Many people have probably heard the word “idleness,” but not everyone understands what it means. If you look at the meaning of this word, you can understand that this term refers to idleness, inattention to observing the basic norms of moral and spiritual life, laziness in terms of performing spiritual practices. The idleness of even a good person gradually leads to the fact that he becomes more evil, leaving the true path on the road of sin. A state such as idleness is far from being a neutral environment in spiritual life, because a person becomes indifferent to the matter of his salvation, gradually destroying his life.
Idle talk is devaluation of God's gift
Man is a unique creature, right? How many animals do we know that have speech? Yes, probably some of the readers have heard about the intelligent communication of dolphins or the ability of cats to telepathy. But all this is still in the realm of theories, and it bears little resemblance to human speech.
Cicero is an example of the gift of speech properly used
Speech is a subtle and very sublime instrument. They can create inspired works of art: novels, poems, plays. The speeches of Cicero, the oratory of Caesar, Nabokov’s books, which have become classics in two languages, the sermons of Christian ascetics - all this is a real treasury of human culture. God has reasons to be proud of us.
Oral and written creativity is a reflection of the quality of the Creator in us. Communication is a manifestation of love - another property of the Divine nature that is contained in man. And all this is outrageously devalued when it turns into empty chatter - idle talk.
Language is the greatest tool given to us by God
There was such a man: he received an academic degree, got a job at an institute, stole a microscope and started hammering nails with it at home. Isn't it strange? Of course, the story is fiction, but the fairy tale is a lie, and there is a hint in it.
A microscope is a complex, fragile and expensive product. We all understand how much work has been put into ensuring that this instrument can serve the sole purpose of revealing to us the invisible world of small objects.
Speech is an even more fragile instrument that does the opposite: it reveals our invisible inner world to others. Beautiful things can be done with the help of language:
- They create works of art - poems, novels, plays;
- Discuss philosophical issues;
- Confess love, friendship and other feelings;
- They sing wonderful songs.
Both love and creativity are aspects of the Creator. It is a way of projecting the Divine into the material world. Who would argue with the significance for humanity of cultural masterpieces and the once written Word of God?
Language is the core of humanity, the point of contact between us and each other. The allegorical story of the Tower of Babel shows well that people who are unable to explain themselves are not capable of anything.
All this says that language is not only valuable for us, but the more often and more we use it for its intended purpose, the more benefit we will bring to ourselves and humanity.
The Holy Scriptures are an example of the heights of thought that a word can reach, but a person is often pulled in the opposite direction, this is called idle talk.
Photo: cv2.litres.ru
Idle talk allows many other sins into life
Is there any point in hammering nails with a microscope? Of course not. So why do people allow themselves to waste the power of speech on conversation for the sake of conversation. This is an aimless pastime, which is not only empty in itself. It is also harmful.
Empty speech is a waste of time for nothing. But you could spend it on something useful. A person doesn’t have the gift of a writer, but why not take care of someone in his free time and do a good deed? Yes, at least doing wellness treatments for yourself is already good!
The conversation is not about not communicating with loved ones and friends, but about not communicating about anything: gossip, rumors, nonsense. It’s one thing to inquire about your health, discuss a movie, talk about your experiences, and quite another to whisper about how someone you know got into an unpleasant situation.
A person wastes time on idle talk when he could do something good.
And lying around with a mobile phone, waiting for tomorrow to come and have to go to work again, is a sad fate. As if there was no reason to live anymore.
And sometimes speech is not just empty, but also harmful. It carries notes of condemnation and anger. We then speak not just to kill time, but to elevate ourselves, to experience pride. This is already really bad.
So idle talk is the gateway to a multitude of sins:
- inaction;
- laziness;
- indifference;
- envy;
- pride;
- condemnation.
Examples from the Book of Proverbs
King Salomon was the wisest of the wise rulers in Jerusalem. And this wisdom was given to him by God Himself.
1 Kings 6:11 – 13 “And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, and said unto him, Behold, thou buildest the temple; I will fulfill my word on you, which I spoke to your father David, and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will not forsake my people Israel.”
He, like no one else, knew the power contained in our words. Holy Scripture gives many examples of how the tongue of a fool can become his destruction. The parables of Solomon more than once teach us to watch our speech and actions, because later it can turn against you.
In Proverbs it is written: “The mouth of a fool makes strife, and his words cause blows. The tongue of a fool is his destruction, and his mouth is a snare for his soul.” (Proverbs 18:4, 6-7)
From this passage it follows that a person who does not monitor his speech can find himself in the most difficult situations, leading to the most tragic consequences.
Idle talk has different forms: ridicule, gossip, slander, slander
Ridiculousness. It is quite difficult for our people to understand what we are talking about. So it turns out that you can’t joke? From now on we sit with fasting faces? No. It is worth looking at the Greek source, where the Apostle Paul uses the word ευτραπελια (to return good). We are not talking about laughter here, and therefore we have to admit the inaccuracy of the Synodal translation.
Usually translators suggest replacing this word with the word “buffoonery.” That is, this is not so much a desire to laugh as a deliberate attempt to look like a laughing stock. There is such a category of people - they talk nonsense just to appear better in someone’s eyes. Involved here:
- pride;
- insincerity.
You should refrain from such behavior.
As for just humor, it is appropriate in Orthodoxy. For example, Patriarch Tikhon has a cheerful sign on his door: ““Do not disturb on issues of counter-revolution,” and one archimandrite described their meeting this way: “Everyone is hee-hee and ha-ha and petting the cat.” And the martyr Lavrenty joked during his execution at the stake: “You have already baked one side for me, turn it to the other. You can already eat that one.”
Chapter 1 of Wisdom: “Whoever does not keep his mouth and tongue cannot be saved”
Gossip. A very harmful activity. Firstly, this is an empty exercise that will lead nowhere. Today's gossip will be useless tomorrow, and time that could have been spent usefully cannot be returned.
Secondly, something bad will definitely settle somewhere in the world, in a person’s soul, and then has a chance to result in something bad. This is how Elder Cleopas from the Sikhastria monastery spoke about this:
“Our words are burdock seeds. Just as it is impossible to collect seeds, having once sown them, a year later, when the whole field is overgrown with thistles, so we will not be able to collect the evil and sin that we sowed with our tongue. Therefore, you need to carefully watch your tongue. Solomon said: “He who does not keep his mouth and tongue cannot be saved” (Wis. 1: 11).”
Backbiting. Priest Dimitry Shishkin said well about him:
Dmitry Shishkin
priest
“Yes, this is why the sin of slander is terrible, because with our free will we combine with evil and become its participants. We show the world the darkening of our minds with thoughts of condemnation, enmity and malice.”
In addition, slander is a violation of the commandment “Do not judge, lest you be judged.”
But what about leaders? How not to criticize poorly done work?
That's another question. Christianity is about human relationships, not professional relationships. But criticism also needs to be presented correctly:
- Correct criticism does not contain malice, it is only a constructive analysis of shortcomings and voicing recommendations.
- Criticism should not be directed at the person, but at his mistakes.
Slander. This is also idle talk, because it is empty, unfair information. Is it even possible to justify it somehow? After all, even “devil” means “slanderer”! Perhaps there is not a single reason worthy for an Orthodox Christian why one could stoop to such an act. Actually, the one who allows it has no right to call himself a believer until he repents.
According to Abba Isaiah, idle talk leads away from the path of wisdom and spirituality
Many holy fathers spoke about the idle word. For example, the Monk Abba Isaiah noted that the harm from such activity is at least that it distracts us from God and completely tunes us into the right wave:
“Keeping the mouth in the mind arouses the thought to God; verbosity is the cause of despondency and irritability.”
He considered restraint in speech a sign of wisdom:
“Continence of the tongue shows a wise man.”
But this is not an empty exercise to demonstrate intellectual superiority. A person who keeps his word develops spiritually:
“Keep your tongue, so that your heart may be enlightened.”
Leave rude words unsaid!
Leave rude words unsaid, Let them die in their conception. Let them remain unborn, then perhaps you will understand how happy you are
That Person who did not hear them, The words that came from your lips almost fell. Yes, you yourself will understand how valuable the moment of Preventing the coming curse is.
Learn to forgive someone who was rude to you. And don’t wish for what you don’t wish for yourself. It’s better to let the word turn into a corpse than to watch people suffer from it
That Person who became your enemy because he fell into your disgrace. Leave evil towards him unexpressed, so that your own evil does not return to you.
Andrew Freese
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk called for defeating the sin of idle talk with the help of God
Tikhon of Zadonsk taught that the tongue without control inclines to sin.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk looked at the sin of idle talk from another side - from the aesthetic. We can say that he was an ideologist of the “hygiene” of speech, or rather, its purity. He was perplexed how a person allows himself to utter foul words and the name of God with his lips alone:
“Christians must remember that they are calling, singing and praising the holy and terrible name of God. How can this great and holy name be called upon by a tongue that is desecrated with obscenity, foul language, idle talk, blasphemy, curses, blasphemy, slander and other stench? And then they need to remember that they are partaking of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ: how will they receive this shrine into their mouths - into mouths that are desecrated with rotten and stinking words? Hear this, unbridled tongue, so that you can call upon the name of God without condemnation and partake of the Holy Mysteries.”
But the question is not only about the beauty of speech, but about sin. Tikhon Zadonsky emphasized this separately:
“A person sins nothing more than with his tongue when he does not control it as he should. The tongue curses people created in the likeness of God. The tongue slanderes father and mother. The tongue teaches murder, advises and conspires about adultery, uncleanness, theft, embezzlement, and all untruths. The tongue lies, flatters, deceives, idle talk, vain talk, blaspheme, foul language; the tongue will justify the guilty in court and accuse the right... The tongue also torments holy men, who with their kindness do not harm anyone; the tongue insulted our Lord Himself, the Savior of the world, who “committed no sin, and there was no lie in His mouth” (Isa. 53:9), the tongue spews blasphemy against the great, holy and terrible name of God. In a word, the tongue leaves nothing, but spews out the poison that lies in the human heart.”
You need to keep your tongue in check to cope with idle talk
The only way out, according to Tikhon of Zadonsky, is control over the language, developing the skill of “keeping it in check” with God’s help:
“If the tongue, not controlled by reason, is guilty of so many sins and troubles, we must try to curb it. But effort without God’s help can do little; “the tongue... is an uncontrollable evil” (James 3:8), says the apostle. And although it has two fences - teeth and lips, it breaks through. For the human heart, like an overflowing vessel, pours out everything that cannot be contained, and “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” according to the word of the Lord (Luke b. 45). Therefore, we need to humbly pray to Almighty God together with the Psalmist: “Put a guard, O Lord, on my lips, and guard the doors of my mouth” (Ps. 140:3), so that both the heart and the tongue, the instrument of the heart, may be corrected, and taught in due time and how should be said, but what should not be said, one should not even think about it in one’s heart.”
You should also stay away from other people's idle talk.
The Monk Isaac the Syrian drew attention to the fact that listening to other people’s negative speeches is no less harmful for a Christian than speaking them:
“If you love purity, in which you can see the Lord of all, do not allow yourself any gossip and slander, do not even allow yourself to listen to anyone judging or condemning the brethren.”
The Monk Issac the Syrian taught not to listen to idle speeches.
Why is this so? The fact is that in such conversations you have to agree and assent out of politeness. And this makes a person already an accomplice in condemnation and gradually “cools” his heart.
It’s better to stay away from everything negative if we really can’t help.
For example, once the Venerable Pimen the Great was asked the following question: “If we see a brother sinning, should we tell him about it?”, and what does he answer:
“As for me, if I need to walk past someone committing a sin, I will pass without saying anything.”
This is true, because for a sinner, the teachings of others are empty words. And on the part of the elder it would be just idle talk.
But do not confuse useless idle talk with real help. If a Christian can intervene and do good, say, protect someone who is weak and defenseless, then it would be a sin to pass by.
Empty conversation is a sin because it wastes time on nonsense instead of useful things.
Having started an empty conversation, a person turns into a skidding vehicle. What good would it do if all the ambulances and fire trucks suddenly stood still and turned their wheels uselessly?
“But these are company cars,” a reasonable reader will object. “They have their own functions, and that has nothing to do with me.” But the point is precisely that a person is more than a machine and is capable of spending every second in service to this world, the Lord, or at least to himself.
Let's use examples. A man spent two hours of time on empty conversation, and the next day another two hours. And so on for a year. Over seven hundred hours of wasted time have accumulated. And how much useful could be done at this time!
- Create something important for humanity (write a novel, a picture);
- Master a new area of knowledge and bring benefit through it;
- Do good deeds for loved ones;
- Think more often about spiritual things in order to become purer and more righteous;
- Get your health in order so you can live 10 more years;
- Honor and become wiser in order to share this wisdom with others.
Is it worth continuing? By engaging in idle talk, we direct the resources given to us by the Lord into emptiness. That is why the name is idle talk.
Just being silent is not a victory over idle talk; it can also be in the soul
But you shouldn’t think that silence is a great merit. Silence in itself does not guarantee anything to a person. The Monk Pimen the Great noted that the point is not whether a person speaks or not, but what his inner mood is:
“Some people seem silent, but their heart condemns others. His labors are in vain. The other speaks from morning to evening and remains silent together, because he says only one thing that is useful for the soul.”
So silence is not just a formal observance of silence or laconicism. A Christian needs to monitor his thoughts, direct them in a spiritual direction and overcome unworthy thoughts.
The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian helps against idle talk
For those who want to cope with idle talk, there is a prayer by Ephraim the Syrian:
“Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk. Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. To her, Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever. Amen".
The Monk Ephraim the Syrian wrote a prayer against idle talk.
It allows one to overcome passions and vices on the spiritual path. The rules for reading the prayer are as follows:
- Prostration after each of the three petitions;
- Then they read the prayer to themselves twelve times: “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” and do waist prayers”;
- At the end they read the prayer again and bow to the ground.
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