Indifference to Worldly Distinctions

72. If you are not indifferent to both fame and dishonor, riches and poverty, pleasure and distress, you have not yet acquired perfect love. For perfect love is indifferent not only to these but even to this fleeting life and to death.

St. Maximus the Confessor Four Hundred Centuries on Love: #72

Maximus the Confessor emphasizes that perfect love is indifferent to worldly distinctions such as fame, dishonor, riches, poverty, pleasure, and distress. This indifference is a hallmark of perfect love, which focuses solely on the eternal rather than the temporal.

Imagine a majestic mountain peak rising above the clouds, untouched by the changing weather below. Perfect love is like this peak, maintaining its constancy regardless of the shifting conditions of the world. It draws its strength from the eternal presence of God, not from the fleeting validations of the world.

To achieve this state of perfect love, we must cultivate a detachment from worldly attachments. This does not mean rejecting the world but seeing it through the lens of divine love, where the transient nature of earthly distinctions becomes clear. By doing so, we align our hearts with the eternal, finding peace and stability in God’s unwavering love.

This indifference to worldly distinctions allows us to love others more deeply and genuinely, free from the constraints of societal expectations and personal biases. It opens the door to a more profound connection with God and with each other, fostering a community built on the foundation of divine love.