Sinner's sadness

[Not David]

Howdy! In the last days I have been feeling sad because I realize I'm a sinful man who is a bad representative of Christianity and the Orthodox faith, even if I am not Orthodox yet.

What should I do?

 

[Anhelyna]

Talk to your priest and start again.

We are all sinners and fail but we can start again when necessary [ and it often is ]

 

[BigRed009]

David,

All of us are sinners.

Romans 3:23 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Only God is truely good. Be joyful for what Jesus did on the cross. He loved you so much that he died for you, even before you were born or first sinned.

Romans 5:8 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

What we can all do is be grateful for Jesus; and in that gratefulness, leave our sins (repent) and live for God.

 

[Not David]

Talk to your priest and start again.

We are all sinners and fail but we can start again when necessary [ and it often is ]

That's another problem, I haven't been able to meet any priest at the city I am staying.

 

[Robin Mauro]

Howdy! In the last days I have been feeling sad because I realize I'm a sinful man who is a bad representative of Christianity and the Orthodox faith, even if I am not Orthodox yet.

What should I do?

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
"...none may boast..."
Our hope is in Christ alone.

 

[Tree of Life]

If Eastern Orthodoxy doesn't work out you can always try the Reformed tradition. We only have sinners over here so you'd fit right in!

 

[Robin Mauro]

Howdy! In the last days I have been feeling sad because I realize I'm a sinful man who is a bad representative of Christianity and the Orthodox faith, even if I am not Orthodox yet.

What should I do?

P.S. I think it was Mother Theresa who said no one scared her as much as those who thought they were without sin.
So, repent, humbly ask God to help you, and trust in Jesus' sacrifice.
And you might want to be careful of orthoxy. It seems to me they often make the mistake of making it all about rules. I think the leaders in Jesus' time did the same, and they wound up hating Jesus and seeking to kill him, because it was about them, not Him.
God bless you. I will pray for you. Please pray for me too.
We are all in the same boat down here, you know?

 

[Robin Mauro]

That's another problem, I haven't been able to meet any priest at the city I am staying.

But you do have the greatest priest, everywhere you go...Jesus.
You can access him every day in the word, and through prayer

 

[Lukaris]

The key is to avoid despair; sadness hits all of us but we still live by faith. Sometimes my unworthiness makes me wonder how I represent my faith. St. Paul repented from his past & boldly said he is not ashamed of the Gospel ( Romans 1:16).

Surely I dare not compare myself to St. Paul. On a lower level, amidst my sins, I feel some realization at times. As long as I know my sinful state, I think it helps me avoid delusion, to keep the golden rule ( Matthew 7:1-12), remember the commandments (Matthew 22:36-40) in expressing myself. I feel that I also might be blessed to inform someone better than me who could otherwise do something better than I would do with it. I also know I spout stupidity sometimes.

 

[ArmyMatt]

pray to make a good beginning, leave the past at the foot of the Cross where it belongs.

 

[Andrew77]

Howdy! In the last days I have been feeling sad because I realize I'm a sinful man who is a bad representative of Christianity and the Orthodox faith, even if I am not Orthodox yet.

What should I do?

You should rejoice because you are exactly who Jesus wishes to reach out to. Jesus never came to save the perfect, but rather the flawed. Not the people who are well need a doctor, but those who are sick.

So you are the man Jesus wants. Now pray and repent of whatever it is that is causing you to be burdened, talk to your priest and pray with them. Forgiveness is always there for those willing to turn away from their sin.

 

[Not David]

It might be that I miss the Liturgy too, I haven't gone to Church in 3 weeks and I have only met one Orthodox Christian here. I feel isolated.

 

[Chesterton]

What should I do?

I pray Psalm 50 frequently when I feel that way.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Howdy! In the last days I have been feeling sad because I realize I'm a sinful man who is a bad representative of Christianity and the Orthodox faith, even if I am not Orthodox yet.

What should I do?

Prayers.

For what it's worth (I can't know what's going on with you) ... Orthodoxy tends to be very effective at making us aware of our true spiritual condition relative to Christ Himself. Despair would not be a good result, but it's good for teaching us humility. Sometimes that realization (even ongoing) is a very good thing. But not fun or easy (to me anyway.)

It would be good to talk to a priest. But it can even be progress. Like I said though, I can't know what's going on with you, and diagnosing ourselves is sometimes foolish or even dangerous.

 

[~Anastasia~]

It might be that I miss the Liturgy too, I haven't gone to Church in 3 weeks and I have only met one Orthodox Christian here. I feel isolated.

Any particular reason why you can't go? Forgive me if I've missed it. I've missed a LOT on CF lately.

 

[Not David]

Any particular reason why you can't go? Forgive me if I've missed it. I've missed a LOT on CF lately.

I had some immigration issues so I came back to Ecuador for the summer and there is barely an Orthodox Church close to me, meanwhile there are like 3 Mormon churches by my neighborhood.

 

[Anhelyna]

David -- can you email the priest you were in contact with before you went back to Ecuador ?

 

[Not David]

David -- can you email the priest you were in contact with before you went back to Ecuador ?

Sure, I went to two churches once when I was in L.A. though

 

[Anhelyna]

Email contact might be able to give you that help and support you are needing - it's worth a shot

 

[~Anastasia~]

I agree, best to be in SOME contact. There are also streaming services, teaching podcasts, music on Ancient Faith Radio.

Is there an Orthodox Church you could get to at least some times in order to receive Communion?

Prayers.