The Great Letter

X.1 Those who, because they are still in spiritual infancy, are not yet able to devote themselves wholly to the work of prayer should prepare themselves, with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, for service, obedience, or any task that brings relief to the brothers. Let them fulfill it as a commandment of God and as a spiritual work. They must not expect honor or gratitude from men, for it is not from men that they receive their reward; rather, with watchfulness let them give themselves wholly to these services as works belonging to God. Let them serve joyfully as slaves of Christ, never allowing wickedness, through people-pleasing, murmuring, arrogance, conceit, negligence, or contempt, to defile their good work and poison it with the venom of its deceit. Let them sanctify their manner of life by reverence, the fear of God, and love for God, and it will become well-pleasing to him.

X.2 For the Lord descended to the human race with great love for mankind and boundless goodness. He therefore permits no one to remain idle with respect to virtue or any good work, but gives each person a labor proportionate to the strength of his free choice, while in his generosity calling everyone each day toward greater commandments and virtues.

X.3 For he says: "Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, shall not lose his reward." [Matt. 10:42] See how easy the Lord has made the commandment, so that no one, even one whose free choice is weak and relaxed, should be deprived of participation in the good. And again he says: "Whoever does this to one of these, does it to me." [Matt. 25:40] Only let what is done be done for God's sake and not for human glory. He adds, "in the name of a disciple," that is, so that the good may be done in the fear of God and with the love of Christ.

X.4 For those who do anything for display, for human glory and praise, the Lord reproves and condemns, saying: "They do all their works in order to be seen by men" [Matt. 23:5]; and then he adds with solemn assurance: "Truly I say to you, they have received their reward." [Matt. 6:2] Therefore he commands his disciples: "Take heed that you do not perform your almsgiving, your fasting, and your prayer before men... otherwise you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." [Matt. 6:2, 5, 16] He exhorts us to reject glory, honor, and praise that come from men and not even to admit them into the mind, but, as has been said above, to receive true glory and praise from God alone. For the Lord teaches that whatever good is done by us should not be done for the sake of becoming known to men. Yet how is this to be understood when he himself counsels that our good works, done for the glory of God, should shine before men like a light, saying: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven"? [Matt. 5:16]

X.5 The apostles also, legislating by the Holy Spirit, determined that those turning from the Gentiles should not be troubled with everything at once, commanding them to abstain from what was most necessary to avoid: sexual immorality, things sacrificed to idols, things strangled, and blood. [Acts 15:19, 28-29] In their great and immeasurable goodness and compassion they were silent for the time about the multitude of the commandments. Lightening the burden of their spiritual infancy, the apostles wished them first simply to come to faith and abandon idolatrous worship; afterward, by gradually attending to the Word of Truth, they could be deemed worthy of instruction concerning the greater commandments and be stirred to advance toward spiritual maturity.

X.6 But if someone is sluggish in prayer and also displays softness, negligence, and carelessness in service or in any other work undertaken for the relief of the brothers, without striving, as becomes a true man, diligently to fulfill the work entrusted to him, let him hear the Apostle, who calls such a person idle. Showing that such a man does not work but merely wastes his time, the Apostle does not deem him worthy even of bread, saying: "If anyone will not work, neither let him eat." [2 Thess. 3:10] Elsewhere it is said that God also hates the idle, and that the idle man cannot be faithful. And in the book of Wisdom it is said: "Idleness has taught much evil." [Sir. 33:28] Everyone is obliged to bear fruit in whatever work he performs for the Lord and to be diligent, even if only in one service, lest by being fruitless he be deprived of eternal life.