Approved for distribution by the Publishing Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB 13-314-2075 48 pp. Priest Daniel Sysoev. On Envy and Despondency. Daniel Sysoev Inc, New Jersey, 2018. ISBN: 978-5-4279-0081-6
The sin of envy is one of the three sins belonging to Satan himself. The apostle Paul says that there is no place for an envious person in the Kingdom of God. No other passion so destructive to a person is spawned in the human soul. Despondency—or, as it is called in the world, depression—is a sin that is very widespread today and a great boon to the pharmaceutical industry. Yet from Holy Scripture we know that one sign of the end times will be a rise in this pernicious passion. In this booklet you will find the antidote for these two passions.
Booklet 9 of 12 from a series of talks given by Priest Daniel Sysoev entitled “How to Inherit Eternal Life.”
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© Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2018 © Yulia Sysoeva, 2018
CONTENT
ON ENVY The Sin of Envy ������������������������������������������������������ 4 What Produces Envy? ������������������������������������������ 6 How Is One to Avoid Envy? ���������������������������������� 6 The Effects of Envy and the Disposition of One Who Is Envious ���������������������������������������� 7 One Must Not Associate With Those Who Are Envious. ������������������������������������������������ 18 Many Heresies Are Caused by Envy. �������������� 19 The Evil Eye Results From Envy ����������������������20 The Envious Can Be Known by Their Appearance ���������������������������������������������������������� 21 How Does One Struggle Against Envy? ����������23 Envy’s Last Snare ������������������������������������������������ 27 A Test for Envy ����������������������������������������������������28
ON DESPONDENCY The Holy Scriptures on Despondency ��������������29 The Two Types of Despondency ������������������������ 31 Despondency Breeds Other Sins ���������������������� 32 What Increases Despondency? ������������������������33 The Attributes of Despondency ������������������������34 What Produces Despondency? �������������������������� 41 The Remedy for Despondency ��������������������������43
ON ENVY
The Sin of Envy
The
Bible gives an account of how Joseph’s brothers sold him out of envy: Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt (Gen. 37:28). This is an example of the terrible sin of envy. The sin of envy is usually well disguised under the form of fighting for truth and social equality, dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words (Prov. 23:6–9). The sin of envy is one of the three sins that belong personally to Satan, who sinned first by pride (he decided to become like God); sec4
ond, by envy (he became envious of man); and third, by murder (by corrupting man he took away man’s life). The sin of envy is murderous, and the sin of murder is extremely grave. The apostle Paul writes that the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19–21). The apostle says that no one who is envious has a place in the Kingdom of God. According to Saint Basil the Great, envy is a person’s bitterness over his neighbor’s good fortune; or, as Solomon says, A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones (Prov. 14:30). There is no other passion so destructive to man. The Bible forbids people to try to cure those who are envious; the envious are to be simply isolated from society: Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land (Ps. 100:5–6). 5
Priest Daniel Sysoev
ON ENVY AND DESPONDENCY Translator Deacon Anthony Williams Editor in Chief Priest Nathan Williams Layout and design Kyrill Zubchenko
Except where otherwise noted, scriptural quotes are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. mission-shop.com danielsysoev.com mission379@gmail.com +1(609)605-70-76