Saint Andrew Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Arlington, WA

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Scripture

Piety

To be pious is to practice virtues and combat vices. It is nothing other than that which God expects of us all as creatures made in his image; it is the return to our true selves, and it can only be done by allowing the Holy Spirit to take up residence in his temple, that is, in us — our bodies and souls.

In the consciousness of the modern western world, the traditional understanding of universal ethics has been reduced to one or two virtues, Love and Kindness, while any mention of vices are seen as an indication of an unforgiving spirit. But it has always been understood that teaching is not judging; in order to have a chance to combat sin, one needs to not be afraid of stating without lack of clarity what the face of evil looks like. Without a map, the journey to the Kingdom becomes even more difficult than it already is, which serves no one but the enemies of God.

It is important to make sure that knowledge of proper morals is not used to judge others, but only to better oneself. In fact, to not realize that one is every bit as great a sinner as the next guy is an example of Pride, the greatest sin.

The Seven Grievous Vices

Greed, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth and Pride. To know what the sins are is as important as to know what the virtues are. A Christian life starts with fighting our sins, repenting from them, and avoiding repetition. To replace the inclination to sin with virtuous behavior is where it all starts.

Greed keeps us from doing God's will by striving for more money or power, or resources than we need for our survival. The Church does not teach that money or fortune is evil, but allowing it to take over ones life is.

Lust means that we capitulate control over our desires and actions to evil forces. It teaches us to seek what is destructive rather than constructive, it teaches us to seek pleasure for the sake of pleasure, rather than to seek God and find pleasure in communion with Him.

Anger is a display of lack of control that allows Satan to enter into our minds when we are the most defenseless and makes us tools of his. It is also unbefitting someone who is created in the likeness of God.

Gluttony, like lust, seeks pleasure in food and drink for the sake of pleasure; like greed, it has us seeking more resources than we need for our survival.

Envy keeps us from the greatest virtue of them all: Love. To envy someone is to deny him or her the right to be happy, to have what he or she has, or be who he or she is.

Sloth will keep us from doing good, to help our fellow man and from doing our duty to God. As God put Man in charge of his creation, he expected Man to take care of it with diligence and hard work. Sloth leads to the unfair distribution of this responsibility to others.

Pride, which is the greatest sin of them all, the very origin of all evil. Pride is what keeps us from opening our hearts to God's Spirit, Pride is what keeps the door to our salvation closed. Pride is what robs us of the humility we need when we stand before God's Judgment, and is ultimately rooted in our thinking that we don't need God.

The Virtues

Faith, Hope, Knowledge, Wisdom, Honesty, Humility, Obedience, Patience, Courage, Faithfulness, Self-control, Kindness, Gratitude, Love.

Faith is the very foundation of all human Virtue. Without faith in the ability to do good, no good can be done. Faith is the combination of belief and trust, it is ultimately confidence in the abilities of Man and the power of God.

Hope is the confidence, that despite all the sin of the world, despite all the doom and gloom, despite all the nay-sayers, God loves us and will forgive us what we cannot ourselves accomplish. It is the fuel that keeps spiritual house built on the foundation of faith warm; it is the walls that keep the stormy wind from chilling the house; it is the roof that keeps the rain out.

Wisdom. The wise man is the one who sees clearly the will of God, who understands both God and Man. The wise man can enlighten others, helping them move closer to their true selves.

Honesty. Honesty is not just about telling the truth, it's also about avoiding false pretenses, about being truthful with oneself and about not being a hypocrite. Jesus despised the hypocrites, as many parables and stories from the Gospels clearly indicate. God gave Man the ability to speak, to communicate, to glorify Him. This Divine gift has been appropriated by Man for other purposes, to disdain God, to teach false religion, to do the works of the Devil.

Humility is not the same as self-degradation. In fact, to display exaggerated humility is to be dishonest. Humility is to see things about oneself with God's eyes, to realize how sinful one is, and to understand that nothing that is good is beneath ones station in life. To be humble is to be the servant of others, to be willing to be the least of God's people.

Obedience, a natural consequence of true humility. If Faith is the foundation of Virtue, obedience is the mortar that holds the bricks together. There is no spiritual life without obedience. First, obedience to the Word of God, to the Church, to parents, to the law. To be obedient to God and God's will is the most dignified thing a person can do.

Patience, the ability to let things take their time without giving up hope or losing faith. Just as the farmer waits for his crop to grow before harvesting, so are we called to be patient for the Kingdom.

Courage, to not be afraid, is required for patience to be effective. Courage is does not merely mean to endure persecution or suffering, but also ridicule and insult. To have the courage means to face every challenge with strength, ever expecting the support of the Holy Spirit.

Faithfulness is the virtue of "sticking with it" through thick and thin, through trial and tribulation, regardless of what happens. It requires patience and courage to remain faithful. The Desert Fathers described the value of faithfulness: "As a tree cannot bear fruit if it is often transplanted, no more can any person that is often changing his mind and moving from place to place."

Self-control is the giving up of all passions, it is freeing oneself from the slavery of sin. It does not mean giving up natural drives to do things like eat, sleep, laugh, weep, admire beauty or to have sex, but it does mean controlling them and giving up those passions that are not natural to Man. It is very black-or-white: either you are in control of your passions, or your passions control you.

Kindness is sometimes easier to practice with strangers, due to the strictures of society, than with those that are familiar to us. The Church calls us to be kind to all, in particular our children. Kindness is not to "be nice" to everybody, kindness is to forgive sins, not to overlook them. Kindness is not "anything goes;" on the contrary, the truly kind person will correct others when necessary for their own good, but in doing so will act in a manner that isn't hurtful or cruel.

Gratitude. The virtuous person know that he has earned nothing, that all that he has is a gift from God. He is grateful for everything, and knows that to be anything else is to let Pride and Greed take control.

Love is the greatest of all virtues. Love is the reason God created the world, it is what binds Him to his creation, it is what made Him send his only-begotten Son into the world to destroy death. Love is the action of goodness for the sake of the other (Greek 'agape'); it is the erotic love (Greek 'eros') that seeks union: between man and woman, but also between God and Man; it is the friendship (Greek 'phila') between God and Man, as well as the friendship between human beings.

God is Love, and Love is God.