Overcome Your Favorite Sin ~ Pope Shenouda III
The sin that is cherished within the heart is the first obstacle between a person and God. If one triumphs over this sin, one lives victoriously; but if one is defeated by this sin, no matter how victorious one may be in all other matters, it is of no avail. Do you love God so much that nothing can separate you from Him? If there is anything that separates you from Him, then this is the sin that is cherished. There are people who have lost the entire Kingdom of Heaven because of a single sin. Search within yourself for your point of weakness. When Satan attacks a person, he doesn't attack them in every sin, but rather he observes and attacks them in their point of weakness. If you triumph in this point of battle, Satan will flee from you and will not attack you in the rest. Instead of immersing ourselves in numerous spiritual exercises, let us search for the point of weakness that clouds the purity of the heart and the clarity of the soul, the very arena of defeat. Let us tearfully ask the Lord to grant us the grace to triumph and focus all our efforts on it. This point of weakness is the one that recurs in every confession, the one that a person doesn't repent of, the one that touches the heart and emotions, the one in which a person may be mighty and powerful in everything else but not in this particular area. Like Samson, the mighty warrior, who had one weakness—Delilah—even though he was a judge of the people, a savior of the people, a son of the promise, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him, he had to overcome his weakness, Delilah, or his efforts would be in vain. David, the mighty warrior from his youth, who defeated a bear and a lion as a boy and Goliath, had one weakness that was the root of all his troubles. He who conquers himself is better than he who conquers a city. Let us examine ourselves, and may the Lord help us to be cleansed from all our sins.