Nov 12 2008
The stages of temptation
I know I shouldn’t be surprised to find great wisdom when reading something like Archimandrite Sophrony’s Saint Silouan the Athonite, but still I am shocked by the accuracy and simplicity with which he describes to me my own experience as I give up myself and my freedom when presented with temptation:
Sin becomes sin after completing specified stages in its inner development.
The first stage is when some spiritual influence approaches from without, which may, to begin with, be quite vague and shapeless. The initial stage in formation is the appearance in the field of man’s inner vision of an image — and as this does not depend on one’s will, it is not regarded as a sin. Images in some cases appear to take on visible form, while others are mostly products of the mind, but more often it is a combination of the two. As visible images also generate some thought or other, ascetics label all images ‘intrusive thoughts’.
The man who is not in thrall to the passions can recognise the force of an intrusive thought and yet remain completely free from its power. But if there is some ‘place’ in one — some suitable soil for the development of the intrusive thought — the thought will strive to take possession of one’s psychic being — of the heart, the soul. It achieves this because it prompts a feeling of the delight to be afforded by one or another passion. The delight figures ‘temptation’. But even the fleeting pleasure, though it testifies to man’s imperfection, is not yet to be reckoned as sin. It is only a ‘proposal’ for sin.
The further development of a sinful intrusive thought can be portrayed roughly as follows: the mind is attracted by the delectation to be afforded by the passion, and this is an extremely important and crucial moment because the fusion of mind with tempting ideas provides fertile soil for passion. If the mind does not by an exercise of the will tear itself away from the suggested delights but continues to dwell on them, it will find itself pleasantly attracted, then involved and finally positively acquiescent. After that, the ever-increasing delight in the passion may take possession of — make captive — mind and will. Lastly, the whole strength of the one enslaved by passion is directed to a more or less determined actualization of sin, if there are no outside impediments — or, where there are, to seeking ways of getting round them.
Such captivity may happen once only and never recur if it had come about because of the inexperience of someone engaged in the ascetic struggle But if the enchantment repeats itself, passion becomes second nature, and then all man’s natural forces are at its service.
The only way to overcome this (and the earlier it is overcome the better and easier)?
… to stay the mind in prayer in the heart… Shutting the doors of his heart, stationing his mind on guard like a sentinel, unfettered by imagination and cogitation but armed with prayer and the Name of Jesus Christ…
In a wider and all-comprehensive sense victory over the passions is achieved by keeping Christ’s commandments…
