In the Orthodox tradition, clear definitions are given for sins that a person must eradicate through prayers and petitions to God and the saints. One of these sins has to do with greed and selfishness. Extortion is literally the robbing of people for one’s own enrichment, the exploitation of labor and abilities.
A person is obsessed with the passion of accumulation, for the sake of this he is ready to go over the heads of other people. Our neighbor’s nephew suffered from covetousness, and they barely managed to get him off. Let's consider what to do if a person has become obsessed with the passion of covetousness. I will also tell you how extortion differs from covetousness and covetousness.
Covetousness and idolatry
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Holy Scripture says that we are all born in sin. This is our nature, which is very difficult to get rid of. But saints, angels and archangels are given to help man. If a sinner realizes his nature, corrupted by sin, and wants to improve, God will always come to the rescue. It’s another matter if a person is not going to correct himself, if he is comfortable living a sinful life. In this case, no one will come to his aid, because he does not need it.
The word covetousness corresponds to the Greek word πλεονεξία, however, this Greek word is translated not only as extortion. There are two more translations: covetousness, greed. It is clear that this has to do with illegal enrichment and outright robbery in broad daylight.
The covetous man worships one god - the demon Mammon, who seduces people with quick enrichment. This is a demon of gluttony that afflicts people's hearts and turns them away from God's commandments. Many people think that no demons exist because they are not visible. What's wrong with getting rich quick, what's wrong with abundance and wealth? In fact, there is nothing wrong with abundance and wealth, and even King Solomon owned countless treasures. The question is: how was this wealth obtained?
If wealth is obtained with God's help, then it serves to glorify the Creator and Creator of life. But if Mammon seduces with wealth, then his goal is extremely clear - to corrupt the soul:
- quick profit;
- good luck;
- luxury.
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Not every soul can withstand such pressure from the energy of material goods; many people are ready to exchange an eternal soul for fleeting earthly goods. You can still find rituals of selling your soul for the sake of temporary earthly goods on the Internet, as if you could take them with you to the grave. A person does not understand that he is only a guest on this earth, and that his stay in the material world has its own time limits - 100 years. But people are so blinded by the chance to get rich quick that they simply forget that this is all temporary.
On a note! The Covetous are servants of the demon Mammon, even if they do not know it.
It is believed that the 9th circle of hell is under the control of Mammon. There he lives in a palace made of pure gold, inlaid with gems and precious stones. Only children become victims of this unjust wealth. Mammon takes unborn and newborn children as a tribute to his patronage. Moreover, he takes away not only those children whose parents gave their souls to him: he will take them away from all generations. Abortions, miscarriages, stillbirths - these are all victims of a terrible demon called Mammon.
Laws
Criminal law was in force in Rus'. Bribery was believed to be an activity that deserved punishment from the state. Officially, bribery was not encouraged, but was disgraced, but in fact, it was impossible to do without it. Bribery was the performance by an official of a certain duty for outside compensation. The punishment for this action was corporal, but if the bribe was, as they say now, “on an especially large scale,” then the culprit could be sent to Azov for life. This refers to multiple blows with a whip.
If we turn to other nations, their hand was cut off for bribery so that the person would learn a lesson for life. More cruel methods are also known that did not deprive a person of body parts, but the perpetrator was mercilessly tortured. Herodotus wrote that the Persian king Cambyses, having learned that he was dealing with bribed people, ordered his judge's chair to be covered with the skin of the guilty man.
Insatiable Passion
Covetousness - what kind of sin is this? How to understand that a person is obsessed with covetousness? He demonstrates an insatiable passion for money. It seems that he always doesn’t have enough of them, no matter how much he receives. This man loses all conscience and can rob a gullible grandmother completely, leaving her without a pension. A covetous person is not touched by the misfortunes of other people; he will take the last thing from even a small child. Covetous people can never get enough of money; other people's goods are never enough for them. They are even ready to kill in order to take possession of other people's property.
Important! Any passion other than passion for God is considered sinful.
This passion strikes the soul of a person who has departed from God and the commandments. He made his choice in this life - the destruction of his soul for the sake of temporary pleasure. It seems to a person that he will live forever on earth, so wealth will be useful to him. In fact, no wealth saved people from death and God's punishment. People do not understand that any material wealth actually belongs to God, and demons only guard them on earth. But demons are good at deceiving, so they convince people that they are the owners of countless treasures.
Examples of extortion in the modern world:
- take away other people's property, taking advantage of their official position;
- appropriate the work of others and enjoy its fruits;
- excessive burden of interest on debtors/borrowers;
- unscrupulous exploitation of other people's labor for pennies;
- speculation and inflated prices for products during a crisis, war, or crop failure.
People deceived by the demon will have a hard time. If other sins (fornication, drunkenness, gluttony) are forgiven immediately after their eradication, then with extortion it is much more difficult: you need to return the loot to people. How to do this if the covetous people managed to spend most of the loot? There is a second way of repentance - to distribute the loot to the poor and be left without a penny of money to repent. Will the covetous man be able to take this step? But many monks renounced their legitimate fortunes and inheritance for the sake of serving God with purity of thoughts and clean hands. Only those who sincerely serve God are capable of such a step.
So, a lot of acquisition
Hoarding, insatiability in acquiring wealth, morbid addiction to the abundance of property.
Anthony the Great claims that this sin is born out of forgetfulness of the fear of God and unrighteous life. Covetous people forget that life is not eternal, and after death (which awaits both the poor and the rich alike), the soul does not take with it property, but only its deeds, righteous and unrighteous. Also, any love of money can arise from a lack of faith in God's help, carelessness, and vanity.
The Church believes that avarice gradually separates a person from the Almighty, constantly distracting him from righteous thoughts with concern for mortal material things.
How to repent of this sin
It’s not enough to just read a certain prayer - you need to cultivate virtues in yourself, which are essentially the opposite of excessive acquisition:
- mercy towards the poor, willingness to give alms;
- generosity to family and friends;
- unselfishness;
- thoughts about your soul;
- the fear of God and the memory of one's own mortality.
Non-extension is considered the strongest virtue: it is calmness, freedom of spirit, a fully trusting relationship with the Lord, gentleness in the heart, peace in the soul. Such virtue cannot be achieved immediately, but only through long Christian labors.
The sooner a person begins to eradicate this sin, the easier it will be for him to cope with it.
You need to fight not only with hoarding itself, but also with thoughts about it (the desire to have a lot of things, attempts in your own soul to justify a lot of acquisition).
You can address the Lord with these words, even daily:
Difference from foul profit and misappropriation
Nasty profitability can be called dressing up buyers at the market or in a store. Only when the seller does it consciously: adjusts the scales to the body kit. If the seller is given the wrong scales and he does not know about it, the sin is not counted.
Also, foul profitability includes everything that is profit from inciting human passions. This includes the sex industry, gambling, sale of alcohol/tobacco products, sale of counterfeit documents, buying stolen goods, parasitism, making counterfeit money. This is all based on deliberate deception for the sake of profit and enrichment. But it differs from extortion in the absence of exploitation of labor: a person, as it were, voluntarily allows himself to be deceived and even feels happy.
Fraud is extortion. A person is so obsessed with the passion for money that he only thinks about it. Money-grabbing includes not only the sin of bribery and extortion, but also excessive hoarding and storing unnecessary things. This is a prototype of Gogol's Box. Money-grubbing does not violate the rights and freedoms of another person, like extortion, but is also a sin.
As we see, money-grabbing and foul profitability do not directly exploit people, but act by deception or force them to make a choice, like bribe-takers. But in any case, a person can refuse to interact with these dishonest people, and will not suffer in any way. Covetousness is much more dangerous; it manipulates people and takes advantage of their dependent position. The person understands that he is being cruelly exploited, but he has no other choice - he works for the covetous.
Features of a covetous man
If the meaning of the word covetousness is described to a typical modern person, then often it will not look to the average person as something sinful.
Such behavior is now often widespread and, for some, even a kind of ideal to which one should strive. After all, what are the goals of the covetous:
- get money without doing anything;
- receive money from other people no matter what;
- use any options for profit;
- promote your well-being in almost any way.
Thus, such a person rejects righteous work, strives to do nothing, not to benefit others, but on the contrary, only to benefit from others, and in fact to the detriment of others.
The result may be some momentary enrichment, but such a sin ultimately leads to negative personality changes:
- self-interest develops;
- the soul is excessively in bliss, as well as the body;
- false views arise;
- faith is lost.
Now covetousness in Orthodoxy is condemned quite strictly.
There are many examples that fall under this sin, but are considered normal by many:
- accepting bribes;
- gambling;
- lending at interest;
- parasitism;
- speculation;
- falsification and use of documents;
- buying stolen goods.
Avoiding this behavior may be considered strange by many, but in reality, there are cultures and communities that quietly avoid this sin. For example, in Islam, lending money at interest is prohibited by Sharia law, and this practice does not exist at all in some countries and among Muslims around the world.
These people simply do not perceive and do not understand the possibility of giving someone money in growth, that is, at interest. It is difficult for a modern person to get rid of covetousness under the pressure of society, the prevailing way of life and habits.
By the way, in Rus', for a significant period, interest-bearing lending also did not exist (Wikipedia and other available sources can tell you about this), however, this practice was imported from other countries, in particular, by knightly orders and representatives of Middle Eastern countries.
Also, speculation or buying up stolen, questionable property is also not a normal practice for Orthodox Christians. Such behavior can be easily avoided if desired, although it is often the norm in the modern world.
Prayer against covetousness
In order not to fall into the snare of Mammon, you need to constantly be in a state of prayer. As soon as a person stops praying and attending liturgies, he is immediately attacked by demons. At the beginning this is not noticeable, but over time a person begins to develop sinful thoughts and temptations. If they are not destroyed by prayer, they will lead to a sinful path. And then trouble is just around the corner.
Every believer must feel his dependence on God and the Higher powers, realize his weak sinful nature, which costs nothing to tempt. Therefore, make a rule not to go to bed without repentance. Read the following prayer:
Two short prayers that you can constantly say in your mind save you from sinful thoughts:
- Prayer “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice”;
- Jesus Prayer.
Seraphim of Sarov advised reading the Jesus Prayer in your mind from morning until lunch, and from lunch until evening - to the Mother of God. These prayers will keep your mind and soul pure, and no enemy will approach and tempt you into sin.
Confess your sin...
You need to repent for your sins every day and do it consciously, analyzing every situation that arises. You must certainly confess them with sincere contrition in the Sacrament of Repentance in church, in order not only to repent of them, but also to receive forgiveness from the Lord.
Here is an evening prayer from the Orthodox Prayer Book, called “Confession of Everyday Sins”:
“I confess to You, Lord my God and Creator, in the One Holy Trinity, glorified and worshiped Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, all my sins, which I have committed all the days of my life, and for every hour, and now, and in past days and nights, by deed, word, thought, gluttony, drunkenness, secret eating, idle talk, despondency, laziness, bickering, disobedience, slander, condemnation, neglect, pride, avarice, theft, unspeaking, filthiness, money-gathering, jealousy, envy,
anger, memory malice, hatred, covetousness and all my feelings: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and my other sins, both mental and physical, in the image of my God and Creator I have angered You, and my neighbor has not been truthful; Regretting these things, I present my guilt to You, my God, and have the will to repent; “Indeed, Lord my God, help me, with tears I humbly pray to Thee: forgive me my sins by Thy mercy, and forgive me from all these things that I have said before Thee, for I am Good and Lover of Mankind.”
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The eighth commandment of God is to avoid committing the sin of covetousness. There are synonyms for this old Russian word: bribery, bribery, bad profit. But it’s still not worth using these words in the same context. There are some differences between bribery and extortion.
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“The love of God for us was revealed in this, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might receive life through Him. This is love, that it was not we who loved God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” BIBLE ABOUT BRIBERY SO THE HOUSE OF THE WICKED WILL BE EMPTY, AND FIRE WILL CONSUME THE TENTS OF BRIBERY
(Book of Job, chapter 15, verses 17-35) • Book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 33. BOOK OF PROPHECIES ABOUT SAMARIA (EPHRAM) AND JERUSALEM / The defeat of Assyria and the coming glory of Jerusalem / The prediction of God's reward keeps his hands from taking bribes • The book of the prophet Micah, chapter 7. REWARD AND MERCY OF GOD / Confession of sin and trust in mercy / General depravity, the ruler demands gifts, and the judge judges for bribes • The book of the prophet Amos, chapter 5. JUDGMENT OVER ISRAEL / Call to repentance You are enemies of what is right, you take bribes and pervert the affairs of the poor in court. • The book of the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 22. GOD'S JUDGMENT ON JUDAH AND JERUSALEM / Sins of Jerusalem / Indictment Bribes are taken from you to shed blood; THE BIBLE ON BRIBERY • Psalms, chapter 25. A plea for protection / His final plea for help and whose right hand is full of bribery • Second Book of Chronicles, chapter 19, . HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH FROM THE DEATH OF SOLOMON TO THE CAPTIVITY / The reign of Jehoshaphat / The transformation of Jehoshaphat The Lord our God has no unrighteousness, no partiality, no bribery. • Book of Job, chapter 15. JOB'S DEBATE WITH FRIENDS / Second cycle of speeches / Second speech of Eliphaz / The end of the wicked and fire will devour the tents of bribery THE BIBLE ON BRIBERY Deuteronomy, chapter 27. RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT / Twelve curses on Mount Ebal Cursed is he who takes a bribe
Narration of the ordeal
Ordeals are something like outposts or customs houses that meet the souls of dead people on their way, ascending to the throne of the Heavenly Judge. At each of these ordeals, an account of special sins will be required... Each passion, every sin will have its own tax collectors and torturers... Thus, the ordeals are nothing more than a private court, at which the soul is reminded and impartially evaluated all its deeds, and after which it is determined fate. This judgment is called private, in contrast to the universal one, which will be carried out on all people at the end of the world, when the Son of Man comes to earth again in His Glory... 1st ordeal: Idle talk and ridicule. 2nd ordeal: Lies and oaths.
3rd ordeal: Condemnations and slander. 4th ordeal: Gluttony and drunkenness. 5th ordeal: Laziness. 6th ordeal: Tatby. 7th ordeal: Love of money and stinginess. 8th ordeal: Extortion. 9th ordeal: Lies. 10th ordeal: Envy. 11th ordeal: Pride. 12th ordeal: Wrath. 13th ordeal: Grudges. 14th ordeal: Murders. 15th ordeal: Sorcery. 16th ordeal: Fornication. 17th ordeal: Adultery. 18th ordeal: Sodom ordeal. 19th ordeal: Heresies and schisms. 20th ordeal: No Mercy.
We advise you to study Congratulations on Maundy Thursday
Story
History is impossible without a root cause. Bribery is something that has been inherent in people from the very beginning of time, but over the centuries, unfortunately, it has only gained momentum. Of course, the law strictly punished those who took bribes, but even punishment stopped few people. Most often, the punishment was too simple and insufficient to achieve the intended goal - once and for all to discourage a person from taking bribes.
The state apparatus itself dictated such conditions that it was very difficult to resolve many issues without outside help. Naturally, no one was going to provide such help “for thank you.” Moreover, we must not forget the fact that society itself considered honest people who do not take money and conduct business “in accordance with their conscience” as simpletons, fools and fools. They were used very often, and few people thought they were smart.
This example clearly shows how public opinion influences a specific person. The majority became the same as everyone else, even if this contradicted their life and moral principles. Alas, we perceive the opinion of society as more significant than our own point of view. And only a few could resist universal bribery, but every year there were fewer and fewer such people. Unfortunately, bribery is a phenomenon that, once “stained” with it, it is impossible to “wash off” later.
