63. Яд, скрытый в человеке

It happens that poison is given to a person by evil people. Thus, the ancient serpent, our enemy the devil, poured sinful and deadly poison into our nature. Although a person may be healthy, if he somehow accidentally takes poison, he becomes very ill. So our nature was pure, immaculate, holy, good. But when he became infected with the poison of that cunning and crafty serpent, he fell into an incurable disease and misfortune. The poison present in a person infects his entire body. So the deadly snake venom infected all our mental and physical strength. It happens from this poison that “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 7:21-23). From here come: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarrels, envy, anger, dissensions, dissensions, temptations, heresies, hatred, murders, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and the like” (Gal. 5:19-21). From here comes pride, arrogance, contempt for one’s neighbor, condemnation, slander, slander, abuse, revenge in deed and word, desire and search for one’s own honor, glory and praise. Hence flattery, deceit, cunning, lies and hypocrisy. Hence the shameful deeds and blasphemy. Hence the excessive concern for food and drink and meals. This is why people come up with so many changes in clothing and dress, in the structure and decoration of houses, in the preparation of carriages and horses, and other vanity. All this and the like comes from carnal thinking and the deadly snake venom sown in the human heart. The poison present inside a person torments the person, and over time causes an unbearable illness. Likewise, this snake venom, hidden in the soul, greatly torments the soul and causes various diseases. Look what pride does in a person! How it torments him! How many ways he invents how to gain honor, glory and praise in this world! Having found it, with what labor and care he takes care of this treasure! How indignant he is when he is despised by someone! How sick, embarrassed, grumbling and cursing when he is deprived of honor, so many kill themselves! It is impossible to say what the love of money does, what care and illness the poor human soul does! We see with what tireless diligence and incessant labor these poor people seek wealth! What is found is guarded and preserved with what fear and trepidation! Having lost it, how they grieve, grieve, lament, yearn and suffer, and not being able to tolerate this unbearable disease, they often betray themselves to death! Fornication lust, what kind of torment, what kind of burning in the heart and throughout the human body, is known to everyone, and especially to those living celibately. Like a fierce fever, it causes a burning sensation and movement throughout the human body. It is impossible to describe how the poor soul suffers from envy! The body itself turns pale and withers from envy. Look also at anger, what signs of its torment it produces! Look what a person does when angry. How indignant and noisy, cursing and scolding, tormenting and beating himself, hitting his head and face and, as if in a fever, shaking all over. In a word, he then becomes like one possessed by a demon. If the appearance is so stingy, what is going on in the poor soul! How the demon torments her! Do you see, man, what a fierce snake venom is hidden in the soul and how bitterly it torments it! Know with all diligence and explore this deadly poison hidden in your heart and soul. Its cruel and pernicious action shows itself. If he had not been in your heart and in your soul, there would not have been such fierce and bitter illnesses. Every thing is known by its actions. Likewise, the serpent’s poison, hidden in the human heart and soul, is recognized by its cruel and painful actions. Anyone who knows this great and destructive evil must seek healing from it, so that he will not die from it forever in soul and body. Poison present in the human body and uncured is death for a person. So this all-destructive poison, if it is not healed by the power of Christ, threatens the soul with nothing more than eternal death. When the body is sick, you look for a doctor and try to cure it, although you know that this church will collapse and turn to dust and earth. Isn’t it necessary to care much more about the immortal and incorruptible soul, which surpasses the whole world, heaven and earth in its preciousness and price, and to seek healing for it? So dear is the soul, created in the image of God and redeemed by the priceless Blood of the Son of God, - and you do not care about it!.. You do not care, because you do not see and do not know its fierce and deadly disease and the poison hidden in it. Oh, if only it were possible for a person to see the fierce infection of the soul! He would truly be horrified, and weep inconsolably, and weep over her misfortune and destruction, and, leaving everything behind, he would look for how to heal her and bring her back to her former goodness and beauty! Who, seeing his extreme misfortune, does not look for how to free himself from it? We see that those who are sick in body, who feel some kind of illness within themselves, seek healing. Will you not try to heal your soul, having known and felt a fierce and destructive illness? This is impossible! A perceived misfortune convinces a person to look for a way and help to get rid of the misfortune. Recognize and consider, man, the fierce weakness of your soul and you will try to heal it. Without knowledge of weakness there is no healing. Let us recognize, beloved, the fierce weakness hidden in our hearts and souls, and let us turn to Christ, the Physician of souls and bodies. And let us seek healing from Him with all diligence and zeal, often and from the depths of our hearts lifting up to Him the voice of the ten lepers: “Jesus, Master! Have mercy on us" (Luke 17:13). But we will also take care of ourselves, avoiding all sin, since He is offended by it. Who angers the doctor from whom he seeks healing? Isn't it better to try to please him? The ancient serpent infected us with his fierce poison - let us seek healing from Christ the Son of God. He alone can heal us from it, and He heals those who sigh and pray to Him with faith. The Israelites, bitten by snakes in the desert, looked, at the command of God, at the ascended copper serpent and were thus healed (Num. 21:6-9). So we must also look with faith at Christ, the Son of God, who for our sins was ascended onto the tree and crushed the head of that serpent with His Cross, so that we may be healed from its deadly poison. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). You might be interested in: