. And also - to know that even for those who have sinned such a sin there remains the possibility of salvation. Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) says: “Let him who has fallen into mortal sin not fall into despair! Let him resort to the medicine of repentance, to which he is called until the last minute of his life by the Savior, who proclaimed in the Holy Gospel: he who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live (John 11:25). But it’s disastrous to remain in mortal sin, it’s disastrous when mortal sin turns into a habit!”

And the Monk Isaac the Syrian said even more clearly: “There is no unforgivable sin except unrepentant sin.”

Seven deadly sins

1. Pride

“The beginning of pride is usually contempt. The one who despises and considers others to be nothing - some are poor, others are people of low birth, others are ignorant, as a result of such contempt he comes to the point that he considers himself alone to be wise, prudent, rich, noble and strong.

...How is a proud person recognized and how is he healed? Recognized because it seeks preference. And he will be healed if he believes the judgment of Him who said: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). However, you need to know that, although he will fear the judgment pronounced for pride, he cannot be healed of this passion unless he abandons all thoughts of his own preference.”

St. Basil the Great

Pride is a self-satisfied intoxication with one’s own merits, real or imaginary. Having taken possession of a person, she cuts him off first from people he doesn’t know well, then from his family and friends. And finally - from God himself. The proud man does not need anyone, he is not even interested in the admiration of those around him, and only in himself does he see the source of his own happiness. But like any sin, pride does not bring true joy. Internal opposition to everything and everyone dries up the soul of a proud person; complacency, like a scab, covers it with a rough shell, under which it dies and becomes incapable of love, friendship and even simple sincere communication.

2  Envy

“Envy is sadness due to the well-being of one’s neighbor, which<…>seeks not good for himself, but evil for his neighbor. The envious would like to see the glorious dishonest, the rich poor, the happy unhappy. This is the purpose of envy - to see how the envied person falls from happiness into disaster.”

Saint Elias Minyatiy

This location of the human heart becomes a launching pad for the most terrible crimes. And also countless large and small dirty tricks that people do just to make another person feel bad or at least stop feeling good.

But even if this beast does not break out in the form of a crime or a specific act, will it really be easier for the envious person? After all, in the end, such a terrible worldview will simply drive him into a premature grave, but even death will not stop his suffering. Because after death, envy will torment his soul with even greater force, but without the slightest hope of quenching it.

3 Gluttony

“Gluttony is divided into three types: one type encourages eating before a certain hour; another loves only to be satiated with any kind of food; the third wants tasty food. Against this, a Christian must have threefold caution: wait for a certain time for eating; don't get fed up; be content with all the most modest food."

Venerable John Cassian the Roman

Gluttony is slavery to one's own stomach. It can manifest itself not only in insane gluttony at the festive table, but also in culinary discernment, in a subtle discrimination of shades of taste, in the preference for gourmet dishes over simple food. From a cultural point of view, there is a gulf between the crude glutton and the refined gourmet. But both of them are slaves to their eating behavior. For both, food has ceased to be a means of maintaining the life of the body, turning into the desired goal of the life of the soul.

4 Fornication

“... consciousness is more and more filled with pictures of voluptuousness, dirty, burning and seductive. The power and poisonous fumes of these images, enchanting and shameful, are such that they crowd out from the soul all the sublime thoughts and desires that captivated (the young man) before. It often happens that a person is unable to think about anything else: he is completely possessed by the demon of passion. He cannot look at every woman as anything other than a female. Thoughts, one dirtier than the other, crawl in his foggy brain, and in his heart there is only one desire - to satisfy his lust. This is already the state of an animal, or rather, worse than an animal, because animals do not reach the level of depravity that humans reach.”

Hieromartyr Vasily of Kineshemsky

The sin of fornication includes all manifestations of human sexual activity contrary to the natural way of their implementation in marriage. Promiscuous sex life, adultery, all kinds of perversions - all these are different types of manifestation of prodigal passion in a person. But although this is a bodily passion, its origins lie in the realm of the mind and imagination. Therefore, the Church also classifies as fornication obscene dreams, viewing pornographic and erotic materials, telling and listening to obscene anecdotes and jokes - everything that can arouse in a person fantasies on a sexual theme, from which the bodily sins of fornication then grow.

5 Anger

“Look at anger, what signs of its torment it leaves. Look what a man does in anger: how he becomes indignant and makes noise, curses and scolds himself, torments and beats, hits his head and face, and shakes all over, as if in a fever, in a word, he looks like a demoniac. If his appearance is so unpleasant, what is going on in his poor soul? ...You see what a terrible poison is hidden in the soul, and how bitterly it torments a person! His cruel and pernicious manifestations speak of him.”

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk

An angry person is scary. Meanwhile, anger is a natural property of the human soul, put into it by God to reject everything sinful and inappropriate. This useful anger was perverted in man by sin and turned into anger at his neighbors, sometimes for the most insignificant reasons. Offenses to other people, swearing, insults, shouting, fights, murders - all these are acts of unrighteous anger.

6 Greed (selfishness)

“Care is an insatiable desire to have, or the search and acquisition of things under the guise of benefit, then only to say about them: mine. There are many objects of this passion: the house with all its parts, fields, servants, and most importantly - money, because you can get everything with it.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse

It is sometimes believed that only rich people who already have wealth and strive to increase it can suffer from this spiritual illness. However, a person of average income, a low-income person, and a completely beggar are all subject to this passion, since it does not consist in the possession of things, material goods and wealth, but in a painful, irresistible desire to possess them.

7 Despondency (laziness)

“Despondency is a continuous and simultaneous movement of the furious and lustful part of the soul. The first is furious over what is at its disposal, the second, on the contrary, yearns for what it lacks.”

Evagrius of Pontus

Dejection is considered to be a general relaxation of mental and physical strength, combined with extreme pessimism. But it is important to understand that despondency occurs in a person as a result of a deep mismatch between the abilities of his soul, zeal (an emotionally charged desire for action) and will.

In the normal state, will determines for a person the goal of his aspirations, and zeal is the “engine” that allows him to move towards it, overcoming difficulties. When despondent, a person directs zeal at his current state, which is far from his goal, and the will, left without an “engine,” turns into a constant source of melancholy about unfulfilled plans. These two forces of a despondent person, instead of moving towards the goal, seem to “pull” his soul in different directions, bringing it to complete exhaustion.

Such a discrepancy is the result of man’s falling away from God, the tragic consequence of an attempt to direct all the forces of his soul towards earthly things and joys, while they were given to us to strive for heavenly joys.

Deadly sins in Orthodoxy: a list in order and the commandments of God. Many believers, reading the holy scriptures, often pay attention to such an expression as “the seven deadly sins.” These words do not refer to any specific seven actions, because the list of such actions can be much larger. This number indicates only the conditional grouping of actions into seven main groups.

Gregory the Great was the first to propose such a division back in 590. The church also has its own division, in which there are eight main passions. Translated from Church Slavonic, the word “passion” means suffering. Other believers and preachers believe that there are 10 sins in Orthodoxy.

Deadly sins in Orthodoxy

The most serious possible sin is called a mortal sin. It can only be redeemed by repentance. Committing such a sin does not allow a person's soul to enter heaven. Basically in Orthodoxy there are seven deadly sins.

And they are called mortal because their constant repetition leads to the death of a person’s immortal soul, and therefore its ending in hell. Such actions are based on biblical texts. Their appearance in the texts of theologians dates back to a later time.

Deadly sins in Orthodoxy. List.

1. Anger, anger, revenge. This group includes actions that, as opposed to love, bring destruction.
2. Lust b, debauchery, fornication. This category includes actions that lead to an excessive desire for pleasure.
3. Laziness, idleness, despondency. This includes a reluctance to do both spiritual and physical work.
4. Pride, vanity, arrogance. Arrogance, boasting, and excessive self-confidence are considered disbelief in the divine.
5. Envy, jealousy. This group includes dissatisfaction with what they have, confidence in the injustice of the world, desire for someone else's status, property, qualities.
6. Gluttony, gluttony. The need to consume more than necessary is also considered a passion.
7. Love of money, greed, greed, stinginess. Most of all, attention is paid to when the desire to increase one’s material wealth comes at the expense of spiritual well-being.

List of sins for confession in Orthodoxy

Confession is one of the rites that help get rid of sins and cleanse the soul. The clergy believe that if repentance is supported by alms, fervent prayer and fasting, then after it a person can return to the state in which Adam was before the Fall.

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You can go to confession in any setting, but often it is a church during a service or another time that the priest appoints. A person who wishes to repent must be baptized, go to the Orthodox Church, recognize the foundations of Orthodoxy and be willing to repent of his sins.

To prepare for confession, repentance and faith are necessary. It is recommended to fast and read prayers of repentance. A repentant person needs to confess his sins, thereby showing recognition of his sinfulness, while highlighting those passions that are especially characteristic of him.

It would not be superfluous to name specific sins that burden his soul. Here is a short list of sins for confession:

• Offense against God.
• Caring only about worldly life.
• Violation of God's Law.
• Condemnation of clergy.
• Unbelief, lack of faith, doubts about the existence of God, about the truth of the Orthodox faith.
• An insult to God, the Most Holy Theotokos, the saints, the holy Church. Mentioning the Name of God in vain, without reverence.
• Violation of fasts, church regulations and prayer rules.
• Failure to keep promises that were made to God.
• Lack of Christian love.
• Non-attendance or rare attendance at the temple.
• Envy, malice, hatred.
• Homicide, abortion. Suicide.
• Lies, deceit.
• Lack of mercy, failure to provide assistance to those in need.
• Pride. Condemnation. Resentment, no desire to reconcile, forgive. Grudge.
• Stinginess, greed, money-grubbing, bribery.
• Temptation for any sin.
• Extravagance.
• Superstition.
• Use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs...
• Entering into direct communication with evil spirits.
• Fornication.
• Gambling.
• Divorce.
• Self-justification.
• Laziness, sadness, gluttony, despondency.

This is not a complete list of sins. It can also be expanded. At the end of the confession, we can say this: I sinned in deed, in word, in thoughts, with all the feelings of soul and body. It is impossible to list all my sins, there are so many of them. But I repent of all my sins, both expressed and forgotten.

The most terrible sin in Orthodoxy

People often argue about which sin is the most terrible and which sins God agrees to forgive. It is generally accepted that suicide is considered the most serious sin. He is considered incorrigible, because having passed away, a person can no longer beg God’s forgiveness for his soul.

There is no clear ranking of sins in Orthodoxy. After all, if a small sin is not prayed away and repented of, it can lead to the death of a person’s soul and burden him.

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You can often hear about original sin in Orthodoxy. This is the name given to the act of Adam and Eve that they performed. Since it was committed in the first generation of people, it was recognized as the first sin of all mankind. This sin damaged human nature and is passed on to descendants by inheritance. In order to reduce its influence on a person or lose it altogether, it is recommended to baptize children and accustom them to the church.

Sin of Sodom in Orthodoxy

This is the customary name for a sinful thought, act or desire that is based on a person’s sexual attraction to a representative (representatives) of his own sex. Often the clergy classified this sin as one of the types of fornication, although some drew a fairly clear line between such concepts.

In turn, the sin of fornication in Orthodoxy is classified as a mortal sin. After all, it is believed that when connecting with a person, not only physical, but also spiritual intimacy occurs. And all this remains on our soul. She becomes unclean. In the middle, everything seems to be burned out.

That is why it is necessary every time to think about your carnal desires, and think about what this can lead to.

We cannot atone for sins in Orthodoxy on our own. But we have hope that the Lord has given us. To ease your burdens, you need to pray fervently. It is necessary to go to church and confess to God and the priest.

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. Drive away from me all the misfortunes that tempt carnal passions. In redemption I fall down, I forget about my sins in the vanity. Forgive me for the sins that happened, and they have not yet been forgotten. Those sins that are still smoldering in the soul too often cause illness. Thy will be done. Amen".

The Lord is always with you!

Deadly sin- this is the most serious of all possible sins, which can only be atone for by repentance. For committing a mortal sin, a person’s soul may lose the opportunity to go to heaven. Interested in this topic, many people ask the question of how many mortal sins there are in Orthodoxy. There are seven mortal sins in Christian teaching, and they are called so because, despite their seemingly harmless nature, if regularly practiced, they lead to much more serious sins and, consequently, to the death of an immortal soul that ends up in hell. Mortal sins are not based on biblical texts and are not a direct revelation of God; they appeared in the texts of theologians later.

If we begin to live like those who die every day, then we will not sin (St. Anthony the Great, 88, 17).

Seven deadly sins list
LOVE OF AVERAGE
PRIDE
FORNICATION
ENVY
Gluttony (Gluttony)
ANGER
DEPRESSION

The history of the appearance of the list of seven sinful acts or 7 deadly sins

Acts considered mortal in the Orthodox faith are distinguished by the degree of severity and the possibility of their redemption. Speaking about sinful acts, especially more attention should be paid to the seven acts that are considered mortal. Many have heard about this, but not everyone knows which of the sinful acts will be on this list, and what will distinguish them. Sin is called mortal not from the head, because Christians believe that when committing these sins, human souls can perish.

It is worth noting that seven deadly sins, although the opinion of society is not sure of this, is not described by the Bible, because their direction of the concept appeared later than the composition of the Holy Letter began. It is believed that the monastic works of Evgarius of Pontus could serve as a basis. He compiled a list that initially included eight human sins. It was later reduced to seven positions.

Deadly sins in Orthodoxy: list in order and commandments of God

Why were the sins like this?

It is clear that these sinful acts or the seven deadly sins in Orthodoxy are not as terrible as theologians believed. They are not beyond redemption, they can be confessed, it’s just that committing them can contribute to people becoming worse, moving further and further away from God. If you put in more effort, you can live in such a way that you do not break any of the ten commandments, but it is difficult to live in such a way that you do not commit any of the seven sinful acts. Essentially, sinful acts and mortal sins in Orthodoxy in the amount of shadow mother nature placed in people.

Under certain circumstances, people are able to survive by contradicting the teaching about sinful acts, but, not paying attention to this, they believe that this cannot achieve good fruits. When you haven't heard anything about what is meant by the seven deadly sins, the list with short explanations presented below can clear up the matter.

Seven deadly sins in Orthodoxy

It is common for a person to want a lot of money, making every effort to obtain material values. However, he does not think whether they are needed in general. These unfortunate people are blindly collecting jewelry, money, and property. They try to get something more than they have, without knowing the limit, without even having the desire to know it. This sin is called love of money.

Self-esteem, self-respect. Many people can do something by trying to be higher than others. More often, the actions that are performed are certainly necessary for this purpose. They delight society, and in those who are subject to a sense of pride, a fire is born that burns all the feelings considered to be the best within the soul. After a certain period of time, a person tirelessly thinks only about his beloved self.

3. Fornication.(That is, sexual activity before marriage), adultery (that is, adultery). Dissolute life. Failure to store feelings, especially
touch, where is the insolence that destroys all virtues. Foul language and reading voluptuous books. Voluptuous thoughts, indecent conversations, even a single glance directed with lust at a woman are considered fornication.

The Savior says this about it: “You have heard that it was said to the ancients, “You shall not commit adultery,” but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”(Matt. 5, 27. 28).
If he who looks at a woman with lust sins, then the woman is not innocent of the same sin if she dresses up and adorns herself with the desire to be looked at, seduced by her, “For woe to that man through whom temptation comes.”

4. Envy. Feelings of envy may not always be white. Often it can become a cause that contributes to the emergence of discord and crime. Not everyone can easily accept the fact that someone was able to achieve better living conditions. History gives many examples when feelings of envy led to murder.

5. Gluttony. People who eat a lot and overeat at the same time cannot evoke anything pleasant. Food is necessary to sustain life, to have the ability to perform meaningful actions in relation to beauty. But those who are subjected to the sinful act of gluttony, they believe that they were born for the purpose of eating.

6. Anger. Hot temper, irritability, adoption of angry thoughts: dreams of revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of the mind with it: obscene
shouting, arguing, cruel, abusive and caustic words. Slander, memory malice, indignation and insult to one's neighbor, hatred, enmity, vengeance, condemnation. Unfortunately, we are not always able to control ourselves and our anger when the wave of emotions overwhelms us. First of all, it is cut from the shoulder, and then it is only observed that the consequences are irreversible. You need to fight your passions!

7. Dejection. Laziness towards any good deed, especially prayer. Excessive restfulness with sleep. Depression, despair (which often leads a person to suicide), lack of fear of God, complete carelessness about the soul, neglect of repentance until the last days of life.

Fighting Sin

You need to fight your passions, tame your emotions, because this leads to a disastrous end! Sin must be fought at the initial stage of its inception! After all, the deeper sin enters our consciousness, our soul, the harder it becomes to fight it. Judge for yourself, in any matter, illness, education, work, the longer you put off work, the more difficult it is to catch up!

And most importantly, forgive God's help! After all, it is very difficult for a person to overcome sin! The devil is plotting, trying to ruin your soul, pushing it to sin in every possible way. These 7 deadly sins It’s not so difficult not to commit if you ask the Lord for help in fighting them! One has only to take a step towards meeting the Savior and He will immediately come to the rescue! God is merciful and does not abandon anyone!

ARTICLE 1. CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY

Eight deadly sins and the fight against them

"The Ladder" by St. John Climacus

In the old days in Rus', the favorite reading was always “The Philokalia”, “The Ladder” of St. John Climacus and other soul-helping books. Modern Orthodox Christians, unfortunately, rarely pick up these great books. It's a pity! After all, they contain answers to questions that are often asked in confession today: “Father, how not to get irritated?”, “Father, how to deal with despondency and laziness?”, “How to live in peace with loved ones?”, “Why?” Do we keep returning to the same sins?

Every priest has to hear these and other questions. These questions are answered by theological science, which is called asceticism. She talks about what passions and sins are, how to fight them, how to find peace of mind, how to acquire love for God and neighbors. The word “asceticism” immediately evokes associations with ancient ascetics, Egyptian hermits, and monasteries. And in general, ascetic experiences and the struggle with passions are considered by many to be a purely monastic matter: we, they say, are weak people, we live in the world, that’s just how we are... This, of course, is a deep misconception. Every Orthodox Christian, without exception, is called to daily struggle, war against passions and sinful habits. The Apostle Paul tells us about this: “Those who are Christ’s (that is, all Christians. – Auth.) crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24).

Just as soldiers take an oath and make a solemn promise - an oath - to defend the Fatherland and crush its enemies, so a Christian, as a warrior of Christ, in the sacrament of baptism swears allegiance to Christ and “renounces the devil and all his works,” that is, sin. This means there will be a battle with these fierce enemies of our salvation - fallen angels, passions and sins. A life-or-death battle, a difficult and daily, if not hourly, battle. Therefore, “we only dream of peace.”

Deadly sins in Orthodoxy: list in order and commandments of God

I will take the liberty to say that asceticism can be called, in some way, Christian psychology. After all, the word “psychology” translated from Greek means “the science of the soul.” This is a science that studies the mechanisms of human behavior and thinking. Practical psychology helps a person cope with his bad tendencies, overcome depression, and learn to get along with himself and people. As we see, the objects of attention of asceticism and psychology are the same.

Saint Theophan the Recluse said that it was necessary to compile a textbook on Christian psychology, and he himself used psychological analogies in his instructions to questioners. The trouble is that psychology is not a single scientific discipline, such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology. There are many schools and areas that call themselves psychology. Psychology includes psychoanalysis by Freud and Jung, and new-fangled movements like neurolinguistic programming (NLP). Some trends in psychology are completely unacceptable for Orthodox Christians. Therefore, we have to collect some knowledge bit by bit, separating the wheat from the chaff.

I will try, using some knowledge from practical, applied psychology, to rethink them in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Fathers on the fight against passions.

Before we start talking about the main passions and methods of dealing with them, let's ask ourselves the question: “Why do we fight our sins and passions?”

Recently I heard one famous Orthodox theologian, a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy (I will not name him, since I respect him very much; he was my teacher, but in this case I fundamentally disagree with him) said: “Divine services, prayer, fasting is all, so to speak, scaffolding, supports for the construction of the building of salvation, but not the goal of salvation, not the meaning of Christian life. And the goal is to get rid of passions.” I cannot agree with this, since deliverance from passions is also not an end in itself, but the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov speaks about the true goal: “Acquire a peaceful spirit - and thousands around you will be saved.”

That is, the goal of a Christian’s life is to acquire love for God and neighbors. The Lord Himself speaks of only two commandments, on which the entire law and prophets are based. This “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" And “love your neighbor as yourself”(Matt. 22:37, 39). Christ did not say that these are just two of the ten, twenty other commandments, but said that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”(Matthew 22:40). These are the most important commandments, the fulfillment of which is the meaning and purpose of Christian life. And getting rid of passions is also only a means, like prayer, worship and fasting. If getting rid of passions were the goal of a Christian, then we would not be far from Buddhists, who also seek dispassion - nirvana.

It is impossible for a person to fulfill the two main commandments while passions dominate over him. A person subject to passions and sins loves himself and his passion. How can a vain, proud person love God and his neighbors? And the one who is in despondency, anger, serving the love of money? The questions are rhetorical.

Serving passions and sin does not allow a Christian to fulfill the most important, key commandment of the New Testament - the commandment of love.

Passions and suffering

From the Church Slavonic language the word “passion” is translated as “suffering”. Hence, for example, the word “passion-bearer,” that is, one who endures suffering and torment. And indeed, nothing torments people more: neither illnesses nor anything else, than their own passions, deep-rooted sins.

First, passions serve to satisfy the sinful needs of people, and then people themselves begin to serve them: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).

Of course, in every passion there is an element of sinful pleasure for a person, but, nevertheless, passions torment, torment and enslave the sinner.

The most striking examples of passionate addiction are alcoholism and drug addiction. The need for alcohol or drugs not only enslaves a person’s soul, but alcohol and drugs become a necessary component of his metabolism, part of the biochemical processes in his body. Addiction to alcohol or drugs is a spiritual-physical addiction. And it needs to be treated in two ways, that is, by treating both the soul and the body. But at the core is sin, passion. An alcoholic or drug addict's family falls apart, he is kicked out of work, he loses friends, but he sacrifices all this to passion. A person addicted to alcohol or drugs is ready to commit any crime to satisfy his passion. No wonder 90% of crimes are committed under the influence of alcohol and drugs. That's how strong the demon of drunkenness is!

Other passions can enslave the soul no less. But with alcoholism and drug addiction, the enslavement of the soul is further intensified by bodily dependence.

People who are far from the Church and from spiritual life often see only prohibitions in Christianity. They say they came up with some taboos and restrictions to make life more difficult for people. But in Orthodoxy there is nothing accidental or superfluous, everything is very harmonious and natural. The spiritual world, as well as the physical world, has its own laws, which, like the laws of nature, cannot be violated, otherwise it will lead to damage and even disaster.

Some of these laws are expressed in commandments that protect us from harm. Commandments and moral instructions can be compared to signs warning of danger: “Caution, high voltage!”, “Don’t get involved, it will kill you!”, “Stop! Radiation contamination zone" and the like, or with inscriptions on containers with toxic liquids: "Poisonous", "Toxic" and so on.

We, of course, are given freedom of choice, but if we do not pay attention to the alarming signs, then we will only have to take offense at ourselves. Sin is a violation of very subtle and strict laws of spiritual nature, and it causes harm, first of all, to the sinner himself. And in the case of passions, the harm from sin increases many times over, because sin becomes permanent and takes on the character of a chronic disease.

The word "passion" has two meanings.

Firstly, as the Monk John of the Climacus says, “passion is the name given to the very vice that has been embedded in the soul for a long time and through habit has become, as it were, a natural property of it, so that the soul already voluntarily and by itself strives towards it” (Ladder. 15: 75). That is, passion is already something more than sin, it is sinful dependence, slavery to a certain type of vice.

Secondly, the word “passion” is a name that unites a whole group of sins. For example, in the book “The Eight Main Passions with Their Divisions and Branches,” compiled by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), eight passions are listed, and after each there is a whole list of sins united by this passion. For example, anger: hot temper, acceptance of angry thoughts, dreams of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of his mind, incessant shouting, arguing, swear words, stress, pushing, murder, memory malice, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and resentment of one's neighbor .

Most holy fathers speak of eight passions:

1. gluttony,
2. fornication,
3. love of money,
4. anger,
5. sadness,
6. despondency,
7. vanity,
8. pride.

Some, speaking about passions, combine sadness and despondency. Actually, these are somewhat different passions, but we will talk about this below.

Sometimes the eight passions are called mortal sins . Passions have this name because they can (if they completely take over a person) disrupt spiritual life, deprive them of salvation and lead to eternal death. According to the holy fathers, behind every passion there is a certain demon, dependence on which makes a person captive to a certain vice. This teaching is rooted in the Gospel: “When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and not finding it, he says: I will return to my house from where I came, and when he comes, he finds it swept and tidied up; then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there, and the last thing for that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11: 24-26).

Western theologians, for example Thomas Aquinas, usually write about the seven passions. In the West, in general, the number “seven” is given special significance.

Passions are a perversion of natural human properties and needs. In human nature there is a need for food and drink, a desire for procreation. Anger can be righteous (for example, towards enemies of faith and the Fatherland), or it can lead to murder. Thrift can degenerate into love of money. We mourn the loss of loved ones, but this should not develop into despair. Purposefulness and perseverance should not lead to pride.

One Western theologian gives a very successful example. He compares passion to a dog. It’s very good when a dog sits on a chain and guards our house, but it’s a disaster when he climbs his paws onto the table and devours our lunch.

Saint John Cassian the Roman says that the passions are divided into sincere, that is, emanating from mental inclinations, for example: anger, despondency, pride, etc. They feed the soul. AND bodily: they originate in the body and nourish the body. But since a person is spiritual and physical, passions destroy both soul and body.

The same saint writes that the first six passions seem to arise from one another, and “the excess of the previous one gives rise to the next one.” For example, from excessive gluttony comes prodigal passion. From fornication - love of money, from love of money - anger, from anger - sadness, from sadness - despondency. And each of them is treated by expelling the previous one. For example, to overcome fornication, you need to bind gluttony. To overcome sadness, you need to suppress anger, etc.

Vanity and pride are especially important. But they are also interconnected. Vanity gives rise to pride, and you need to fight pride by defeating vanity. The Holy Fathers say that some passions are committed by the body, but they all originate in the soul, come out of the heart of a person, as the Gospel tells us: “From the heart of a person come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy - this defiles a person "(Matthew 15: 18–20). The worst thing is that passions do not disappear with the death of the body. And the body, as the instrument with which a person most often commits sin, dies and disappears. And the inability to satisfy one’s passions is what will torment and burn a person after death.

And the holy fathers say that there passions will torment a person much more than on earth - without sleep and rest they will burn like fire. And not only bodily passions will torment people, not finding satisfaction, like fornication or drunkenness, but also spiritual ones: pride, vanity, anger; after all, there will also be no opportunity to satisfy them. And the main thing is that a person will also not be able to fight passions; this is possible only on earth, because earthly life is given for repentance and correction.

Truly, whatever and whom a person served in earthly life, he will be with in eternity. If he serves his passions and the devil, he will remain with them. For example, for a drug addict, hell will be an endless, never-ending “withdrawal”; for an alcoholic, it will be an eternal hangover, etc. But if a person served God and was with Him on earth, he can hope that he will be with Him there too.

Earthly life is given to us as preparation for eternity, and here on earth we decide what O What’s more important for us is that O constitutes the meaning and joy of our life - the satisfaction of passions or life with God. Paradise is a place of God’s special presence, an eternal sense of God, and God does not force anyone there.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin gives one example - an analogy that allows us to understand this: “On the second day of Easter 1990, Bishop Alexander of Kostroma served the first service since the persecution in the Ipatiev Monastery. Until the last moment, it was unclear whether the service would take place - such was the resistance of museum workers...

When the bishop entered the temple, the museum workers, led by the director, stood in the vestibule with angry faces, some with tears in their eyes: “The priests are desecrating the temple of art...” During the religious procession, I held a bowl of holy water. And suddenly the bishop says to me: “Let’s go to the museum, let’s go into their offices!” Let's go. The Bishop says loudly: “Christ is risen!” – and sprinkles the museum workers with holy water. In response - faces distorted with anger. Probably, in the same way, those who fight against God, having crossed the line of eternity, will themselves refuse to enter heaven - it will be unbearably bad for them there.”

We hope you enjoyed reading the article about mortal sins in Orthodoxy: a list in order and the commandments of God. Stay with us on the portal of communication and self-improvement and read other useful and interesting materials on this topic! The source of information for this article was taken from

deadly sins: gluttony, anger, envy, lust, greed, pride and laziness. Everyone knows, but not all of us consider each of the seven on the list to be a sin. Some are guided by their personal views, others based on the realities of the structure of current society. Some people don’t understand, some are disingenuous, some don’t believe, but the main thing is that no one notices how these seven of us are slowly making slaves of our vices and multiplying and expanding the “range” of our sins. More details below.

There are seven mortal sins in Christian teaching, and they are called so because, despite their seemingly harmless nature, if regularly practiced, they lead to much more serious sins and, consequently, to the death of an immortal soul that ends up in hell. Deadly sins are not based on biblical texts and are not a direct revelation of God; they appeared in the texts of theologians later.

First, the Greek monk-theologian Evagrius of Pontus compiled a list of the eight worst human passions. They were (in descending order of severity): pride, vanity, spiritual laziness, anger, despondency, greed, voluptuousness and gluttony. The order in this list was determined by the degree of a person’s orientation towards himself, towards his ego (that is, pride is the most selfish property of a person and therefore the most harmful).

At the end of the 6th century, Pope Gregory I the Great reduced the list to seven elements, introducing the concept of vanity into pride, spiritual laziness into despondency, and also adding a new one - envy. The list was slightly reordered, this time according to the criterion of opposition to love: pride, envy, anger, despondency, greed, gluttony and voluptuousness (that is, pride is more opposed to love than others and is therefore the most harmful).

Later Christian theologians (in particular, Thomas Aquinas) objected to precisely this order of mortal sins, but it was this order that became the main one and is still in effect today. The only change in Pope Gregory the Great's list was the replacement of the concept of despondency with laziness in the 17th century.

The word translated as "blessed", is a synonym for the word "happy". Why doesn’t Jesus put a person’s happiness on a par with what he has: success, wealth, power, etc.? He says that happiness is a consequence of a certain internal state, which does not depend on what happens around, even if a person is slandered and persecuted. Happiness is a consequence of a relationship with the Creator, because it was He who gave us life and knows better than anyone what its meaning is, and therefore happiness. Envy appears only when a person does not love and is therefore not happy. An emptiness appears in the soul, which some unsuccessfully try to fill with things or thoughts about them.

A. In the Old Testament
- examples of envy (Gen 37:11; Numbers 16:1-3; Ps 105:16-18)
- commandment not to envy (Proverbs 3:31; Proverbs 23:17; Proverbs 24:1)

B. In the New Testament
- examples of envy (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10; Phil 1:15-17)
- negative consequences of envy (Mark 7:20-23; James 3:14-16)
- positive consequences of envy (Rom 11:13-14)
- envy among other sins (Rom 1:29; Gal 5:20; 1 Pet 2:1)
- love does not envy (1 Cor 13:4)

ANGER

If a person sees himself in the mirror in a fit of anger, rage, he will simply be horrified and will not recognize himself, his appearance has changed so much. But anger darkens not only and not so much the face, but the soul. An angry person becomes possessed by the demon of anger. Very often, anger gives rise to one of the most serious sins - murder. Of the reasons that cause anger, I would like to note, first of all, conceit, pride, and inflated self-esteem - a common cause of resentment and anger. It’s easy to be calm and condescending when everyone praises you, but if you touch us with a finger, you can immediately see what we’re worth. Hot temper and short temper may, of course, be a consequence of an overly temperamental character, but still character cannot serve as an excuse for anger. An irritable, hot-tempered person must know this trait of his and fight it, learn to restrain himself. Envy can be considered one of the causes of anger - nothing irritates more than the well-being of your neighbor...

Two sages lived in the same hermitage in the Sahara Desert, and one of them said to the other: “Let’s fight with you, or else we’ll soon cease to really understand what passions torment us.” "I don't know how to start a fight", answered the second hermit. “Let’s do this: I’ll put this bowl here, and you’ll say: “This is mine.” I will answer: “She belongs to me!” We'll start arguing, and then we'll fight.". That's what they did. One said that the bowl was his, but the other objected. "Let's not waste time, - the first one said then. — Take it for yourself. You didn't come up with a very good idea about the quarrel. When a person realizes that he has an immortal soul, he will not argue over things.".

Dealing with anger on your own is not easy. Pray to the Lord before you do your work and the mercy of the Lord will deliver you from anger.

A. Human anger

1. The anger of people like
— Cain (Gen 4:5-6)
— Jacob (Gen 30:2)
—Moses (Exodus 11:8)
— Saul (1 Samuel 20:30)
— David (2 Samuel 6:8)
— Naaman (2 Kings 5:11)
— Nehemiah (Nehemiah 5:6)
- And she (Jonah 4:1,9)

2. How to control our anger
- we must refrain from anger (Psalm 36:8; Eph 4:31)
- we must be slow to anger (James 1:19-20)
- we must control ourselves (Proverbs 16:32)
- in our anger we should not sin (Psalm 4:5; Eph 4:26-27)

3. We can be cast into hell fire because of anger (Matthew 5:21-22)

4. We must allow God to avenge sin. (Ps 93:1-2; Rom 12:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8)

B. The Wrath of Jesus

- to injustice (Mark 3:5; Mark 10:14)
- to blasphemy in the Temple of God (John 2:12-17)
- at the last trial (Rev 6:16-17)

B. The Wrath of God

1. God's Wrath is Righteous (Rom 3:5-6; Rev 16:5-6)

2. Reasons for His Wrath
- idolatry (1 Samuel 14:9; 1 Samuel 14:15; 1 Samuel 14:22; 2 Par 34:25)
- sin (Deuteronomy 9:7; 2 Kings 22:13; Rom 1:18)
- lack of faith (Ps 77:21-22; John 3:36)
- bad attitude towards others (Exodus 10:1-4; Amos 2:6-7)
- refusal to repent (Isa 9:13; Isa 9:17; Rom 2:5)

3. Expression of His Wrath
- temporary sentences (Numbers 11:1; Numbers 11:33; Isaiah 10:5; Lamentations 1:12)
- on the day of the Lord (Rom 2:5-8; Soph 1:15; Soph 1:18; Rev 11:18; Ps 109:5)

4. The Lord controls His wrath
- God is slow to anger (Exodus 34:6; Ps 102:8)
- God's mercy is greater than His wrath (Ps 29:6; Isaiah 54:8; Hos 8:8-11)
- God will turn away His wrath (Psalm 77:38; Isaiah 48:9; Dan 9:16)
- believers are delivered from the wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Rom 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9)

IDLENESS

Idleness is avoidance of physical and spiritual work. Dejection, which is also part of this sin, is a state of pointless dissatisfaction, resentment, hopelessness and disappointment, accompanied by a general loss of strength. According to John Climacus, one of the creators of the list of seven sins, despondency is “a slanderer of God, as if He is unmerciful and unloving of mankind”. The Lord has endowed us with Reason, which is capable of stimulating our spiritual quests. Here it is worth quoting again the words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” ( Matthew 5:6) .

The Bible does not speak of laziness as a sin, but rather as an unproductive character trait. Laziness refers to a person’s lethargy and inaction. The lazy man should follow the example of the hardworking ant (Proverbs 6:6-8) ; lazy is a burden to other people (Proverbs 10:26) . By making excuses, the lazy only punishes himself, because... the arguments he gives are stupid (Proverbs 22:13) and testify to his feeble-mindedness, causing ridicule of people (Proverbs 6:9-11; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 12:24; Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 14:23; Proverbs 18:9; Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 24:30-34) . Those who lived only for themselves and did not realize the talent given to them will be subjected to merciless judgment. (Matthew 25:26 etc.).

GREED

You won't find the word "greed" in the Bible. However, this does not mean that the Bible has ignored the problem of greed. Quite the contrary, the Word of God takes a very close and careful look at this human vice. And it does this by breaking down greed into its components:

1. Covetousness (the love of money) and covetousness (the desire to get rich). “...for know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” ( Eph 5:5) .
The love of money, being the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10) , is the foundation of greed. All other components of greed and all other human vices originate in the love of money. The Lord teaches us not to be lovers of money: “Have a disposition that does not love money, being content with what you have. For He Himself said: I will never leave you nor forsake you" ( Hebrews 13:5) .

2. Extortion and bribery
Extortion is the demand and collection of interest on a loan, extortion of gifts, bribes. Bribe - reward, remuneration, payment, retribution, gain, self-interest, profit, bribe. Bribery is bribery.

If the love of money is the foundation of greed, then covetousness is the right hand of greed. The Bible says about this vice that it comes from the heart of a person: “Further [Jesus] said: What comes out of a man defiles a man. For from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an envious eye, blasphemy, pride, madness - all this evil comes from within and defiles a person" ( Mark 7:20-23) .

The Bible calls covetous and bribe-takers wicked: "The wicked takes a gift from his bosom to pervert the ways of justice" ( Eccl 7:7). “By oppressing others, the wise become foolish, and gifts spoil the heart” ( Proverbs 17:23) .

The Word of God warns us that the greedy will not inherit the Kingdom of God: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wicked people, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" ( 1 Cor 6:9-10) .

“He who walks in righteousness and speaks the truth; who despises the gain of oppression, keeps his hands from taking bribes, stops his ears so as not to hear about bloodshed, and closes his eyes so as not to see evil; he will dwell on the heights; his refuge is inaccessible rocks; bread will be given to him; his water will not run dry" ( Isa 33:15-16) .

3. Greed:
Greed is the thirst for profit. The nature of a greedy person is well described in the book of the prophet Amos “Hear this, you who hunger to devour the poor and destroy the needy, you who say: When will the new moon pass, that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may open the barns, and reduce the measure, and increase the price of the shekel, and deceive with unfaithful scales, that we may buy the poor with silver? and the poor for a pair of shoes, and sell grain from grain" ( Am 8:4-6). “These are the ways of anyone who covets someone else’s goods: it takes the life of the one who takes possession of it” ( Proverbs 1:19) .

Exodus 20:17) . In other words, this commandment appeals to a person: "Don't be greedy!"

4. Stinginess:
“I will say this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one should give according to the disposition of his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion; For God loves a cheerful giver" ( 2 Cor 9:6-7) . Is stinginess different from greed? These words are almost synonymous, but there are still some differences between them. Stinginess, first of all, is aimed at preserving what is available, while greed and greed are focused on new acquisitions.

5. Selfishness
“For the wicked boasts in the lust of his soul; the self-interested man pleases himself" ( Psalm 9:24). “He who loves greed will destroy his house, but he who hates gifts will live” ( Proverbs 15:27) .

Selfishness is a sin for which the Lord punished and is punishing people: “For the sin of his greed, I was angry and struck him, I hid my face and was indignant; but he turned away and followed the path of his heart" ( Isaiah 57:17) . The Word of God warns Christians “So that you do not deal with your brother in any way unlawfully or selfishly: for the Lord is the avenger of all this, as we told you and testified before” ( 1 Thessalonians 4:6) .

Lack of selfishness is an essential characteristic of true servants of God: “But a bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, chaste, decent, honest, hospitable, teacher, not a drunkard, not a murderer, not quarrelsome, not greedy, but quiet, peace-loving, not money-loving...” ( 1 Tim 3:2-3); “Deacons must also be honest, not double-tongued, not addicted to wine, not greedy...” ( 1 Tim 3:8) .

6. Envy:
“An envious person rushes to wealth, and does not think that poverty will befall him” ( Proverbs 28:22). “Do not eat food from an envious person and do not be enticed by his delicious dishes; because as the thoughts are in his soul, so is he; “Eat and drink,” he tells you, but his heart is not with you. The piece you ate will be vomited up, and your kind words will be wasted" ( Proverbs 23:6-8) .

The Tenth Commandment prohibits us from coveting the good of others: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17) . However, it is known that such desires most often arise in people due to envy.

7. Selfishness:
We have already had a fairly deep conversation about selfishness. We will not return to it, we will only recall that the components of selfishness are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. We called this the triune nature of egoism: “For everything that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world” ( 1 John 2:16) .

Greed is an integral part of selfishness, for the lust of the eyes is everything that the insatiable eyes of a person desire. It is against the lust of the eyes that the tenth commandment warns us: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17) . So, selfishness and greed are two boots.

8. Gluttony:
The Word of God warns that the eyes of man are insatiable: “Hell and Abaddon are insatiable; so insatiable are human eyes" ( Proverbs 27:20). “Insatiability has two daughters: “come on, come on!”" ( Proverbs 30:15) “Whoever loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth will not profit from it. And this is vanity!” ( Eccl 5:9) “And I turned and saw still vanity under the sun; a lonely person, and there is no other; he has neither a son nor a brother; but there is no end to all his labors, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. “For whom am I toiling and depriving my soul of good?” And this is vanity and an evil deed!” ( Eccl 4:7-8) .

The main reason for greed is spiritual emptiness: spiritual hunger and thirst with which a person is born into the world. Spiritual emptiness formed in the human soul as a result of spiritual death, which was a consequence of his fall. God created man perfect. When man lived with God, he was not greedy, but without God, greed became a character trait of man. No matter what he does, he is unable to fill this spiritual emptiness. “All a man’s labor is for his mouth, but his soul is not satisfied” ( Eccl 6:7) .

A greedy person, not understanding the reason for his dissatisfaction, tries to drown it out with material goods and wealth. He, poor fellow, does not understand that spiritual poverty cannot be filled with any material benefits, just as spiritual thirst cannot be quenched with a bucket of water. All such a person needs is to turn to the Lord, who, being the only source of living water, is able to fill the spiritual emptiness in the soul.

Today the Lord addresses each of us through the prophet Isaiah: “Thirsty! go, all of you, to the waters; even you who have no silver, go, buy and eat; Go, buy wine and milk without silver and without price. Why do you weigh out money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen to Me carefully and eat what is good, and let your soul enjoy the fatness. Incline your ear and come to Me: listen, and your soul will live, and I will give you an everlasting covenant, the unfailing mercies promised to David." Isaiah 55:1-3) .

Only the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is able to satisfy the spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst of everyone who comes to Him: “Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life; He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" ( John 6:35) .

Of course, it is impossible to get rid of greed in one day, especially if you have been in slavery to this vice for a long time. But it's definitely worth a try. (Deut 24:19-22; Matthew 26:41; 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Cor 9:6-7; Col 3:2; Rom 12:2; 1 Tim 6:6-11; 3John 1:11; Hebrews 13:5-6)

The next time you have a desire to profit from someone or have a reluctance to share with someone, remember the words of Christ: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” ( Acts 20:35)

A. The commandment about greed

- in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:17; Deut 5:21; Deut 7:25)
- in the New Testament (Rom 7:7-11; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5)

B. Greed leads to other sins (1 Tim 6:10; 1 John 2:15-16)

- to deceive (Jacob) (Gen 27:18-26)
- adultery (David) (2 Kings 11:1-5)
- disobedience to God (Achan) (Joshua 7:20-21)
- hypocritical worship (Saul) (1 Samuel 15:9-23)
- murder (Ahab) (1 Samuel 21:1-14)
- theft (Gehazi) (2 Kings 5:20-24)
- troubles in the family (Proverbs 15:27)
- lies (Ananias and Sapphira) (Acts 5:1-10)

B. Being satisfied with what you have is a remedy against greed.

- commanded (Luke 3:14; 1 Tim 6:8; Hebrews 13:5)
- Pavel's experience (Phil 4:11-12)

GLUTTONY

Gluttony is a sin against the second commandment (Exodus 20:4) and there is one type of idolatry. Since gluttons value sensual pleasure above all else, then, according to the words of the apostle, they have a god in their belly, or, in other words, their belly is their idol: “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in shame, they think about earthly things” ( Phil 3:19) .

Sweets can become an idol, an object of desire and constant dreams of a person. This is undoubtedly gluttony, but already in thoughts. This is also something to beware of. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” ( Matthew 26:41) .

Gluttony literally means immoderation and greed in food, leading a person to a bestial state. The point here is not only about food, but also about the uncontrollable desire to consume more than is required. However, the fight against the vice of gluttony involves not so much the volitional suppression of the urge to eat, but rather reflection on its true place in life. Food is certainly important for existence, but it should not become the meaning of life, thereby replacing concerns about the soul with concerns about the body. Let us remember the words of Christ: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing" ( Matthew 6:25) . This is very important to understand because... in modern culture, gluttony is defined more as a medical illness than as a moral concept.

voluptuousness

This sin is characterized not only by extramarital sexual relations, but also by the very passionate desire for carnal pleasures. Let us turn to the words of Jesus Christ: “You have heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:27-28) . A person whom God has endowed with Will and Reason must be different from animals who blindly follow their instincts. Also included in lust are various types of sexual perversions (bestiality, necrophilia, homosexuality, etc.), which are inherently contrary to human nature. (Exodus 22:19; 1 Tim 1:10; Lev 18:23-24; Lev 20:15-16; Deut 27:21; Gen 19:1-13; Lev 18:22; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:11; 2 Cor 5:17)

The list of sins is contrasted with a list of virtues. To pride - humility; greed - generosity; envy - love; to anger - kindness; voluptuousness - self-control; to gluttony - moderation and abstinence, and to laziness - diligence. Thomas Aquinas especially highlighted Faith, Hope and Love among the virtues.