The sin of idle talk and idle talk. Idle talk is something Christians should avoid.

Verbosity is one of the main vices of modern times. And he is often disguised under such attractive qualities as eloquence, sociability, sociability, and lack of complexes. One of the constituent elements of the image of a successful person is the talent of a speaker. But often, as a counterbalance to tongue-tiedness, it is not the ability to speak meaningfully and succinctly, but elementary talkativeness that clogs the souls and ears of the people around us.

Surely each of us has come across people who talk a lot about any subject and at the same time have no substance. The effect of such actions is obvious: speakers who do not know how to briefly and clearly express their thoughts quickly tire the listener, make him bored, distracted from the topic under discussion. This suggests that the speaker does not have the skill of concisely formulating thoughts.

The words “verbosity” and “vain talk” are synonymous. And a verbose person is one who says meaningless, “empty” things. Verbosity - excess of words, lack of clarity in speech. When a person pronounces a large number of words, but each of which is weighed, thought out and said at the right moment, then he cannot be called verbose or idle talk. As an example, we can cite talented teachers, lecturers, and preachers who can give rather long speeches, but the public listens to them and receives undoubted benefit.

People who have a masterly command of words constantly expand their vocabulary, their speech structures are accurate and understandable to their interlocutors. They speak briefly and to the point, which makes it easier to understand the information.

If a person’s speech is an endless stream of words, the content of which he does not particularly reflect on, then in this case we can talk about a shortcoming that requires correction. As A.S. Pushkin wrote to his wife: “In the morning I don’t do anything, but just pour it from empty to empty.”

Writer M. M. Zoshchenko, having read the novel of one novice author, described his impressions: “This novel, with all its shortcomings, is also extremely wordy. I can forgive a writer a lot, except for this sin. If the main task of the artist is to be able to show life, limiting it in some kind of chaos by means of art, then the next task of the artist is to be able to limit the chaos in language.”

Hieromartyr Seraphim (Chichagov) wrote about how verbosity can cause spiritual harm to a person: “Some people speak a lot due to pride, conceit and the consideration that they are smart, knowledgeable and their judgments are amazingly correct. Such people feel a desire to speak out and therefore explain their thoughts in profuse speech with multiple repetitions and insist that everyone be amazed at their eloquence and intelligence. When the conversation concerns unimportant things, then verbosity turns into idle talk, from which endless evil arises.”

The sin of verbosity is revealed very colorfully in various disputes when people try to prove to each other the truth of their beliefs. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov wrote about this: “Mere verbosity with those who have opposite morals to us is enough to upset the inside of an attentive person.”

Verbosity, idle talk, idle talk - these types of intemperance of the tongue have a detrimental effect on a person, empty the soul and distract from the thought of God. They can be compared to weeds that do not allow good thoughts and words to “grow”.

The Apostle James describes the destructive effect of verbosity in this way: “And the tongue is fire, the embellishment of unrighteousness; 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 3:6)

By giving freedom to our tongue, we give freedom to the sinful inclinations of our heart and thereby harm ourselves.

The Holy Fathers called for silence as a spiritually beneficial practice and a cure for the sin of verbosity.

Achimandrite Ephraim Svyatogorets taught his children: “Force yourself to silence, the parent of all virtues according to God. Be silent in order to say prayer, for when a person speaks, how can he avoid idle talk, from which comes every evil word that burdens the soul with responsibility?

Avoid talking while working. Only two or three words, and then only if necessary. Let your hands work for the needs of the body, and let your mind pronounce the sweetest name of Christ in order to satisfy the needs of the soul, which we must not forget about for a second. Do not say, my child, unnecessary words, for they cool the divine jealousy in your soul. Love silence, which gives birth to all virtues and protects the soul, so that the devil’s evil does not approach it. Let your lips speak words that spread fragrance, words of comfort, encouragement and hope. From what is spoken with the lips, the inner man, his essence, is also visible.

It is better to fall from a height than to fall due to the fault of the tongue. Language causes the greatest evil to people.”

St. Gregory of Nyssa taught his children: “Remember that when you speak, you give birth to a word, you uttered a word, and it will never die, but will live until the Last Judgment. It will stand with you at the Last Judgment and will be for you or against you; by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37). So, with what fear, how carefully should you pronounce every word!”

It is quite obvious that it is extremely difficult for a modern worldly person to remain silent due to various circumstances. But every person, even the busiest, can find time in the turmoil of the day for contemplation of God, which is inextricably linked with silence.

The Holy Fathers advised their spiritual children to practice silence in order to acquire prudence, inner peace, and composure of mind.

Andreenkova Tatyana

Sin is a violation of the Christian moral law, it is the believer’s disobedience to the word of God.

The concept of sin is a religious one, it is applicable only to persons who accept the Christian law, profess faith in God and, therefore, are within the “church fence”. Those who are outside the Church are not able to fully realize their sinfulness, to see the full extent of their fall, to be horrified by the full depth of their infection with a deadly disease, to feel all their distance from God, from the truth.

Therefore, one must first repent of sins against God and His Church. There are many such sins, they are connected in a continuous network of different spiritual states, both simple and obvious, and hidden, at first glance innocent, but in fact the most dangerous for the soul. They can be divided generally as follows:

lack of faith;

superstition;

blasphemy and idolatry;

lack of prayer, neglect of church services;

Theft

Some understand the commandment “thou shalt not steal” too specifically, as a prohibition against overt theft, robbery, etc. However, theft is any illegal appropriation of someone else's property, both one's own and public. Theft (theft) should be considered non-repayment of monetary debts or things given for a while; The same sin includes parasitism, begging without extreme necessity, when it is possible to earn one’s own food. If a person, taking advantage of the misfortune of others, takes any good from them, more than he should, then he commits the sin of extortion. This also applies to the resale of things and products at inflated prices (speculation), ticketless travel in transport, etc. Sins are also a violation of the commandment “thou shalt not steal.”

If the penitent has a sin associated with causing material damage to someone, then it is advisable that he, if possible, repay his debt, return the stolen item or its value, regardless of how long ago the act was committed. This will be the best form of penance.

Love of money

This name means any addiction to things, money, to all kinds of material goods, manifested both in the form of wastefulness and in its opposite - stinginess. Secondary, at first glance, this sin of extreme danger is the simultaneous rejection of faith in God, love for people and addiction to lower feelings. This passion gives rise to anger, petrification of the heart, over-concern, and envy. Overcoming the love of money is a partial overcoming of these sins. From the words of the Savior Himself, we know that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ teaches: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also "" .

Many passions arise from this sin: the passion to dress beautifully, especially to have rare things, to choose every thing “tastefully”, to create a beautiful, fashionable environment in the house, hence the careful concern for the order in things, about their storage, the fear of something... either to lose, fear of thieves, robbery, irritation with those who touch or ask for things, competition with others in acquiring things, envy, condemnation, unmercifulness, contempt for the poor; a person begins to pay a lot of attention to the appearance of himself and those around him, here an attitude towards his neighbor “based on clothes” arises, respect grows or falls depending on the material well-being of his neighbor, and hence injustice, people-pleasing, disgust or disgust. The apostle calls the passion of the love of money idolatry. Whoever begins to serve corruptible matter becomes its slave, its admirer, worships the corruptible - the creature - and leaves the Creator.

Gluttony

Different people require different amounts of food to maintain their physical strength - this depends on age, physique, state of health, and the severity of the work performed. There is no sin in the food itself, for it is a gift from God. Sin lies in treating it as a desired goal, in worshiping it, in the voluptuous experience of taste sensations, in conversations on this topic, in the desire to spend as much money as possible on new, even more refined products.

A Christian must always restrain himself from any excess, trying to do everything to the extent of necessity and usefulness, and cutting off everything excessive that brings harm to the soul. When food in moderation is observed, it strengthens a person and gives strength for work for the glory of God, for physical and spiritual activities, for prayer, kneeling, etc. Depriving oneself of the required amount of food, that is, unreasonable fasting, as well as excesses, take away strength and deprive a person of the opportunity to maintain a clear, soul-healthy rhythm of his life. Enjoying the taste of food is very harmful to spiritual pursuits, dulls the taste for everything spiritual, develops voluptuousness, the desire for new sensual sensations, a feeling of dissatisfaction with a “gray” life settles in the soul, that is, a person begins to wait and look for something brighter, more sensitive - no longer only in food, but also in other functions of his sensuality. Therefore, it is not far from gluttony to fornication, everything is connected in a person - and from one passion it is not far to others. Thus, gluttony gives rise to violation of fasting, and this already removes a person from the Church, from God. A glutton is not able to fight many other passions, while fasting is a weapon against many passions.

It is also sinful to forget to pray before eating, especially because of an impatient desire to start eating as soon as possible. It is very harmful to eat out of boredom, despondency, or idleness.

Drunkenness

A heavy passion that stands next to gluttony is drunkenness. Everyone knows how much grief this passion brings. Both believers and non-believers talk about this a lot everywhere about the detrimental effect that drunkenness has on health, on the psyche, on relationships with loved ones. The trouble is that it is difficult for a drinking person to avoid occasions for drinking and to stay away from alcohol, since in society not a single event is complete without drinking - neither small nor big, neither joyful nor sad. At the same time, many consider it their duty to carefully monitor their neighbor so that he drinks, because they are afraid that he might not be in the “mood.” This happens now among believers, especially for every Christian, wine is a special substance, like bread and oil, consecrated by being used in worship: pure red wine and specially baked bread - prosphora - serve to celebrate the holy sacrament of the Eucharist. That’s why there is always wine on Christian holidays, and drinking a little to lighten the festive mood is not a sin, but in our time people have become so weak, so intemperate in everything, that at the festive table someone almost always gets drunk. If earlier the rules in monasteries allowed monks to drink up to two glasses of wine at meals, then we must take into account that people then were much stronger and more temperate and wine did not have such an effect on them. In our time, we must be extremely careful, and if a person knows that he has a weakness for alcohol, then he must always be very strict in advance - either not touch wine at all, or strictly observe the measure. Nowadays they often drink wine during fasting, but this is a clear violation, since it is clearly written in church typikons: when is fasting begun with wine? in case of any holiday.

Remember, brother, the following: although wine at first seems like the most beautiful, pleasant, harmless thing, demons love to catch weak people with this bait - often even one glass deprives them of vigilance, caution, and already prepares a net of sin into which they easily fall , who at least forgot a little and relaxed. People in a drunken state do all sorts of crazy things, sometimes they simply go berserk, becoming completely dependent on evil spirits, “dancing to their tune,” and even committing suicide. The Lord says in Holy Scripture that drunkards will not be saved. The drunkard is looking for joy, fun in wine, wants to forget himself, to get away from the sorrows of this world, but the power in wine - to cheer and warm the heart - is only a weak reminder, a weak image, a comparison with that joy, spiritual joy, with which one already rejoices and has fun every true believer and fulfiller of the commandments of Christ. The grace of God, which exudes from the teaching of the Gospel, filling everyone who listens to the word of God and lives by it - this is the wine that cheers and intoxicates, and leads into the Kingdom of Heaven!

Murder

The most terrible sin at all times was considered to be the violation of the sixth commandment - murder, depriving another person of the greatest gift of the Lord - life. The same terrible sin is suicide and murder in the womb - abortion.

Those who, in anger at their neighbor, commit assault, inflict beatings, wounds, and mutilation are very close to committing murder. Parents who mistreat their children, beating them for the slightest offense, or even without any reason, are guilty of this sin. Those who abuse wine often fall into this sin of assault. It has become commonplace among young people to fight, often to the point of serious injury, almost killing each other over nothing, in order to show their “courage”, to stand up for their “I”. But is this courage? As a rule, such “heroes” simply do not know how to suppress their passion and act in a fit of anger, hatred, under the influence of an outburst of satanic malice; We, Christians, know that real courage reveals itself in firm, patient, persistent opposition to passions, in disobedience to them. Who is more courageous? Those meek, physically weak, silent, submissive Christians: young men, girls, small children, mothers with their babies - who without resistance went to torment for the sake of Christ, voluntarily gave themselves up to torment, suffered unheard of mockery; or are those “men” who, for one insulting word, are ready to let their neighbor’s guts fall out, just as soon as they reach for a knife? I wonder what such people would do if they were taken to torture, demanding that they renounce their faith? Most likely, they either immediately rejected Christ, or began to curse their offenders, gnashing their teeth at them, and trying to hit one of them. But Christians have always prayed even for their torturers and executioners. Nowadays you can often hear the excuse that, they say, there are “wolf” laws in life and meekness is not always useful and possible. But how can such thoughts be combined with m: to whom then are the words of the Lord Himself addressed: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, or commandment - whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him as well?

Those who incite fights, who set people off with gossip, slander, slander, embitter friends, quarrel among close people, and those who create discord among others are also guilty of this sin. Yes, such a one knows that he is directly doing the devil’s work, since the very word “devil” means “slanderer.”

Timely failure to provide assistance to a sick or dying person, or indifference to the suffering of others should also be considered passive murder. This kind of attitude towards elderly sick parents on the part of children is especially terrible. This also includes failure to provide assistance to a person in trouble: homeless, hungry, drowning before your eyes, beaten or robbed, victim of a fire or flood. But we kill our neighbor not only with our hands or weapons, but also with cruel words, abuse, mockery, and mockery of the grief of others. St. Apostle John says: Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer"" . Everyone has experienced how an evil, cruel, caustic word hurts and kills the soul.

No less sin is committed by those who deprive young souls of honor and innocence, corrupting them physically or morally, pushing them onto the path of depravity and sin. St. Augustine says: “Do not think that you are not a murderer if you have caused your neighbor to sin. You corrupt the soul of the seduced and steal from him what belongs to eternity.” Inviting a young man or girl to a drunken gathering, forcibly making a non-drinker drunk, inciting to avenge grievances, seducing with depraved sights or stories, mocking chaste and modest people, inducing people to break the fast, engaging in pimping, making one’s home available for drunkenness and depraved gatherings - all this complicity in the moral murder of one's neighbor.

Killing animals unnecessarily and torturing them is also a sin: The righteous also cares for the life of his livestock, but the heart of the wicked is hard "" .

Indulging in immeasurable sadness, driving ourselves to despair, we sin against the same commandment. Suicide is the greatest sin, for life is a gift from God, and only He has the power to deprive us of it. You can’t even pray for suicides, don’t remember their names or perform a funeral service, and you’re not supposed to bury them in a Christian cemetery or put a cross on their grave. After all, the suicide threw off his cross, refused to bear its burden, rejected all hope in the mercy of God, by the very attempt on his life he rejected all the humane and unspeakably merciful care of the Lord for himself (and yet, according to the word of the Lord Himself, not a hair falls from our head without God knows, He cares for every person!). Refusal of treatment, deliberate failure to comply with doctor's orders, deliberate harm to one's health, abuse of wine, smoking tobacco, abuse of medications, drug use, generally neglectful attitude towards one's physical and mental health - all these are different types of the same suicide. The body is the temple of the soul, just like the whole person is the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and whoever corrupts God's temple, God will corrupt him"", according to the word of the Holy Scriptures.

According to the rules of the Ancyra Cathedral "313". For deliberate killing of a fetus (abortion), excommunication from communion is imposed for ten years. St. Basil the Great, speaking in one of his rules “2nd rule” about those who deliberately destroyed a fetus conceived in the womb, does not allow a distinction between a fetus that is fully formed and one that has not yet received a human form. He finds in this crime a double sin: both infanticide and attempted suicide, since with the violent destruction of the fetus the life of the mother herself is endangered. St. Basil condemns such mothers for infanticide, but assigns them half the penance required for murder. For a woman who recognizes her involvement in the Orthodox Church, artificial termination of pregnancy is categorically unacceptable and unforgivable, even in cases where, for health reasons, further pregnancy threatens her life. In that extremely difficult case, when it seems necessary to choose whose life to prefer, the mother or the child, doctors should try their best and fight to the end to save the life of both, and we should pray for the same and, finally, to entrust everything to the Providence of God, good, merciful and saving! We do not have the right to decide who to pardon and who to execute. The main mistake here is that the soul that is born into life seems to us imperfect, primitive, as if deeply asleep and therefore of little significance, while the soul that has lived in this world, seen the world, tried itself in every kind of vigorous activity, seems rich, valuable, of great importance. In reality, before God everything can be different. And that baby, still waiting for his birth, entry into this world, is a full-fledged person, just as loved by God and having no less significance than an adult who has already passed part of the way in the field of this world.

When a mother, risking her life, saves the life of her child, then this is her maternal duty and feat, for which every married Christian woman should be ready - if such a sacrifice is required of her. Motherhood is a cross and often not easy, but, according to the Apostle, a wife will be saved through childbearing if she continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity "" .

Abortion is tantamount to murder. The basis of the reasons leading to this grave sin is the lack of trust in God, who organizes the life of every person coming into the world, as well as the fear of everyday difficulties or the fear of shame and ridicule when conception occurred as a result of fornication or adultery. But men – husbands or lovers – are almost always involved in this sin. Husbands who encourage or force abortion are just as guilty, if not more so, than their wives. Men who frivolously enter into intimate relationships with women turn out to be the perpetrators of abortions, and also, falling into fornication, become involved in infanticide. And how many such frivolous “walking” men, without knowing it, wear traces of blood on their baptismal robe - their murdered babies. Therefore, before confession, you need to carefully remember: whether such a crime was committed or, perhaps, there were such fornication relationships that could end in abortion, and at the Last Judgment it will suddenly turn out that you have been involved in such a sin as murder.

Sin of fornication

The seventh commandment is not to commit adultery! The sin of fornication is very common, contagious, deeply affects the soul and body, and therefore is the most dangerous. Sensuality has deeply penetrated the fallen nature of man and can manifest itself in the most varied and sophisticated forms.

Fornication is the intercourse of a single man and an unmarried woman, unsanctified by the grace-filled power of the sacrament of marriage, or the violation of the chastity of boys and girls before marriage. Adultery is a violation of marital fidelity by one of the spouses. Incest is a carnal relationship between close relatives. Unnatural sexual relations - sodomy, lesbianism, bestiality, malakia (handjob, masturbation). The disgusting nature of these sins is obvious, their inadmissibility is clear: they lead to spiritual death even before the physical death of a person.

Unfortunately, in our time, more than ever, the world is infected with depravity, the spirit of fornication, and an atmosphere inciting carnal lust is created everywhere. The influence of “Western culture” is especially harmful today: vile magazines, films, shameful photographs and paintings, demonic music (the very beginning of rock music is characterized primarily by a desperate rebellion against any prohibitions regarding sexual relations, against all prohibitions of morality, morality - against laws religious, social, family), corrupting novels, poems, etc. In general, the misanthropic demons of fornication now have at their disposal all kinds of means of influence, captivity, and destruction that penetrate deeply into the souls of people. The sin of fornication begins before the body falls - with viewing seductive sights, being carried away by the memories of seen sin, fornication pictures, when a person does not cut off and expel from the soul the infection of sin that has entered there.

Prodigal thoughts that arise as a result of such an inattentive life overwhelm a person especially strongly in solitude, especially at night. Here the best medicine is ascetic exercises: fasting in food, not lying in bed after waking up, regularly reading the morning and evening rules.

The beginning or part of prodigal sin is seductive conversations, obscene stories, jokes, singing immoral songs, writing obscene words, using them in conversations (swearing). All this leads to vicious self-gratification, which is all the more dangerous because it is associated with intense work of the imagination and relentlessly begins to haunt the unfortunate person, often captivating the entire course of his thoughts and feelings, turning him into a slave of pathetic passion, low vice. A lot of work and sorrow must be endured in order to heal the soul from this harmful, extremely sticky, annoying habit.

Although among the prodigal sins the sin of fornication seems the most “harmless”, it is the most difficult to heal, since, once you get used to it, you can always sin easily - especially at night, lying in bed, sometimes being prompted by passion to touch your body, you can easily fall. Here you must always be careful in advance - cut off thoughts of sin in time, go to bed in underwear covering most of the body, under no circumstances be completely naked, do not allow yourself to touch your body, be careful in the bathhouse, trying not to look at your body. naked body, do not look in the mirror. It is necessary to say short prayers to yourself more often, sometimes in a whisper, to ask the Lord for help against this sin, to call on the name of your saint (whose name you bear). If for fornication and adultery, according to the rules of the Church, excommunication from the sacrament of communion is prescribed for many years or months, with the reading of the canons, bows, then for the sin of masturbation, excommunication from the sacrament of communion was prescribed for forty days with dry eating (that is, strict fasting - without eating boiled food). Now, tolerating the extreme weakness of believers, taking into account the terrible unbridled atmosphere of today's world, this period is reduced and penance is usually prescribed for about two to three weeks and not with such severity. It happens that during sleep, with or without prodigal dreams, a prodigal kindling occurs, ending in the emission of semen, the so-called defilement (also commonly called the fall). For this unpleasant incident, you also need to suffer a small punishment, fulfill the rule by making 50 prostrations to the ground with the prayer: “God, be merciful to me a sinner and cleanse me of the prodigal name for the sake of Your holy one,” and also read the prayer against desecration (found in the prayer books). On the day after the night desecration, one is not supposed to touch the saint. icons, shrines, eat prosphora, drink blessed water. Desecrated the day before, St. Eucharist does not begin communion. A fall in a dream must be confessed to a priest.

Adultery is the fall of an unfree man with an unfree one, that is, a husband who has a lawful wife with a wife who has her own husband, or the fall of a free man with an unfree woman, or vice versa.

Adultery is damage and desecration of someone else's bed and one's own. If both persons are not free, then both of them simultaneously defile someone else’s and their own bed, not preserving faith and love in their legal marriage and transgressing the limits of the law - therefore, the sin of adultery is judged more than the sin of fornication.

The fall of such is a great and grave sin, not only containing the burden and filth of fornication, but also damaging and desecrating a legal marriage, and annoying the Creator and Lawgiver God.

The adulterer separates what God has joined together, cuts the one flesh in two and insults the mystery of marriage. Therefore, the sin of adultery is a doubly greater sin than fornication, and the guilt of the former is greater than the latter. For fornication defiles only two free persons - the adulterer and the adulteress, but adultery extends to four: it defiles two persons, and offends the other two. Therefore, penance for the adulterer St. Basil the Great laid down the following: a fornicator is subject to a ban for 7 years, and an adulterer for 15 years (see Helmsman, rules 58 and 59). And St. John Chrysostom considers adultery to be more sinful than robbery: “God gave each a wife and laid down laws for nature, establishing union with one. Therefore, a crime with another is robbery and extortion, and even a crime more severe than any robbery, for we do not suffer as much when our property is taken away as when a marriage is undermined.” "on 1 Seq. to Sol. 4, 6". Adultery in the Old Testament was not awarded mercy and forgiveness and could not be purified by any sacrifices: this is not mentioned in the book of Leviticus, which describes what sacrifices must be made for what sins. There was no sacrifice or atonement for adultery, but what? The penalty is death, and in no other way was this sin exterminated and cleansed in the people of God than by the death penalty." ".

Adultery, even if it has not been discovered, is nevertheless accompanied by continuous torment of conscience: the inner worm constantly gnaws, denounces, aggravates and leads to despair. If adultery is discovered, it will result in great shame, dishonor, the indomitable rage of the husband whose bed is desecrated, the anger of the sinner’s own wife and punishment worthy of a righteous judgment.

The sin of adultery in all nations has always been strictly punished with fierce executions or torment. In Rome the law commanded that the adulterer and the adulteress be bound together and thrown into the fire. Augustus Tiberius, Domitian, Severus and Aurelius established the following punishment for adultery: bend the tops of two trees, tie the guilty person to them by the legs and let them go, thus the body of the sinner and sinner was torn into pieces. Other Roman kings allowed the husband to kill his wife and the adulterer with her with impunity if he found them sinning together. In Ancient Greece, a law was passed to cut off the heads of a husband and wife taken at the scene of adultery with an ax. The Saxons convinced the adulteress to hang herself with a rope, burn her corpse and hang the adulteress over this fire. The Egyptians beat the adulterer with iron, inflicting a thousand wounds on him, and cut off the nose of the adulteress. The Cumans, having placed their wife naked on a donkey, drove her throughout the city and beat her. The Brazilians either killed such wives or sold them as slaves. In other places, wives' noses and ears were cut off, and husbands were cut off for adultery. There were many other cruel punishments for adulterers in various countries.

Nowadays, among Christians, such sins are so numerous, but they are not subject to the death penalty; In general, this sin is now weakly punished, and only the Righteous Judge Himself will execute it in the next century. Why do such great disasters befall us everywhere? Because of our sins, God's vengeance strikes us, but we do not want to recognize our guilt and repent.

All those in a non-church marriage sin gravely; they must necessarily sanctify their union with the sacrament of marriage, no matter what age they are. In addition, chastity should be observed in marriage. Do not indulge in excess in carnal pleasures, abstain from cohabitation during fasting, on the eve of Sundays and holidays.

So, as you look through this short list of sins, remember what is relevant to your life; Not everything is described here that harms the soul and destroys it, think and look into yourself - many forgotten and sinful things can come to mind. Write everything down and hurry to confess!

Celebration- any words that are not dictated by piety, that do not correspond to the will of God.

1. What is idle talk

St. Basil the Great:

An idle word is a word inconsistent with the deed, false, breathing slander, and also... an empty word, for example, causing laughter, shameful, shameless, indecent.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

“The word is idle when a person confesses and does not correct himself, when he repents and sins again.

An idle word is one that teaches you to do good, but does not do it yourself.

He who lies indulges in idle talk, because he retells what did not happen and what he did not see.

A bad review of another is an idle word.”

2. Holy Scripture about sins committed by words

“...for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12: 36-37).

“Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19).

“If anyone among you thinks that he is godly and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, his piety is empty” (James 1:26).

“...tongue... is an uncontrollable evil, it is filled with deadly poison. With it we bless God and the Father and with it we curse men, created in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and curse: it must not be so, my brethren” (James 3:8-10).

“those who speak evil... will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10).

“Likewise, foul language and idle talk and ridicule do not become you, but, on the contrary, thanksgiving” (Eph. 5:4).

“Let your speech always be with grace” (Col. 4:6).

“Remind this, begging before the Lord not to enter into verbal disputes, which in no way serves to benefit, but to the frustration of those listening. And avoid obscene idle talk; for they will increase in wickedness even more, and their word will spread like cancer” (2 Tim. 2:14, 16-17).

“Does a person want to live and loves long life in order to see good? Keep your tongue from evil... and do good” (Ps. 33:13-15).

“Put a guard, O Lord, on my lips, and guard the doors of my lips” (Ps. 140:3).

“When you talk too much, sin cannot be avoided, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19).

3. Reasons for verbosity and idle talk

The Holy Fathers indicate several reasons for verbosity and idle talk inextricably linked with it: pride, conceit, vanity, gluttony, lack of fear of God, an evil habit (skill) that comes from inattention to one’s own sins.

Invisible curse:

“Good feelings are silent. Outpourings through words are sought by more egoistic feelings, in order to express what flatters our pride and what can show us, as we think, from the best side. Verbosity in large cases comes from a certain proud conceit, according to which, imagining that we are too knowledgeable and that our opinion on the subject of speech is the most satisfactory, we feel an irresistible compulsion to speak out and, with copious speech and repeated repetitions, impress the same opinion in the hearts of others, imposing, Thus, they are unsolicited as teachers and sometimes dream of having as students such persons who understand the matter much better than the teacher.”

Rev. John Climacus:

“Verbalism is the seat on which vanity loves to appear and solemnly display itself. ...Polyverbalism... is certainly born from one of these reasons: either from a bad and intemperate life and habit (for the tongue, being a natural member of this body, requires what it learns by skill); or, what most happens in those who struggle, from vanity, and sometimes from overeating. Therefore, it often happens that many, with some violence and exhaustion, taming the belly, at the same time bridle both the tongue and verbosity.”

Rev. John Climacus writes about the products of the passion of gluttony:

“My firstborn son is fornication, and the second offspring after him is hardness of heart, and the third is drowsiness. A sea of ​​evil thoughts, waves of defilements, a depth of unknown and ineffable impurities come from me. My daughters are: laziness, verbosity, insolence, ridicule, blasphemy, bickering, stiff-neckedness, disobedience, insensibility, captivity of the mind, self-praise, insolence, love of the world, followed by defiled prayer, soaring thoughts and unexpected and sudden misadventures; and behind them follows despair, the fiercest of all passions.”

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) in the article “The Eight Main Passions with Their Divisions and Branches” he points out idle talk among the creations of the passion of despondency.

Avva Dorotheus:

“If we remembered, brethren, the words of the holy elders, if we always learned from them, then we would not so easily indulge in carelessness about ourselves: for if we, as they said, were not careless about little things and about what we need seems insignificant, then they would not fall into great and difficult things. I always tell you that from these minor sins, because we say: “What is the importance of this or that,” an evil habit is formed in the soul, and a person begins to neglect the great things. Do you know what a grave sin it is to judge your neighbor? For what is heavier than this? What does God hate so much? Why are so many people disgusted? Just as the fathers said, there is nothing worse than condemnation. However, a person comes to such great evil from this same negligence about what is apparently insignificant. For from the fact that a person has allowed himself to have little regard for his neighbor, from the fact that he says: “What is the importance if I listen to what this brother says? What is the importance if I say one such and such word? What is the importance, if I look, what will this brother or that stranger do? - from this very reason the mind begins to ignore its own sins and notice the sins of its neighbor. And from this it then happens that we condemn, slander, humiliate our neighbors and finally fall into the very thing that we condemn. For because a person does not care about his sins and “does not mourn,” as the fathers said, “his dead,” he cannot succeed in anything good, but always pays attention to the work of his neighbor. And nothing angers God so much, nothing exposes a person so much and leads to abandonment from God, like slander or condemnation, or humiliation of one’s neighbor.”

Rev. Ambrose Optinsky:

When someone begins to forget the fear of God, without imitating Saint David, who says: “I have seen the Lord before me, as he is at my right hand, let me not move” (Ps. 15:8), then such a person becomes darkened and begins to talk idlely, judge and condemn with his lips. , slander and humiliate your neighbors, and teach your heart about carnal, unclean thoughts. And if he does not come to his senses soon, he will end up doing evil deeds, called the devil, because, according to the words of the Apostle, “from the beginning the devil sins” (1 John 3:8), instilling sin in a Christian man.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

He who loosens the bridle of his tongue shows that he is far from virtuous.

St. Nicholas of Serbia:

“And I say to those who talk idlely: whoever has right faith in the Living God has loved silence. And whoever does God’s right work is more willing to remain silent. He who has created faith for himself out of his own imagination argues about faith. And he who does it on his own praises his own works.

A person of faith has a deep silence in his soul, deeper than the bottom of the sea. For the wisdom of God is born and dwells in deep silence.

The worker of God's work maintains a deep silence, deeper than the silence of metal in the depths of the mountain. For he listens to orders and carries them out, and listens again, and has no time to speak to him.

Fill the temple of my soul, O Life-Giving Soul, so that I may be blind to the sight of the angry faces of those scolding and deaf to their insane speeches.

They have moved away from You, my Joy, and that is why they are talking crazy.”

Rev. John Cassian message to Castor, Bishop of Apt, about the rules of cenobitic monasteries:

"About Abbe Makhete...The denunciation of the same old man, when he saw that the brothers fell asleep during a spiritual interview, and woke up when telling an empty fable

The same old man proved by experience that the devil favors empty talk and always hinders spiritual conversations. One day he was discussing with some brothers about necessary and spiritual subjects; During this reasoning, they began to feel sleepy so that they could not overcome their drowsiness. When he suddenly began to tell a fable, they immediately woke up and began to listen with attention. Seeing this, he said with a sigh: While we were talking about heavenly things, you were overcome by a strong dream, and when they began to tell the fable, everyone suddenly perked up. At least, from this circumstance, understand that he who rejoices in evil and constantly instills it, and destroys good, hinders spiritual conversations, and encourages carnal and useless conversations.”

4. Harm from abuse of words

The Holy Fathers teach that idle talk gives rise to many passions, such as slander, ridicule, lies, condemnation, despondency, negligence, relaxation, disobedience, and insolence. It separates you from God, deprives you of grace, fear of God, love of God, it opens the doors of the soul, through which the warmth of the heart immediately comes out: reverence, attention, sobriety, prayer. That is, by idle talk the soul robs itself and plunges it into a sea of ​​sins.

Rev. John Climacus:

“... verbosity and laughter give rise to lies... Lies are the destruction of love.”

Invisible curse:

“For the most part, verbosity is clearly equivalent to idle talk, and in this case there are no words to fully describe the evils that arise from this bad habit. And in general, verbosity opens the doors of the soul, through which the warmth of the heart of reverence immediately emerges, all the more so does idle talk. Verbosity distracts attention from itself, and in the heart, thus not being observed, ordinary passionate sympathies and desires begin to creep in, and sometimes with such success that when the idle talk ends, in the heart there will be not only permission, but also a decision to do passionate things. Idle talk is the door to condemnation and slander, the bearer of false news and opinions, the sower of discord and discord. It suppresses the taste for mental work and almost always serves as a cover for the lack of thorough knowledge. After verbosity, when the fumes of self-satisfaction pass, there always remains a certain feeling of melancholy and laziness. Isn’t this evidence that the soul then reluctantly recognizes itself as stolen?

The Apostle James, wanting to show how difficult it is for a talkative person to refrain from doing something unhelpful, sinful and harmful, said that keeping the tongue within proper boundaries is the property of only perfect men: “...if anyone does not sin in word, he is a perfect man, strong.” bridle the whole body" (James 3:2). The tongue, as soon as it begins to speak for its own pleasure, runs in speech like an unbridled horse, and blurts out not only what is good and appropriate, but also what is bad and harmful. Why does this apostle call it uncontrollable evil, filled with deadly poison (James 3:8). According to him, Solomon also said in ancient times: You cannot avoid sin by speaking too much (Proverbs 10:19). And let us say with Ecclesiastes in general that whoever speaks a lot exposes his madness, for usually only a madman multiplies words (Eccl. 10:14).”

Holy Tikhon Zadonsky:

A person sins in nothing more than with his tongue when he does not control it properly. From the intemperance of the tongue a lot of evil came about: condemnation, slander, gossip, idle talk, lies, deception, slander, idolatry, etc.

1) Separation from God

St. Basil the Great:

One should not utter idle words that are of no use. For to say or do even good things that do not build up faith means to offend God’s Holy Spirit.

Abba Isaiah:

Cowardice and reproach of one's neighbor confuse the thought and do not allow it to see the light of God.

Venerable Anthony the Great:

Master the tongue and do not multiply words, lest you multiply your sins. Put a finger on your mouth and a bridle on your tongue: a man with many words will never leave room within himself for the abode of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord guards your soul as long as you guard your tongue.

Venerable Anthony the Great:

My son! Do not multiply words: verbosity will drive the Spirit of God away from you.

Avva Dorotheus:

And nothing angers God so much, nothing exposes a person so much and leads to abandonment from God, like slander or condemnation, or humiliation of one’s neighbor.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

“But since I have learned from experience your wisdom, beloved, I beg you with love to beware of the malice of the enemy, so that you do not cool down in your soul the ardor of love for Christ, who for your sake tasted the gall on the tree of the cross, and so that the enemy, instead of this sweet exercise, boldness before God, did not fill your soul with many dreams during your wakefulness, and during your sleep captivate it with absurd dreams, the stench of which the holy Angels of God cannot tolerate.”

Bl. Diadochos:

“Just as the doors in a bathhouse, which are often opened, soon release inner warmth to the outside: so the soul, when a lot of people talk, even if they said everything good, releases its memory through the verbal door. As a result, the mind is finally deprived of the purest thoughts and, due to the disorderly influx of thoughts, it begins to speak in confusion to those who have arrived. In this case, he no longer has the Holy Spirit, who guards our thoughts in dreamlessness: for this good Spirit, as alien to all rebellion and daydreaming, avoids verbosity. “Silence, on the contrary, is beneficial, being the mother of wise thoughts.”

Life of St. Paisius the Great tells how even one careless word can separate us from God:

“One of the disciples of Saint Paisius, obeying his orders, went to Egypt to sell his handicrafts; On the way, he accidentally met a certain Jew who was also going to Egypt and went with him. On the way, the Jew, seeing his simplicity, began to pour out with his foul tongue the poison that he had in his heart from the strangled snake, and among other things he said to the monk:

O beloved! why do you believe so much in a simple, crucified Man, when He was not the expected Messiah at all? Another must come, but not He.

After the Jew had spoken to him many other crafty and harmful words, the monk, due to his mental weakness and simplicity of heart, was deceived by the Jew: he listened to his words as if they were the truth and even once said:

It may be true what you say.

Oh, seduction and unexpected attack! for this monk (woe is me) immediately lost the grace of baptism, as will be discussed below.

When he returned to the desert and came to the Monk Paisius, the elder became as if unapproachable for him: he not only did not want to look at his disciple, but everywhere he turned away from him and did not answer him a single word. And for a long time the father avoided his disciple, and the latter greatly grieved over this and was sick at heart, not knowing any guilt or sin before Saint Paisius. Finally finding a convenient time, the monk came to the monk and, falling at his feet, said:

Why, father, do you turn your honest face away from me and despise me, your accursed disciple? and what you have never been in the habit of doing before, you now show towards me, turning away from me, as if from some vile person.

The elder said to him:

Who are you, man? I don't know you.

The monk replied:

Father, what did you see strange in me that you don’t recognize me? Am I not your disciple? - and at the same time he said his name.

The elder said to him:

This disciple of mine was a Christian and had the grace of baptism, but you are not like that; but if you really are my disciple, then truly the grace of baptism has departed from you and the image of a Christian has been taken away. So tell me, what happened to you? and tell us about the temptation that happened to you, and what soul-destroying poison you took on your way?

Forgive me, father,” the monk said to this, “I didn’t do anything.”

The saint said:

Then the monk, sighing, began to shed touching tears, saying:

I am that student of yours, and not someone else, and I don’t know what I did wrong.

The Great Paisius then asked him:

Who did you talk to along the way?

With a Jew,” the monk answered, “and with no one else.”

Then the saint said to him:

What did the Jew tell you and what did you answer him?

The saint’s disciple said to this:

The Jew did not tell me anything else, as soon as he said that Christ, to whom you bow, is not the true Christ, that the Savior has yet to come into the world; To this I told him - maybe what you say is true.

Then the elder exclaimed:

Oh, damned one! What could be worse and more disgusting than this word, by which you rejected Christ and His divine baptism? Now go and mourn yourself as you wish, for you have no place with me, but your name is written with those who rejected Christ, and with them you will receive judgment and torment.

After these words of the elder, his disciple, sighing and crying, raised his eyes to heaven and cried out to the monk with prayer:

Father, have mercy on me, the accursed one, and give peace to my soul! Having through negligence been deprived of divine enlightenment and having become joy and joy for the crafty demons, I don’t know what to do now; but I resort to God and to your holy prayers - do not despise me, the accursed one, and beg the Lord Christ for me - may He return His mercy to me again!

When he prayed like this, appeasing the elder more with tears than words, the saint was moved, looking at him, and said to him:

Be patient, child, - we must now beg for you from the generosity of a man-loving God.

Having said this, the monk closed himself in prayer and began to ask the Lord to forgive the sin of his disciple, who had sinned against Him through carelessness and ingenuous inattention. And the Lord, who never despises, but always fulfills the prayers of His saint, bowed to mercy and forgave the sinner; the sign of forgiveness was the following vision: the monk saw the grace of the Holy Spirit returning in the form of a dove to that disciple and entering his mouth, and at the same time he saw the evil spirit that came out of the sinful monk in the form of dark smoke and spread through the air.

Seeing this, the monk believed that the Lord had granted forgiveness to that brother and, turning to him, said:

Oh, child, give glory and thanksgiving to Christ God with me, for the unclean blasphemous spirit has come out of you, and instead of it the Holy Spirit has entered you, returning to you the grace of baptism; and so, now watch yourself so that, through laziness and carelessness, you do not again fall into the enemy’s snares and, having sinned, do not inherit the fire of Gehenna.”

K. Ikskul, who survived death and was brought back to life by God for the sake of repentance, told us about his amazing experience:

“So, what happened next to me? The doctors left the room, both paramedics stood and talked about the vicissitudes of my illness and death, and the old nanny (nurse), turning to the icon, crossed herself and loudly expressed her usual wish to me in such cases. ..

- Well, the Kingdom of Heaven to him, eternal peace.

And as soon as she uttered these words, two Angels appeared next to me; For some reason I recognized my Guardian Angel in one of them, and the other was unknown to me.

Taking me by the arms, the Angels carried me straight through the wall from the room to the street.

I don’t know how long we were still going up, when suddenly we heard some kind of unclear noise, and then, floating out from somewhere, a crowd of some ugly creatures began to quickly approach us, screaming and cackling.

"Demons!" - I realized with extraordinary speed and became numb from some special horror, hitherto unknown to me.

Demons! Oh, how much irony, how much sincere laughter would have been evoked in me just a few days, even hours ago, by someone’s message not only that he saw demons with his own eyes, but that he admits their existence as creatures of a certain kind! As befitted an educated person of the late nineteenth century, by this name I meant bad inclinations, passions in a person, which is why the word itself had the meaning not of a name, but of a term that defined a certain abstract concept. And suddenly this “well-known abstract concept” appeared to me as a living personification!

I still cannot say how and why I then recognized demons in this ugly vision without the slightest bewilderment. What is certain is that such a definition is completely out of the order of things and logic, for if such a spectacle had appeared to me at another time, I would undoubtedly have said that this is some kind of fable in the faces, an ugly whim of fantasy - in a word, anything , but, of course, I would not have called it by the name by which I meant something that cannot be seen. But then this definition poured out with such speed, as if there was no need to think about it, as if I had seen something long ago and well known to me, and since my mental faculties were working at the time, as I said, with some kind of incomprehensible energy, then I realized almost as quickly that the ugly appearance of these creatures was not their real appearance, that it was some kind of vile masquerade, invented, probably, with the aim of frightening me more, and for a moment something like pride stirred in me. I felt ashamed of myself, of man in general, that in order to frighten him, who thinks so much of himself, other creatures resort to such techniques that we practice only in relation to small children.

Having surrounded us on all sides, the demons, with shouting and uproar, demanded that I be given to them; they tried to somehow grab me and tear me out of the hands of the Angels, but, obviously, they did not dare to do this. Among their unimaginable and as disgusting to the ear as they themselves were to the sight, howl and din, I sometimes caught words and whole phrases.

“He is ours, he has renounced God,” they suddenly screamed almost in unison, and at the same time they rushed at us with such impudence that all thought froze for a moment from fear.

“This is a lie! This is not true! – Having come to my senses, I wanted to shout, but an obliging memory tied my tongue. In some incomprehensible way, I suddenly remembered such a small, insignificant event, which, moreover, belonged to a long-past era of my youth, which, it seems, I could not even remember.

I remembered how, back in the days of my studies, we once gathered at a friend’s place, after talking about our school affairs, we then moved on to talk about various abstract and lofty subjects - conversations that we often had.

“I generally don’t like abstractions,” said one of my comrades, “but this is a complete impossibility.” I can believe in some force of nature, albeit not yet studied by science, that is, I can admit its existence without seeing its obvious, definite manifestations, because it can be very insignificant or merging in its actions with other forces and that is why it is difficult to grasp, but to believe in God as a personal and omnipotent Being, to believe when I do not see clear manifestations of this Personality anywhere, this is absurd. They tell me: believe. But why should I believe when I can equally believe that there is no God? Isn't it true? And maybe He doesn’t exist? – my comrade approached me point-blank.

“Maybe not,” I said.

This phrase was, in the full sense of the word, an “idle verb”: my friend’s stupid speech could not raise any doubts in me about the existence of God, I didn’t even particularly follow the conversation, and now it turned out that this idle verb had not disappeared without a trace in the air, I had to to justify myself, to defend myself from the accusation brought against me, and in this way the Gospel legend was confirmed that, if not by the will of the God who knows the secret hearts of man, then by the malice of the enemy of our salvation we really have to give an answer in every idle word.

This accusation, apparently, was the strongest argument of my destruction for the demons; they seemed to have drawn from it new strength for the boldness of their attacks on me and with a furious roar they spun around us, blocking our further path.

I remembered prayer and began to pray, calling for help those saints whom I knew and whose names came to my mind.

But this did not deter my enemies.

A pathetic ignoramus, a Christian only in name, I almost for the first time remembered the One who is called the Intercessor of the Christian race.

But, probably, my impulse towards Her was ardent, my soul was probably so filled with horror that as soon as I, remembering, uttered Her name, a kind of white fog suddenly appeared around us, which quickly began to cover the ugly host of demons, hiding it from my eyes before it could separate from us. Their roar and cackling could be heard for a long time, but by the way it gradually weakened and became muffled, I could understand that the terrible pursuit was lagging behind us."

2) Robbery of the heart, deprivation of prayer

“Empty speech, or, as they say, pouring from empty to empty, takes away living faith, fear of God and love for God from the heart.”

Rev. John Climacus:

“Much verbiage is... the door of slander, the guide to ridicule, the servant of lies, the destruction of heartfelt tenderness, the invocation of despondency, the forerunner of sleep, the waste of attention, the destruction of heart storage, the cooling of holy warmth, the darkening of prayer.”

“Having achieved crying, guard it with all your strength, for before it is completely assimilated, it is very easily lost, and, just as wax melts from fire, so it is easily destroyed by rumor, bodily cares and pleasures, especially from verbosity and laughter.

If nothing is more in agreement with humility than crying, then, without a doubt, nothing is so opposed to it as laughter.

...Often one word destroys crying, but it would be wonderful if one word brought it back.”

Rev. Ephraim the Syrian:

“Since the mouth is open and has neither doors nor guards, our word comes out freely, but the heart is also plundered by the word.

Whoever talks idlely during God’s service is subject to severe censure: he distracts both the one he is talking to and those standing next to him from prayer and psalmody.”

Rev. Barsanuphius and John the Prophet:

“Do not relax yourself with conversations, for they do not allow you to prosper in God. ... Do not judge, do not humiliate and do not tempt anyone. Do not attribute to anyone what you do not know about him for certain, for this is spiritual destruction. Pay attention to yourself...

A true student and one who wants to be a monk keeps himself from such conversations, for from them negligence, relaxation, disobedience and fierce insolence are born.”

St. Theophan the Recluse:

“... talkativeness, laughter, idle talk, jokes. They impose silence on the inner word of the spirit - prayer."

“We must avoid cooling in every possible way. Cooling happens like this: it begins with oblivion. The good deeds of God, and God Himself, and one’s salvation in Him, are forgotten, the danger of being without God, and mortal memory fades away - in a word, the entire spiritual area is closed. This also happens from the enemy , and from the distraction of thoughts with affairs, worries, many ways of treating people. When all this is forgotten, the heart becomes cold and its sympathy for the spiritual is cut off, and that is insensibility. And when it happens, a movement of negligence and carelessness occurs along with it. As a result, spiritual pursuits are postponed for a while, and then abandoned completely. And the old life, both careless and careless, went on in oblivion of God, to please only its own. Although nothing will happen carelessly, don’t look for God either. Empty life!"

Rev. Anthony the Great:

“Those who say whatever comes into their head are like a courtyard without a gate, into which anyone can come up, go to the stall and untie the donkey.”

If the doors in a room are opened frequently, heat can easily escape from it. Likewise, the soul, if a person speaks a lot, even if it is kind, loses warmth. Therefore, silence in the mind is good and useful when we engage in wise and soul-saving thoughts.

St. Nicholas of Serbia:

“My Lord, do not move away from me, lest my soul die from idle bickering. Silence in Your presence grows my soul; idle talk in separation from You tears it apart and turns it into frayed flax.”

3) Multiplication of passions

Having been deprived of grace and prayer, the soul that sins with idle talk inevitably becomes darkened, becomes sterile, and falls into slavery to the passions - condemnation, slander, slander, despondency, irritability, absent-mindedness, vanity, impatience, argumentativeness, conceit, insolence, self-indulgence, insensibility and blindness.

Reverend Abba Isaiah:

“Keeping the mouth in the mind excites the thought towards God; verbosity is the cause of despondency and irritability.

The tendency to disputes and strife destroys the entire structure of virtues, brings darkness to the soul, closes the light of the Gospel commandments from it... This passion is followed by different types of sin: rejection of patience, infatuation with vanity... No matter what the tendency to argue may represent as righteous and divine , she represents falsely.

The disposition to disputes and strife is born from the following vices: from idle talk, from sophisticated verbosity, from hypocritical words uttered with the aim of pleasing people, from insolence, from duplicity, from the desire to insist on one’s own. These vices mercilessly corrupt the soul, and from them it becomes barren.”

Rev. Macarius of Optina:

“I wrote not about solitude, but about curbing the tongue from idle talk and its harmful consequences, distraction and clouding of the mind; Reading will no longer be so pleasant after being absent-minded.

I would like to say a few words about the absent-mindedness of your cell life and the idle talk that happens, that it cools the heart and the idle soul<бесплодной>does like St. Isaac writes and others..."

Rev. Nicodemus Svyatogorets:

Idle talk is the door to condemnation and slander. It spreads false news and opinions, sows discord and discord. It suppresses the taste for mental work.

St. Theophan the Recluse:

“When you talk too much, sin cannot be avoided” (Proverbs 10:19). Christians who are attentive to themselves call all feelings windows of the soul, which, if opened, will leave all inner warmth. But the widest opening, the spacious door that lets through this warmth in abundance, is a language that is given the will to speak as much and as it wants. What harm all the senses collectively cause to attention and inner order, the same is caused by verbosity, for it touches the objects of all the senses and forces the soul to see without seeing, without hearing to hear, without touching to touch. What is dreaming within, is verbosity without; but the latter is more harmful, because it is factual and therefore more impressionable. In addition, in close connection with it is conceit, insolence and self-indulgence - these storm-like destroyers of the internal structure, leaving behind insensibility and blindness. How can you then avoid the sin of verbosity?!

Rev. Anthony the Great:

Do not be proud, do not shout or shout, do not speak loudly and hastily. He who multiplies words cannot remain clean from sin.

Rev. John Climacus:

For whatever sins of body or soul we condemn our neighbor, we ourselves fall into them, and it cannot be otherwise.

Rev. Anthony the Great:

If you see that your brother has fallen into sin, do not be tempted by him, do not despise or condemn him, otherwise you will fall into the hands of your enemies...

Avva Iperhiy:

“Because of the words of the serpent, Eve was expelled from paradise - such is slander about one’s neighbor. It destroys the soul of the listener, and destroys the soul of the speaker.

It is better to eat meat and drink wine than to devour the brethren with slander."

St. Demetrius of Rostov:

“Besides need, never want to say or announce anything. For this usually gives birth to a lot of evil. The passion for saying too much is more harmful than all passions, imperceptibly and conveniently. Often, starting with Divine words, we move on to foul language, oaths and everything evil. So, beware of being your own accuser and enemy: “death and life are in the hand of the tongue,” says Solomon, “those who hold it back will eat up its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).”

5. The fight against idle talk and slander

How to overcome the tendency to verbosity, idle talk and the slander they give rise to? The Holy Fathers instruct that virtues fight and overcome these passions: self-condemnation, memory of death, mercy, reverence, compassion and love for one’s neighbor, sobriety, constant vigilance over oneself, prayer.

Saint Theophan the Recluse:

“Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). What a disease - gossip and condemnation! Everyone knows that this is a sin, and yet there is nothing more common in our speeches than condemnation. Another will say: “Lord, do not place me in condemnation,” and yet he will bring his condemnation to the end. Another justifies himself by saying that a reasonable person must have his own view of the current situation, and in gossip he tries to be a cool-headed reasoner; but even a simple ear cannot help but discern in his speeches exalted and gloating condemnation. Meanwhile, the Lord’s sentence for this sin is strict and decisive. He who condemns others has no excuse. How can this be? How to overcome troubles? The decisive remedy against condemnation is this: consider yourself condemned. Whoever feels like this will have no time to judge others. All he will say is: “Lord, have mercy! Lord, forgive my sins!”

“If you knew what it means: “I want mercy, not sacrifice,” you would not condemn the innocent” (Matthew 12:7). So, in order to get rid of the sin of condemnation, you must have a merciful heart. A merciful heart will not only not condemn an ​​apparent violation of the law, but also one that is obvious to everyone. Instead of judgment, it will perceive regret and will rather be ready to cry than to reproach. Indeed, the sin of condemnation is the fruit of an unmerciful, malicious heart that finds pleasure in humiliating one’s neighbor, in denigrating his name, in trampling on his honor. This deed is a murderous deed and is being done in the spirit of one who is a murderer from time immemorial. There is also a lot of slander, which comes from the same source, for the devil is the devil because he slander and spreads slander everywhere. Hurry to arouse pity in yourself every time an evil urge to condemn comes. With a compassionate heart, then turn with a prayer to the Lord, so that He will have mercy on all of us, not only the one whom we wanted to condemn, but also us and, perhaps, more of us than that, and the evil urge will die away.

You indicate that in your affairs you cannot avoid fussiness, hassle, deceit, and idle talk. All this is inevitable and depends not on the outside, but on the internal malfunction. It’s impossible to get dressed without fuss, but you can fuss without distraction, worry and fussiness. Equally, you can have long and pleasant conversations without idle talk; As for deceit and deceit, I wonder how you fall into these sins? Truly people-pleasing. The fear of God is not enough to expect success from God, and not from human efforts and tricks: this is very bad. Please get away from this! there is an enemy spirit here.

You can't stop talking idle talk. Idle talk is the most ruinous thing. Equally evil is when they walk without respecting their feelings. Both of these greatly hinder success in prayer. When the Jesus Prayer begins to take hold in the heart, then the tongue will be tied. He will be bound by reverence for the Present Lord.

St. Theophan the Recluse shows the difference between the sin of condemnation, in which there is always contempt and judgment, and a sinless and even virtuous judgment, which clearly sees sin, but at the same time is filled with love for one’s neighbor and wishes him correction and every good:

“Gossip is a feminine weakness, of course, unworthy of praise. However, we must distinguish between judgment and condemnation. Sin begins when contempt for someone arises in the heart, for the sake of some kind of thinness, one can simply condemn without any sentence to the person being judged. If at the same time there is regret in the heart for the person who has made a mistake, a desire for correction and a prayer for that; then there will be no sin of condemnation, but the work of love possible at such a meeting will be accomplished. The sin of condemnation is more in the heart than in the tongue. Speaking about the same thing can be a sin and not a sin, judging by the feeling with which it is spoken. The tone of speech also gives the feeling. But it is better to refrain from judgment in every possible way, so as not to fall into condemnation; i.e., do not walk near fire and soot, so as not to get burned and blackened. Rather, we need to move on to condemning and reproaching ourselves.”

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) in the article “Eight main passions with their divisions and branches”, in the host of virtues of sobriety, he lists conquering and idle talk:

“Attention when praying. Careful observation of all your deeds, words and thoughts. Extreme self-distrust. Continuous stay in prayer and the Word of God. Awe. Constant vigilance over oneself. Keeping yourself from a lot of sleep, effeminacy, idle talk, jokes and sharp words.”

Rev. John Climacus:

“Whoever was concerned about the outcome of this life stopped verbosity; and whoever has acquired the cry of the soul turns away from much talking as from fire.

He who has experienced the fragrance of fire descending from above avoids crowded gatherings like a bee avoids smoke. For just as smoke drives away the bee, so too crowds of people are intolerable.”

Rev. Macarius the Great:

Abba Macarius the Great used to say when he dismissed meetings: “Run away, brothers.” One of the elders asked: “Father! where should we run beyond this desert? Macarius put his finger on his lips and said: “Run away!”

Rev. Ambrose Optinsky:

“First of all, know that, according to the word of the Holy Climacus, bodily silence means the orderliness of the bodily senses, that is, the eyes, hearing and tongue, as well as the belly, and internal silence consists of the orderliness of thoughts, in order to reject not only passionate thoughts, but also angry and judgmental, equally vain and suspicious. With God's help, you need to start with prudent silence. Answer questions briefly and meekly as needed; do not walk around cells unnecessarily and do not talk about unnecessary things; where you have to be, especially beware of judging and condemning, if only not to annoy anyone in any way. And if, out of weakness, out of old habit, you sin in some way and make a mistake, repent of this first before God, and then before your spiritual father.”

ABOUT Rev. Ambrose of Optina spiritual children said:

The brother monks, while waiting for the elders' reception, talked among themselves about what was necessary and unnecessary. The elder, passing by, will say in passing: “People! Don't open your mouth."

Sometimes the priest will remark to someone: “If only you could walk through the rosary with the Jesus Prayer instead of sitting like that.”

Avva Dorotheus:

“We, the accursed, indiscriminately condemn, abhor, and humiliate if we see, or hear, or only suspect something; and what’s even worse is that we don’t stop at our own harm, but when we meet another brother, we immediately tell him: this and that happened, and we harm him by introducing sin into his heart.

And we are not afraid of Him who said: “Woe to him who makes his companion drunk with muddy corruption” (Hab. 2:15), but we commit a demonic deed and are careless about it. For what else can a demon do but confuse and harm? And we turn out to be the helpers of demons to the destruction of ourselves and our neighbor: for whoever harms the soul assists and helps the demons, and whoever benefits it helps the holy Angels. Why do we fall into this, if not because there is no love in us? For if we had love, we would look with sympathy and compassion at the shortcomings of our neighbor, as it is said: “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8). “Love thinks no evil, it covers all things,” etc. (1 Cor. 13:5-7).

So, if, as I said, we had love, then this love would cover every sin, just as the saints do when they see human shortcomings. For are the saints blind and do not see sins? And who hates sin as much as the saints? However, they do not hate the sinner and do not condemn him, do not turn away from him, but have compassion for him, grieve for him, admonish him, console him, heal him like a sick member, and do everything to save him.

... So, we will also acquire love, we will acquire condescension towards our neighbors in order to save ourselves from harmful slander, condemnation and humiliation, and we will help each other as if we were our own members. Who, having a wound on his hand, or on his leg, or on any other member, abhors himself or cuts off his member, even if it festers? Doesn't he rather cleanse it, wash it, put a plaster on it, bind it, sprinkle it with holy water, pray and ask the saints to pray for him, as Abba Zosima said? In a word, no one leaves his member neglected, does not turn away from it, or even from its stench, but does everything to heal it. So we must sympathize with each other, we must help each other, ourselves and through the strongest others, and invent and do everything in order to help ourselves and each other; for we are members of each other, as the Apostle says: “For we are many and one body in Christ, and in one way help one another” (Rom. 12:5), and: “if one soul suffers, all the people suffer with him” (1 Cor. 12:26).

...Do not pay attention to how far you are from this virtue, lest you begin to be horrified and say: How can I love my neighbor as myself? Can I take care of his sorrows as if they were my own, and especially about those hidden in his heart, which I do not see and do not know, like my own? Do not get carried away by such thoughts and do not think that virtue exceeds your strength and is difficult to accomplish, but just make a beginning with faith in God, show Him your will and diligence, and you will see the help that He will give you to accomplish virtue.

Imagine two stairs: one leads up to heaven, the other brings down to hell, and you stand on the ground in the middle of both stairs. Don’t think and don’t say: how can I fly from the ground and suddenly find myself at the height of the sky, that is, at the top of the stairs. This is impossible, and God does not require this of you; but at least be careful not to go down. Do not do evil to your neighbor, do not upset him, do not slander, do not slander, do not humiliate, do not reproach, and thus you will begin, little by little, to do good to your brother, comforting him with words, compassionate him, or giving him something in what he needs; and so, rising from one step to another, you will reach, with God’s help, the top of the ladder. For, little by little helping your neighbor, you will reach the point where you will begin to desire his benefit as your own, and his success as your own. This means loving your neighbor as yourself.

If we seek, we will find, and if we ask God, He will enlighten us; for the Holy Gospel says: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; press, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

Ancient patericon:

Abba Matoi... He also said: a person should in no way give strength to two thoughts - fornication and slander of one’s neighbor; he should in no way talk about them or think about them in his heart. Freed from them, he receives peace and great benefit.

6. How to avoid sinful conversation?

The Holy Fathers gave advice by word and example on how to act so as not to expose oneself to temptation during conversations and not sin.

There are several behavior options that can be chosen depending on the circumstances.

The most first and the main thing is to see the condemnation and not fall into the same sin. The Holy Fathers teach that we cannot help but distinguish good from evil if we ourselves want to avoid sin, but at the same time, seeing sin, we must not condemn the person himself, but only hate sin itself and the devil, who draws us all into it.

Second– you can try to unobtrusively change the topic of conversation to one that is interesting to everyone present. It’s good to think in advance about who is interested in what among our friends. Reading more spiritual books will help bring something interesting and useful into the conversation. The Holy Fathers, among other things, advise, in response to the condemnation of others, to turn the conversation to oneself, to condemn oneself: they say, I myself happened to do the same thing as the person being condemned. The usual response is confusion and fading judgment. This is where you can shift the conversation to a positive topic.

Third– if you can’t change the topic of conversation, you can simply remain silent and pray, cultivating good thoughts about your interlocutors, justifying them and recognizing your own weakness in resisting passions.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian gives advice to replace conversations with joint prayer:

“I once went to the cell of one of the fathers. The saint rarely opened the door to anyone. But as soon as he saw through the window that I was coming, he said to me: Do you want to come in? And I answered: Yes, honest father. After I entered, said a prayer, sat down, and we talked about many things, finally I asked him: What should I do, father? Others come to me, and I gain nothing and do not gain any benefit from talking with them, but I am ashamed to tell them: do not go. They even often prevent me from correcting the usual rule, and therefore I grieve. To this the blessed elder answered me: When such lovers of idleness come to you, as soon as they have sat for a while, give them the appearance that you want to stand in prayer, and say to the one who came with a bow: Let us pray, brother, because the time has come for me to rule, and I cannot break it, it becomes difficult for me when I want to fulfill it at another hour, and this becomes a cause of embarrassment for me, and unless absolutely necessary I cannot leave the rules. And now there is no need for my prayer to be canceled. And don’t let him go without praying with you. If he says: pray, and I will go, bow to him and say: for the sake of love, do at least this one prayer with me, so that I may benefit from your prayer. And when you do, extend your prayer even beyond what you are accustomed to do. If you do this to them, as soon as they come to you, then, having learned that you do not indulge them and do not like idleness, they will not approach the place where they will hear that you are there.”

“Walk reverently before your friends; when you do this, you will benefit both yourself and them, because the soul often throws off the reins of caution under the pretext of love. Beware of conversations, because they are not useful at all times. In meetings, prefer silence, because it prevents much harm.”

Abba Agathon:

Abba Agathon, when he saw some bad deed and a thought prompted him to condemn him, said to himself: “Agathon! Make sure you don’t do this yourself!” – and his thoughts calmed down.

Ancient patericon advises in a conversation in response to words of condemnation to condemn oneself:

The same advice Rev. John Climacus:

“Never shame someone who slanders his neighbor in front of you, but rather tell him: “Stop it, brother, I fall into the worst sins every day and how can I condemn him?” In this way you will do two good things and heal both yourself and your neighbor with one plaster. This is one of the shortest ways to receive forgiveness of sins, that is, to not condemn anyone. For it is said: “... do not judge, and you will not be judged...” (Luke 6:37).”

Ancient patericon tells how Abba Pior behaved in such a case:

“Once there was a meeting in the monastery. The brothers talked about their brother's fall into sin. But Abba Pior was silent. Then, getting up, he went out and, taking a bag, filled it with sand and carried it behind his back. He also poured some sand into the basket and carried it in front of him. The fathers asked him: what does this mean? He answered: this bag, in which there is a lot of sand, means my sins, there are many of them, but I left them behind me because I do not repent of them; but these are a few of my brother’s sins; they are before my eyes, and I am embarrassed by them, condemning my brother. But you shouldn't do that! But it would be better for me to carry my sins before me, grieve over them and beg God to have mercy on myself. The fathers, having heard this, said: truly, this is the way of salvation!”

Rev. Barsanuphius and John teach how to avoid temptation during conversations:

Question 451. Answer.... The fear of God is alien to all confusion, all disorder and rumor. So, before the conversation, let us establish ourselves in the fear of God and carefully delve into our hearts, which is why we are embarrassed and laugh, for there is no laughter in the fear of God. Scripture speaks of fools: “a fool lifts up his voice in laughter” (Sir. 21:23). And the word of the foolish is confused and devoid of grace. About the righteous he says: “a prudent man will hardly smile quietly.” So, if we arouse in ourselves the remembrance of God and the thought that we must talk with our brethren with humility and silent thoughts, we reflect on this and always have before our eyes the Last Judgment of God, then this preparation drives out every evil thought from our hearts, for where there is silence, meekness and humility, there God dwells. What has been said will be enough for you to guide you in the conversations that happen. If the enemy persists in fighting us, thinking with his shamelessness to catch us and overthrow us, then let us not weaken, lest he drag us into his nets. But let us learn a lesson from the first case, and so on; It is said: “A righteous man will fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16). And the fact that he will rise means that he will struggle; the ascetic remains like this (that is, he falls, but also rises) until the end shows what he will be like. But most of all, let us remember that we need to call on the holy name of God, for where God is, everything is good; It is obvious that where the devil is, everything is evil. ...let us remember what the holy Apostle Paul said: “Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6). And if we learn from this, then, in His compassion, the Almighty God will give us a perfect dispensation in His fear. To him be glory forever, amen.

Question 466. Is it always good to tell edifying stories from Scripture and the lives of the Fathers or not?

Answer. Everyone knows that honey is sweet; but it is also well known that the Wise One said: “If you have found honey, eat as much as you need, so as not to be satisfied with it and not vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). There are different types of bellows: there is a bellows that can hold one modium [μόδιος - a grain measure containing a third of an amphora], and another that can hold three modiums; If someone wants to fit three modiums into one modium, then it is obvious that he cannot take so many into himself. So it is in the present case: we cannot make all people equal, because one can talk without harm, but another cannot. But silence is better and more amazing than all stories. Our Fathers revered and kissed him and became glorified by him. Showing his grace and the condemnation that comes from the conversation, Job said: “I put my hand on my mouth” (Job 39, 34). And Patriarch Abraham, who was before him, after a conversation consisting of good petitions to the Lord, said: “Behold, I have decided to speak to the Master, I am dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27), thereby showing his thoroughness after this. But since we, due to our weakness, have not yet reached the point of walking in the path of the perfect, let us at least talk about what serves for edification from the words of the fathers, and not go into explaining the Scriptures, for this matter poses considerable danger to ignorant. Scripture is spoken spiritually, but carnal man cannot judge spiritually, for it is said: “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). Let us better resort to fatherly words in conversation and find the benefit contained in them; but we will also use them moderately, remembering the one who said: “If you talk too much, sin cannot be avoided” (Proverbs 10:19). If the thought says: “These words or stories are good,” then let us remember that we are not doers of what we say, but believe that we edify others by saying it, whereas, not being doers, we rather bring condemnation upon ourselves. But we do not therefore prohibit conversation about God, for it is better to talk about this than about something else, indecent; but in order not to fall into arrogance or self-praise of thoughts, we must admit (as is in fact the case) that, having not carried out what we say, we say it only to condemn ourselves. And about this, as well as about other sins, let us pray to God, saying: “Lord! Don’t judge me for saying this!”

Question 467. There are some conversations, so to speak, average, in which there is neither sin nor benefit, such as: talking about disorder in cities or about the world, about their wealth, or about military events and the like: is it really indecent to talk about this?

Answer. If silence is considered more useful than kind conversations, then it is even more useful than average ones. But when we cannot remain silent, but get carried away into a conversation about such subjects, then at least let us not prolong the conversation, so that through verbosity we do not fall into the snare of the enemy.

Question 468. It also happens to me many times that when I talk about average subjects, I get carried away into verbosity, from which, as it is said, no one can escape sin (see Proverbs 10:19), so what should I do?

Answer. Let us correct ourselves in the following way: if we know what we said once, having been overcome by our thoughts, then we will try our best to resist next time. If we are defeated a second time, then we will be ready to hold ourselves back a third time, and so on, consistently during all conversations. Even if their number reaches ten, then the one who was defeated in ten and held on to one did better than the one who was carried away in all ten conversations.

Question 469. If I am with people who are talking about an external or spiritual subject, then what should I do: should I take part in their conversation or not?

Answer. If you are in company with people talking about a worldly or spiritual subject, then allow yourself to say something that does not involve spiritual harm, but judiciously, only to avoid praise from your interlocutors, so that they do not consider you to be silent , and you will not receive any burden from this. But when you do this, that is, you speak little, be careful not to condemn them as those who speak a lot, for you do not know, perhaps one word you said burdens you more than many of them.

Question 472. It happens that when I am talking with someone, and after I start the conversation, the enemy creates confusion, what should I do? If I stop to consider what I want to talk about in order to understand, as you said, whether it is good or not, then I expose myself to condemnation from the interlocutor for suddenly falling silent.

Answer. If it is not obvious to you that there is a sin in this, then you need to continue the conversation and then judge whether you said something bad, and thus admonish your thoughts, condemning yourself as having said something bad, so as not to contribute to this anything else, for Scripture says: “My son! If you have sinned, do not commit any more sins and pray for the former ones” (Sir. 21:1); and from that time on, try first to consider whether the conversation is about something useful, and then enter into a conversation. If it is obvious that the thought you want to express contains a sin, then, without any subsequent embarrassment, try to cut it off, either by pretending that you forgot what you were thinking about saying, or by transferring the thought to another conversation, more useful, so as not to fall under the condemnation arising from this.

495. Answer of Barsanuphius.…Keep your lips from idle words and idle talk, and let not your heart become accustomed to evil words. And together with the prayer of the saints, lay down your strength before God, saying: “Be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). And He will have mercy on you, and preserve you, and cover you from all evil, so that you may pass from darkness to true light, from delusion to truth, from death to life in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever, amen.

Question 590. Tell me, my father, how should I greet those who come: the laity, fathers and brothers?

Answer. Walking in wisdom, accept everyone without giving anyone offense, following the example of the Apostle, who said that he was acceptable to both Jews and Greeks and the Church of God (see 1 Cor. 10:32). For the love of Christ, I remind my Lord that our time has turned towards bodily rest and the satiation of the belly, which give birth to all passions; protect yourself from those who come on such occasions, whether they be worldly people, or brethren, or Fathers. When they happen to come, do not treat them too much and do not completely reject them; When there is a person coming for this very purpose, then move away from him. You are well aware of the Abba’s treatment of how he treated those who came: it is more beneficial for you to be called “miserly” when you are not like that, than to be called “voluptuary.”

So, receive everyone with decent friendliness, showing only the appearance that you are eating on an equal basis with everyone else, eating, however, less than proper... Therefore, be prudent towards those who come; you need to have understanding and wisdom in order to know about each person why and how he came: whether for the sake of God, or for the sake of food; finally, as much as possible, beware of conversations about carnal things with those who come who have a need to hear the word, unless someone has a need to hear the word of God (for which God gives you understanding) - talk with such from the lives of the Fathers, from the Gospel, from the apostles and prophets and not let them talk about worldly affairs, for otherwise your food and everything else will be carnal. What I said above does not apply to carnal doctrine; and it is indecent for you to talk about worldly affairs, for this is a carnal teaching. Tell him: “Abba! The Lord said: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).” If you came for God’s sake, then you can talk about what pleases God. The world loves its own; but the world does not agree with the will of God. Otherwise, we will be punished, conversing not according to the will of God, for the Apostle said: “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for they do not submit to the law of God, nor indeed can they” (Rom. 8:7).

Question 591. Tell me, my father: what kind of carnal question is there and what kind of answer should be given to it according to God?

Answer. Some people came to us asking about military service; We answered them that there are also insults in it, and God does not help insults. If someone asks you about carnal things, give him a fair answer, and not a difficult one, that is, the word according to God, and not the carnal one.

Question 697. When I talk with someone about the life of the Holy Fathers and about their answers, my heart becomes wise. Tell me: how can I talk humbly, to whom should I talk about them and for what purpose?

Answer. When you talk about the life of the Holy Fathers and their answers, you must condemn yourself, saying: “Woe is me, as I talk about the virtues of the Fathers, but I myself have not acquired anything like that and have not succeeded in the least. And I live, teaching others for their benefit: as if what the Apostle said to me would not be fulfilled: “How is it that when you teach another, you do not teach yourself?” (Rom. 2:21).” And when you speak like this, your heart will be touched, and your words will be humble. But you must also consider who you are talking to. When you know that the listener is benefiting, then talk to him, otherwise there is no need to talk; for it is said: blessed is he who speaks in the ears of those who hear, lest it turn out that you also give “holy things to dogs” and cast “pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). May the Lord admonish you, brother, so as not to deviate from the path of humility.

Question 703. And when a heretic, in a contest with his words, perplexes an Orthodox Christian: will it really be bad if I help him as much as I can, so that, being defeated, he will not waver in the Orthodox faith?

Answer. By entering into a conversation, you are talking before God and people, and your conversation becomes, as it were, a teaching. But whoever teaches without strength, his word is not convincing, but fruitless; and when you don’t bring the slightest benefit, then what is the need to talk? If you really want to help, cry out in your heart to God, Who knows the secret and is able to do more than we ask of Him (see Eph. 3:20), and He will do according to His will with those who compete, and you will act in such a thing with humility. ... let us approach God with heartfelt prayer for the faith and our brothers, and He who swore by Himself that He “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), will do with them according to His will .

Question 705. When a conversation is about something from Scripture, should I remain silent or take part in it? And when, moreover, the speaker happens to doubt something that I know, is it good for me to say about it or not?

Answer. Silence is better. If they doubt, and you know what can be used to resolve the doubt, then say with humility that you know; and when you don’t know, then don’t say anything according to your own understanding, because this is madness.

Question 706. If the conversation is about subjects that do not cause mental harm, should I remain silent or take part in it?

Answer. It’s not good to start talking before asking a question. But when they ask you, then with humility and fear of God, say what you know, without being arrogant if your word is accepted, and without grieving if it is not accepted, for such is the way of God. And so as not to be considered silent, say something that you know, but shorten your speech and thereby get rid of verbosity and vain opinions about yourself.

Question 714. When I happen to be with worldly people and idle talk begins, should I stay or go?

Answer. If you have no special need, then leave; and when the need arises, then turn your mind to your prayer, not judging them, but recognizing your weakness.

Question 715. If they are disposed towards me, will you order me to change this conversation to another, more useful one?

Answer. When you know that they willingly listen to the word of God, tell them something from the lives of the Holy Fathers and change their conversation to something else - soul-saving.

Question 740. I have a friend, and it turns out that he is a heretic: should I admonish him to be wise?

Answer. Exhort him to learn the right faith, but do not compete with him and do not want to find out how he philosophizes, so as not to become infected with his poison; but if he wishes to benefit himself and hear the truth of God’s faith, bring him to those Holy Fathers who can benefit him in Christ, and thus you will help him according to God without harming yourself. But if, according to the first and second admonitions, he does not correct himself, then, according to the word of the Apostle, “turn away” (Titus 3:10). For God, as the fathers say, does not want man to do anything beyond his strength. If you see, they say, someone drowning in a river, do not give him your hand, so that he does not drag you along with him, and thus you would not drown with him; but give him your rod, if you can remove it, good; if not, then leave your staff in his hands, and you will be saved.

Question 774. My father according to the flesh often talks to me about bodily things that do not bring spiritual benefit; and when I listen to him, I worry about it, but I don’t dare keep him from such a conversation; what should I do?

Answer. If you can transfer your mind from what he tells you either to prayer, or to the recollection of the words of God and the teachings of the Holy Fathers, this will be good; and let him say what he wants. And when you can’t, try to meekly beg him to stop the conversation and change it to another, more useful one, so that by delaying it you don’t fall into the enemy’s snare, for he can unforeseenly set up a snare with just one word, as soon as he finds that you listen to with pleasure.

From the lives of the elders:

If a brother slanders his brother in front of you, do not say: “Yes, it is so,” but either remain silent, or say: “Brother! I myself am a sinner and cannot judge another.” This way you will save both yourself and the soul of the one speaking to you from condemnation.

Invisible curse:

“When discussing ... about something you know for sure, that it is true or false and that it is self-evident, speak with decisiveness about it as true, or as false, or as obvious; It is better not to say anything about what is doubtful, and when there is a need, speak as if it is doubtful, without prejudging; Don’t talk to you about the unknown at all. ...

Speak about God with all your affection, especially about His love and goodness, but with fear, thinking about how not to sin in this too, by saying something unspeakable about the divine and confusing the simple hearts of those who hear. Why do you love to listen more to the conversations of others about this, putting their words into the inner repositories of your heart.

When they talk about something else, let only the sound of the voice reach your hearing, and not the thought to your mind, which should stand unwaveringly directed towards God. Even when you need to listen to someone who is talking about something in order to understand what is going on and give the proper answer, and then do not forget, between the speech heard and spoken, to lift the eye of your mind to heaven, where your God is, thinking moreover about His greatness and that He does not take His eyes off you and looks at you sometimes favorably, sometimes unfavorably, according to what happens in the thoughts of your heart, in your speeches, movements and deeds.

When you need to speak, think well in advance about what comes into your heart to say before it comes to your tongue, and you will find that much of it is such that it is much better for it not to come out of your mouth.”

7. Verbosity and idle talk in prayer

Saint Gregory of Nyssa:

When the Lord said: “When you pray, do not say unnecessary things” (Matthew 6:7), it seems to me that He pointed to the empty thoughts and vain and useless desires of those praying. For reasonable petitions are denoted by the word prayer, but prayer for transitory pleasures is not prayer, but verbosity, or empty, vulgar speech, chatter.

Saint John Chrysostom:

Verbosity here means idle talk; for example, when we ask God for unworthy things: power, glory, victory over enemies, wealth - in a word, everything that is useless for the soul.

St. rights John of Kronstadt:

“Remember that if during prayer you do not idle talk, but say the words of prayer with feeling, then your words will not return to you thinly, without power (like a husk without grain), but will certainly bring you the very fruits that are contained in the word, like fruit in a shell. This is the most natural thing, just as the fruit and its shell are natural and ordinary in nature. But if you throw words in vain, without faith, without feeling their power, like a husk without a kernel, then they will return to you empty: you throw a husk, the husk will return to you; you throw the seed, the whole ear will bring you, and the better, the fatter the seed, the more abundant the ear. So it is with our prayers: the more sincerely and heartily you pronounce each word, the more fruit from the prayer: each word, like a grain, will bring you spiritual fruit, like a ripe ear. Who among those praying has not experienced this? It was not in vain that the Savior compared the seed with the word, and the human heart with the earth [Matt. 13, 5]. The same must be said about the words of prayer. Also: who doesn’t know that rain irrigates the earth and plants and gives them water? So the word of God, and even our word, spoken with faith, will not return to us without watering our souls or the souls of obedient and believing souls. This is just as natural as it is natural for rain to water and nourish the earth and plants and promote their growth.

8. Silence

Silence- ascetic work that overcomes the passions of verbosity, idle talk, idle talk, slander, slander and is also necessary for cleansing the soul from all other passions. Silence is external, physical, and internal, spiritual, when the ascetic resists in his heart all incoming thoughts.

Scripture speaks of silence:

“Whoever does not sin in word is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2).

“Put a guard, O Lord, over my lips, and guard the doors of my lips; do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds” (Ps. 140: 3-4).

“I said, I will take heed to my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will bridle my mouth while the wicked is before me. I was dumb and voiceless...” (Ps. 38:2-3).

The virtue of silence depends on inner doing associated with it, from the purposes for which it is performed. Bodily silence is not always sinless. If, with external silence, a person sins in his thoughts, then his silence is in vain.

Speaking about external silence, the Holy Fathers teach prudent silence- silence with reasoning about when it is useful and necessary, and when it should be abandoned. About what external silence is not useful in all cases, just as talking is not always sinful, says, for example, Venerable Pimen the Great:

“Some people seem silent, but their heart condemns others. His labors are in vain. The other speaks from morning to evening and remains silent together, because he says only what is useful for the soul.”

The holy fathers unanimously write that judicious, prudent silence is the beginning of the purification of the soul, a condition for salvation, great strength in spiritual warfare, protection of prayer, help in the fight against passions and in the cultivation of virtues.

Rev. John Climacus:

“Prudent silence is the mother of prayer, an appeal from mental captivity, a repository of the Divine fire, a guardian of thoughts, a spy for enemies, a prison of mourning, a friend of tears, a worker of remembrance of death, a painter of eternal torment, a curiosity of the coming judgment, an assistant of saving sorrow, an enemy of insolence, the spouse of silence. , opponent of curiosity, communion of reason, creator of visions, inconspicuous prosperity, secret ascent.

The lover of silence approaches God and, secretly conversing with Him, is enlightened by Him.”

St. Isaac the Syrian calls silence the sacrament of the future century, “words are the instrument of this world.”

Rev. Ambrose Optinsky:

“First of all, know that, according to the word of the Holy Climacus, bodily silence means the orderliness of the bodily senses, that is, the eyes, hearing and tongue, as well as the belly, and internal silence consists of the orderliness of thoughts, in order to reject not only passionate thoughts, but also angry and judgmental, equally vain and suspicious. With God's help, you need to start with prudent silence. For questions

answer briefly and meekly as needed; do not walk around cells unnecessarily and do not talk about unnecessary things; where you have to be, especially beware of judging and condemning, if only not to annoy anyone in any way. And if, out of weakness, out of old habit, you sin in some way and make a mistake, repent of this first before God, and then before your spiritual father.”

Rev. Macarius of Optina writes about irrationality in the feat of silence:

“Reckless and irrational silence is worse than a lot of talking, but measured or small strengthening will not bring any harm, but will also humble you and give you strength to accomplish feats and works. But immensity in both cases brings very great harm.”

Invisible curse:

“Silence is a great strength in our invisible battle and a sure hope of achieving victory. Silence is very kind to those who do not rely on themselves, but rely on God alone. It is the guardian of sacred prayer and a wonderful helper in the exercise of virtues, and at the same time a sign of spiritual wisdom. Saint Isaac says that “keeping the tongue not only makes the mind rise up to God, but also in obvious deeds, performed by the body, secretly provides great strength to accomplish them. It enlightens in hidden doings, if only one maintains silence with knowledge” (Word 31). In another place he praises him like this: “When you put all the deeds of this (hermit’s) life on one side, and silence on the other, then you will find that it outweighs on the scales. There is a lot of good advice for us, but when someone comes close to silence, it will be unnecessary for him to keep them" (Word 41). In another place he calls “silence the sacrament of the age to come; words,” he says, “are the instrument of this world” (Sermon 42). Saint Barsanuphius puts it above theology, saying: “If you are almost theologizing, then know that silence is more worthy of surprise and glory” (Response 36). Why does it happen that some are silent because they have nothing to say, others because they are waiting for a convenient time to speak (see: Sir. 20:6), others for other reasons, “for the sake of human glory, or out of jealousy about this virtue of silence, or because he holds a conversation with God hidden in his heart, from which the attention of his mind does not want to depart" (St. Isaac. Homily 76), but in general we can say that whoever is silent shows himself to be prudent and wise ( see: Sir. 19, 28; 20, 5).

In order to get used to silence, I will show you one very direct and simple means: take up this task, and the task itself will teach you how to do it and help you in this. To maintain zeal for such work, think often about the harmful consequences of indiscriminate talkativeness and the salutary consequences of prudent silence. When you come to taste the saving fruits of silence, then you will no longer need any lessons in this regard.”

Sayings of nameless elders:

The brother asked the elder: “Father, how long should one remain silent?” The elder answered: “Until the time they ask you. If you remain silent, you will preserve spiritual peace in every place.”

Rev. Barsanuphius and John teach prudence in the feat of silence:

Question 478. You, my father, said that silence is in any case good. But as soon as I comply with it, it seems to me that I am doing this to avoid embarrassment and that I am getting harm. How is this possible?

Answer. If you remain silent for the sake of asceticism, that is good; if you remain silent not for this reason, but out of fear of embarrassment, then it is harmful.

551 . The same brother asked another elder. A thought tells me: if you want to be saved, leave the hostel and learn silence, as the fathers said; for I do not benefit from doing carpentry work and it causes me much confusion and sorrow.

John's answer. Brother! You have already been told that it is not good for you to leave the hostel, and now I repeat that as soon as you leave, a fall awaits you. However, you yourself know what you are doing. If you truly want to be saved, then acquire humility, obedience and submission, that is, cutting off your will, and you will live “in heaven and on earth.” As for the silence that the Fathers talk about, you do not know, and many do not know, what it consists of. Silence does not consist in keeping one's lips silent; for one person speaks thousands of useful words and this is imputed to him as silence, and another will say one idle word, and it is imputed to him as trampling upon the teachings of the Savior, for He Himself said: “For every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer in the day.” judgment" (Matthew 12:36). ...

Ava Longinus:

Silence leads to crying, and crying purifies the mind and makes it sinless.

Ancient patericon. Ava Pimen:

The brother asked the elder, saying: if I live with the brothers and see something indecent, do you want me to talk about it? The elder tells him: if there are elders or your peers, then in silence you will better receive peace, for in this case you will make yourself humiliated and carefree. The brother says to him: what should I do, father, when the spirits confuse me? The elder tells him: if you find it difficult to bear, then remember them (the sinners), but always with humility; and if they do not listen to you, then leave your work before God, and He Himself will calm you down. For this means to cast oneself before God and abandon one’s will. Try not to be visible to you, so that your sadness is for God. But I see that it is best to remain silent, for this is humility.

Reverend Abba Isaiah:

Love to be silent more than to speak: from silence the mind concentrates in itself, from verbosity it falls into distraction.

Abba Daniel:

If you want to be saved, observe non-covetousness and silence: all monastic life is based on these two deeds.

Venerable Anthony the Great:

“The Lord guards your soul as long as you guard your tongue.

If you are walking with the brethren, walk somewhat away from them in order to maintain silence.

When in the company of brethren, remain silent. If you need to address them, speak briefly and with humility.”

Venerable Pimen the Great:

“No matter what predicament you find yourself in, the victory in it is silence.

Brother asked Abba Pamvo:“Is it good to praise your neighbor?” The elder answered: “It is more useful not to say anything about him.” If you remember what is said in Scripture: “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37), then you will understand that it is better to remain silent than to speak.”

Venerable Sisoes the Great:

The brother asked Abba Sisoes: “I intend to guard my heart.” The elder answered him: “How can we guard our hearts when our tongue is like an open door?”

Sayings of Nameless Elders:

If you force yourself to remain silent, then do not think that you are performing virtues, but admit that you are unworthy to speak.

St. Theophan the Recluse:

“Love silence and isolate yourself as much as possible in order to be in unity with the Lord.”

Saint Demetrius of Rostov:

Silence is the true beginning of the purification of the soul and fulfills all the commandments without difficulty. For the tongue is an uncontrollable evil, filled with deadly poison: “With it we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse men,” says the apostle (James 3:9). “Whoever does not sin in word is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2). It is dangerous to speak: with what disposition to speak, at what time, what to say and for what? The speaker must remember all this, but the silent one has accomplished and fulfilled everything.

Beware of idle talk, laughter and blasphemy even to the smallest idle word; for you will answer for every idle word on the Day of Judgment, as the Lord said (Matthew 12:36). David also prays about this: “Put a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, and guard the door of my mouth; do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds” (Ps. 140: 3-4). And further: “I said: I will take heed to my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will bridle my mouth while the wicked is before me. I was dumb and voiceless...” (Ps. 38:2-3).

9. Silence

Silence- the high virtue of those who have achieved dispassion, the orderliness of thoughts, the life of an ascetic in constant communion with God.

Rev. John Climacus writes that silence is inherent only to those who have achieved dispassion, perfect in virtue:

“...there are other people who have a clear knowledge of the wiles of demons through the action of the Holy Spirit, who delivered them from the torment of these adversaries.”

“The silence of the body is the orderliness and improvement of morals and bodily feelings; the silence of the soul is the orderliness of thoughts and an unstealthable thought.

The lover of silence has a certain courageous and strict thought, which constantly stands at the door of the heart and kills or reflects incoming thoughts. He who is silent in the feeling of his heart knows what I have said, but whoever is still a baby in silence has not tasted this good and does not know.

The beginning of silence is to reflect every noise of enemies, as disturbing the depths of the heart, and the end of silence is not to be afraid of their worries, but to remain without feeling for them. A silent person, who comes out of his cell with his body, but does not come out with words (for conversations), is meek and is entirely a house of love. He who does not indulge in verbosity is also immovable in anger, but the opposite of this is obvious.

A solitary monk is not saved in the same way as a monk living with another monk. For the solitary person needs great sobriety and an undisturbed mind, ... the one who lives with another is often helped by a brother, and the silent one is helped by an Angel.

The Intelligent Powers of Heaven will serve the silent soul and lovingly abide with him...

One who is suffering from spiritual passion and who is attempting to remain silent is like one who has jumped off a ship into the sea and thinks to safely reach the shore on a board.

The Silent One is the earthly image of the Angel, who, on the charter of love, with the handwriting of diligence, freed his prayer from laziness and negligence. The silent one is the one who clearly cries out: “My heart is ready, O God...” (Ps. 56:8). The silent one is the one who says: “I sleep, but my heart watches...” (Song. 5, 2).”

Rev. Ambrose Optinsky writes about the height of silence:

“There is a wise old word from experienced people: do not live as you want, but live as God leads. The Lord knows better than we do what is more useful for us, and what we can contain and what we cannot contain. Especially, I think about myself that I am incapable of silence. There are few such blessed people who, being always on a journey and having nowhere to lay their heads, according to the Gospel word, observe deep silence and are not indignant at any cramps and needs, nor bonds, nor prison, and thirst for sorrows and suffering, and complain as if there is nothing they have to be patient."

Rev. Paisiy Svyatogorets. Svyatogorsk Fathers and Svyatogorsk Stories:

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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 gravity 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 this, but mostly they stick to the blessing. And some even ask themselves: “Father, give me a penance of thirty-three words, otherwise I’ll talk a lot of idle talk.”

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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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. There are many 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 heads even before our interlocutor has finished expressing his thoughts. 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).

• 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.