The threefold war against the first believers

For it was not only cities and countrysides that fought, but often households fought against themselves, and the turmoil that gripped them then was harsher than any civil war. Property was being snatched away, freedom was being betrayed, and danger hung over life itself—not because barbarians were raiding and attacking, but because the very people who seemed to be leaders and rulers treated their subjects more harshly than any enemy. Paul made this clear when he said, “You endured a great contest of sufferings: sometimes being made a spectacle through reproaches and afflictions, and sometimes becoming partners with those who were treated this way. For you suffered together with me in my chains, and you accepted the plundering of your possessions with joy” (Hebrews 10:32-34). And to the Galatians he says, “Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain?” (Galatians 3:4). And to the Thessalonians, and the Philippians, and simply to all those to whom he writes, he bears witness to many such things.

And this was not the only difficulty—that a great and unceasing war was stirred up from outside—but also among the faithful themselves there happened to be scandals, strifes, rivalries, and jealousies. Paul made this clear when he said, “Outside are battles, within are fears” (2 Corinthians 7:5). And this war was harsher than the other, both for those being led and for the teachers. Paul did not fear the plots of enemies as much as he feared the falls within and the transgressions of his own people. When someone among the Corinthians committed fornication, he spent all that time mourning, tearing at his own heart and crying out bitterly.

There was also a third thing, no less than those already mentioned, that brought great labor upon the faithful: the very nature of the matters themselves, full of many sweats and toils. For the road onto which the apostles led them was not easy and smooth, but rough and hard to set right, requiring a soul that was philosophical, wakeful, and precise in every way. This is why Christ called it narrow and afflicted. For it was not permitted to live without fear, as among the Greeks, in shamefulness, drunkenness, gluttony, luxury, and extravagance. Instead, one had to bridle anger, master disordered desire, look down on money, trample on glory, and rise above envy and malice. How much labor these things require is known by those who wrestle with them every day.

Tell me, what is harsher than disordered desire, which leaps on us constantly like a rabid dog, troubles us every day, and requires a soul that is perpetually awake? And what is more bitter than anger? For it is sweet to take revenge on the one who wronged you, but this was not permitted. And why do I say it was not permitted to take revenge on the one who wronged you? One had to do good to those who caused grief, bless those who insulted, and never utter a bitter word. And one had to display self-control not only in actions but even in thought. For one must abstain not only from the licentious act itself but also from such looking, and not even feast one's eyes on the sight of beautiful women, since one was about to undergo the ultimate punishment even for this gazing. Since, then, the war from outside was great, the fear from within was great, and the labor for the work of virtue was great.