by Fr. Christopher Salamy
“These three things God requires of all the baptized: right faith in the heart, truth on the tongue, temperance in the body.” — St. Gregory the Theologian
We are all striving to be good people, to truly live as God’s children; but there are challenges that accompany our lives. How do I overcome them? What do I need to do? How should I live my life as a child of God? What is required from me?
With these three attributes, St. Gregory answers the most important question which answers all the other questions: “What does it mean to truly be an Orthodox Christian?”
I. The first of St. Gregory’s requirements is “right faith in the heart.”
St. Gregory lived in the fourth century and was instrumental in establishing the Trinitarian faith we now call The Orthodox Faith. His writings formulated much of what we now believe and he fought for that truth until his life’s end. To have “right faith in the heart” means to hold steadfastly to the beliefs of the Gospel of Christ and to the dogmas of our Church and not simply to ascribe to what seems trendy or convenient at the time. Most importantly, that means that we believe in One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also means that the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ who lived among us and died on the Cross and was raised on the third day for our salvation. From these two essential beliefs all of the other teachings of the Orthodox Faith come. We must live our lives according to those beliefs which are taught in the life of the Church. It is not possible to fully know the Church’s teachings if we are not totally involved in her life. That means we must always be present in her worship, her education, her service and her fellowship. To live our lives as children of God means that we live a life that is guided and instructed by the Church.
II. St Gregory’s second requirement is “truth on the tongue.”
We all know what it means to be honest but are often confronted with situations that make it hard to tell the truth. But we can never waiver with the words that come from our mouths and the actions that we take. A person is only as good as his word and if his word is not truthful, then neither is he a truthful person. You cannot “feel” like an honest person while speaking untruthful words. The two cannot coexist! Sometimes, however, this is not as easy as it seems. Always being truthful also means that we take responsibility when we make a mistake. If someone confronts you about an inappropriate word or action, we must quickly admit to it, and take the steps to seek forgiveness, rectify the sin and move forward as a better person. Think of our country’s first President and the difficult—but honorable—story of how he admitted to chopping down the cherry tree. He probably took some heat from his parents for it, but he will always be remembered in history as a truthful man!
III. St. Gregory’s last requirement is “temperance in the body.”
Temperance is defined as: moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control. We must not let the temptations of the world overpower us. We take our strength from God Himself who is more powerful than anything we may encounter. Exercising self-control means having control over our bodies, our minds and our tongues. Guard what goes in to our bodies so we can guard what comes out of our bodies. Practically, that implies not overeating, hence the Church’s discipline of fasting. It means not craving money and material things at the expense of what’s right, hence the Church’s discipline of tithing. It means not talking excessively about non-essential and worldly things, revealed by the LORD and His saints whose mouths are always closed in their icons. And it means controlling the things we think about, i.e. not filling our souls with garbage but rather with the teachings of the Gospel.
(adopted from a Feb, 2011 public newsletter from Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church, AZ)
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