One thing let us ask: The incorruptible Kingdom of God


Elder, is it bad to strive to rise to certain high social positions?

The love of glory is a great plague for man – this mania for acquiring dignities, positions, makes man resort to means condemned by his conscience and by the law of God. He may end up in a situation where he slanders his rival, in order to hinder his ascent and to raise himself. In addition to this reprehensible attitude, the person in question ends up unhappy himself. The anxiety of waiting appears: “When will I arrive, when, when?! The term has passed, and another has become a professor, and I have not; when will I arrive, what will I do now?!”. And if it happens that the dream becomes a reality as a result of his efforts and perseverance, he will be so attached to his new position that he will be ready to sacrifice any principle or belief, everything, lest someone take the place that he has achieved with so much effort. But if he fails to reach the coveted place, then he is unhappy, he considers himself a loser, and he dies on his feet. Nothing in life has any meaning for him!

I remember an important scientist who struggled, poor thing, for many years, almost his entire life, to fulfill his ideal of the teaching profession – the appointment as a university professor. Undoubtedly, he was a capable man. Eventually, he became a professor at the university and enjoyed his new status for about twelve months. A serious and incurable illness confined him to bed, after which he left this world. What did he get? He wasted 40-50 years of his life to succeed in becoming a professor. And when he said to himself, “Now, finally, I will be able to enjoy my new position!”, the trumpet sounded, calling him from this world. How many battles and storms he went through! To submit your candidacy again and again… At some point, someone else was appointed to the position, perhaps less capable than him. There followed anger, bitterness, disappointment… And, finally, he also had the joy he had long desired for a year…

So vain are these things! Let us only ask for one thing: the incorruptible Kingdom of God. All the rest – positions and dignities, money and glory – are transient.

Archimandrite Epiphanius Theodoropoulos

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Jesus Prayer Can Heal Us from Anger

Image
A common thing that we all face is anger, the anger that results from the actions of the person next to us. Often it is even our spouse, the person we love the most. When we are angry, we say and do things that we later regret. The Holy Apostle Paul says in his Epistle to the Romans: “ For what I do, I do not understand; for what I want, I do not do, but what I hate, that I do. But if I do what I do not want, I acknowledge that the law is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that what is good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. For to will is present with me, but to do what is good I do not find. For the good that I want, I do not do, but the evil that I do not want, that I practice ” (Epistle to the Romans of the Holy Apostle Paul 7:15-19). When we get angry or resentful, we are far from God. How can we, as true Orthodox Christians, react in this way towards our fellowmen? Anger results from our own selfishness. This is one of the si...
Read more

The Holy Sacrament of Confession and Communion with the Body and Blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ

Image
Although I am not a theologian, I chose to make a small post about the Holy Sacrament of Confession and the Communion with the body and blood of the Savior, Jesus Christ, in order to bring once again to mind their immense importance for our physical, but especially spiritual life. Before sacrificing Himself on the cross, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, instituted, at the Last Supper, the Eucharist, or the Communion with His body and blood: Matthew 26: 26-28 During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.” Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He then gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and drink it. This is my blood, and with it God makes his agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven. Also, after His resurrection, Jesus gave the apostles the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive and retain peo...
Read more

Prayer - the key to another world

Image
Since I discovered prayer, I can say that I have found myself again, but not in any way, but much stronger . Prayer is the key to God's world, a world full of love, freedom, patience, mercy, forgiveness, hope, faith , and other wonderful qualities. A world in which I certainly want to live, as well as all those close to me (including those who are asleep), and not only (but since I am not the one who decides on behalf of others, all I can do is pray for them). This world of prayer is not an imaginary one, but one as concrete as possible. A world in which God, the Mother of God, and the saints listen to our prayers and, if they are useful to us, at the right time, they are also fulfilled. Prayers to the Mother of God and to the saints are intercessory prayers, in which we ask them to intercede for us before the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He, in His omniscience, may decide whether or not to fulfill the prayers addressed to Him by us. Prayer is the food of the soul . Also, with the h...
Read more