In one of the Sunday Gospel readings we hear key words about what constitutes the goal of our life and how we should organize our life in accordance with this goal. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” – says the Lord, – “and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

What exactly is it that shall be added unto us, i.e. shall be simply given to use, shall be provided as something of little importance? That which shall be added unto us is everything that is essential for our earthly existence: food, drink, clothing, etc. Certainly all of this is essential for us, but in the same manner as it is essential for all other earthly creatures. And the Lord Himself said that God, our Creator and Provider, knows very well that we have need of such attributes of earthly existence and, therefore, as our heavenly Father, provides us with all such things. God has created our earth in such a manner that we and all other creatures are fully provided with all that is necessary for our existence on earth.

But in view of the fact that these essentials of earthly life are already being provided by God, they should not become the purpose of our life on earth. Yet this is precisely what we see all around us: people are primarily preoccupied with a mad race for the acquisition of earthly goods, for the attainment of material advantages, completely forgetting – and oftentimes expressly disregarding – the insignificance of these things in our life. In the Gospel we hear the Lord’s words: “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek” (Matt. 6:31-32). With these words the Lord divides Christians from pagans. Today the entire world, held in the power of neo-paganism, reflects this exclusive concern for material things and complete disregard for spiritual things. But we, Orthodox Christians, should live in an entirely different manner. We must concentrate our attention on the true purpose of man’s life on earth: to seek the Kingdom of God.

But how should we seek this Kingdom of God? The answer is quite simple, though difficult to accomplish. Leaving all concern for the needs of our body – food, drink, clothing – the hands of God’s providence, we must concern ourselves with these selfsame needs of our soul, i.e. we must seek food, drink, and clothing for our souls.

Food for the soul is prayer. Prayer satisfies the soul’s hunger, fortifies the soul with grace, ensures spiritual growth. Just as earthly food contains different elements – vitamins, minerals, etc. – essential for the health of the body, so prayer contains essential elements for the health of the soul: communion with God, spiritual tenderness, repentance, the quieting of passions, attainment of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Drink for the soul is the word of God. The Lord Himself, in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, said: “Whosoever drinketh of this (i.e. earthly) water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him (i.e. My words, My teaching) shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14). In other words, the word of God is to our soul like a purest spring, a source of living water, and as we absorb the word of God into our soul, – and not only absorb it, but also live by it, – it will gradually lead us to eternal life, to that very Kingdom of God which we are seeking.

And, lastly, the clothing of the soul are virtues. We clothe our earthly body not only in order to conceal its nakedness, but we also try to adorn it: we put on multicolored garments, we adorn ourselves with precious jewelry. We must do the same for our soul: attire it in the most beautiful virtues of humility, temperance, chastity, meekness, generosity, soberness, love, and adorn it with the precious jewels of charity and good deeds.

In this way, by spending our earthly life concerned primarily with the acquisition of food, drink, and clothing for our soul, we will find the Kingdom of God, enter it, and find ourselves among the chosen of God. Amen.

Father Rostislav Sheniloff

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. How should we, first of all, seek the kingdom of God? In the following manner: let us suppose that you wish to travel somewhere on some earthly, temporal need, – before starting out, pray to God to set straight the paths of your heart, and after that your forthcoming physical journey, or to direct the path of your life in accordance with His commandments, and wish it with all your heart, and renew such a prayer as often as possible. Seeing your sincere desire and attempt to walk in His commandments, the Lord will gradually set straight all your paths.

Furthermore, if you wish to have fresh air in your rooms, or if you go out for a breath of fresh air, think of pure and impure hearts. Many of us are keen on freshening the air in our abodes (and that is very proper) or taking walks out in the air, but do not think of the need for having a pure soul or heart (spiritual air, the breath of life) and, living in fresh air, allow ourselves impure thoughts, impure movements of the heart, or even foul language and foul deeds.

If you are seeking physical light, – think of the spiritual light which is necessary to the soul and without which it remains in the darkness of passions, in the darkness of spiritual death. I am come as a light into the world, – says the Lord, – that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.

If you see or hear the severity or wailing of a storm, or read about shipwrecks, think of the tempest of human passions, which raise up a daily wailing and perturbation in human hearts, which shipwreck individual souls or human society in general, and earnestly pray to the Lord to calm the tempest of sins, as with His word He once calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee, and to eradicate our passions from our hearts and renew in them requisite silence.

If you experience hunger or thirst, and you wish to eat or drink, think of the hunger and thirst of your soul (it is thirsting for the truth, for justification in Jesus Christ, for sanctification), which, if you do not satisfy them, will cause your soul to die from hunger, oppressed by passions, weakened, tormented, and as you satisfy your physical hunger, be primarily concerned with satisfying your spiritual hunger by means of conversation with God (prayer), sincere repentance of sins, reading of the Gospel, and especially partaking of the divine Mysteries of the body and blood of Christ.

If you love to dress up, or while dressing yourself, think of the incorruptible garment of truth in which our soul should be attired, or of Jesus Christ, Who is our spiritual garment, as it is said: As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Passion for dandyism often completely pushes out of our hearts even the very thought of the incorruptible garment of the soul, and turns our entire life into a vain pursuit of elegance in dress.

If you are a student of some institute of learning, or an official of some ministry, or an officer in some military unit, or a technician, artist, sculptor, merchant, or a manager of a shop, – remember that we must first of all learn how to be true Christians, sincerely believe in the triune God, converse with God daily through prayer, participate in the divine services, follow the rules and regulations of the Church, and before doing anything, while we are doing anything, and after doing anything, – we must bear Christ’s name in our hearts, for He is our light, our strength, our sanctity, our support.

(From the spiritual diary of St. John of Kronstadt, “My Life in Christ.”)