No man is more easily approached by the Devil than one who lives in slothfulness and leisure: this is a house well swept and adorned for the Evil One. – St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
I saw this recently and it is along the same lines as a sermon I recently posted (The Sign of Jonas – Baptism, resurrection, repentance and obedience.).
St Tikhon and the sermon were referring to:
Matthew 12:41-45 KJV The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (42) The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. (43) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. (44) Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. (45) Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
A sobering quote from St. Tikhon — thank you, Father. Now that I am retired I really need to keep this in mind.
Thank you, Father!
Leisure is a great malice of our times. Mostly because we do not regard it this way. It passes unnoticed, and sometimes we get so much accustomed to it that we hardly are able to distinguish between "I cannot" & "I don't want"…Meanwhile leisure is the source of much evil, as can be a source of any sin. When our mind is sleeping, passive, we can easily be caught by the enemy. An easy bag of our hunter! Though we are called by Christ to be His fellow-soldiers in the process of our salvation. Nobody can enter Heaven lying in bed in idleness.
Rather, leisure is the albatross of our times. But it's the unchristianly type of leisure that is the albatross of our times–the type that is anti-christ; it is lascivious; it is a gratification of the flesh which empties the soul. But we do have a soul-filling kind of leisure. Such type of leisure that transcends the spirit and make us vibtrate in eternal joy. This leisure is found in christ- centered fellowships.
George
Houston,TX.