Thus says the Lord,
Stand in the old ways, and see,
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein,
and you shall find rest for your souls.
– Jeremiah 6.16.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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"He who exercises zeal in lesser matters should not regard lightly the more important ones; but he ought to observe the greater precepts in a preeminent manner and accomplish the lesser ones as well." – St Basil the Great

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"Note particularly that the practice must proceed step by step, slowly and with great restraint. Unless this way of life be adopted gradually it may lose its essential character and turn into nothing but an outward observance of rules... physical activity... is easier and therefore attractive; inner activity is difficult and so it repels us. ...Not that we should abandon exterior work, which is, on the contrary, the support of that which goes on within: they should both be done together. Priority must go to inner worship, because one must serve God in spirit, must worship Him in spirit and truth." – St Theophan the Recluse

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If there is any clear danger in a book of this kind, it is that someone will not understand its place in the larger scheme of Orthodox life. We are concerned here, not with ends, but with the means to those ends.

In his famous conversation with Motovilov, St. Seraphim of Sarov said, "Prayer, fasting, vigil, and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, do not constitute the aim of our Christian life, although they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end." The aim, or end, we are seeking is our salvation; the means to salvation is a life of repentance, part of which includes observant living. Anyone who tries to make of Orthodox observance an end in itself has missed the point completely, and that person risks the very serious pitfalls of legalism, externalism and spiritual pride.

Legalism arises when someone thinks he can be saved by the observance of rules and regulations. Such a person thinks, "If I do this and this and this, I will be a ‘good Orthodox’ and that’s all that matters."

Legalism is an attitude that should be foreign to the Orthodox Christian, but it is a common affliction, especially among converts. Orthodoxy is not legalistic, and there is no list of things a person can do to be accounted a "good Orthodox Christian." The measure of all things is the Father’s love for us. We do not try to purchase that love with good conduct. Rather, being in love with Him we seek every possible means to increase that love and to please Him. As we said above, the means is repentance, and here we find the real impetus for observance: observant living serves the pursuit of the Father’s love because it contributes to the repentant way of life. Observance can help you to attain love; it is not a substitute for love.

Externalism comes about when someone fails to concern himself with the "internal" realities of Orthodox life: repentance, humility, love, faith, etc. External observance is much easier to achieve... and it is not so hard on the conscience. As a result, some people make external observance and outward conduct the whole domain of their spiritual effort in order to give the appearance of piety. These people run the risk of becoming the whitewashed tombs of Orthodoxy. Our Lord has told us not to omit the external things, but to give more attention to "the weightier matters of the Law," justice, mercy and faith [Mt 23.23], which are "internal," spiritual realities.

Finally, spiritual pride attacks someone who is pleased with his spiritual accomplishments: he says his daily prayers, he tithes, he shows up for all the services, crosses himself and bows at all the right times, and he takes satisfaction in these things. Having justified himself, he is like the Pharisee, when he should strive to be like the Publican and say, "I have done nothing good. O God, be merciful to me a sinner."

"Self-denial, which is so often mentioned in connection with the practice of Christianity, is conceived by some as an end in itself; they look upon it as the essential point of every Christian’s life.
     But it is only a way and a means for achieving our end – the putting on of Christ.
     Neither must we think, as others do – going to the opposite extreme – that self-denial means renouncing one’s personality, one’s own path, a sort of spiritual suicide. Quite the contrary: self-denial is liberation from the slavery of sin (without self-denial we are prisoners), and the free manifestation of our true essence as originally designed for us by God." – Fr Alexander Elchaninov

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"People concern themselves with Christian upbringing but leave it incomplete: they neglect the most essential and most difficult side of the Christian life, and dwell on what is easiest, the visible and external. This imperfect or misdirected upbringing produces people who observe with the utmost correctness all the formal and outward rules for devout conduct, but who pay little or no attention to the inward movements of the heart and to true improvement of the inner spiritual life. They are strangers to mortal sins, but they do not heed the play of thoughts in the heart. Accordingly, they sometimes pass judgements, give way to boastfulness or pride, sometimes get angry (as if this feeling were justified by the rightness of their cause), are sometimes distracted by beauty and pleasure, sometimes even offend others in fits of irritation, are sometimes too lazy to pray, or lose themselves in useless thoughts while at prayer. They are not upset about doing these things, but regard them as without significance. They have been to church, or prayed at home according to the established rule, and carried out their usual business, and so they are quite content and at peace. But they have little concern for what is happening in the heart. In the meantime it may be forging evil, thereby taking away the whole value of their correct and pious life." – St Theophan the Recluse