END WELL

Not even David was blameless. For his thoughts were diverted and he sinned against Uriah's wife. Another example is surely enough to keep one who is living a godly life safe. This example is Judas' fall from better to worse. 

After being Christ's disciple for so long, he sold his Master for his own profit but received punishment instead. Learn from this, beloved, that the one who begins well isn't perfect. It is the one who ends well whom God approves of. 

So then, don't allow your eyes to sleep or your eyelids to slumber so that you can be saved like "a roe from the net and a bird from the snare." 

For you are passing through the midst of traps. You are walking on top of a high wall where a fall is much more dangerous. 

Therefore, don't try to be extremely disciplined right away. Above everything, beware of your own confidence, lest you fall from a height of discipline because of lack of training. 

It is better to move ahead a little at a time. So then, withdraw from the pleasures of life little by little. Gradually destroy all your evil habits, lest you bring on yourself a mass of temptations by stirring up all of your passions at once. When you have mastered one passion, then begin waging war against another. And before long, you will get the better of them all.

St. Basil

(08-28-02)