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Let us not ask our Lord for anything worldly. He does not expect our reminder, and even if we do not ask, He himself gives us what we need. “For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Let us listen to Him when He, convincing us, says: “Seek first the Kingdom of God... and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Do you see that He Himself is ready to give you this and promises to give you this as an addition? So, do not ask as the main thing for what you should receive in addition. Let us not pervert the order, but let us seek first what He commanded, so that we may receive other things as well. Therefore, in the words of the prayer, the Lord, laying down for us the rules and limits to which our petitions for everyday matters should extend, commanded us to say the following words, filled with all wisdom: “Give us our daily bread for this day” (Matthew 6:11), that is, daily food. That righteous man, although he had not yet heard these words, prayed about this very thing, saying: “And he will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear” (Gen. 28:20). So, let us not ask Him for anything else of this life. It is completely unworthy of someone so generous and possessing such omnipotence to ask for something that is destroyed along with real life and is subject to many changes and accidents. And such is everything human: whether you point to wealth or power or human glory. Let us ask for something that does not pass away, that does not fail, that does not experience change. And, knowing the goodness of our Lord, let us not think about the present, but let us turn all our efforts and desires to heavenly things. If “He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), then all the more He will not despise those who turn away from evil and flee from unrighteousness, but will honor them with special providence and show His care in everything. Knowing this, beloved, let us believe the promises of God and will not act contrary to His commandments. As for our current affairs, in them we are no different from unbelievers. If He promises the future, but we do not want to strive for this and cling to the present, then why look for another proof, unbelief, when the deeds themselves testify to this so clearly? And again, if He commands us not to ask Him for any of the temporal and worldly blessings, but to look for others, are we, on the contrary, turning to Him, looking for what He commanded not to look for, and not looking for what He commanded us to look for? And by doing this, so carelessly disposing of our lives, angering the meek and merciful Lord, we seem to forget what we ourselves are doing and look for the reasons for His anger at us - why He often leaves us when we fall into various temptations - rather than thinking about the severity of our sins and voluntarily falling into self-delusion. Therefore, I beg you: having rejected all this, let us not prefer anything to our own salvation. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). We will waste excess wealth on the poor; in everything we will show much wisdom by contempt for vain glory, humiliation of human pride, discovery of mutual love for each other, in order to receive both here and future blessings (1). Pay no attention to carnal glory, but think about their future misfortune; The more glorious it is now, the more pitiful it will be later, when in one moment of time its greatness falls away. And so, they say, you have despised all the blessings of the world. I do not despise them as if they were evil by nature. But even if they were good, and we would use them well, nevertheless they will pass away and will not remain forever (4). All the blessings of present life - both sensory and spiritual - are like the beginnings of future blessings. So, why are you indecisive and procrastinating, when you have already received so much and are still expecting so much? The benefits you received are the following: He formed your body, He put a soul in you, honored you alone on earth with your mind, gave you the right to possess everything visible, imparted to you the knowledge of Himself, gave up your Son for you, gave you Baptism, in which so many benefits flow alone, offered you a sacred meal, promised you the Kingdom and unspeakable blessings (7). What are these goods that are impermanent, but fleeting, insignificant, that disappear at their first appearance, and yet are acquired with great difficulty? And how can they compare with those blessings that are unchangeable, do not age, do not require any labor, and adorn you with crowns even during your exploits? He who despises earthly goods already finds a reward for himself in this very fact: that he is free from anxiety, hatred, slander, deceit, and envy. He who leads an immaculate and honest life, even before leaving this life, is crowned and comforted, freed from all dishonor, ridicule, danger, accusation and all other evils. In the same way, all other types of virtue here still provide us with a reward. So, in order to achieve present and future benefits, let us flee from vice and strive for virtue (7). What matters to us is what is virtuous; and without this everything else is completely useless. This is why these frequent questions arise, because many consider what is useless to be useful to them, but do not care at all about what is useful. What is useful for us is virtue and wisdom. But you are too far from them; That is why you have confusion of thoughts, many waves and storms, because whoever moves away from the heavenly glory and love of heaven turns to present blessings and becomes their slave and captive. Why, you say, do we strive for them? Because we do not strive too much for heavenly blessings. Why does this happen? From negligence. Where does the negligence come from? From inattention. Where does the inattention come from? From lack of understanding, because we dwell on the benefits of the present and do not want to carefully examine the essence of things. Why is this happening again? Because we do not read the Scriptures, we do not talk with holy men, but we seek the company of wicked people. Therefore, so that this does not always happen, so that the waves, picking us up one after another, do not carry us into the sea of ​​evils, drown us and destroy us completely, let us rise while there is time, and, having established ourselves on the rock, that is, on the dogmas and Word of God, we will look at the storm of real life (12). You might be interested in: