We say: no matter how you look, you would not be tempted, no matter how you hear, so your heart would not ache, no matter how you taste, you would not want to... You see how much temptation comes from our eyes, hearing, and taste. How many people suffer from the fact that, being not firm in heart in good intentions, they looked carelessly with unclean eyes, listened with ears unaccustomed to distinguishing between good and evil, tasted greedy taste. The feelings of sin-loving, greedy flesh, unbridled by reason and God's commandments, drew them into various worldly passions, darkened their minds and hearts, deprived them of peace of heart and enslaved them. How carefully we need to look, listen, taste, smell and touch, how we need to guard our hearts, so that through the external senses, as through a window, sin does not creep into us, or, even worse, the perpetrator of the sin himself, the devil, and thereby strike us with his deadly poison.

Humility, meekness

Carefully observe the manifestations of pride: it creeps in unnoticed, especially when you are upset with others for the most unimportant reasons.

Remember the saying of the Holy Scriptures: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). When you are rude, you are irritated, you breathe contempt and malice, do not repay in kind, but be quiet, gentle and affectionate, respectful and loving to those who behave unworthily before you. If you are embarrassed and begin to object with emotion, to speak rudely and contemptuously, it means that you yourself have been overcome by evil, and you should apply to yourself what was said: "Physician, heal yourself" or: "Why do you look at the mote in your brother's eye, and do not feel the beam in your own eye? First take the beam out of your eye" (Luke 4:23; Matt. 7:3, 5). Do not be surprised, then, if rude attacks against you become more frequent: your ill-wishers, noticing your weakness, will begin to play on it. Thus, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). Let the one who has offended you understand that he has not offended you, but only himself. Regret that he is so easily overcome by his passions and is mentally ill. The coarser and more irritable he is, the greater the meekness and love for him. In this way you will surely defeat him. Good is always stronger than evil and therefore always victorious. Remember also that we are all weak and are easily overcome by passions. Therefore, be meek and forgiving to those who sin against you. After all, you are sick with the same thing as your brother. Forgive the debts of your debtors, so that the Heavenly Father may also forgive your debts.

A person who is angry with us is a sick person. It is necessary to apply a plaster to his heart – love. You need to caress him, talk to him affectionately, and if anger is not ingrained in him, but only a temporary outburst has occurred, then see how his heart melts from your love. A Christian needs to be wise in order to overcome evil with good.

The dangers of enjoying a calm, happy life

Our life is a child's game, only not innocent, but sinful, because, with a strong mind and knowledge of the purpose of our life, we neglect this goal and engage in empty, aimless deeds. Thus, our life is a child's indescribable (unsophisticated) game: we amuse ourselves with food and drink, feasting, instead of using it only for the necessary nourishment of the body and the maintenance of bodily life; we amuse ourselves with clothes, instead of decently covering our bodies with them to protect it from the harmful effects of the elements; we amuse ourselves with silver and gold, admiring them in treasuries, or using them for luxuries and pleasures, instead of using them for needs, and sharing the surplus with the needy; we amuse ourselves with our dwellings and the various utensils in them, richly and exquisitely decorating them, instead of having only a strong and decent shelter to protect us from the harmful effects of the elements, and things necessary and appropriate for domestic use; we amuse ourselves with our spiritual gifts, with our minds, imaginations, in words, using them only for the service of sin and the vanity of this world, only for the service of earthly and perishable things, instead of first and foremost using them for the service of God, for the knowledge of Him, the all-wise Creator of all creation, for prayer...; we amuse ourselves with our knowledge of worldly vanity, and we waste the most precious time given for their acquisition, given for preparation for eternity; we often amuse ourselves with our office, our duties, frivolously, negligently, unrighteously fulfilling them and using them for our selfish earthly species; we amuse ourselves with good human faces, or with the fair and weaker sex, and often use them to play with our passions; we amuse ourselves with time, which should be wisely used to atone for eternity, and not by using it for games and various pleasures; Finally, we amuse ourselves by making ourselves some kind of idols, before whom we ourselves bow down and for whom we seek the worship of others. Woe to us, who bear the name of Christ, but do not have the spirit of Christ in us, who bear the name of Christ, and do not follow the teaching of the Gospel..