We turn now in the Evergetinos to consider the “avoidance of idleness”. With this, of course, we are compelled to consider the nature of work, and its connection to the spiritual life and our sanctification.
Avoiding idleness is not simply keeping busy - much less busyness. It is something that allows us to prevent the mind and the heart from wandering from He who is the source of life, God. We are not angels. We are called to provide for ourselves and also to provide for the poor. And so it is by the labor of our hands that we not only keep ourselves from becoming distracted - but enable ourselves not to become a burden to others and also to offer charity to those in need.
Furthermore, keeping oneself from idleness also allows for the formation of virtues; obedience, self-control, ordering of the appetites, humility, etc. What is being presented to us, then, is connected to the overall portrait of what it is to be a human being; one whose life is directed completely toward God. The love that we have received and bear within us transforms everything about what it is to be a human being; to suffer, to love, and to work. It is our identity as Christians that must shape our perception of reality.
Text of chat during the group:
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter Two: On Detachment, Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol I, Hypothesis XX, Part III
The Evergetinos - Vol I, Hypothesis XX, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part VII
The Evergetinos -Vol I, Hypothesis XX, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part VI
The Evergetinos - Vol I, Hypothesis XIX, Part IV
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part V
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XIX, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part IV
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XIX, Part II
Repentance: Life’s Continual Effort
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part III
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XVIII, Part V and Hypothesis XIX, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter One: On Renunciation, Part I
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XVIII, Part IV
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Seventy-Eight, Part II and Letter Seventy-Nine
The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis XVIII, Part III
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