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University...
Hey people, really glad to see the community on here is still going strong :D
Well, I started uni this year, and its a big experience and there's independence and all of that, but I've just seem to run out of time when it comes to my spiritual time. I'm working around the clock, on essays and assignments and study, and the time seems to pass so quickly. I sleep late, and so end up being tired in the morning. I usually force myself to pray at least Compline before going to bed from the Agpeya, but I have been getting lazy recently and end up neglecting this. I'm tired in the mornings, and have no time to pray more than a few words, if that, before heading off to my lectures. It's not something I'm proud of, I feel severely lacking.
And being locked up in my room a lot of the time, I feel that the temptation I face is of a much higher magnitude than anything I've experienced before. So, the enemy strikes at me in when I feel weak, and often I fall.
At the end of every day, I am aware that I am sinking deeper and deeper into the mire. And I know that I cannot pull myself out alone. So I pray, but come the next storm I am back in the mud.
While typing this, I've realised that the solution to my problem lies in praying more, putting more effort into living a holier life, trying to increase my exposure and time spent in the church to stop myself from feeling that I'm alone. And reading more of the Bible.
I'm not really sure if I should post this now or not...
pray for me
joe
Well, I started uni this year, and its a big experience and there's independence and all of that, but I've just seem to run out of time when it comes to my spiritual time. I'm working around the clock, on essays and assignments and study, and the time seems to pass so quickly. I sleep late, and so end up being tired in the morning. I usually force myself to pray at least Compline before going to bed from the Agpeya, but I have been getting lazy recently and end up neglecting this. I'm tired in the mornings, and have no time to pray more than a few words, if that, before heading off to my lectures. It's not something I'm proud of, I feel severely lacking.
And being locked up in my room a lot of the time, I feel that the temptation I face is of a much higher magnitude than anything I've experienced before. So, the enemy strikes at me in when I feel weak, and often I fall.
At the end of every day, I am aware that I am sinking deeper and deeper into the mire. And I know that I cannot pull myself out alone. So I pray, but come the next storm I am back in the mud.
While typing this, I've realised that the solution to my problem lies in praying more, putting more effort into living a holier life, trying to increase my exposure and time spent in the church to stop myself from feeling that I'm alone. And reading more of the Bible.
I'm not really sure if I should post this now or not...
pray for me
joe
Comments
I'll let someone else answer your post, but here is something that might help you. Don't follow these rules when writing an english paper:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/24AieZ/asil.logicalinsanity.ca/300college%2520paper.html
Welcome to University life! lol
I'll let someone else answer your post, but here is something that might help you. Don't follow these rules when writing an english paper:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/24AieZ/asil.logicalinsanity.ca/300college%2520paper.html
Haha, this made me laugh! So true, I feel like I'm becoming nocturnal ;D
[quote author=minagir link=topic=10079.msg123146#msg123146 date=1291248128]
I think you are doing fine for a first year college student...i can't say it'll get easier but you'll definitely will learn how to deal with it.
Cheers for the support man, but I know that I should do better than this. My spiritual life should be an integral part of me, but I'm marginalising it.
pray for me
joe
[quote author=minagir link=topic=10079.msg123146#msg123146 date=1291248128]
I think you are doing fine for a first year college student...i can't say it'll get easier but you'll definitely will learn how to deal with it.
Cheers for the support man, but I know that I should do better than this. My spiritual life should be an integral part of me, but I'm marginalising it.
I am not saying leave your spiritual life.....just limited a little if it comes against your school time.
Your priority right now is SCHOOL.....most of your time should be dedicated to that. i always remember my friend's story about how abouna Bishoy Kamel (who was his church priest back during my friend "Sanaweya 'ama=high school) used to force the him out of church after the main liturgy in the week to go and study.
[quote author=josephgabriel link=topic=10079.msg123147#msg123147 date=1291248375]
[quote author=minagir link=topic=10079.msg123146#msg123146 date=1291248128]
I think you are doing fine for a first year college student...i can't say it'll get easier but you'll definitely will learn how to deal with it.
Cheers for the support man, but I know that I should do better than this. My spiritual life should be an integral part of me, but I'm marginalising it.
I am not saying leave your spiritual life.....just limited a little if it comes against your school time.
Your priority right now is SCHOOL.....most of your time should be dedicated to that. i always remember my friend's story about how abouna Bishoy Kamel (who was his church priest back during my friend "Sanaweya 'ama=high school) used to force the him out of church after the main liturgy in the week to go and study.
I totally agree with you :)
pray for me
joe
Leaving after liturgy to study isn't wrong, but skipping liturgy to study IS. There were many many many times that I truly had to study on Sundays, but my dad didn't care. "Church is Church. God is God" he would say lol. I truly believe God blesses study time when we give Him time first. Another thing my dad taught me was to read a passage from the Bible before I start any studying/homework/assignments. Little habits make a huge difference.
If you checked the link I provided, it shows a good example of a student "trying" to study, but fails. We all have ADD, no doubt, but if we give God His time, then we will never be failures.
True christians are successful in everything they do.
I'm in my second year of college and I think it was the opposite for me. Before college, I wasn't very religious, I hated going to church, and I hadn't even heard of tasbeha before. I went to a college very far from home and when I felt alone and in a foreign world, all I could turn to was the church and God - Who remains the same wherever you go. Since then I have overloaded my schedule with so many commitments yet somehow God manages to take care of it all. Someone told me that God will never punish you for spending your time with Him when you have a busy schedule. Instead, He will bless your studies a hundredfold. I have many stories of how I (if even by force) put God ahead of my studies, and ended up being so successful - more so then those who had been studying straight for a long time - and the glory is all to God. It is God who blesses and produces fruit a hundred times what you put in when you seek Him to bless your efforts.
College is extremely important for your spiritual life - it sets the stage for how you will live the rest of your life. In college, you can make huge leaps and strides in your spirituality - more so than in any other time of your life. You don't have the distraction of a family and kids, so now is the time to really seek God.
As for success in school and your assignments "32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6
Glory be to God
Don't neglect your spirituality, because in the end when you need to find peace and comfort you won't find anyone else to help you except God 100% of the time.
God Bless you bro
please pray for me and my weakness
pray for me
joe
Seek first the Kingdom of God.
To put Christ first at all times is the object of our Christian lives. If we are not doing so now then we are already falling away from Christ. We cannot think that later on we will have time to be spiritual. Who knows even if we will wake up tomorrow?
But to put Christ first does not mean always being in Church. I told my own folk this a few weeks ago. It may be that at this time we have to put Christ first by serving our family, or a neighbour, or even working hard. Sometimes people will say to me, Father I can't be at the evening prayers next week as my family are all gathering and we are going out. There is no problem with not being at the services occasionally if some other serious responsibility has arisen. And if non-Orthodox family have gathered from a great distance for a family occasion then I do not think it a good Christian witness to be the only one absent.
Likewise to put Christ first does not always mean doing whatever a priest asks because there are also other responsibilities which we have. If we have promised someone that we will help them do something and the priest says can you come and help do this or that then it is reasonable to sometimes postpone the previous engagement, and sometimes tell the priest, sorry, I can't make it then, but I could do it some other day.
To serve others and to be responsible for other duties is part of our service to Christ.
But we must be sensitive that we are not using such responsibilities to actually avoid service to Christ. Of course we have responsibilities to our studies, and we should seek to conduct them diligently and seriously. But if they prevent us engaging in a normal spiritual life then something is wrong, and we are being tempted to abandon the seeking after Christ for something less than Christ, which is idolatry.
When we pass from this life we will not be asked what job we had. It does not matter one little bit to God whether we were Doctors, Pharmacists, Engineers, Teachers, Cleaners, Shop Assistants etc. What matters only and entirely is how we lived our lives as Christians. Far better then to concentrate on what has eternal value than to put that which is of very temporary duration above knowing Christ.
It is best to maintain a serious and committed spiritual life and also do all your work on time. But it is better to maintain a serious and commited spiritual life and struggle to keep up with the work, than to keep up with the work and allow your spiritual life to be diminished.
For myself. What have I achieved in my life? I am not well known or famous. I have spent 3 years making computer chips in a FAB, then 18 years doing IT support and management, and now I run a couple of small businesses. The bills are paid, just, thanks be to God. But on my tomb stone I do not want it said - He provided speedy and helpful IT support - I want it to be said - Well done, thou good and faithful servant. I don't care what work I do. I was unemployed for 3 months 20 years ago, and I applied to Toys-R-Us, to Coffee Shops. Anything. We are not validated by the jobs we do, but by the relationship we have with Christ. We are not validated by our school and university grades, but by the relationship we have with Christ.
If we do not have Christ then we have nothing! Worse than nothing, because a life filled with other things often prevents a person realising they have nothing of any value at all.
Here is one of my favourite verses in all of the Scripture.
Psalms 84:10-12 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
Father Peter
i was studying from university till 2 months ago when i passed my last work-related exam.
but i still find work can distract me from God, and i sometimes come home and (eg) check my email before praying.
this year i was especially busy, and it was really hard for me to decide when to go to church, when to study etc. so i did 2 things. one is something i have been doing since i was 11, that is to give God 1 day i week when i don't study. it can be a saturday or a sunday, eg if family/friends are visiting on a saturday and i have responsibilities that day, i will pray in the morning, chill out with them, then go to church on sunday and study after lunch.
but mostly i took sunday off and it was great to clear my head from all the study coz then i had more energy to start again on monday. sometimes i have to work saturday and sunday. then i take care not to also study these days and to spend time praying during the week.
some people thought i was neglecting my studies coz i went to extra (not sunday morning) church activities about half the time i had the opportunity to, so i had a bit less time to study than if i had been worshipping my studies. but i explained that for me it was important to stay close to God, because, as father peter said, He will not ask us on the day of judgement what grades we got.
the second thing is i specifically asked God to show me if i was being foolish by taking time off from study. He answered this by allowing me to pass the exam, so if i had studied more it would not have been better, i just would have spent less time developing my spiritual life.
i also made mistakes, usually through pride or other sins. but i believe you can keep a good balance by doing some study, some going to church, and not very much of other things! (you have to spend less time with other fun things if you have a difficult course). it's also important to spend time with people who don't live a Christian life in order to influence them. but you have to honest with yourself and ask God to show you if you are becoming more like them or if they are becoming more like Jesus.
it is true that the enemy will attack you more if you are really devoted to God. so don't despair, you have not had to resist sin as much as Jesus (see hebrews 10-12), you will be able to resist. as saint james said, 'submit to God (don't put study, work or friends first), resist the devil (block certain sites on yr computer, don't read trash in the middle of the night when u need to sleep), and he (the devil) will flee from you.
and for those who are not students, you can worship other things than study, eg yr new car, new ipod, new website you are developing, hobbies etc, so you can follow the advice in this thread, putting in your work or hobby when you read 'study'.
may God keep you strong
:)
Pray for me
pray for me
joe
what is the kingdom of God? if I want to reach God, how do I go about it?!
do I use my talent(school) which He gave me, and invest it... or do I say, "NO, I will focus on God and He will supply?!"
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
use your talents wisely!
and let us not forget about Joseph the righteous... did he just sit back, and pray to God, and not care for whats going on around him, or did he work and strive?!
give to God what is God's and give to Caesar what is Caesars... not because i cannot balance my time, does that mean I can hold back on God, God will judge us for every idle moment, so when you are siting back and not doing anything in you room, and allowing the devil to enter and sit with you in your thoughts, cant you pray at that time? no matter how busy your schedule is, you have free time... and in this free time a person becomes lazy to stand up for twenty minutes to pray!
God gave you to your ability, so now you have to learn how to balance your time, and how to invest what you have!
"no matter how busy I am today, to God I will stand and pray!!!"
forgive me if I sounded harsh...
neshkor Allah, akhadna el baraka
pray for me
joe
But it was suggested that we should let our spirituality slip so that we can get on with work and school. That is never sensible. Our talent is not doing school work. We all have to do that. It is a responsibility that we have to face, just as going to work, or looking after our family. Our talent is not even being a doctor, or being a janitor. As I have said many times on this forum, God does not care what job we have.
Our talents are those gifts which we have to offer Him, not those abilities we use to benefit ourselves. These are especially the fruits of a spiritual life.
If we look carefully at the Parable of the Talents.
i. The kingdom of Heaven is like a man going to a far country who calls his servants and delivered unto them his goods.
Who is this man? It is clearly Christ Himself, returning to the heavenly realms. And He calls his servants, those who have a relationship with Him, and gives to them His own goods. These are not goods which they already possessed. Nor are they things which naturally belong to them. But they are His own goods. It does not seem to me that these goods are things like 'being able to become qualified as a doctor', 'doing homework', 'being able to fly a plane'. It seems to me that these are most naturally to be considered spiritual goods. It is only His servants who receive them. Well we know that lots of non-Christians can be doctors and fly planes, so these are not the talents God gives.
ii. He gives a variety of talents according to ability.
Now we use the word talent to mean ability. (I can tell jokes, I can juggle) but here in the Parable it means money. He gave each person an amount of Gold according to their ability. Each one is given an amount of spiritual capital according to their ability to manage it. Indeed the Fathers teach us that we do have this amount of capital in the spiritual bank, and we can choose to spend it all now, like the Prodigal Son, and have nothing to invest in Heaven, or we can manage it well, choosing not to waste it on this fleeting life, and reap the rewards of our prudence in Heaven. This spiritual wealth that the master distributed was huge. Up to £2.5 million in today's money. And the spiritual treasure we have received is of comparable worth, even though we often do not recognise it.
We should ask ourselves how much spiritual gold we have been given and what the balance is in the spiritual bank. Do we appreciate what it means to know God and be known by Him? Do we value this relationship above everything, above life itself? If anyone wants to be Christ's follower he must but Christ above even his family and wife. How much more then should Christ be more important than our homework. But this does not mean that we do not love and care for our family, or do not do our homework
diligently. But it does mean that in every situation and at all times, Christ comes first.
iii. It is possible to increase the balance in the bank.
We see that this spiritual treasure can be increased, if we use it. In the parable it is real money which is used as an example, and the wise servants trade it, buying one thing, then selling at a profit, until they have doubled what they started with. And this is the aim of our life, to increase our spiritual balance. This parable shows us that the spiritual life requires effort, and a sensible use of the spiritual wealth God has given us. When we find that God gives us the grace to pray with joy we must pray more so that the grace increases and we are in turn able to pray more. When we have the grace from God to understand and enjoy the Bible then we must invest more time so that understanding grows still further. When we have the grace from God to overcome a persistent sin we must be all the more diligent so that the grace is increased and the sin does not return.
Is what I am doing of eternal value? Is it increasing my spiritual reserves or draining them? If I have no time for spirituality then what is happening to my spiritual bank balance?
iv. It is possible to do nothing with the spiritual wealth God gives.
We see that one servant had not increased his spiritual wealth. He hadn't lost it. But he didn't use it. He buried it away for another day. We have that saying, 'use it or lose it', and that fits this parable perfectly. If we do not use the spiritual wealth we are given then we will lose it. We can be sure this last servant was busy, and carried on doing all the practical things that were important in the master's house. But he didn't increase the spiritual wealth he had been given. The others managed to be good servants in the household AND also to invest this treasure that had been loaned to them.
We all have the jobs to do that a servant has in his master's household. That is almost a given. There is homework to do, there is work to attend, there is the family to feed. Of course. But what spiritual value does any of this have? Of course it can have great spiritual value, or it can be spiritually harmful.
No-one has suggested that study should be neglected. But there is a way of study which is pleasing to God and a way of study that leads away from God. There is a way of working which is pleasing to God and a way of working which leads away from God. It is the quality of our lives and activities that matters NOT the activities themselves.
God could care less if a person was a Doctor or the President or a Janitor. But what sort of Doctor, what sort of Janitor? The Janitor may be spiritually rich and the Doctor spiritually poor. The Janitor may be investing the spiritual wealth he has been given with every cheery word and greeting he offers to those he meets. The Doctor may have done nothing with all that he has been given, and constantly tell himself that next year, when things get sorted out, he will start to really pray and live as a Christian.
v. He that has spiritual wealth will be given more
I am led to think of St Anthony. He heard the words, 'Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor and come follow me', And he did it. He had no wealth at all. He had no job. He had nothing to attract men, but he was spiritually wealthy. Nor was he lacking 'talents' in the worldly sense. But he abandoned these talents and chose the true spiritual wealth. I think of St Arsenios who was one of the chief men of the Imperial Court, with many 'talents' according to the world, but he abandoned all of these and spent his life seeking to increase the spiritual wealth he had been given. I think of the many Coptic monks who have all gained degrees and yet have given up all prospects in the world because they wish to seek Christ only.
Of course this does not mean that everyone needs to become a monk. But everyone needs to become spiritual above all things. When St Anthony was told that there was a couple more perfect than him in Alexandria he was shown a Christian and his wife, who had work to do, but also made Christ, and the service of Christ, first in their lives.
Our spirituality is rather like a muscle. When it is exercised it grows stronger. When it is not exercised we grow flabby and weak. The Olympic athlete is not at the peak of his career because he is naturally gifted, but because he has practiced, and practiced, and trained, and trained, and exercised, and exercised. There are a lot of people who can run quite fast, but only a few are willing to make running fast the centre of their life. These are the people who win Gold medals.
vi. The one who did nothing lost everything.
He had spiritual wealth. A talent was worth about 20 years work for an ordinary person. That is a huge amount of money, even for the servant given one talent. That would be like me getting £500,000 pounds. But what did he do with it? Nothing at all. And indeed with inflation taking into account, when he dug it up it was worth less than he had been given.
The danger with not growing our spiritual treasure is that we end up losing it all. We pray less, and then we don't pray at all. We fast less, and then we don't fast at all. We start to skip services, and then we don't attend at all. We go through the motions but it doesn't move us any more, and then we don't do it any more. Then we find ourselves on the outside looking in. We are the prodigal son, spending our father's money like there was no tomorrow. Then it runs out, and we are stuck sitting with the pigs.
vii. Conclusion
The parable of the talents is not about what we are good at. One of my daughters is good at art. But she had to drop it at 17 y.o. to choose other subjects. It was and is an ability she has, but it is not the spiritual wealth that the parable is talking about. A person may be able to understand science, but this is a natural ability, not spiritual treasure. A person may be able to sing. This is a natural ability, not spiritual wealth. I can build and develop websites. It is just a learned ability like most learned abilities. It is not what this parable is talking about. I could probably teach my mother to build websites. My wife has worked in Neonatal Intensive Care for 20 years. She is highly skilled. But it is again a learned ability. I could do it. That does not diminish what she does, because she HAS put in 20 years of work to get where she is. But I do not believe that God created her and said, almost like the Fairy Godmother in Sleeping Beauty, 'She shall have the talent of caring for very sick neonates'.
This spiritual treasure is seen in the quality of our daily activities, and is not those daily activities themselves.
i. Are we loving in all we do?
ii. Are we dependable in all we do?
iii. Is our gentleness evident to all?
iv. Do we go the extra mile to help someone?
v. Are we selfless or selfish?
vi. Do we volunteer for the hidden and humble jobs?
vii. Do we seek God above all else?
viii. Are we increasing in our love for Him?
ix. Is this love manifested in an increasing desire to spend time with Him?
x. Do we pray more, even if more creatively?
xi. Do we know the Bible better?
xii. Are we known as a servant in the congregation (I mean a real servant)?
xiii. Are we bearing the fruits of the Spirit - peace, patience, love, joy, self-control etc?
This is what the Parable of the Talents is about. And of course our service of God requires us to be responsible in those things we have committed to do. If we have homework to do then we should do it. If we have responsibilities at work we should be known as someone who will fulfill them. I am also someone who has to work. I am also someone who has to balance spirituality, family, church and work. I could be working as I spend 45 minutes typing this. But I believe that if God wishes me to share these thoughts on this forum then He will also provide all else that I need. I am not on Facebook chatting about the TV, I am here seeking to do God's will.
And no-one said it would be easy. I think that mabsoota and others have shared helpfully their own experiences. It is possible to be very busy and yet be very close to God. The Jesus Prayer is very helpful in this regard. Learning at least the beginning of the Hours by heart is useful. Using journey time to pray is helpful. Reading even just one verse a day is helpful. Making the effort is what is required. Telling God that it is getting complicated is what is required. He knows our situations.
But what was suggested was that school was the priority. It is not. Because then work will become the priority. Then the family. Then the grandchildren. And then it will be too late.
Our talent is NOT our ability. In the parable it is money, so it is wealth. Vast wealth. Every person has abilities, even the most Godless. These talents, these vast amounts of spiritual treasure are ONLY given to the master's servants. Therefore they cannot be the same as natural abilities which everyone has.
If you have school work the question is not whether or not you will do it, but how you will do it. You can do it and put Christ first. You can re-order your day so that there is always a fixed and firm place to meet God. You can make choices.
Likewise with our jobs. You can choose what job you go for. Is it a job that will prevent you growing spiritually? Then don't go for it. Be a janitor instead. Does your employer want you to work in a way that prevents you going to Church, then ask God to grant you a different job so that you can honour him. The job we do does not matter very much at all. What matters is how we do the job. It is very easy to have much earthly wealth and be spiritually poor. The parable of the rich man who accumulated great amounts of earthly wealth and then dropped down dead reminds us that we must all die, and we will be asked to account for how we have spent God's wealth, not how much we have accumulated of our own.
There is no excuse for being lazy at work or school. But if either work or school is squeezing out God then something needs to change. In the first place we need to tell God and ask Him to take control of the situation. We must not be content with such a situation, even if we have to learn other ways of being close to God in the middle of busyness, and business.
Father Peter
I have no advice to give since I NEED the advice, just wanted to say thanks for posting.
mary