“I believe in work. If somebody doesn’t create something, however small it may be, he gets sick. An awful lot of people feel that they’re treading water — that if they vanished in smoke, it wouldn’t mean anything at all in this world. And that’s a despairing and destructive feeling. It’ll kill you.”
―Arthur Miller
Category: VOCATION
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“No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”
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As soon as you begin to enjoy the fruits of your earthly cares, a hitherto unforeseen source of sorrow reveals itself in your soul, and this sorrow strikes you powerfully, suddenly depriving you of your peace of heart and of the comfort you so longed for. You cease to be interested in anything; nothing seems to exist for you—you feel overburdened by grievous sorrow and deadly anguish. What does this mean? What malicious, envious power falls upon us as soon as we begin to live for our own gratification? Why does our soul begin to grieve and be afflicted at the very time when, in our opinion, it should rejoice? Listen to me, disciple of Christ. You thought to live upon earth in peace and pleasure, when the earthly path must be a most sorrowful and narrow one; you thought to find tranquillity and pleasure in corruptible things and not in Christ, Who alone is the rest and eternal blessedness of our souls; and the Lord—not wishing that we should live here in peace and plenty, and thus forget the one thing needful, the salvation of our soul and our heavenly country, but desiring that we should seek our rest and blessedness in Him alone.
–St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ -
He shows that we can dissolve envy, just by bringing an end to comparing our life situation with that of others. The Bible is full of reminders that we are all called into different circumstances in life, and for different purposes of God. As the Lord has called each person, so let each person walk (I Cor. 7:17), says Scripture.
—Dee Pennock, God’s Path to Sanity
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We all have value.
We all contribute. We all give back—if not through paid work, then as part of the human ecosystem.
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And you, therefore, if you stay in your house, if you are held fast in your bed, do not think that you are living an unproductive life.
For you are enduring something more grievous than what you have suffered at the hands of public torturers, by whom you have been dragged, savagely attacked, stretched to the utmost-and that is this extreme infirmity of yours, which is like having a public torturer continually residing in your house. But do not therefore either desire your end or neglect your health; for that is not safe. Therefore Paul heartily advises Timothy to take the greatest care of himself. But about your illness—it’s enough to say these things.
—Saint John Chrysostom, Letters to Saint Olympia
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That it is our duty to perform each task considered as worthy with the utmost enthusiasm is insured by the terrible caveat that performing Godly work in a careless manner curses it. But worry, or the many worries that trouble the heart and give it no peace, is a disease of fallen man, who under took to decide his own fate and who is tossed and turned on all sides. Worry disturbs our thoughts and does not even allow us to focus on the task at hand. I suggest, therefore, that you look into this and, if you find that such a worry occasionally overwhelms you, try to drive it out and do not give it any ground. Have enthusiasm for your work and, performing it with utmost care, expect success from God, dedicating the task itself to Him, no matter how small it is, and you will get rid of worry.
Do this, and everyday occupations and tasks will not distract you from God.
May the Lord help you!
—St. Theophan the Recluse
SO GOOD QUOTES 