Narcissism or Martyrdom?

Man cannot live a Christian. He can only die a daily death.

- St. Sophrony of Essex

Our world is full of enticing dreams. We live in an age of unprecedented material wealth and freedom of choice. Whatever your desires, ambitions, or proclivities, the world sets before us an infinite variety of ways to satisfy them. The internet provides constant access to unfathomable amounts of information and endless entertainment. E-commerce allows us to purchase whatever we want from any corner of the globe and have it delivered directly to our doorstep. Instant, on-demand, always connected, never miss a moment. This is the brave new world that promises to assuage the restless yearning that gnaws at our hearts.

If we don’t stop and take our spiritual bearings as Orthodox Christians, we risk being swept away by the ever-shifting array of fleeting satisfactions that vie for our attention. There are many powerful forces arrayed against us—media, advertising, social norms, cultural expectations, and above all, the subtle and ingenious manipulations of the demons. All of them tell us to live for one thing: ourselves. Whatever you want, take it. You have a right to it. You’re entitled to happiness.

We define ourselves by our desires, tastes, and preferences. They form the basis of whole lifestyles and individual identities. When they go unchecked and unquestioned, we are even deceived into thinking that they represent our “true selves.” We are rapidly reaching a point in our society where there are no longer any compelling moral demands beyond the satisfaction of our individual desires, nothing that could move us to lay down our lives for a higher cause or for other people. In short, we’re a nation of narcissists.

True, people still band together based on shared interests and common identities. But it is no escape from narcissism simply to love our own image reflected in the mirror of another. Others seek a source of shared meaning and purpose in politics or protest. But the shallowness of these associations is belied by the bitter partisanship and polarization that characterizes our public life. There are fewer and fewer shared values, shared stories, shared experiences that might bind us all together regardless of political affiliation. Each successive election is couched in ever more apocalyptic terms. Each side sees the stakes as existential and passions run high.

As we celebrate July 4^th, 1776 in the midst of our narcissistic consumer culture and in the face of an acrimonious election year, we would do well to reflect on the events of July 4^th, 1918. On that terrible day, the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, his wife and five children, and their loyal servants, were murdered in cold blood by Bolshevik revolutionaries. Their deaths marked the end of the 1,600 year-long era of Christian kings inaugurated by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. In the years since, they have been recognized as saints and martyrs of the Orthodox Church. However, the Royal Martyrs were not canonized because they represented a political ideal of Christendom or Holy Rus’, but because of their own personal holiness, demonstrated by the spirit of self-sacrifice and humble love that they showed in the face of adversity until the very end. In their lives and in their deaths, we find an answer to the spiritual problems that plague our society today—the noble spirit of self-sacrifice that is the cure for our narcissism, and the humble awareness that even the most enduring political arrangements in this world are only temporary.

Tumult, strife, conflict, war—they only seem to be increasing in our world today. God forbid they should spark a conflagration like the two world wars of the 20^th century. As Christians, let us neither fear for the future, nor place vain hopes in the stability of this world. Let us rather imitate the example of the Royal Martyrs of Russia; indeed, of all the martyrs and saints of our Church, who prove the truth of St. Sophrony’s words: It is impossible to live a Christian life. One can only die a Christian. We fight the spirit of narcissism by courageously embracing the way of the Cross. We rise above the selfishness of our age by struggling daily to deny ourselves, through small acts of self-restraint and self-offering that have no immediate rewards. Let us walk the path now, while we have the time. If we don’t display courage and resolve in a time of ease, we will find ourselves unprepared for a time of testing. Whatever the future may hold for us individually or for our poor suffering world, may the God of mercies and of all comfort keep you and be with you, as He promised, unto the end of the age. Amen.