"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation," says the prophet David (Ps. 145:3). Do not place your
hope in any person, or in your beautiful looks, or in your family's nobility, or in any other transient and perishable attribute. The entire world is vanity,
and whoever hopes in temporary things is attempting to build his home upon moving waters. Do not pride yourself or boast in such short-lived
things, and do not place your confidence in friends and relatives, for all these things are false and vain.
Do not feel assurance in your mighty strength and courage, because the world has seen countless brave and valiant men who have, nonetheless, been forgotten. Do not brag about your expensive homes because your life is extremely short. Do not brag about your familial lineage because we have all been created from the same earth. Do not be conceited about your appealing appearance so that
you do not become like a dead corpse who boasts about his beautiful grave; for the body of the sinful person serves as a grave and a shell for
his dead soul. Do not take pleasure in your bodily health and strength.
Rather, you should fear lest your wretched soul is condemned to Hell; for there is no greater danger than having your enemy locked up with you
in your home. According to the Apostle Paul, physical health becomes the cause of spiritual illness: “
Even though our outward man is perishing, yet
the inward man is being renewed day by day”
(cf. 2 Cor. 4:16). Just as it is foolish for someone to take great pleasure in the health of his legs when his head is diseased and full of wounds
, similarly, it is silly for a person to boast in his physical health when his soul is weak and diseased.
from the book The Salvation of Sinners
