Guarding Oneself

Καὶ τὰς ἀκοὰς δὲ ασφελῶς ἀποφράττωμεν, ὥστε μήτε ἀκοὴν ματαίαν παραδέχεσθαι, καθάπερ ὁ μακάριος Μωῦσῆς παρήγγειλε λέγων· Ἀκοὴν ματαίαν μὴ παραδέξῃ· καὶ πάλιν ὁ μακάριος Δαυῖδ ἔλεγε· Τὸν καταλαλοῦντα λάθρα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, τοῦτον ἐξεδίωκον. Εἰδες, ἀγαπητὲ, ὄσης ἡμῖν ἀγρυπνία χρεία, ὄσου πόνου πρὸς τὴν ἀρετήν; πῶς καὶ βραχὺ μέρος ἀμεληθὲν, ὁλόκληρον ἡμῖν ἐπάγει τὸν κίνδυνον; Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἑτέρωθι ἐβόα ὁ μακάριος εγκλαῶν τῷ τοῦτο ποιοῦντι· Καθήμενος κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου κατελάλεις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς μητρός σου ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον. Ἐαν οὕτως ἡμῶν ἂπαντα τὰ μέλη τειχίσωμεν, δυνησόμεθα καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργα διεγερθῆναι, καὶ τὴν μὲν γλῶτταν πρὸς δοξολογίαν καὶ ὕμνους τοὺς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν ἀπασχολεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἀκοὴν πρὸς ἀκρόασιν καὶ μάθησιν τῶν θείων λογίων, καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν πρὸς τὴν κατανόησιν τῶν πνευματικῶν διδαγμάτων, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας μὴ πρὸς ἀρπαγὴν καὶ πλεονεξίαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων ἐργασίαν, καὶ τοὺς πόδας μὴ εἰς θέατρα καὶ ἱπποδρομίας, καὶ τὰς ἐπιβλαβεῖς θεωρίας, ἀλλ' εἰς ἐκκλησίαν καὶ εἰς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους, καὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων θήκας, ἴνα τὴν παρ' αὐτῶν εὐλογίαν καρπούμενοι, ἀχειρώτους ἑαυτοὺς καταστήσωμεν ταῖς τοῦ διαβόλου παγίσιν. Ὁμῖλία ΙΕ'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

And let us guard our ears lest we allow ourselves to hear vain speech, as the blessed Moses taught, saying, 'Do not receive vain speech.' And again blessed David said, 'The detractors of their neighbours in secret I shall pursue.' You see, dearest, how much work there is for us in the struggle, how much labour for the sake of virtue is expected of us? How it is that even a little part neglected that the whole is endangered? So even in another place the blessed David cries out, accusing those who do it, 'Sitting reviling your brother and against your son and mother placing scandal.' If we thus guard every part we should be able to perform the works of virtue and give the tongue time to sing hymns and praises to God, and the ear to the hearing of the high and edifying Divine words, and the mind to spiritual instruction, and hands to alms and the doing of good deeds, and not to theft and excessive taking, and turn the feet not to the theatre nor to the racetrack for harmful sights but to the church and to the houses of prayer and to the shrines of the Holy Martyrs there to hear fruitful speech and make ourselves unconquerable by the traps of the devil. Fifteenth Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom