God, who yearns for the salvation of all men and hungers after their deification, withers their self-conceit like the unfruitful fig tree (Matthew 21:19-21). He does this so that they may prefer to be righteous in reality rather than in appearance, discarding the cloak of hypocritical moral display and genuinely pursuing a virtuous life in the way that the divine Logos wishes them to. They will then live with reverence, revealing the state of their soul to God rather than displaying the external appearance of a moral life to their fellow-men.
~St Maximos the Confessor
Prayerful Life 