Thursday, June 19, 2014

Abiding by the Divine law ( Elder Joseph the Hesychast )




When we abide by the divine law given to us in the Bible---we are not fornicators, murderers, thieves, liars, gossipers, and are not unjust, proud,
vainglorious, gluttonous, greedy, avaricious, envious, taunting, blaspheming, irascible, peevish,
complaining, hypocritical and so on---then we are in the state natural for us after the Fall.



Whereas the state contrary to nature is when one is outside of the divine law and behaves like the irrational animals that do not have a law. The prophet says regarding such people, "Man, being in honor, did not understand; he is compared to the mindless cattle, and is like them." So whoever lives like this outside of the divine law, wallowing in various sins as we mentioned, is in the state contrary to nature.


Elder Joseph the Hesychast