A Wondrous Sequence
A Wondrous Sequence
Virtues are connected to one another, and one leads to another in a wondrous sequence…
Likewise, sins are connected to one another, and one leads to another in the same sequence.
So what is this wondrous sequence?
A person may say that the path of perfection is long, and virtues are many—so with which should I begin? We say to him: Begin with any one of them, for each one leads to the other… Whatever virtue you train yourself in will bring you to the whole…
There are “mother virtues” that can give birth to many virtues.
Among them are the three great virtues: faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13). If one of these becomes established in a person’s heart, he becomes filled with the fruits of righteousness and with good works.
The virtue of love—our Lord Jesus Christ said about it that “on these hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Suppose a person begins with the virtue of silence, considering that “in the multitude of words sin is not lacking.” He will certainly find that much mixing with others leads to much speaking, so he will resort to solitude. In solitude, he will find time for reading; and reading leads him to meditation and to prayer, and it influences him spiritually, leading him to a virtuous life. In solitude, a person does not exert much bodily effort, so he does not need much food, and thus he arrives at fasting.
Thus we have seen how many virtues resulted from silence.
The same wondrous sequence also leads us through the virtue of humility:
You enter into humility and find yourself having reached calmness and meekness, peace with people, contrition of soul, respect for others, love of the last place, not judging others, refraining from rebuke and reproach, accepting every offense with thanksgiving and endurance. You also attain a lowered voice, distancing from boasting and from the love of praise. Through humility, you can also reach peace with people…
Thus you find that one virtue has led you to a large group.
In general, every virtue you master—whatever it may be—nurtures in you the love of goodness, and the love of goodness brings you to other virtues.
The important thing is to begin well and to be sincere and faithful in your training. And when you master this spiritual work, the demons will stand to fight you. Therefore be steadfast. Fight with strength and do not be shaken.
This spiritual warfare will grant you courage and fearlessness, spiritual joy, and faith in the supporting power of God. It will give you hope in a life of victory, nurture in you the spirit of prayer, and you will find that many virtues have been obtained automatically, without your intending it…
Spiritual practices together with spiritual warfare give a person spiritual experience, the ability to guide, understanding of the spiritual path, vigilance and attentiveness, knowledge of the enemy’s tricks, and the possibility of overcoming them.
But at the beginning of spiritual work, one must proceed with wise gradualness.
Many are wearied by the love of speed and sudden leaps in which they cannot remain steadfast; then depression overtakes them, and depression leads them to despair and to a lack of confidence in the possibility of spiritual life. Thus they enter into a negative sequence that may lead them to surrender and to sin.
But he who plants his feet firmly in each spiritual step before moving on to another reaches gradualness, stability, and a sequence toward the summit of spiritual life.
Easy, steady gradualness is better than stumbling leaps. Whenever a person succeeds at a spiritual level—even a simple one—he is encouraged and reassured and gains strength to advance. Like a student who enters an exam and begins first with the easy questions; when he answers them well, he is encouraged and approaches the difficult questions with a peaceful heart…
Just as there is a sequence in acquiring virtues, so also with regard to sins. Let us begin with what happened to the first man:
The first sin into which man fell was bad companionship—the sitting with the serpent, which was more cunning than all the beasts of the field. This sitting led to stumbling and to doubt: “Has God indeed said to you…?” “You will not surely die…” It also led to temptation: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Thus faith diminished, the innocent outlook changed, and lust entered in: “The tree was pleasant to the eyes and desirable.” The commandment was forgotten and disobedience occurred… Eve caused Adam to stumble, and he fell like her.
With the fall of man—who proceeded in a wondrous sequence—he also descended into another long chain of falling, as we shall see:
Sin led them to covering themselves, to the loss of innocence and resorting to fig leaves; then to fear and fleeing from God and hiding among the trees; then to self-justification and placing blame on others; then to expulsion from Paradise and living the material bodily life… Man was like one who fell from a ladder and kept rolling down step by step until he reached the bottom.
This sequence in falling also happened with the prophet David:
His first step in falling was a life of luxury. After he used to go out to battle himself, he sat in his palace and left the army to fight. Then he went up to the roof to look around and saw a woman bathing naked and did not restrain his eyes from looking.
The look led him to lust; lust led him to adultery; adultery brought him to attempting to deceive the husband, then to killing the man… Thus this great structure collapsed, and the great prophet fell.
The demons work with a wondrous tactic, with precise planning. Each demon passes the victim to another demon, who receives him and hands him over to a fellow demon. Thus one fall leads to another.
Those who fell did not all fall at once. How easily many were deceived by steps that perhaps seemed innocent or insignificant, from which they developed little by little into the most terrible falls.
The first step toward sin may not be a sin…
How many sins in the depths of iniquity began with ordinary relationships that had no apparent fault. Therefore, a person must walk in a life of caution and scrutiny. As Saint Sarah said: “A mouth that is prevented from water will not ask for wine; and a stomach that is prevented from bread will not ask for meat…”
Thus the Lord has kept us away from the first step—from the look that leads to adultery, and from even the mere word “Raca”…
The first step, which is the lightest in sin, may be very difficult.
If a person crosses it, everything else becomes easy.
The last step in sin may be taken without hardship or difficulty, for his spiritual state would have collapsed along the previous path, and his fall would have become something natural.
Samson the mighty—his first step in falling was his going to Gaza.
Mere going to Gaza does not in itself appear to be a sin. But in Gaza he saw a woman, then loved her, then gave her his trust… then surrendered his leadership to her. Finally, he revealed his secret to her, broke his vow, his strength departed, they put out his eyes, and he ground at the mill like an animal… Who would have thought that all those sins and disasters resulted from going to Gaza?
Lot also—his beginning of loss was the love of well-watered land.
This love made him separate from his uncle Abraham, the father of the prophets; then dwell in Sodom; then intermarry with its people; and torment his soul day after day. Finally, he lost everything—even his wife…
It is a sequence that may be very gradual, so much so that a person does not feel it nor perceive the extent of its development…
Therefore, beware of the first step. Do not say, “I will guard myself from committing the wrong act,” but guard yourself from mere lust, from mere thought, and even from the causes that lead to the thought.
If you fall into one degree of sin, do not lose hope and continue to the end, but free yourself from what you are in…
Beware of gradual descent into worse things. The devil may not fight you with the depths of sin, but may test your pulse with something simple; if you comply, he will lead you gradually in his dangerous sequence…
The devil is wise in evil, intelligent, and experienced…
He knows how to arrange his matters in causing people to fall. Sometimes he does not wish to make you fall at once or to reveal his cards to you. Rather, he takes you with courtesy and policy without your sensing it, and leads you gradually until he brings you to his depths!!
For this reason, the Lord commanded the people in the Old Testament not to mingle with the nations, nor to intermarry with them, nor to enter into treaties with them, lest they mix with their ways and worship, and come under their influence and seduction.
Here we remember with great astonishment how Solomon the Wise fell!!
Solomon, the wisest man of his generation, who received wisdom from God directly, to whom God appeared and spoke and blessed—how did this mighty one fall in a fall that beginners might not fall into?! He began by forming alliances with foreign kings and marrying strange women. Then he gradually moved to pleasing his wives, allowing the building of temples for their gods. The pleasing developed until the mighty one fell, in a wondrous sequence, whether he perceived it or not.
Therefore beware of this sequence, and if you become connected with the first link of the chain of sin, try to get out of it. Confess that you have erred, and do not argue or persist.
If you fall into a sin, do not try to cover it with another sin.
For example, lying is often merely a cover for a sin or sins.
Likewise, self-justification and attempts to defend oneself are often merely a cover and concealment of a sin that is itself another sin, and pride—which is a third sin—may push toward it.
Search for the deep roots within yourself that lead you to sin, and try to avoid them.
Do not think that any sin is barren; often sin gives birth to sins, in a wondrous sequence.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Seven (Issue Twenty-One) – 21-5-1976.
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