Whoever has a superficial attention to himself and to his life, of course, has noticed how often earthly and worldly affairs become an obstacle to spiritual and heavenly affairs, to the work of piety and the salvation of the soul.

And time is plundered in such a way that man not only does not offer voluntary sacrifices to God from it, but also steals from God the time that God Himself has appropriated for Himself and sanctified by the commandment.

What to do? How can we achieve that earthly and worldly affairs do not interfere with spiritual and heavenly affairs? Many people of different times and places have solved this issue in agreement, simply and happily. They resolutely abandoned earthly and worldly affairs and devoted themselves exclusively to spiritual and heavenly affairs. In order to ascertain that this decision of the question was fortunate, it is sufficient to name some of those who made this decision. Such were the Prophet Elijah, John the Baptist, the Apostles, Anthony the Great, and, in order not to go far, our Venerable Sergius. Their determination justifies the consequences of centuries and eternity.

And it was not by luck or by the action of arbitrary human wisdom that the determination to abandon all worldly things was and can and should be happy, but, on the one hand, by the dispensation of God, and on the other, by the action of a zealous desire to follow the will of God. We do not know how the lonely, unacquisitive, uncaring way of life was arranged for Elijah, but that this was by the will of God, can be seen from the fact that God miraculously supported this way of life, having determined, among other things, that he was a liar of bread to a man who long before Christ began to follow the teaching of Christ: "Do not be anxious, saying, 'What are the pits, or what are we drinking, or what are we clothed' (Matt. 6:1). 31). The successor of the spirit and way of life of Elijah, Elisha, was introduced into this way of life, evidently by the direct command of God. That John the Baptist lived in complete renunciation of the world according to the dispensation of God was revealed even before his birth by the prophecy of an angel that he would be clothed with the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). The Apostles also forsook everything not of their own volition, but according to the sovereign calling of Christ. From the time when the Gospel was preached and written, the chosen Christian ascetics heard from it a voice calling them to complete renunciation of the world. Thus, Anthony heard in church the words of Christ: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell Thy possessions and give to the poor; and have treasure in heaven; and come after me (Matt. 19:21) - and he accepted these words as if they were spoken to him personally, and therefore, leaving the church, he sold the greater part of his possessions, and distributed them to the poor. After some time he again heard in church the words of Christ: "Do not be afraid of the morning" (Matt. 6:34) – and he distributed the rest to the poor, and from this beginning the ascetic life, he attained such a measure of spiritual stature, that the whole Church called and calls him the Great.

From what has been said, two conclusions arise: first, that the determination to leave everything for the service of God, for the care of the soul, is a desirable and excellent gift of God, and it is good for him who has acquired this gift, accepted it with a pure disposition, preserves it faithfully, and uses it actively; secondly, that this gift is not for everyone, as can be seen from the above examples, and from the quoted words of Christ. The Lord taught the rule of perfect non-acquisitiveness not as a commandment, which is absolutely obligatory for everyone, but as a piece of advice conditionally offered to those who wish: If thou wilt be perfect. And just as perfection cannot be hoped for from everyone, so it would be unreliable to advise everyone to abandon everything. And the natural structure of earthly life is such that it requires those who are engaged in earthly affairs. If all those engaged in agriculture were to literally fulfill the rule not to be preoccupied with the morning, and, having rejected the care of tomorrow, all the more would they reject the care of the next year and cease to plow and sow, such a one-sided direction towards the spiritual life would destroy natural life.

But if it is thus inevitable that many should not abandon their occupation with earthly and worldly affairs, then the old question inevitably arises again: how can earthly and worldly affairs not interfere with spiritual and heavenly affairs? A more common and more lenient solution to this question for our weakness can be found in the Lord's saying: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Putting one thing before shows that another thing is allowed after that. Consequently, in the Lord's utterance there are two thoughts: one revealed, the other hidden in the word before. The thought is open: one must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. The thought is hidden: it is not forbidden to look for some other objects afterwards.

The secret of good and unhindered success lies in what you will seek first, what work will go ahead of other things, will take precedence among all things, will dominate your thoughts, desires and aspirations, or, as one of the ancient Fathers put it, what will be your work and what will be your work[82]. If you seek first of all the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, if the work of the salvation of your soul by grace and faith, purification by the commandments, perfection of virtues will take precedence among all your other grandfathers, if you will dominate in your thoughts, desires and aspirations, if you will consider this only a true and important deed, and all earthly affairs only a work, a secondary occupation, unimportant, to whom a certain part of attention is given after the main work, then earthly affairs will not be an obstacle to your heavenly work, you can hope to find the Kingdom of God, which is most sought after all, and meanwhile you will not lack even that which you care less about, in what is necessary for earthly life according to the faithful promise of the Lord: all this will be added to you. On the contrary, if you think that you must first provide for yourself in earthly and worldly affairs and only then take care of heavenly things, if some earthly occupation with science, art, art, industry, the search for benefits, splendor and pleasures of life has become your primary thought, your dominant desire, your work of superiority, and the work of piety remains with you only a business, a matter of leisure from worldly occupations, - then you have changed the order prescribed by the word of the Lord; you are not on the path to finding the Kingdom of God, and in order to provide yourselves with earthly goods, I do not know where you can base your hope, because the Lord's promise does not apply to you: "All this shall be added unto you."

And now, brethren, it seems, a small instrument of great testing of the heart (Judg. 5:16). An important tool of self-examination is a small question: what is in your mind and heart first and foremost? When you wake up in the morning, what is your first thought? Does your heart say, "Glory to God who has shown the light"? Or, "Lord, bless my day"? If so, it is a sign for good. But if, together with your awakening, the thought and concern for some earthly matter to which you are addicted awakens and carries you away, and does not allow you to remember God and rejoice (Psalm 76:4), then I fear for you, my brother: it is doubtful whether you seek the Kingdom of God first of all. If you are standing in church, and your thought goes to your house, or to your workhouse, or to your marketplace, or to a place of amusement, is this not a sign that your thought, which runs away from God, is stronger than the thought that runs to God? Hasten to bring back the fugitive and unite your mind and heart in striving for God.

In this and similar ways, let each of us examine our inner disposition often and diligently, and let us not stiffly tear our thoughts and hearts away from our passionate attachment to earthly worldly things, so that our heart may be established in the Lord, so that the Kingdom of God may be a constant, never lost sight of the goal of our striving.

For from the Lord a man's feet are straightened (Psalm 36:23). Thou, O Lord, Thou hast brought back the captivity of Zion from Babylon, restore the captivity of our souls from the prevailing vanity of the world, and instruct us even unto the heavenly Jerusalem, where Thou reignest in glory, and those who have reached thither reign with Thee forever. Amen.

Homily on the Day of the Uncovering of the Relics of St. Sergius (1852) (On the Remembrance of God[83]). Spoken at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius on July 5, 1852[84]