Sanctifying Work

The practice of our faith does not end at home but must be part of our whole life.  Often when we go to our work we feel separated from our faith and subjected to a different set of rules.  There is some truth to this as each organization has its values which are encoded into their systems and procedures and norms of workplace behavior. So we may find that we bring into our work a different value system based on our Orthodox faith. Even if it is different we must bring it through our presence and witness to our faith.

We sanctify our work thorough our way of life and our prayers. It is by our inner state that our work becomes sanctified. It is ideal when our employer also has a desire to sanctify the workplace because he or she will then have concern about each employee's spiritual growth. We cannot count on this however.

Here is what Elder paisios has to say,

Every profession can be sanctified. For example, a doctor mustn't forget that what helps the most in medicine is the Grace of God. This is why he should strive to become a vessel of Divine Grace. A doctor who is a good Orthodox Christain, along with being a good scientist, helps the sick with his kindness and his faith, because he encourages them to face their illness with faith. He can say to someone who suffers from a very serious illness: "This is as far as medicine has progressed. From this point on however, there is also God Who works miracles."

In our work, as we perfect our inner being to become centered in God at all times, we will find many ways to glorify God through our actions.  It may be a kind word to a fellow employee, an act of kindness to a customer, or spiritual advice we are able to give to another person we interact with. It's not always what we say but how we are. It all depends on our ability to love others no matter what their value system is. When we do this we will discern the right things to say to others that will glorify God in His love for all mankind.

We can include icons in our work space to help keep us focused. We can take a few breaks during the day for silent prayer to keep us centered. And when we are idle we can recite the Jesus prayer over and over. And at all time we must be ever watchful for those ugly passion that can rear their ugly head at any time. 

But all this assumes we are living the Orthodox way of life. This is a life of repentance, of daily prayer coupled with fasting according to the guidelines of the Church or our spiritual father. It assumes we regularly participate in the sacraments of Holy Communion and Holy Confession.  It means we must be students of the Holy Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers. When we live a sanctified life based on our love for God and our deep faith we are led along a path of inner purification. As our inner being is purified we can become more effective in sanctifying our work place. As we sanctify ourselves we can sanctify the places we work.

Reference:Elder Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels IV: Family Life, pp 185-186

Bored With Your Work?

Many people to day do not find satisfaction from their work.  They claim they are bored or treated unfairly. They say the time goes slow and they are constantly looking for the end of their work period.  But there are many more who love to go to work. Some are so immersed in their work that they may even forget to eat properly. How does one turn work into something we gain spiritual satisfaction from and feel nourished through it?
Elder Paisios has this to say,

It depends on how each one does the work, and what one has within him. If one works with humility and love, everything will be illumined, full of light and graceful, and he will feel inner repose. But if one has prideful thoughts, imagining that he does the work better than others, he may have a sense of satisfaction, but it doesn't fill his heart, for his soul doesn't sense it.

To gain joy our from our work depends on how we approach it, what attitude we bring to it. Elder Paisios says, "If one doesn't do his work with love, he gets tired and weary." This is the attitude of love we must have no matter how mundane the task we are asked to do in the work place.  It is a place to practice what Christ has taught us, to love one another, to avoid gossip and judging others. This requires humility as we approach the work place. 

But what if we feel we should be doing work that is more meaningful? It may be that the kind of work you do is not suited to your skills. Then with prayer and help from friends, you can be guided to seek training for different kinds of work.  But you must first make sure you have mastered the nature of the workplace, so that when you do get another kind of work you do not suffer in the same way. 

First, find a way to love while you work, to give thanks to God for all things. Seek to bring cheer and goodness to those who you relate to at work. There may be new opportunities that open up for you where you are, or you may find new energy to enroll in a series of classes that will qualify you for different kind of work.

With an atitude of love and humility you will find that you will be able to have joy in any job and more likely be guided to work that fits your natural God given capabilities.

Resource: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels IV: Family Life, pp 180-181

How Can Parents Help Our Children Choose a Profession?

Choosing a profession these days is often difficult for young people as there are so many options and we are often find a conflict in choosing what we enjoy versus what will earn us lots of money. How can a parent help guide a child in this choice?

First, we cannot put money as our primary criteria as we will likely mislead our child. What is important is to discern the skills that God has given our child based on what they have chosen to do so for.  What is it they excel at? What is it that gives them joy? What are their innate skills and personality type. With careful discernment we can gently guide them in a direction where they make choices that are in harmony with God's will for them. We mustn't be too pushy about this or get in our minds what our child should become based on our desires. 

Elder Paisios tells the story of a parent who want their son to become a doctor, but his inclination was to become a priest. They wouldn't let him, forcing him along the path to medical school. 

The young man had studied Byzantine music and chanted; he had even made his own musical instrument, and found the tones on his own. He knew Byzantine music by heart. He had a gift. He wrote chants and services. As soon as he finished high school, he took the entrance exam and was accepted into the Theological School. His mother had a nervous breakdown because of her grief. She would come and to me and beg: "Father, pray for me to get well, and I'll let my child do whatever he wants." But when she did get well she refused to let him do what he wanted. Later, he abandoned everything and in the end wasted away.

We can easily confuse our own wishes for our children for what is best for them. We must try to understand what God intends for them and help them do whatever it is that fits their natural God given talents. This we can usually see from an early age.

Elder Paisios tells of a story of a two young boys who came to visit him who were about seven years old. One of them sat next to hims and kept asking questions. The elder then asked him, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" He answered, "I want to be a lawyer." The other boy was no where in sight. They sought out to find where he went and found him in the wood shop. The heard the sound of a hammer pounding on wood. When they entered the wood shop they saw the young boy pounding with a hammer a smooth plank used of planing that was on the work bench that was now warped beyond salvage. The elder asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up and he said, "A cabinet maker." The elder smiled at him and said to him, " May you become one." He also told him with a smile, "so you destroyed the plank! Its alright!"

Naturally we want to help our children to avoid going in directions that are not in line with  their capabilities. So there is useful guidance we can and must provide. We also have to make sure what direction they take is in harmony with God.

Reference: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels IV: Family LIfe, pp 178-180

Work is a Blessing

"Better to wear our your shoes than your blankets"

Elder Paisios quotes this old saying and asks, "What does it mean?" Clearly it is saying that it is better to work, which in earlier times would wear out your shoes, than to be lazy and to spend your time in bed wearing out the blankets.

  

Elder Paisios describes work in this way:

Work is a blessing, a gift from God. Work gives vigor to the body and refreshes the mind. If God had not given us work, man would have become moldy  Those who are diligent work into their old age. If they stop working while they still have strength, they become melancholy; it's like death for them.

There is no way to gain peace without engaging in work of some kind.  When we do take a break, like a vacation or even a lunch hour, when we did not return to work, what would we do? We would seek out some other kind of comfort. When it ended we would seek another. We would never find satisfaction. We would be filled with anxiety, not from work, but from our inability to find true comfort.  We would feel an emptiness, a need for being of some value to others. Our soul would be longing to carry out the will of God which is to help and love others. This is why even though we may find ourselves fatigued at the end of a good days work, we can feel a sense of joy that we have been useful, worthwhile, have contributed to the life of mankind.

It is important to carry our faith into our work place. We should pray before we take on our various projects for God to guide and help us. We should find ways to show kindness to those we work with. In this way we carry our God's will into our work place. What is essential is to always keep God in mind while we work.

Work is a blessing from God

Resource: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos spiritual Counsels IV: Family Life, pg176

It's What God Gives Us That is Important

It's what God gives us that is important in attaining perfection – Not what we give Him. He gives us mercy. He gives us forgiveness. He gives us His love. At the moment of our Baptism we are pure. At the moment of absolution in our Confession we are pure, at the moment we receive Him into our body in Holy Communion we are pure. Not as the result of our efforts but as His gift of mercy and love. We then continue to struggle against the evil forces of the world and can be tempted to forget and fall into error anytime. God is still there with mercy, forgiveness and Love. Out of our love for Him we are sorry for our forgetfulness and error and seek His forgiveness and mercy which He freely gives back. We struggle to improve so we will not be as forgetful. We fast to help us remember Him and to increase our control over the passions of the Body. We pray and learn to have the Jesus Prayer on our lips when we are tempted or face difficulty. We work to improve ourselves to be a good servant of our Lord. We do not do this for merit but out of our love of Him, our desire to do what He wills recognizing our weaknesses when facing the spirutual war we are engaged in. This is an ongoing process of growth. It is what we call the Orthodox way of life. It is a life of repentance.

The nature of the difficulties we face are highlighted in St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 6:10-17

"Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

What many Protestants see as working for merits are the things Orthodox Christians have done since the time of he Apostles to be good sons, to hallow His name, to live a more virtuous life according to His commandments. We need His grace to do so and we also need to put all our own energies into following what God desires for us. It is living this kind of humble life in eyes of God that we become justified so that at the time of the final judgement when the actions of our life will be examined in detail and truth we will be accepted into His Kingdom. Without these "works", without our own efforts, we will not improve our ability to serve our Lord as his son or to glorify Him as He intended. It's wrong to think of these efforts as earning merits. Orthodox Christians do not have this idea of merits tied to our personal efforts because we have a sacramental life as the foundation of out faith. We have much more than a book to guide us. We know God will help us and we know that we are weak needing his help. We also know we have free will and a body full of passions, that we live in a world controlled by evil forces that we must struggle against. We continually "Lord have mercy on me." we continually seek His grace and participate in His sacraments where we are give the gifts of His healing and grace. It is a complete way of Life in Christ.

Work and the Burdens of Daily LIfe

Our daily lives are of necessity filled with daily chores and work.  This is our duty, to do them and to do them well.  All our activities, including our work, even household chores, must be performed so that we are not distracted from thoughts about God.  We cannot assume that because it is work, we do not have to think about God.  God needs to be a part of every aspect of our lives.  But, the reality is for most of us, when we are off to work, we are also away from thinking about God.  This is wrong and dangerous.


Saint Theophan reminds us,

Life's everyday affairs, upon which the foundation of the home and society depend, are appointed by God, and carrying out them is not a desertion to the sphere of the ungodly, but a continuation of Godly affairs.

We need to carry our both our household duties and our work in a way that we carry our the commandments given to us by God.  Do everything as if you are doing God's work.  This is the truest reality.  All you do must be done for God.


Saint Theophan says,

Begin doing things with the knowledge that doing them in this way is a commandment, and do them as God's commandment is to be done.  Once you have set yourself to this, there is nothing that will turn your thoughts away from God; on the contrary, everything will bring them closer to Him.  All of us are servants of God.  He has appointed each person a place and occupation, and He looks to see how each one of us carries it out.  He is everywhere.  He looks after you, too.  Keep this in your thoughts and do each thing as if it were entrusted to you directly by God, no matter what it is.

It is our obligation to God to carry out all our activities with attentiveness and enthusiasm.  Saint Theophan says that if we perform Godly work in a carless manner it is cursed.  Nor, do we want to carry worry into our work.  Worry only disturbs our minds and keeps us from focusing properly on the task at hand.


Saint Theophan says,

Have enthusiasm for your work and, performing it with utmost care, expect success from God, dedicating the task to Him, no matter how small it is, and you will get rid of worry.

Reference: The Spiritual LIfe, pp 212-215 

Sanctifying One's Work

by Elder Paisios

Everyone should, by his life and prayers, sanctify his work and become holy.  Additionally, if he is an employer and has responsibilities, he should help his employees spiritually. If he has a good inner state, he sanctifies his work.  For example, when young people go to study under a craftsman to learn his trade, he should also teach them to live spiritually.  This will benefit himself, his employes and his customers.

Every profession can be sanctified.  A doctor, for example, shouldn't forget that that  which helps most in medicine is the Grace of God.  Therefore, he should strive to become a receptacle of Divine Grace.  A doctor who is a good Christian also helps the sick with his goodness and faith.  To a patient with a very serious illness he can say: "Medicine has helped to this point––but remember from now on that there is God who works miracles."

Or a teacher should try to instruct with joy, and to help the children in their spiritual rebirth, something which not all parents are able to do, even if they have good intentions.  While teaching them to read he can also teach them to be good people  Otherwise, how will learning to read benefit them? SOciety needs good people who will do well in whatever profession the choose.  A teacher shouldn't only pay attention to whether the students know how to read well, but they should also consider whether they have other good qualities, such as piety, goodness, and conscientiousness.  God's grades don't always correspond to those of the teacher's.  The four that one child receives might be a ten in God's eyes, while a ten for another might count as a four to God.

Source: Family Life by Elder Paisios the Athonite, published by the Sacred Hesychastirion of St John the Evangelist, Souroti, Greece (2002); translated from the Greek by Fr. Luke Harting.  Seen in Orthodox Heritage, vol7, Issue 09-10, p. 26
http://dormitionorthodoxchurch.org/fr-lukes-translations/sanctifying-ones-work/#more-285