13) To strive always to have God before you, as the prophet says: "I have always seen the Lord before me" (Psalm 15:8), and to look at Him with the eyes of the soul, as at the omnipresent and omniscient, before Whom nothing is hidden; as a righteous one, Who recompenses all according to their deeds; as a good and gracious Father, Who is offended by sin; as a great and holy one, before Whom it is shameful and terrible to sin, to commit disorder and have no reverence. The Holy Scriptures testify that our God is everywhere, and there is no place where He is not there, and He sees every deed and thought and hears every word.

Everything that is done is done before His eyes. His eyes look upon the poor, His apples test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked (Psalm 10:4-5). The Lord looked down from heaven, He saw all the sons of men; From His prepared tabernacle He looked upon all who dwell on the earth, Who created their hearts especially, and takes heed into all their works (Psalm 32:13-15): O Lord, Thou hast tried me, and hast known me; Thou hast learned when I sit down and rise; Thou hast discerned my thoughts from afar. Thou hast searched my path and my fate, and Thou hast foreseen all my ways. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art there. Darkness shall not be dark from Thee, and the night shall be as bright as the day: as its darkness is, so is its light. Thy eyes have seen my beginning; and in Thy book all shall be written (Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8, 12, 16). And the prophet Jeremiah says: "Thy eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his works" (Jeremiah 32:19).

You see, Christian, how God looks at us all, and examines our deeds and thoughts; and nothing is hidden before Him, no matter what is done day and night, for before Him both day and night are equal. But He also knows what we will do, think, and say, and He writes down every deed, word, and thought of ours in His book, and according to this He will repay everyone. If anyone commits any sin openly or secretly, if he steals, kills, commits fornication, and commits other iniquities, His eyes see Him. If anyone curses, blasphemes, scolds, slanderes, swears, and utters other iniquitous words, His most holy ears hear. If anyone plots evil and evil in his heart, He already knows it. If someone hates and despises his neighbor, if he is angry with him and wants to take revenge on him in some way, then he is already clearly before Him, and for this he will be rewarded. Meditate on this, Christian, and beware before the all-seeing eye of God to sin and commit iniquity. It is lawless and shameless to show disorder before an earthly king – a man, before a ruler, before a carnal father, and before every honest person, for by such disorder a person is vexed and dishonored. How much more before the majesty of God to do this is lawless, shameless and terrible. You do not see Him, but He sees you, for He is close to you. Beware, then, of doing annoyance and dishonor to His majesty, lest you know His righteous judgment upon you.

14) Sins for the most part come from accidents and temptations. So King David went out to walk on the roof of the king's house, and saw Uriah's wife, and committed adultery with her (see 2 Samuel 11:2-4). In the same way, now many go out of their houses and attend gatherings, feasts, and other human affairs, and so many sin, now in word, now in deed, now offend, now are offended, from which they would be saved, if they were within their house and in labor according to their calling. Therefore, he who wishes to avoid sin must also avoid cases that lead to sin, such as conversations, disorderly meetings and feasts, for bad associations corrupt good morals (1 Cor. 15:33). In such assemblies there are almost as many temptations as there are persons; and as many sins and iniquities as there are words and deeds. Flee, Christian, from congregations like Lot from Sodom.

15) Since temptations multiply from hour to hour, and godliness becomes scarce, and wickedness increases, the soul that loves godliness should not look at what people do, no matter what they are, but should pay attention to what the word of God teaches. Do not look, Christian, at those Christians who know that they either go to visit, or meet and receive guests; who learn only this, how to be rich and glorified on earth; Those who do not consider it a sin to appropriate someone else's property, to condemn their neighbor, to slander, to dishonor, to deceive and deceive, to be angry with their neighbor, to take revenge on him, and so on – there is no trace of Christianity in such people. Do not be jealous of the wicked, and do not envy those who do iniquity (Psalm 36:1), but pay more attention to what the word of God says: Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world: whoever loves the world has not the love of the Father in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of this world. And the world passes away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).

16) Since through our eyes and ears, like windows, every temptation enters the tabernacle of our heart, and, whether we like it or not, touches us and restores lust, we must not give them freedom, lest temptation, entering through them, shake and seduce our spiritual house. Thus David saw another man's wife, and fell with her, as stated above. So now many see carelessly – and fall, though not in body, but in soul. It is safer not to let the enemy into the house than to let him in. Thus, again, many hear the slander and gossip of their neighbors, and fall with them. Therefore, just as the eyes are turned away from vanity, so the ears from slander must be turned away by the one who wishes to avoid sin.

17) Human effort and podvig can do nothing without God's help, for we have a corrupt nature inclined to all evil, and Satan always tries to make our feet stumble, hides our snares and puts temptations on our way, and thus tries in every way to plunge us into sin. Therefore, constant prayer is absolutely necessary for those who wish to fight against sin. At every hour we demand God's help, for at every hour our enemy is fighting against us, therefore we must always ask God for help against him.

Chapter 2.

On addiction or habit to sin

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, and the leopard his spots? In the same way, can you do good, having become accustomed to doing evil?

(Jeremiah 13:23)

§ 46. As long as a person is not tempted by sin, he approaches it not without fear, and after sinning his conscience torments him greatly. Thus, some themselves prefer to be killed rather than to kill those who attack them. Thus, theft, embezzlement, fornication, and other iniquities are first approached, not without shame and fear. For conscience and reason, enlightened by the grace of God, shines in man like a candle before sinning and shows him the abomination of sin and the wrath of God that follows sin, which is why man is afraid to dare to sin. But as soon as he sins and dares to do the same several times, it is already convenient for him to proceed to that lawless deed; and the more he sins, the more easily he dares to do so.

"Sin," says St. John Chrysostom, "while it begins, has a certain shame; but when it is accomplished, then He makes those who do it more shameless" (Discourse 10 on the Acts of the Apostles). For the mind, darkened by sin, like darkness, and the conscience, stained by the frequent repetition of sin, weakens in its accusatory action, although it never ceases to denounce even the most shameless; and like fire covered with rubbish, smoke, so it, although it is clogged with sins, nevertheless the smoke of God's wrath coming upon them does not cease to show and proclaim.