Approved for distribution by the Publishing Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB 13-314-2075 48 pp. Priest Daniel Sysoev. On Gluttony and Avarice. Daniel Sysoev Inc, New Jersey, 2018. ISBN: 978-5-4279-0080-9
Curbing gluttony and avarice is a means of curbing self-love, and not an end in itself. Some passions run deeper, while others are more superficial. The latter emerge from the former, like a stalk from the root. The very first passion was the passion of egoism, in which a person considers himself the most important thing in the world. Without curbing the superficial passions, however, we cannot contend with those that run deeper. In this small book, based on The Ladder by Saint John Climacus, you will learn how to fight the passions of gluttony and avarice and to acquire their opposite virtues.
Booklet 7 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 GLUTTONY How Gluttony is Linked to the Other Passions �������������������������������������������� 4 The Consequences of Gluttony �������������������������� 6 The Three Types of People ���������������������������������� 8 The Wiles of the Devil ������������������������������������������ 9 One Passion’s Victory Over Another ���������������� 11 Strictness of Life and the Gifts of the Spirit ���� 13 The Struggle Against Gluttony �������������������������� 15
O N AVA R I C E The Passion of Avarice ����������������������������������������25 The Conditions Under Which the Passion of Avarice Surfaces ������������������������26 The Effects of Avarice ����������������������������������������28 Avarice Quickly Draws One Away From God �������������������������������������������������������������� 31 The Meaning of Almsgiving ������������������������������ 32 Acquiring Non-possessiveness. ������������������������38 The Attributes of Non-possessiveness ������������40 Detachment ����������������������������������������������������������44
ON GLUTTON Y
How Gluttony is Linked to the Other Passions
Gluttony
is a deadly passion. I would like to draw your attention to a certain episode from the Bible. There were two brothers: the younger was Jacob and the elder was Esau; they were the sons of the righteous Isaac. One of them— the eldest son—was to inherit the birthright, from the line of which the Messiah, Christ, was to be born. One day Esau came home from the field tired and hungry, and saw his brother Jacob making himself some lentil soup. Esau asked him to give him some of the soup, and sold his birthright to Jacob in exchange for it. Due to gluttony, Esau lost his birthright forever; he lost his right to become a blessing for all mankind. The essence of gluttony lies in a person’s being dependent on his stomach. No one on earth can survive without eating. Eating is not a sin, but overeating is. When a person sees himself as a person of no little importance, he 4
begins to indulge in the passion of gluttony. It is important to remember that the passions are all interrelated, both by cause and effect and by degree. There are passions that are more deeply entrenched, and there are those that are superficial. The latter grow from the former as a stem grows from a root. The very first passion is egotism, when a person considers himself to be more important than anything on earth. Gluttony gives birth to sensuality, which in turn strengthens self-love. Without curbing the stomach, we will not be able to cope with the passions that are more deeply entrenched. Alcoholism and drug abuse are a symptom and special case of the passion of gluttony. These are an attempt to solve one’s spiritual problems by consuming various foods. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. (Phil. 3:19). A person who is fixated on food, on satisfying the stomach, is doomed to torments in the next life. Not knowing how to rejoice in God, not knowing how to find in Him the fulfillment of his inner desires, he sentences himself to continual and everlasting torments. 5
Priest Daniel Sysoev
ON GLUTTONY AND AVARICE Translator Deacon Anthony Williams Editor in Chief Priest Nathan Williams Layout and design Kyrill Zubchenko Daniel Sysoev Inc was founded as a USA-based subsidiary of the Rev. Daniel Sysoev Missionary Center Benevolent Fund in 2014. The company offers a wide assortment of Orthodox literature in Russian and English, liturgical items, and jewelry. We distribute our products throughout the USA and Canada, on attractive terms and with significant discounts for wholesalers, Orthodox church bookstores, and monasteries. Detailed descriptions of our products may be found at mission-shop.com, with e-book editions of our titles available at danielsysoev.com mission-shop.com danielsysoev.com mission379@gmail.com +1(609)605-70-76