Ego Placement – Day 20 of 40

Armodoxy for Today: Ego Placement –  Day 20 of Lent

Continuing on yesterday’s look at the ego as motivator and hinderance to a full life, today we continue with ways of feeding the ego.

Think of the great people who have impacted the world. Now focus on the great people in your own life. They may be a parent or a teacher, or a mentor. You will find again that these have been the ones who have been willing to put themselves second to better the lives of others, be they their children, their husbands, their wives, their country, their society or their community. Whatever the case, in the sacrifice that they made, ego was contained. Ego was put on hold so that others were allowed to prosper.

To raise children, to support a husband or a wife, to deal with aging parents, to offer love and affection to people around, requires sacrifice. Armodoxy is the faith of the Armenian Church which has fed this atmosphere of sacrifice.

Many times in church life we need volunteers to get jobs done. Sometimes we think, would it not be easier if we paid people to work in these positions? Certainly it would be easier, but the real power of getting things done in the church is by volunteers, because in volunteerism the ego has to be suppressed. When you get down on your knees and wipe the floors of a church you acknowledge that there is something greater than yourself there that needs to be served. When you volunteer to help in community organizations, in organizations that have goals that are striving for peace or world justice, you are placing a greater-than-sign (>) between the purpose and yourself. In volunteering, the ego gets left behind. You are not as important as the “we.”

In the story of the Prodigal Son the younger brother is driven by ego. He wants his inheritance, not for some community project, not to better the lives of other people but to enjoy himself. Quickly we see that when the money runs out and so does the enjoyment. His friends back off. There is no intrinsic value to the things he acquired. He was driven by ego, and he lost the value of life.

Today’s act of charity is to increase the use of the word “we” and fast from the use of the words “I” and “me.” And try today’s recipe for Hot and Sour Soup, with link below.

Today’s prayer is a with a simple question presented to us by the saint of Armenian Orthodoxy, St. Gregory of Narek (6) to guide us in our prayers, What use, what good is it to me to exhaust myself with this stream of words, the voice of my sighing heart? Amen.

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 20: Hot and Sour Soup