Dejection - why is it a sin?
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Dejection is a mortal sin for a reason. Firstly, it can manifest itself in different forms:
- Yearning. Vivid signs of it are often expressed in laziness, constant sadness and boredom. There is also a loss of interest in everything around and a manifestation of the desire to live in a world of one’s own creation.
- Laziness and indifference to spiritual enrichment. In this case, the manifestation of other related external signs is not necessary. Often a person, on the contrary, is very cheerful and feels joy. However, he stops regularly reading scriptures, prayers and everything that leads to spiritual enrichment.
However, despondency does not occur for no reason. Often it affects people who do not believe in God. This is a consequence of the fact that there is spiritual emptiness in their soul.
Let's summarize
- If Catholics have 7 deadly sins, then Orthodox Christians have 8, and the last one is despondency (deep, unending sadness).
- Dejection is dangerous because it pushes a person to other mortal sins, makes him lazy and unable to grow spiritually, and fences him off from faith in the power of the Lord.
- The church can help overcome this sin, and if a dangerous condition has already developed into depression, it is also worth contacting a psychiatrist.
This video will tell you more about the remaining mortal sins, as well as the demons “responsible” for each of them:
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The essence of the phenomenon
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Sadness is also called depression. A state when a person is depressed. And no one is safe from it, not even a believer. After all, laziness as such is not the only side of the manifestation of despondency; despair can also be included here. And if for people who do not believe in God, the cause of its occurrence is hopelessness, then for believers it is spiritual weakness.
It manifests itself in the fact that some begin to feel as if their prayers will never be heard. First they stop reading them, then they slowly forget about other holy books and finally they completely leave the church. It seems to them that everything is useless. They are overcome by laziness, which is familiar to many, but on a more serious scale.
Even St. Gregory of Sinaite recognized the fact that laziness is another side of despondency. In his monologues, he interpreted the feeling of despondency as the same “death,” but in the vector of spiritual objects. He noticed that in this state the desire to go to church, read prayers and work on the purity of the soul disappears.
What to do?
The remedy is this: if a person is relatively young, then work, physical labor. Movement is life. Even just taking a broom or mop, tidying up, washing something is already good. You look, the blood has dispersed, and life has become invisible.
You can contact your friends. One priest told this story. A certain man served in the special forces. This is not an easy job, people doing it suffer great mental deformation. So did this man: he fell into despondency and decided to commit suicide. He put the weapon on the table in front of him, sits, and tunes in to “hara-kiri.” At this moment the phone rings. It turns out that this is his colleague. We talked, told jokes to each other, laughed, remembered the past - in a word, we talked from the heart. When the former special forces soldier put the phone down, he looked at the weapon and thought: “Am I completely crazy?” He turned the page and moved on with his life. Communication, even a simple call can save a person from a terrible sin.
You can’t isolate yourself in despondency, you don’t have to savor it. Longing for God gives birth to salvation, but self-criticism is a rather dangerous thing. The whole world is not nice to you, it seems that you are a burden to everyone. You don’t want to communicate, you start to avoid people because your condition is serious, you are dissatisfied with everything, everything depresses you. As a result, people also begin to avoid you, it turns out to be a vicious circle. This is a state of hell. In general, despondency is from the devil: he has nothing to expect (hope for) except the fulfillment of his sentence, he is in a state of despair. It is from him that gases emanate, poisoning everyone with despondency. No man came up with all this, it came from another world. So despondency is an enemy, and one can be angry with it, as the holy fathers write. Anger against Satan, your weaknesses and passions is not a sin.
As a cure for despondency, a churchgoer is required to pray, read the Holy Scriptures, the Psalter, and spiritual literature. The most important healing is, of course, the sacraments of Confession and Communion.
How to deal with this sin:
“If you want to be without sorrow, try to please God” (Abba Evagrius).
“Sadness is a wound of the soul, and it must be constantly healed with words of consolation” (St. John Chrysostom).
Sadness can come from our ingratitude to God:
“Don’t be insensitive and ungrateful. Since we soon forget joyful and pleasant things, but we always remember sad things, we say that we are always in sorrow” (St. John Chrysostom).
Ways to get rid of despondency
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Anyone can overcome despondency in any of its manifestations, especially if a person clearly understands the nature of the problem. And the best way to resist it is to start doing business.
The effectiveness of this method is clearly demonstrated by the story of a father and son included in the Fatherland. The point is that the son was supposed to cultivate the field, but when he came to it he simply became lazy. The entire week that his father allotted him for this, he lay there doing nothing. Coming on Sunday and seeing that not a single centimeter of the area had been cleared, I naturally asked the question about the reason for the work not being done. She felt despondent because her son became sad when he saw how much work needed to be done. His father answered him only by saying that if he cleared at least a small piece of land every day, then by the end of the week about half of the work would be done. After this, the son began cultivating.
This story does two things well:
- Discouragement is a problem. It is akin to a disease that consumes a person and needs to be gotten rid of. Under no circumstances should you despair and leave everything to the will of fate.
- Efforts are not useless. Yes, the son will not be able to complete all the work by the end of the week, but those small steps will produce results. And instead of the work not done, half will be completed.
The main thing that is recommended to do when trying to get rid of it is to eliminate excuses and accusations. The first will only increase the power of despondency, which already consumes the soul. The second will weaken it, because the person will consider himself guilty. You need to accept yourself. Realize that man, although not an omnipotent being, is not a powerless being.
A little trick
The Monk John Climacus also proposed a small trick, thanks to which a person could “deceive” despondency. He suggests just a little comfort to the belly after another attempt to overcome laziness. This trick also works in cases where, as a result of unsuccessful attempts, the mind is overshadowed by anger.
In conclusion, we note that it is the depressed state of a person who does nothing that is a sin. Dejection here acts only as a reason. The Lord can condescend to a person who is physically lazy, because this resource is limited for everyone. However, mental laziness, when a person does not even try to fight negative thoughts, makes the situation hopeless.
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Who is guilty?
Despair is one of the mortal sins. Mortal sin brings a person’s soul into a state of spiritual death, when the opportunity to repent and change one’s life is lost. Sadness and despondency are very close to despair and suicide; these are links of the same chain.
Modern life is thoroughly saturated with the stench of despondency. Look how many people are depressed now! In the USA, the population completely uses antidepressants and is seriously addicted to chemistry.
A person in a relatively comfortable life is in idleness; it is the mother of many sins and vices. In the spiritual sphere, one thing stems from the other: no matter what sin you take, each one pulls the others along with it. Sadness is the initial link of despondency, the smallest in severity. Gradually the condition worsens, and the person reaches a stupor.
Saints on why sadness is a sin:
“Excessive sadness usually leads to either doubt or destructive blasphemy” (St. John Chrysostom).
“If someone thinks that he has no passion for some thing, but having lost it, his heart grieves, he completely deceives himself” (St. John Climacus).
“Melancholy comes from offended pride or from something that is not done according to our standards; also from vanity, when a person sees that his equals enjoy great advantages” (St. Mark the Ascetic).
Dejection paralyzes a person’s soul; he is unable to repent, pray properly, or do a good deed. Everything is falling out of hand, the meaning of life is lost, everything is bad, everything is lost. A despondent person can be compared to a patient who has suffered a stroke: he is completely incapacitated. This is a very difficult spiritual state. On the other hand, the holy fathers write that despondency is the companion of every ascetic, especially a monk. “The Noon Demon” is exactly about him. Experienced confessors have noticed that somewhere from 10 a.m. to three in the afternoon, monastics experience temptations, which result in sadness, despondency and doubt.
What other reasons do sadness and despondency have? - idleness, anger, irritation, dissatisfaction with sinful passion. You need to fight them, and under no circumstances indulge them. A despondent creature is a blasphemer against the Creator. Dejection is a hidden blasphemy. The person seems to be saying: “Why do I need this life?” Suicide is a terrible sin precisely because the one who kills himself throws the gift of life in God’s face: “Why did you give this to me? Don't want!" This is a spit in the direction of the Creator.
The Holy Fathers give various examples of despondency. Saint John Chrysostom remembers Judas. The devil darkened him, betrayed him to such excessive sadness that he hanged himself. He persecuted him until he deprived him of his intention to repent and led to suicide. There was sadness, but active repentance, like Peter’s, did not happen. The Apostle Peter is an example of the opposite behavior: he repented all his life, shed tears, even to die, like his Teacher, he considered himself unworthy.
Saint John Climacus writes: “The mother of despondency is vanity.” A person fantasizes something about himself, and then, when some stumbling blocks, falls, disappointments happen in life, he cannot come to terms with it. Saint Theophan the Recluse stated: “The state of despondency is one of the crosses that we inevitably have to bear throughout our lives.” And further he adds: “Complain to the Lord and Guardian Angel about the spirit of despondency, and he will run away. But endure everything kindly.”
Even sadness about a sin committed can be a sin:
“Those who sin are those who consider excessive sadness after sin a virtue, not realizing that this comes from pride and conceit, from the fact that they rely too much on themselves and on their own strength” (St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain).
However, it happens that sadness helps to destroy sin:
“Sadness, born of sin, destroys sin when accompanied by repentance” (St. John Chrysostom).
What is the conclusion? - there is no need to run away from this state, because it will catch up and cover you. You need to meet halfway and figure it out, just like with any other spiritual issue. Modern man is afraid of everything - lack of faith, weak character, cowardice. Age, infirmity, loneliness are falling on him, and it is impossible to talk to him about anything, it is impossible to stir him up.
Chagrin - Sadness - Grief - Dejection - Despair
Both passions have the same cause - dissatisfaction, irritability and anger of a person.
The mechanism of development is quite simple: a person becomes dissatisfied with something, he becomes sad, irritated, angry. With the help of anger, Divine Grace and all the peace that it has accumulated in itself are fleetingly washed away from the soul, the soul is emptied, and immediately the soul is filled with despondency, which can very quickly reach the stage of despair.
Discontent manifests itself from the love of worldly things and the presence of cowardice.
Steps to help deal with depression
When you feel like you're going through another tough time in your life, try these steps:
- Be sure that you continue to read your Bible and pray. You have the power in Christ to do what pleases God.
- Thank God for His love and for helping you through difficult times. Remember that God's Word, not your emotional state, is your authority.
- Try not to make important decisions these days.
- Thank God for taking care of you, even if you don't feel it. This spiritual exercise will help grow your faith and strengthen you.
Here are some final thoughts that will also help you fight depression:
At times, depression has to do with emotions that have been ignored for many years. Try not to avoid them, but to meet them with the power of Christ. As the Gospel of Matthew says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for God will comfort them.”
Not every situation can be helped by advice; you may need to talk to a doctor and start taking some medications to cope with depression.
Find a good Christian counselor who can provide support and help you identify the cause of your depression. He can also help you develop a plan for further action.
Bruce Hennigan www.focusonthefamily.com Translation by Igor Petrov
Why is despondency dangerous?
Falling into a state of melancholy, sadness, despondency, sadness - a person does not think at all about the likely consequences that these bad, destructive emotions are fraught with.
Some even attribute to a similar state a certain subtlety of the mysterious Russian soul. But psychiatry experts say that when a person is in a depressed state for a long time, depression develops, which means a serious danger to his health and even life. Various researchers call the figure 20% - exactly the same number of people around the globe who suffer from depressed morale.
As for the Church, it has long included despondency in the list of major sins. Next we will figure out why this was justified.
How to avoid despondency
Despite the fact that modern psychology and science believe that despondency can only be overcome by playing sports and leading an active lifestyle. They say that during the process of loading, a person relieves the accumulated load. This way he gets rid of negative energy and becomes more confident in himself.
But the church recommends living with faith in your heart, being sincere and praying. Only then will you be able to avoid such a grave sin as despondency. In the church canons there is a special prayer for this:
Holy glorious and all-praised Great Martyr Varvaro! Gathered today in your Divine temple, people who worship the race of your relics and kiss with love, your suffering as a martyr, and in them the Martyr Christ himself, who gave you not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, with pleasing praises, we pray to you, the well-known desire of our intercessor: pray with us and for us, beseeching God from His compassion, that He may mercifully hear us asking for His goodness, and not leave us with all the necessary petitions for salvation and life, and grant a Christian death to our belly - painless, shameless , in peace, I will partake of the Divine Mysteries, and to all, in every place, in every sorrow and situation who require His love for mankind and help, He will give His great mercy, so that by the grace of God and your warm intercession, always remain in good health in soul and body, we glorify the wondrous one in our saints The God of Israel, who does not remove His help from us always, now and ever, and forever and ever, Amen.
The Lord is always with you!
The best article for you, go to: How to bow to the ground in Orthodoxy
Watch a video about the sin of despondency:
Depression in Christianity: Tips for Overcoming
We asked the famous Christian teacher, Douglas Jacobi, to answer the same question. This is what he writes. But first, a question from one of our readers.
Is depression and anxiety considered a sin for Christians? “I was hesitant to write to you because I know you probably get a million letters a day and I didn’t want to burden you with my question, but then I thought about all those people who followed Jesus and thought that they They were burdening Him, and He listened to them.
I struggled with severe depression and anxiety for a year. I was baptized 5 years ago and I don’t understand why this is happening to me. There are times when I don't want to get up in the morning. But I have three sons who need me, so I get up. I attempted suicide twice and was delivered by the Lord both times.
Should a Christian suffer from depression? Depression, bipolar disorder, etc. really exist? I thought that only people who suffer in the world struggle with such things, and we as Christians must go and find them, pulling them out of the darkness into the light. But I can't even share my faith because I don't really feel like I have anything to share. Please share your knowledge on this issue. I desperately need something reliable to understand, I don’t even know what to believe anymore.”
Answer:
I appreciate your openness, Kelly. Of course, depression is not always the result of sin, just as anxiety is not necessarily sinful. Yes, Jesus Christ told us not to worry, just like Paul, David and other biblical heroes did. But sometimes anxiety is triggered by external (or internal) stimuli. Physiological ill health is real, no matter what causes it.
The Lord wants us to be healthy: healthy in mind and healthy in body. Health has many aspects. And yet we all, to some extent, both psychologically and physically, face different challenges; we are all learning to overcome the past and grow into the full stature of Christ. And one day, as John promises us in 1 John 3, we will truly become like Him.
Is depression a sin for Christians or not?
But are they right? Is it true that depression is a sin? I can definitely say no!
Depression can have physical causes in many cases. The same can be said about alcoholism and several other things that are condemned in the Bible. Don't get me wrong: being prone to depression or alcoholism is not a sin. Giving in to them, however, is a sin.
An alcoholic is more likely to become drunk when he drinks alcohol, so Christians who are prone to alcoholism and want to maintain their faith in God should abstain from alcohol completely. Likewise, a person prone to depression is not to blame if their emotions begin to develop in a downward spiral. However, how he or she responds to these emotions will determine whether it ultimately leads to sin.
When I feel depression starting to press its cold hands on me, I do a few things:
- First of all, I try to make sure that I continue to read the Bible and pray. Depression often tries to make us do things differently, but in Christ we have the power to do what God wants. Say no to your emotions and yes to your oneness with God during such times.
- I thank God for His love and for carrying me through times of depression. It is very important. Both of these actions are directed against my bad feelings. My depression tries to make me withdraw, staying away from both people and God. She also makes me feel like no one really loves me, including God. But as I read the Bible, pray to God, and thank God for His love, I say to myself, “It is not my emotional state, but my God that is my authority.” Thanking God for bringing me through depression, I try to exercise my faith in God and His word, especially in times when I don't feel like doing it.
- At these moments I try not to make any important decisions. I've learned that when I'm depressed, life looks a lot darker. Therefore, any decision made at this time will be colored by a false sense of what is happening in my relationships, my business and my family.
These three steps help me have more faith than those who have never experienced depression. This happens because:
I thank God for His care and love for me even when I don’t feel or see it.
If that's not the biblical definition of faith, then I don't know what is! As an example, I want to give you a few passages from the Bible. If, when you are depressed, you can trust that God will take care of you and guide you safely through this difficult time, then you increase your faith. If you can believe that He loves you even when you don't feel that love, that's faith. It is possible that the person dealing with depression and trusting God in these moments has the strongest faith!
Faith means that we are certain of what we hope for; it means that we believe that some things exist even though we cannot see them. For such faith God loved the ancients. (Hebrews 11:1-2)
For we live according to what we believe, and not according to what we see. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
So your depression in itself is not a sin, but your reaction to it will ultimately determine whether it becomes one.
Let's do a little experiment. Perhaps when negative emotions come to you, you say to yourself: “Oh, no! Again these thoughts. I'm having a terrible time again." Next time, try saying something like this: “Heavenly Father, I have an opportunity to exercise and grow in strong faith. I will try to be faithful to You this time.” It may not stop depression, but it can definitely make a big difference in your life. This can help you continue to trust God during times of emotional storms.
