Disregard
“Disregard occurs whenever we fail to consider God’s view of how we are living – including our inaction…Chronic disregard sears the conscience and prevents us from knowing fear of the Lord. We can become completely sealed off from awareness of God’s presence and never notice the failure deep within us (Jeremiah 6:15). Most of the evils in this life come about when we turn away…When we lose the fear of God, we silence the heart, stifle the saving voice of shame, and shut off healing tears…. Never imagine that neglect of God or persistent opposition to Him will yield anything but a bitter harvest…Saint John Climacus offers this wise word for overcoming disregard of God: “Pray often at the coffins and engrave an indelible image of them in your heart. For unless you inscribe [them] there, you will never conquer disregard of God…” (Dynamis 2/17/2022)
“Any good thing can be distorted beyond all recognition by slavery to our passions, our disordered desires that in one way or another serve only ourselves….we must remain on guard against the powerful temptation to make our faith a way of building ourselves up in our own minds over against other people. We will bring judgment only on ourselves as religious hypocrites if we corrupt the fullness of Christian belief into a perverse justification for hating or disregarding anyone. The more we think of ourselves as isolated individuals whose only hope is to protect ourselves against other people in a battle for getting what we want on our own terms in this life, the more enslaved to fear we will be.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“Obsessed with novelty and innovation, our society lacks a sense of history. One of the results of the disregard of the past is that we forget what we owe to those who have gone before us. Instead, each of our modern generations considers itself superior to the previous one. And most would rather break tradition than follow it.” (Fr. Basil)
“Man has loved the world, but as an end in itself and not as transparent to God. He has done it so consistently that it has become something that is “in the air.” It seems natural for man to experience the world as opaque, and not shot through with the presence of God. It seems natural not to live a life of thanksgiving for God’s gift of a world. It seems natural not to be eucharistic. The world is a fallen world because it has fallen away from the awareness that God is all in all. The accumulation of this disregard for God is the original sin that blights the world. And even the religion of this fallen world cannot heal or redeem it, for it has accepted the reduction of God to an area called “sacred” (“spiritual,” “supernatural”)—as opposed to the world as “profane.” It has accepted the all-embracing secularism which attempts to steal the world away from God.” (Fr. Alexander Schmemann)
“If the first great commandment of love for God and, by extension for one’s neighbors, is the basis of all the other commandments of Christ’s, we can readily understand why we can’t be Christians without them. Of course, the all-important thing is that we should walk in the way of the Lord, should know the reason for our existence….‘good Christians’ aren’t those people who are moral, who are faithful observers of the Law of God or those who are pious, but those who wish and strive to be useful to people, as Christ was. This shouldn’t be taken as disregard for the practice of fasting and self-restraint. Nor as disregard for the sacraments, prayer and study. Because without them, we can love as much as we’re able, but not in the way Christ does. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christ makes Christians embrace every other person, whatever they are, however they live, without distinction.” (Fr. Andreas Agathokleous)
“Disregard occurs whenever we fail to consider God’s view of how we are living – including our inaction…Chronic disregard sears the conscience and prevents us from knowing fear of the Lord. We can become completely sealed off from awareness of God’s presence and never notice the failure deep within us (vs. 15). When we lose the fear of God, we silence the heart, stifle the saving voice of shame, and shut off healing tears.” (OCPM 10/6/2016)
“We might characterize disregard as a failure to heed natural restraints as well as the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” (Dynamis 11/28/13)
“When the society around us regards the Church’s laws and traditions unfavorably, we can easily give in to thinking the same thing and disregard them ourselves.” (Abbot Tryphon)
“Living life according to God’s purpose does not disregard anyone’s wish list (though for some it may alter the outcome dramatically!). Living according to His purpose brings meaning to our lives, provides a feeling of fulfillment at our deepest levels, and creates in us an impression of wonderment and trust.” (Cynthia Yates)
“Pray often at the coffins, and engrave an indelible image of them in your heart. For unless you inscribe [them] there,” you will never conquer disregard of God.” (Saint John of Sinai)