Devil do not mind our minds or our knowledge. He has more of both. He is not even afraid of our virtues. He has more of them. He lacks only one virtue, and it kills him, but saves us. What is this virtue?
…One day, having achieved something, I proudly went to my elder.
When he saw me, he immediately realized that I had fallen and, without waiting for my words, said:
“Why are we so proud, my son? What are we proud of? That we fast and eat little? The devil fasts more than we do and never eats. That we not sleep at night and sleep little? The devil is more awake than we do and never sleeps.”
By abstinence? By preserving our virginity? The devil is more virginal than we are: even if he wanted to commit adultery, he could not - he has no body.
I could not believe my ears. Whatever virtues we possess, the devil also possesses them. No matter what virtues we acquire, we will never acquire the virtues that the devil possessed when he was an archangel. And they were all lost.
Why? Because he lacked one virtue. We must strive to acquire this virtue in order to be saved.
The devil overcomes us not only with sins. He overcomes us with virtues more than with sins. We see sins and can avoid them, but we strive to acquire virtues.
A saint said:
“Do you want to fast? the devil helps you. Do you want to give alms? the devil helps you. Do you want to build churches? the devil helps you. Why? Because he knows that if we achieve all this, we may become proud and destroy everything.”
We must possess the virtue that he lacks: to be modest!!!
Monk Nikon the Athonite
Orthodox Spiritual Teachings from the Holy Elders