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Negligence: The Unsleeping Danger for the Christian, by Elder Joseph of Vatopedi
4:55
What the video says
The elder treats negligence as the most implacable enemy of the Christian, a vice the fathers call listlessness, acedia, and sloth, meaning spiritual death. He explains that while self-esteem corrupts treasures already amassed by those it deceives, negligence harms everyone: it stops beginners, halts the advanced, keeps the ignorant from learning, and prevents the fallen from rising.
Listlessness begins with despondency, faint-heartedness, and withdrawal of grace, and it hands us over to self-love, the more general enemy. Only a courageous soul grounded in faith and hope in God can overthrow this conspiracy.
Key moments
- Negligence is called our most implacable enemy, a terrible conspirator against our lives that has wronged the speaker many times.
- In the language of the fathers it is called listlessness, acedia, negligence, and sloth, all meaning spiritual death, and it is included among the eight evil thoughts.
- Asked about the chief cause of man's failure in his spiritual purpose, the elder replied that it was negligence, since self-esteem corrupts treasures already amassed while negligence does not even let you collect them.
- Negligence is like a drought in which nothing grows: it impedes those who want to make a start, stops those who have advanced, prevents the ignorant from learning and the fallen from getting up.
- Using the pretext of physical needs and weariness, listlessness transmits us to self-love, the more general enemy; only a courageous soul grounded in faith and hope in God can overthrow this conspiracy.
- Listlessness cannot harm those under obedience with tasks to perform; it begins with despondency and faint-heartedness, starts with economy towards some supposed infirmity, and ends in total disbelief, shamelessness, and ingratitude.
- For hesychasts it starts from neglect of the rule and order of their lives; for those living with others it begins with idle talk and backbiting.
- As cures the elder recommended eschatological meditation on reward and punishment, the kingdom of heaven and hell, remembrance of those who struggled, and the means of grace: prayer, tears, and faith.
Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, in an excerpt from the book 'Saint Joseph the Hesychast: Struggles, Experiences, Teachings' published by the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi on Mount Athos (pages 195-198), describes negligence as the most implacable enemy of the Christian. He calls it a terrible conspirator against our lives that has wronged him many times.
In the language of the fathers it bears the names listlessness, acedia, negligence, and sloth, all meaning spiritual death, and it is counted among the eight evil thoughts. Asked what chiefly causes man to fail in his spiritual purpose, the elder answered that it is negligence: self-esteem corrupts treasures already amassed, while negligence does not even let you collect them.
He compares negligence to a drought in which nothing grows. It impedes those who want to make a start, stops those who have advanced, prevents the ignorant from learning, and keeps the fallen from rising. Listlessness uses the pretext of physical needs and weariness to hand us over to self-love, the more general enemy. Only a courageous soul grounded in faith and hope in God can overthrow this conspiracy.
The elder notes that listlessness cannot harm those under obedience who have tasks to perform. It begins with despondency and faint-heartedness, starts with economy towards some supposed infirmity, and ends in total disbelief, shamelessness, and ingratitude. For hesychasts it starts from neglect of the rule and order of their lives; for those living with others it begins with idle talk and backbiting.
As cures he recommends eschatological meditation on reward and punishment, on the kingdom of heaven and hell, remembrance of those who struggled, and the means of grace: prayer, tears, and faith.
Main points
- Negligence is the most implacable enemy of the Christian; the fathers call it listlessness, acedia, and sloth, meaning spiritual death, and it is among the eight evil thoughts.
- Self-esteem corrupts treasures already amassed, while negligence does not even let you collect them.
- Like a drought in which nothing grows, negligence impedes beginners, stops the advanced, prevents the ignorant from learning, and keeps the fallen from rising.
- Listlessness begins with despondency and faint-heartedness, hands us over to self-love, and ends in disbelief, shamelessness, and ingratitude; it cannot harm those under obedience with tasks to perform.
- Cures include meditation on reward and punishment, the kingdom of heaven and hell, remembrance of those who struggled, and prayer, tears, and faith.