Everyone Does It

by Bishop Innokenty (Usov)

[As we approach the Great Fast, everyone knows the temptations that arise at this time of the year, more than any other, which stem from the fact that in our workplaces, among our “friends”, nobody else is fasting, nobody else is trying to be engaged in prayer or acts of selfless humility. And the urge to justify oneself often overwhelms us with the very “logic” the great defender of the faith, Bishop Innokenty speaks of here.

Some are blessed to live in small communities, walled off from “the world”, but most of us are right in the middle of it. This is a good reminder to prepare yourself for the Fast by remembering that being the only outsider (even if you are the only one who knows it) is the way it must be. It is each and every Christian’s test to prove their faith with their deeds. -OB]

It is said that there is one answer that suits every question. That answer is: "I don't know." Likewise, there is one justification that suits every wrongdoing, every sin, every bad and foolish habit. This justification states: "So it is done," "I am not the only one who does it," "Everyone does it."

Ask, for example, a gambler why he plays cards, and he will answer: "So it is done." Why do people jump and spin when they hear certain sounds? "So it is done." Why do you use foul language? "So it is done." Why do you drink excessively? They answer: "I am not the only one who does it." Why do you take bribes, engage in dishonest trade, or oppress the weak and defenseless? They justify themselves: "Everyone does it." If you rebuke thieves, swindlers, prostitutes, libertines, robbers, and so on, they will justify themselves by saying that they are not the only ones who do it.

In short, there is no vice, no evil deed, no bad or foolish action that is not justified by the expression: "So it is done" or "Everyone does it."

When I hear such justification, I am very glad that those who use it do not live in the days of Noah. Under no circumstances would they have entered the ark with such reasoning; they would have perished along with those who deserved destruction. For in those days, it was customary to commit evil, and everyone did such wicked deeds that God destroyed them with the flood. Yet Noah, among the people of his time, appeared as an eccentric, a fool who went against commonly accepted customs, lived differently than everyone else, ignoring public opinion and mockery. And so, those who do what everyone else does, without considering whether it is good or evil, in Noah’s time would have done what everyone did—except Noah’s family. Likewise, if they had lived in Sodom, they would certainly have done what all the Sodomites did. In that city, there was only one peculiar man who did not act as was customary, who did not do what everyone else did. That was Lot. And what happened? All those who acted as was customary, who did what everyone did, were burned alive by fire from heaven and sank into the earth. But Lot was saved from destruction precisely because he did not do what everyone else did, disregarding public opinion and mockery.

Today, entire countries exist where people eat human flesh, sometimes even hunting people as if they were animals. We should be grateful that those who unthinkingly act only as is customary where they live are not living among cannibals. Otherwise, they would surely be cannibals themselves.

And if they had lived in Jerusalem when Christ was on trial, they would have been among those demanding His death, for at that time everyone shouted, "Take Him away, crucify Him!"

No, brothers, if you do something, do it not because everyone else does, but because it is good. Do not be the tail of the crowd, of your friends and companions, but the head! If your friends or society urge you to commit some evil, do not agree with them under any circumstances, even if they hate and persecute you for it. Instead, try to turn them away from evil. And if that is impossible, if they seek to corrupt you morally, then leave them. Otherwise, you will have to regret it and repent—or even perish altogether.

"Companions," "friends"—these are good words. But how much evil has been done by those who bear these names! Usually, it is not enemies or ill-wishers who lead people to wicked deeds, but precisely friends and companions. If they invite you to drink, to carouse, to indulge in debauchery, how can you refuse? If ill-wishers forced you, then it would be easier to refuse. But how can one resist the persistence of friends? And so it turns out that friends ruin more people than enemies do. That is why one must be especially careful in choosing companions. If you do not have good, morally upright ones, then it is better to have none at all. Let good books and the lives of the saints be your companions, and let your chief friend be Jesus Christ. No one has ever regretted having these friends.

One must not blindly follow the advice of friends or public opinion, and especially not use them to justify one’s sinful deeds.

In the Prologue, there is a story of a jester who justified his wicked deeds by saying, "I am not the only one who does this. Where people are, there I am too; I am no better than others." And so he died. When the angels led him to the place of torment, he was horrified and trembled at the sight of the fires of Gehenna. But the angels said to him, "Why do you tremble? You chose this place yourself. You said, ‘Where people are, there I am too.’ Look, here are the very people who sinned with you, suffering. You are no better than them."

This is what comes of using the utterly unworthy justification: "So it is done. I am not the only one who does it."

A wise and faithful person must not blindly do what others do but must discern what is good and what is evil. He must do what is good and avoid what is evil, even if the whole world, the whole nation, is against him.

The measure of all actions and deeds for a Christian must not be human opinion, even public opinion, but Jesus Christ and the Holy Fathers.

One must not think that Christ is somewhere far away, high above. No, He is near us. Even closer than that—He is within us, and we are in Him. "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27), says the Holy Apostle Paul. "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me, and I in him," says the Savior (John 6:56).

Imagine that Christ is within you, inside you, and that you are clothed in Him as if in a garment, as if in the air around you. Wherever you go, whatever you do, imagine that Christ is with you. And never do anything that He would not do, nor go anywhere He would not go. For example, you want to dance. Think: would Christ dance with you? If not, then do not dance. If you are urged to play cards, to frequent taverns, brothels, to drink, to deceive, to lie, to slander, to curse, to fight, and so on—think: would Christ do this with you? Certainly not. Then you must not do it either.

If you start doing such things, Christ will not be with you; God will withdraw His saving grace from you. And if He withdraws from you, what could be worse or more terrifying than that?

One must not heed human opinion, nor the opinion of the crowd, but the opinion of Christ. And His opinion, or rather, His teaching, is laid out in the Holy Gospel, in the Apostolic Epistles, and in the writings of the Holy Fathers. That is what we must read, study, and follow. Then we will never be mistaken in anything.

However, one may, and sometimes must, listen to people and consider their opinions—but only those who follow Christ’s teachings and are imbued with the Spirit of God. One can even commit a grave sin by disregarding the opinions of such people and acting contrary to them. Judas Iscariot did not heed the opinions of the holy apostles, was unaffected by their presence, did not listen to his Teacher, and preserved his individualism and stubborn character. But what came of it? Everyone knows the outcome, and it is terrifying to speak of.

Thus, it is not always beneficial to remain entirely independent; we cannot always rely solely on ourselves as the measure of our actions. We need an objective moral standard, and we have it in Christ and the saints of God. Let us apply it in practice, measuring each of our deeds and all our lives by it.

Bishop Innokenty (Usov) of Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma, Works, Volume 1, pp. 150-152

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