One day I heard a parable about three temple builders. When each of them was asked: “What do you do?”, the first answered: “I carry bricks.” Second: “I earn bread to feed my children.” And only the third said: “I’m building a temple.”
A slave, a mercenary and a son - they have a common cause, but their motivation is different. The slave is indifferent to what is happening, he simply does what needs to be done. The mercenary expects to receive a reward for this. The Son creates in the name of love. Works for the glory of his Heavenly Father.

"For the glory of God." The first time I heard these words in response to “thank you” was when I came to work at the Church. And at first I even thought that the Orthodox had this kind of “password-review” to check whether they were one of their own or a stranger. And to the wish “save me, Lord,” she clumsily answered “you’re welcome.” And what could I do to further increase the glory of the Lord? It’s one thing to write articles, subjective reflections of a person who has been in the Church for almost a week, and even receive a salary for it, and quite another thing to do something important, for example, to go somewhere far away to work for the good of the Church, without expecting reward.

Therefore, all the stories about how someone worked in a monastery in the summer or helped restore a temple seemed to me like something real, something that an Orthodox Christian should definitely do instead of tapping on a keyboard and spending the whole day in front of a monitor.

A successful manager came to the monastery on an excursion and stayed there for the entire vacation. Accustomed to moving millions, he happily picked bricks out of manure and did other equally hard work, and then wrote in his blog that these days he was happier than ever in his life.

Another pilgrim shared her impressions no less enthusiastically... about washing dishes. Many people come to monasteries and need to be fed, so obedience in the refectory is considered one of the most difficult. But this girl, who stood over the sink with a mountain of plates without straightening her back for three days, seemed to be no less happy. Although, in fact, she almost never had a chance to see the monastery itself and attend services.

And I came to the Church... to work. I was lucky - I found myself in a team of like-minded people, many of whom became my true friends - the kind that would help me out of any trouble. In our offices, lamps burn in front of the icons, while others do not even have the opportunity to cross themselves before eating, and during the Nativity Fast they are forced to go to “ New Year's corporate parties", "otherwise the management won't understand." My friend, also a journalist, once asked: “Not only do you write about what you like, but you also get paid for it?”

Of course they pay. Any work must be paid. In addition to work “for the glory of God.” This is where I hit a dead end. On the one hand, I wanted a “feat” - to go somewhere to work “just like that.” On the other hand, any “overtime” work, not for a fee, but for “God save me,” began to cause internal protest. As it turned out, it’s a feeling familiar to my other colleagues, when you start to think: “What, how and why am I doing in my life? And what is more important for me: material or moral incentive?

Are market relations to blame, in which a clear gradation is built: seller - buyer, or is it simply the time that calls for consuming and getting everything from life, or do I simply belong to the pragmatic generation of “new believers”, since among my acquaintances there were those who wanted to work for the glory of God not so much. At least, according to those who came to the Church a decade before me, everything was completely different for them.

When churches first began to open, a stream of spiritually hungry people rushed there, capable of moving mountains. They themselves carried bricks, sewed vestments for priests, and washed floors. This is how the parish was created. But now the external splendor has been restored, church life has entered a certain direction - staff units have appeared: a security guard, a cleaning lady, a salesman behind a candle box. And often, in response to a call to stay after the service to help in the church, the rector sees not a forest of hands, but a forest of legs, hastily hurrying about their business.

It happens differently. They come and ask: “I want to work in the temple. How much will you pay me for this? Hieromonk Nikon (Polyakov), rector of St. Nicholas monastery, believes that in this case it’s not even a matter of a person’s faith, it’s just that life and economic difficulties dictate their own. Therefore, people are sometimes forced to ask how much they will receive for this or that business. And yet enthusiasts remain - there have been cases when people came and offered free help. People even came from Moscow to work on the restoration of a small monastery in Saratov:

There are people who feel the need for this. Not to earn money, not to solve some problem, but to work for the glory of God. At the same time, they realize that they are gaining much more. Although they are more willing to go to large monasteries, says Father Nikon. St. Sergius, to Optina Pustyn. I personally know people who can come there for a month or two and work for the glory of God. But in monasteries like ours - small and unknown - there are few people willing to work. Again, this comes from lack of faith. People don’t understand that it’s the same: God doesn’t care where you work - in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra or in the Optina Hermitage or in the St. Nicholas Monastery, which no one knows. And that, perhaps, on the contrary, here, having given your labor, you more to God better than in Optina, which is already full of people. God accepts all work.

But sometimes it also happens that it is better for a person to pay. Because when someone works for the glory of God, there is nothing to ask of him: “Did you do it? God bless you." It’s good if this is a job where no special skills are required - digging up something or removing garbage. What if, for example, we lay tiles? Therefore, for more qualified work, Father Nikon is still looking for specialists who are responsible for their work and can guarantee quality. Amateurs in the Church are dangerous, and there are few professionals, real specialists in their field. It happens, unfortunately, that people don’t want to work for money, they just want to earn money at any cost. You have to part with these quickly.

In general, for me there is no question whether to pay or not to pay money,” admits Father Nikon. “If the person worked normally. But today the situation with specialists is simply catastrophic. They are not there - they simply are not. You can count it on your fingers. Just as it is with the holy fathers: “For the venerable one has become impoverished...”, so it is with us. Experts have become scarce. There are no specialists, no reverends...

The rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the city of Saratov, Hegumen Pachomius (Bruskov), believes that today, by restoring churches and restoring church life, we are trying to board the last carriage of the departing train:

The most fertile time, so to speak, has been missed. Just a few years ago it was possible to calmly, slowly, make repairs in the temple; there were both the funds necessary for this, and people willing to work hard. Now the situation is somewhat different. Today we have to accomplish in one day what previously took at least three.

And yet people offering their help still come to churches. Basically these are those for whom the Church is home, and Orthodoxy is not just a way of behavior, but real life.

Such people exist and, God willing, there will always be. They can never be the majority, but they can do a lot in the Church,” Father Pachomius is sure. “You go into a church and see that people have gathered there, doing something together, and this touches the soul. Samovars SU - I will buy a coal samovar with delivery. And you know what is very important? It is imperative that people who want to do something for the temple work hard so that there is no division between “us and others,” so that they know that the temple is their home too. If the temple is dirty and a mess, then something needs to be done. Much depends, of course, on the priest, and almost everything depends on him. The realities of today's life are such that the priest is the head of the parish, and he determines his life. But if you see that something is wrong in the church, come up and say: “Father, I want to do something, bless me.” For example, a person knows how to lay stone, or can wash floors, or in the refectory assistants need to feed the workers. Otherwise, you know, most people think: “Oh, how good it is, the renovation, yes, yes... God help me.” But if you have the opportunity, do the work yourself. You will then tell your grandchildren: “I took part in the restoration of such and such a temple.” Do not answer requests: “God will help.” He will, of course, help, but only you will remain on the sidelines.

By the way, one day I still managed to work in a destroyed church and wash a mountain of dishes for pilgrims. The joy you experience while working is amazing. Almost like when you write an article about a temple or its parishioners. Because, it seems to me, I understood the main thing - any business in your life should be dedicated to God.

Also, working for the glory of God does not always mean working for free. The main thing is to do your job conscientiously. Do it well. So as not to be ashamed. This is probably what distinguishes a slave and a mercenary from a son. A slave fears punishment, a mercenary fears that he will not be paid for his work. The Son is afraid of only one thing - to upset His Father. And it’s not difficult for him to work.

Olga Novikova
Journal “Orthodoxy and Modernity” No. 9 (25) for 2008.

One day I heard a parable about three temple builders. When each of them was asked: “What do you do?”, the first answered: “I carry bricks.” Second: “I earn bread to feed my children.” And only the third said: “I’m building a temple.”
A slave, a mercenary and a son - they have a common cause, but their motivation is different. The slave is indifferent to what is happening, he simply does what needs to be done. The mercenary expects to receive a reward for this. The Son creates in the name of love. Works for the glory of his Heavenly Father.

"For the glory of God." The first time I heard these words in response to “thank you” was when I came to work at the Church. And at first I even thought that the Orthodox had this kind of “password-review” to check whether they were one of their own or a stranger. And to the wish “save me, Lord,” she clumsily answered “you’re welcome.” And what could I do to further increase the glory of the Lord? It’s one thing to write articles, subjective reflections of a person who has been in the Church for a week, and even receive a salary for it, and quite another thing to do something important, for example, to go somewhere far away to work for the good of the Church, without expecting reward.

Therefore, all the stories about how someone worked in a monastery in the summer or helped restore a temple seemed to me like something real, something that an Orthodox Christian should definitely do instead of tapping on a keyboard and spending the whole day in front of a monitor.

A successful manager came to the monastery on an excursion and stayed there for the entire vacation. Accustomed to moving millions, he happily picked bricks out of manure and did other equally hard work, and then wrote in his blog that these days he was happier than ever in his life.

Another pilgrim shared her impressions no less enthusiastically... about washing dishes. Many people come to monasteries and need to be fed, so obedience in the refectory is considered one of the most difficult. But this girl, who stood over the sink with a mountain of plates without straightening her back for three days, seemed to be no less happy. Although, in fact, she almost never had a chance to see the monastery itself and attend services.

And I came to the Church... to work. I was lucky - I found myself in a team of like-minded people, many of whom became my true friends - the kind that would help me out of any trouble. In our offices, lamps are lit in front of the icons, while others do not even have the opportunity to cross themselves before eating, and during the Nativity Fast they are forced to go to “New Year’s corporate parties,” “otherwise the bosses won’t understand.” My friend, also a journalist, once asked: “Not only do you write about what you like, but you also get paid for it?”

Of course they pay. Any work must be paid. In addition to work “for the glory of God.” This is where I hit a dead end. On the one hand, I wanted a “feat” - to go somewhere to work “just like that.” On the other hand, any “overtime” work, not for a fee, but for “God save me,” began to cause internal protest. As it turned out, it’s a feeling familiar to my other colleagues, when you start to think: “What, how and why am I doing in my life? And what is more important for me: material or moral incentive?

Are market relations to blame, in which a clear gradation is built: seller - buyer, or is it simply the time that calls for consuming and getting everything from life, or do I simply belong to the pragmatic generation of “new believers”, since among my acquaintances there were those who wanted to work for the glory of God? not so much. At least, according to those who came to the Church a decade before me, everything was completely different for them.

When churches first began to open, a stream of spiritually hungry people rushed there, capable of moving mountains. They themselves carried bricks, sewed vestments for priests, and washed floors. This is how the parish was created. But now the external splendor has been restored, church life has entered a certain direction - staff units have appeared: a security guard, a cleaning lady, a salesman behind a candle box. And often, in response to a call to stay after the service to help in the church, the rector sees not a forest of hands, but a forest of legs, hastily hurrying about their business.

It happens differently. They come and ask: “I want to work in the temple. How much will you pay me for this? Hieromonk Nikon (Polyakov), rector of the St. Nicholas Monastery, believes that in this case it’s not even a matter of a person’s faith, it’s just that life and economic difficulties dictate their own. Therefore, people are sometimes forced to ask how much they will receive for this or that business. And yet enthusiasts remain - there have been cases when people came and offered free help. People even came from Moscow to work on the restoration of a small monastery in Saratov:

“There are people who feel the need for this. Not to earn money, not to solve some problem, but to work for the glory of God. At the same time, they realize that they are gaining much more. Although they are more willing to go to large monasteries,” says Father Nikon. “To St. Sergius, to Optina Hermitage.” I personally know people who can come there for a month or two and work for the glory of God. But in monasteries like ours - small and unknown - there are few people willing to work. Again, this comes from lack of faith. People don’t understand that it’s the same: God doesn’t care where you work - in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra or in the Optina Hermitage or in the St. Nicholas Monastery, which no one knows. And that, perhaps, on the contrary, here, having given your labor, you will please God more than in Optina, where there are already a lot of people. God accepts all work.

But sometimes it also happens that it is better for a person to pay. Because when someone works for the glory of God, there is nothing to ask of him: “Did you do it? God bless you." It’s good if this is a job where no special skills are required - digging up something or removing garbage. What if, for example, we lay tiles? Therefore, for more qualified work, Father Nikon is still looking for specialists who are responsible for their work and can guarantee quality. Amateurs in the Church are dangerous, and there are few professionals, real specialists in their field. It happens, unfortunately, that people don’t want to work for money, they just want to earn money at any cost. You have to part with these quickly.

“In general, for me it’s not a question whether to pay or not to pay money,” admits Father Nikon. “If the person worked normally.” But today the situation with specialists is simply catastrophic. They are not there - they simply are not. You can count it on your fingers. Just as it is with the holy fathers: “For the venerable one has become impoverished...”, so it is with us. Experts have become scarce. There are no specialists, no reverends...

The rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the city of Saratov, Hegumen Pachomius (Bruskov), believes that today, by restoring churches and restoring church life, we are trying to board the last carriage of the departing train:

— The most fertile time, so to speak, has been missed. Just a few years ago it was possible to calmly, slowly, make repairs in the temple; there were both the funds necessary for this, and people willing to work hard. Now the situation is somewhat different. Today we have to accomplish in one day what previously took at least three.

And yet people offering their help still come to churches. Basically, these are those for whom the Church is their home, and Orthodoxy is not just a way of behavior, but real life.

“Such people exist and, God willing, there will always be.” They can never be the majority, but they can do a lot in the Church,” Father Pachomius is sure. “You go into a church and see that people have gathered there, doing something together, and this touches the soul. And you know what is very important? It is imperative that people who want to do something for the temple work hard so that there is no division between “ours and others,” so that they know that the temple is their home too. If the temple is dirty and a mess, then something needs to be done. Much depends, of course, on the priest, and almost everything depends on him. The realities of today's life are such that the priest is the head of the parish, and he determines his life. But if you see that something is wrong in the church, come up and say: “Father, I want to do something, bless me.” For example, a person knows how to lay stone, or can wash floors, or in the refectory assistants need to feed the workers. Otherwise, you know, most people think: “Oh, how good it is, the renovation, yes, yes... God help me.” But if you have the opportunity, do the work yourself. You will then tell your grandchildren: “I took part in the restoration of such and such a temple.” Do not answer requests: “God will help.” He will, of course, help, but only you will remain on the sidelines.

By the way, one day I still managed to work in a destroyed church and wash a mountain of dishes for pilgrims. The joy you experience while working is amazing. Almost like when you write an article about a temple or its parishioners. Because, it seems to me, I understood the main thing - any business in your life must be dedicated to God.

Also, working for the glory of God does not always mean working for free. The main thing is to do your job conscientiously. Do it well. So as not to be ashamed. This is probably what distinguishes a slave and a mercenary from a son. A slave is afraid of punishment, a mercenary is afraid that he will not be paid for his work. The Son is afraid of only one thing - to upset His Father. And it’s not difficult for him to work.

Conversation between A. Sigutin and Metropolitan Clement

- What should a real Orthodox Christian be like, from spiritual and physical points of view?

A true Orthodox Christian must have love in his heart and always act according to faith, according to the Gospel. Then conscience will constantly tell a person whether he is doing the right thing or not. You need to arrange your inner world in such a way that, as St. Ephraim the Syrian says, you see your sins and strive for cleansing.

With the adoption of Christianity in Rus', writing, urban planning, architecture, etc. began to develop. But Orthodoxy also gave the Russian people an image of holiness. We got spiritual heritage namely, Holy Byzantium, where there were many ascetics of the faith. Let us at least remember the Holy Fathers who defended the truth of Orthodoxy, the truth of the Gospel on Ecumenical Councils. And we need to remember: a person is called to acquire (acquire) holiness. “Be holy,” the Bible says, “as your Lord is holy.”

One of the problems of modern believers is that we consider ourselves Orthodox only when we are in church. And we must be Orthodox everywhere and always. The Apostle Paul said: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Christ called to constantly remember the Lord, that is, to always be focused on our inner world to God.

- According to dogmatic theology, Christ is a perfect God and a perfect Man. So, ideally, an Orthodox person should be harmoniously developed both spiritually and physically?

Of course, this is a must.

- Is modern man capable of prayer?

An Orthodox person must learn to pray, and not just read prayers. Prayer needs to be begged, as it were, so that it reaches the depths of human consciousness. Arriving at the temple, the believer must remember that he is standing before God, and for this time completely abandon all his worldly thoughts and immerse himself in liturgical life. We must listen with attention to every word that is spoken at the service, so that it passes through our heart and consciousness. It is important to realize: when we read the Gospel, Christ Himself addresses us. And we need to leave the temple with the reverent thought that we were in the house of God.

I remember my childhood. When I was of school age, my mother, sending us to church, warned: “In church, stand calmly, don’t turn around, remember: you stand before God, and God is above kings.” Ask yourself the question: “How would you stand and behave in front of the president?” For example, the mayor of the city comes - and then we stand to attention as a sign of respect. And God is the King of kings, He provides kings, mayors and leaders. With what fear and trepidation we go, say, to the office of a high-ranking boss... But we go to church absent-minded, and there we are also distracted. We must learn to behave reverently in church, this is the first thing. And secondly, it is important to go home immediately after the service. I remember my mother’s words: “When you leave the temple, don’t go anywhere: neither to the shops, nor to the market. We must bring grace home, and not be dissipated.” The church was a ten minute walk from our house. And we had to walk past the shopping area of ​​the village. There were department stores, grocery stores, and a market. It happened that we would look towards the shopping arcades where ice cream was sold... We would say to ourselves: “No,” and quickly go home. And while my mother was preparing dinner and setting the table, my younger brother Dimitri and I continued to “serve” at home: we took prayer books, sang prayers, troparia.

- After the service in the temple?

Yes. Some of us seem to be singing in the choir, others are reading the Gospel. We had Protodeacon Michael, and we liked to read the Gospel at home, imitating him. This lasted for 20-30 minutes until dinner was prepared... That is, a person should try to preserve this state of mind after the service, this aspiration, connection with God for as long as possible in his life.

And on weekdays, when you wake up in the morning, you must definitely cross yourself, slowly pray with heartfelt attention, and not just formally read a few prayers. We walk on the way to work - we can always remember God. We are walking past the temple, if we are in a hurry, then we can just stop and cross ourselves, and if there is a minute, then it would be nice to go into the temple, pray in front of the icon of the Savior, so that He will help us in our needs, and then go about our business. And at work, a person can always cross himself when starting a business. Even athletes, entering the stadium during major competitions, cross themselves, and this is shown on television. Why are we, considering ourselves believers, afraid to cross ourselves in public? This is false shame. This kind of behavior: “I want to be like everyone else,” should not happen, because the Lord said: “Let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We must be this light, testifying to Orthodoxy.

- How should an Orthodox person treat his body, should he physically develop it?

Here you need to approach with reasoning why to do this. If we want, as they say, just to pump up muscles, then this is wrong from a spiritual point of view. This is a manifestation of pride and the cultivation of our carnal, passionate nature. If a person spends the whole day in a study or in an office, he has a sedentary job, then his body definitely requires physical activity. It’s good if you have a garden plot: you can go, dig the ground, clear the snow, etc., but if this is not possible, then there is nothing wrong with stretching your bones a little and moving actively. After all, a sedentary lifestyle leads a person to a painful state.

In this regard, here is something else that is useful. If a person lives not far from the temple, then in the morning you can get up and walk to it with your family and children. And sometimes they get behind the wheel and drive a couple of minutes to the temple, when they can walk to it in 10-15 minutes, which is much healthier for both the soul and the body. When a person goes to the temple on foot, he remembers God, and when he drives a car, he thinks about how to break the rules traffic, that is, he does not prepare himself for a meeting with God.

The only thing I’ll add: you shouldn’t play sports solely to gain body beauty.

- Vladyka, can we say that Orthodoxy has everything necessary for a person to be healthy both spiritually and physically?

It's possible, of course. Take Lent. If at first Soviet era They talked about the harmfulness of fasting, then in the canteens there were so-called fish days, so that there was relief from meat and dairy products. Fasting is beneficial from both physical and spiritual points of view. But one must fast not for the sake of fasting, it must have a spiritual meaning, to strengthen the soul: “I abstain from this or that type of food due to the fact that the Lord suffered for me and shed His Blood.”

Nowadays it is fashionable to fast for weight loss. This is not true. Fasting must have a religious content: “I fast, I abstain from fasting foods, precisely for the benefit of the soul.” That is, fasting must be not only physical, but also spiritual.

- It also turned out that the Orthodox reading technique eliminates stuttering.

Yes, it is no coincidence that those who have a stutter are advised by a speech therapist to speak measuredly, drawlingly, and in a sing-song manner. And in the temple they read it this way. That is, the church reading technique helps restore speech in people who stutter. In addition, a drawn-out, melodic church reading is beautiful in itself...

It is no coincidence that professional writers and poets, when reading their works, also draw out, as if singing, vowel sounds. But this was born again in the Church, in the church technique of reading liturgical texts.

Work is an activity originally blessed by God. The first man Adam, immediately after his creation, was commanded by God to cultivate and maintain the Garden of Eden ().

After the Fall, Adam, and through him and all future humanity, was told: “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread” (). That is, in order to live and eat, you need to work a lot and hard. That is why the Apostle Paul says: “If anyone does not want to work, he should not eat” ().

As we see, labor is a necessary component of normal human activity. To one great saint, St. Macarius When he prayed for a long time and asked God to show him the correct, soul-saving way of life, he had the following vision. He saw an angel who prayed for one hour and read for another hour. Scripture, and spent the third hour at work. “Do this and you will be saved,” God told the saint.

However, the very fact that a person has labor is not what is attributed to the person. Spiritual achievement is only that work that has certain good goals and is performed with humility and preservation of all Christian virtues. As one shepherd said: “The Lord looks at our inner, and - no matter how modest our activities are - the careful fulfillment of our duties is a very important and reliable means of our salvation. The Lord weighs hearts, not deeds. He does not look at what we do, but at how and why we do it and with what love, humility and care we carry out our service and our duties.” Whatever we do in life, we must strive to do as well as if it was done for God himself, for His glory, according to His word. No carelessness, sloppiness or relaxation is allowed here. It is very important that the motives of our work are not greed, not the thirst for enrichment, fame and honor, but completely different good goals. This can be work as a natural necessity for existence, a decent life for a family, children, charity to others. We must always remember the words of the saints that it is more blessed to give than to take.

So nature labor activity is dual. On the one hand, the work commanded to man before the Fall (cultivating the Garden of Eden) is co-creation, collaboration with the Creator in love and care for the world around us. On the other hand, work aimed at arranging material earthly life is a direct consequence of sin. At the same time, we should remember the wonderful words of St. John Chrysostom related to the second aspect of the concept of work: “God imposed labor on man not for punishment and torment, but for admonishing and teaching him.”

Sayings of the Holy Fathers

Work and activity are necessary for everyone: life without activity is not life, but something ugly, some kind of ghost of life. Both the mental and physical powers of a person are improved, multiplied and strengthened by their exercise.

Saint righteous John Kronstadt

True work cannot be without humility... When making a thing, we must try to make it come out clean and beautiful, for the Lord rejoices in all cleanliness.

Venerable Barsanuphius the Great

No matter how much you work, no matter how hard you try, do not consider your good deed to be yours, because if you did not receive help from above, all your labors would be in vain.

Saint John Chrysostom

Works for the benefit of the Fatherland

Fatherland, Motherland is not only the place where you were born and live, it is also the history of your country, its culture, language, identity, Orthodox faith. A person is like a twig that has given a new sprout on the body of a tree called the Motherland. And just as a twig cannot live outside a tree, so a person cannot live fully and bring spiritual fruits and real benefit to society if he renounces his Fatherland, the covenants of his God-loving ancestors.

Work for the benefit of the Fatherland is honest and good job in any field of human activity, when a person works not only for money, but also so that his work benefits other people. However, there are still ways to earn money that are completely unacceptable for Orthodox Christian. This is, for example, the sale of drugs, profit from the distribution of alcohol, tobacco and other substances and objects harmful to health. It is also shameful to work in that area of ​​the entertainment industry that corrupts a person and increases his passions. These are all kinds of casinos, gambling houses, dens, organization of dog, cock and other fights. This is the sale of pornographic and satanic films and literature of this kind. This is all that spiritually and materially does not create a person, but destroys him. Those who believe in God, love their homeland and their neighbors will not engage in such matters. It is better to earn less money, but with work that is useful to society, than to profit from harm caused to your neighbors.

Work for the benefit of your neighbor

All our everyday work can be divided into two types:

1. Regular work to maintain one’s existence - service, craft and any productive work.
2. Various everyday personal affairs, both outside the home and performing household chores to serve yourself and your family.

Both for the head of the family and for any healthy single person, the first type of work - maintaining one’s existence - is strictly obligatory. Only wives who are busy with children and housework can be exempted from it. It should be noted here that for the mother of minor children, diverting her attention from the care of raising them is extremely undesirable. After all, a Christian mother first of all gives an answer to God for raising her children in the Orthodox faith and piety. Therefore, most of her time should belong to the family.

With the second type of work - household chores, worries and troubles for the family, oneself and loved ones - one must also be diligent and do everything from the heart, as for the Lord ().

At the same time, in all types of work, a person must be characterized by prudence. You cannot devote yourself entirely to work, leaving no time for prayer, spiritual reading and visiting church. We must remember that work in itself, without a spiritual orientation, cannot serve the salvation of the human soul.

We must remember that our salvation largely depends on our neighbors. Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his neighbors, says the Lord. “What you gave is yours,” the Holy Fathers teach. And when we help our neighbors, sacrificing our time, strength, and money for them, we become like Christ, Who gave His very life to save people. We must learn the deeds of love, overcome our laziness and selfishness. By selflessly serving our neighbors, we serve God himself.

But it is very important that the motive of our work is love for God and His commandments, and not vanity, conceit or a selfish desire to later receive help from the one who was helped.

Wrong attitude towards work

As mentioned earlier, not every attitude towards work can be worthy of a Christian. It happens that work does not serve for the good, but for the destruction of the soul. eternal life. The Holy Fathers highlight the following aspects in this matter:

1) “Labor in captivity” - imposing excessively heavy burdens on someone labor responsibilities, or work associated with a constant painful feeling of bondage, without a proper understanding of its meaning and necessity.

2) “Work of passion” - work performed out of a desire to satisfy various passions (self-interest, pride expressed in ambition, etc.)

3) “Aversion to work” - neglect of it, tendency to waste time (idleness).

Remember for alllife

We should always think not about our personal affairs and conveniences, but about the benefit we can bring to our neighbors.

Holy Martyr Queen Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova

Apostolic Instructions

Serve each other with the gift you have received ().

Bear each other’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Tal. 6:2).