How do I find the balance between the faith and the world?

I was going to make a reply a couple of nights ago but decided not to for some reason. A priest once said to his deacon and reader ( as concerning how loud they were during the services), \\"Everyone is at a different place in their journey.\\" The practical steps I may take to aide me as I struggle towards theosis, may somehow prove to be disastrous for another. For; not only are we all at diverse points in our journey, we are also have -according to the wisdom of God- diverse gifts for that journey. In that vein to a degree I understand Matthew 5:16. While God has both created and gifted me for the purpose of glorifying His name,I have the choice as to the how. \\"...Let your light shine before men in such a way, that....\\" Grace, peace, and wisdom for your journey!

Sandblast.. please elaborate. Are you saying that you are in a high stage of theosis? What are the gifts that God gave you? As to your interpretation of the passage...Blessed Theophlact explains: He did not say, \' You must display your virtue\', for that is not good; but rather He said only, \'Let it shine\', so that even your enemies will marvel and glorify not you, but your Father. If we practice virtue, we must practice it for the glory of God and not for our own glory.\\" God bless.

I too, want to know how to live in the world with my family and not of this world. Our Monastery is very much the same.....I feel so peaceful. When I leave I feel a tug of depression. Back to the mire. I struggle with a mental illness, so when I speak of a struggle I\'m really struggling. Veronica

I think a major ingredient in keeping the balance is to stick close to the Church. By that I don\'t mean just going to as many services as possible, but sticking close to the church -community-. Hanging out with people from the church in your everyday life. This is tough to do in a far-flung parish-- you have to make deliberate plans. Just being with other people who are undergoing the same struggle is a help.

As to your question about my state: NO,NO,NO,NO.NO!!! As to my gifts ( I may be wrong); exhortation through teaching. I\'ve always wanted to teach, but now as a Christian I cannot seem to get away from believing what God said to Solomon at the dedication of the Tabernacle: \\"...If MY PEOPLE which are called by My NAME, would turn from their wicked ways, then I WILL HEAR...FORGIVE... and HEAL their land.\\" When I\'m at work as a Corrections Officer, it is my duty and job to enforce the rules of the Dept. of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division. I have done that in such a manner as to have among other names called me by the inmates; You\'re a Robo Cop. Actually every Officer has the same exact mandate by the courts and Legislature as I have. One other thing they say is: \\"Why you sweating the small stuff man?\\" Interpreted for our conversation, that means this: We each have the same clear mandate from God to \\"...be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect...\\" However the avenue as to how that is accomplished is very evident in the difference of me as a married father, and a monk. You\'re absolutely correct in believing that it\'s wrong whenever we put our virtues on show for others to see. I then am not walking humbly with my God (Micah 6:8) I like pointing out that part of the Shama says to \\"...love the Lord thy God ...with all thy mind ...\\" More than one inmate has said \\"I don\'t like him, but you gotta respect him. Because in all the time I been knowing him, he\'s still the same.\\" I for sure am not the only Christian at the unit ( I may be the only Orthodox), but not every Christian carries out their duties exactly the same. Remember I said that God has gifted each of us differently, and yet in the diversity of gifts, the common goal is the glorification of the Head of the Body. The fearful and awesome beast of the heavenly vision had four heads, one body, and one set of wings: There was the head of a man, a lion, an eagle, and an ox (Do you see a picture of the Four Gospels ?) The prophet says however even with the four heads the being only went in one direction, \\",,,wherever the Spirit moved ....\\" The Evangelists had different audiences, used different styles, and sources, They had only one subject, Jesus ! Again from the pages of Holy Tradition: There are given to us many names for God, each one however was a self-revelation of God to varied peoples, according to their need of the moment. So, how an inmate may see me \\"...walking humbly with my God.\\" he will see another Christian walking humbly with God in another manner. The last part of Jesus\' statement says/indicates the unseen purpose of my deciding on my \\"works\\", \\"that they may see...and GLORIFY YOUR FATHER in heaven.\\" Orators, teachers, soldiers, men in city government, holy virgins, martyrs, prolific writers, monks and nuns of the desert; this is where we\'ve gained saints and Church Fathers. the sinful and unworthy servant

I want to send you a dear quote to me regarding salvation, I hope my English translation works good : \"- What do you say, man? Do you want me to tell you briefly that regarding SALVATION doesn't matter the place you live in, but the way in which you behave, and wear your will? I'm telling you that Adam was in heaven as in a port, and he was drowned; Lot was in Sodom, like in the sea and he was saved; Job stood on the trash and was entitled; and Saul was in the midst of wealth and he lost his kingdom - on the here and the beyond. You can not defend by saying: \"I can not be both in the world, surrounded by things, and also me perfunctory\". (SF.IOAN Chrysostom) \" I like from this quote that no matter where you live in this world you can be SAVED or not, because of your behaviour, we can be lost living in heaven and in the same time we can be saved living in SODOM, it all depends on us, if God gives you more He will ask for more from you, if He left me in an orthodox country He is asking according to my condition, and also he helps the others struggling in more difficult conditions. You see, we here in Romania receive so many miracles done by orthodoxy that we find it easier to keep the faith (people with ultimum phase of cancer getting healthy by praying to a holy icon, or demonized people living happy after exorcisations and so on), but you, living where orthodox miracles are so far and still believe in orthodoxy, you'll receive much help from God when time will come. God tells that \"you will be hate by people for My name, but he who keep his faith up to the end he will be saved.\" To me works daily prayer in the night, I pray for forgivness (I'm not a saint either), I remember in my prayers all my big sins and small, I pray for forgiveness of my parents, of the one dead from my family (grandparents and grandgrandparents - each of them by their names - if they are forgiven my cross will also be easier to wear by me), then I pray and ask what I need in my life, health, SALVATION for me and my family, to get rid of all the bad people from my life and all the bad things, to have a christian family, understanding and so on), I also go each Sunday (almost) at the church), and confess to my father each 2 or 3 months (almost) and take communication (this helps me a lot) - I had a time when I was not allowed to take It and it was a hell in my life, I never want to loose it again, only a person who could not take the communication for years can make the difference and tell how powerful it is. I also try to be good, to not judge \"don't judge and you will not be judjed\" or \"with the measure you measure others, God will measure you\", to help anyone I can, to be good (sometimes I can't but I try at least). And I don't let a day passing and not reading a page from the New Testament and little from an orthodox book, this \"keeps my mind in hell and I don't loose my hope\" - letting a day passing and not reading makes my heart cold little by little (in orthodoxy). And I go as a pilgrim 2-3 weeks per year to some nice monastries and pray and breath orthodox air :), this gives me a lot of power. And I all the time dring holy water and have it in home and call the priest at my home and give prayers to monastries (St Liturgi for alives and deaths in my family and Acatist). This doesn't take you more than 30 minutes per day or 1 h but keeps you connected to orthodoxy and in time you'll find the answer to your question also :). God bless you ! Sofia

@vera_faith: \"I think that maybe it is ment for us to struggle until the end. i mean if we are christians then we are not of this world and our true home is the Kingdom of Heaven. and how can we ever get comfortable in a strange world far away from home?\" You are right, \"you are not from this world\"... it is said that someone once was enlightened by The Holy Spirit and he could saw the real face of our nowadays world, he could saw (it was discovered to him) all the world being under a spell, he was walking on the street of a big city nowadays and he could saw everything under a very dark spell, big shops with jewelry of gold and diamants were in his eyes like cheap iron jewelry but to the other passers by on that street they were shining like precious things; expensive cloths done by big fashion companies were in his eyes like cheap fabrics but to the others around him on the street were looking like precious fabrics on which they would have agreed to pay thousands of USD, and work like nuts for this money; the parkings were full of cars, big cars, lots of cars that you can not have place to walk anywhere and he was seeing this like a spell of the devil who put in the heart of people \"proudness\" to buy bigger, better, larger, and this man could not see the use of so many and so big and so expensive cars in that city, this took for some hours, and he was terrified, he saw all the people around him walking happy, smiley, and talking like everything was ok, and he said to himself that like this were people in the Noe's time, nobody knew or cared about their souls but everyone was laying under the devil's spell of this world: buy more, have more, work more, earn more, bigger or larger, and in the end of the day you come tired at home, children want to eat, husband want to talk to you and you say \"tomorrow I'll pray, today I'm exhausted\", this is the devil's spell, to make people occupy all their time with work, job, worries, family and so on, and to live no time for taking care of his soul, but all what he's bothered about to be his earnings, and house, and cars and fancy clothes and everything, \"because my neighbour have so I must have also a bigger one\". And when the soul will die and meet the Judge he will then see in what trap he felt down while being on earth and listening to the whisper of dark powers in his heart, and in what lie he lived all this life. St Seraphim of Sarov once saw all the traps of devil accross the Globe and he cried to God and said \"God, they are so many, they are spead all over the face of the world, who could face them all and not fell into them?\", and he heard a voice telling him: \"Only a humble soul!\" May God guide us well! Sofia

I am wondering how it is with you since your original post on the forum, about \"balancing your faith and the world\". Any disciple; of any teacher, will find that they will be treated the way their teacher was treated. That is what Jesus has told us, in not same words. He did say, \"Peace give I unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.\" \"All ye that are weary and heavy laden, come unto me, take My yoke upon thee and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.\" Our Lord and Savior is our great example: he said himself, \"In the scrool of the book it is written of me, I have come to do Thy will O Lord.\" If our heart is divided, we will always have a very hard time in living a godly life, and serving God. In his adaptation of the Scripture in song, John Michael Talbot sang; \"...For wherever your treasure lies, there will you find your heart.\" Pour out your heart to God for He is a refuge for us. Since Jesus lived in the flesh as we do, but without sin, He is perfectly able to both understand, advise and strengthen us in our daily struggle to \"..Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect

I am a newly converted orthodox Christian and being a former protestant it was hard for me also to get used to being in the church so often... i was used to a once a week for a few hours Faith. However something my Priest has come to enlighten me with is that our ancestors, fathers and saints did not live in this world, rather they visited the world and lived in the church. And by doing so they were able to fulfill their purpose in life.. Which was loving people into the kingdom of heaven. I don't know if this helps your question, however i do hope it is an encouragement to you to know that the struggle is normal and will be lifelong. but take heart in knowing that you are struggling in an age-old battle that has been passed down for thousands of years, and it is this particular struggle that makes saints of people

\"Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. for all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.\" 1 John 2.15-17 There is no balance.

In alll the things we;ve said, by way of posts; FrAthanasios's is the most to the point; short and sweet! The writer of the Hebrew epistle wrote that God has said, \"...but My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back my soul has no pleasure in him....\" In the Gospels, Jesus said \"If any man puts his hand to the plow and looks back, he is not fit to be mmy disciple.\"

What if you are called to be a nun? Just a thought.

Vera you cannot avoid the world you live in and by the Presence of God in it, I'd say that this is paradise found. The secret to living rightly is to find Love from within. Beauty and goodness stems from that. Here is the first rule, find your first love. No it's no mom. It is God, you creator and fashioner, Then it becomes His will and not mine. Obedience to Him. Rule 2. As you begin to see Him as a Lover of Mankind, look only for Goodness in other's and yourself, refuse to acknowledge anything but, and exemplify kindness, patience and trust. Rule 3. Without forgiveness, nothing else is possible. (say without ceasing I forgive them) and don't forget to include yourself. Rule 4. Give more than you get. Rule 5. Do unto other's as you have them do unto you. (This is the mercy one, pray for all, always for God's mercy). Trusting that God love's you and all of us, we must rely on His strength and not ours. Yes, we fail, but we never give up or stop trying. The focus is on Love. God is Love. Love is all we all hope and seek.

I heard a talk from an Austrailian monk (Fr. Kosmos). He said that life is Orthodoxy, and in the Western Culture it is not as easy as in the Old Country. He mentioned there are prayers for everything...to buy a boat, to open a business, etc. He also said in the example of a mother, her love towards her family is Orthodoxy. He went as far to say...Let's say a mother prays for 30 minutes in front of the icons because it's fasting time, but does not make her husband a fasting lunch to help him out, or to change the baby's nappie (diaper) then she is not showing love, and is being selfish...thinking only of herself before God...then she needs to go take care of those things because only then she is living in Christ's love which is sacrafice. He said Orthodoxy is a very practical faith.