Every person will be paid by the boss for whom he worked ( Elder Paisios )

Naturally, every person will be paid by the boss for whom he worked. Those who work for Christ shall receive a hundredfold now in this time and, in the world to come, eternal life (Mark 10:30); and those who work for the dark boss will receive darkness even now.



Elder Paisios

Praying while we work ( Elder paisios )

Is it possible to pray while we are working? On the surface it seems that this will distract us from our work. The reality is that it will enhance our concentration and our ability to do quality work unhindered by distractions and anxiety.

Elder Paisios says,
When someone is doing work that needs concentration, i.e. he is driving a car, or he is operating on a patient, he should also say the Jesus prayer so God can help him and enlighten him; however, he should pray with his heart, and use his mind to concentrate on his work and thus avoid doing any mistakes.
Prayer can help us concentrate and gain greater insight into our work.

The Elder says,
The more the mind concentrates on praying, and is being humbled, the more it is enlightened by the grace of God. However, the more it gets dispersed and confused due to its haughtiness, the more it becomes troubled; therefore the our mind, which is clean by nature, fills up with dirty thoughts.
It is through prayer that we act with a “clean” mind. Without prayer we are left with our own often confused thoughts. We play over and over in our minds negative thoughts about this or that person. We play over again and again scenarios about what might befall us in the future. With continuous prayer our mind become still, clean from distracting thoughts, only filled with God and the work that is in front of us as this moment. We are held in the vision of His will for us.

Source: Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain, p 80

Work vs. Prayer

There is no tradeoff between work and prayer. Both are essential to a healthy physical and spiritual life according to Saint Basil. It is wrong to deny prayer because of work and it is wrong to deny work because of prayer. We can learn to make our work a prayer. The Jesus Prayer and other remembrances of God during the day are a great help in this task. At the foundation a God centered work life is attentiveness based on a quiet mind as Basil explained in earlier posts..
Here is what Basil has to say to us:

As daily sustenance is necessary for everyone, so labor in proportion to one's strength is also essential. Not vainly has Solomon written in praise: “she watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness” (Prov 31:27). And again, the Apostle says of himself: “nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day” (2 Thess 3:8); yet, since he was preaching the Gospel, he was entitled to receive his livelihood from the Gospel. The Lord couples sloth with wickedness, saying: '‘You wicked and lazy servant" (Matt 25:26). Wise Solomon, also, praises the laborer not only in the words already quoted, but also, in rebuking the sluggard, associating him by contrast with the tiniest of insects: “Go to the ant, you sluggard!" (Prov 6:6). We have reason to fear, therefore, lest, perchance, on the day of judgment this fault also may be alleged against us, since He who has endowed us with the ability to work demands that our labor be proportioned to our capacity; for He says: “to whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48). Moreover, because some use prayer and psalmody as an excuse for neglecting their work, it is necessary to bear in mind that for certain other tasks a particular time is allotted, according to the words of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season" (Eccl 3:1). For prayer and psalmody, however, as also, indeed, for some other duties, every hour is suitable, that, while our hands are busy at their tasks, we may praise God sometimes with the tongue (when this is possible or, rather, when it is conducive to edification); or, if not, with the heart, at least, in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, as it is written (Col 3:16). Thus, in the midst of our work can we fulfill the duty of prayer, giving thanks to Him who has granted strength to our hands for performing our tasks and cleverness to our minds for acquiring knowledge, and for having provided the materials, both that which is in the instruments we use and that which forms the matter of the arts in which we may be engaged, praying that the work of our hands may be directed toward its goal, the good pleasure of God.

Thus we acquire a recollected spirit-when in every action we beg from God the success of our labors and satisfy our debt of gratitude to Him who gave us the power to do the work, and when, as has been said, we keep before our minds the aim of pleasing Him.

From Church Fathers: The Long Rule pp 306-311


From a letter
Prayer is to be commended, for it engenders in the soul a distinct conception of God. And the indwelling of God is this – to have God set firm within oneself through the process of memory. We thus become a temple of God whenever earthly cares cease to interrupt the continuity of our memory of him.


The Heart of Basilian Spirituality p 120 Letter 2

Sanctifying One's Work- Elder Paisios

Everyone should, by his life and prayers, sanctify his work and become holy. Additionally, if he is an employer and has responsibilities, he should help his employees spiritually. If he has a good inner state, he sanctifies his work. For example, when young people go to study under a craftsman to learn his trade, he should also teach them to live spiritually. This will benefit himself, his employes and his customers.

Every profession can be sanctified. A doctor, for example, shouldn't forget that that which helps most in medicine is the Grace of God. Therefore, he should strive to become a receptacle of Divine Grace. A doctor who is a good Christian also helps the sick with his goodness and faith. To a patient with a very serious illness he can say: "Medicine has helped to this point––but remember from now on that there is God who works miracles."

Or a teacher should try to instruct with joy, and to help the children in their spiritual rebirth, something which not all parents are able to do, even if they have good intentions. While teaching them to read he can also teach them to be good people Otherwise, how will learning to read benefit them? SOciety needs good people who will do well in whatever profession the choose. A teacher shouldn't only pay attention to whether the students know how to read well, but they should also consider whether they have other good qualities, such as piety, goodness, and conscientiousness. God's grades don't always correspond to those of the teacher's. The four that one child receives might be a ten in God's eyes, while a ten for another might count as a four to God.

Source: Family Life by Elder Paisios the Athonite, published by the Sacred Hesychastirion of St John the Evangelist, Souroti, Greece (2002); translated from the Greek by Fr. Luke Harting. Seen in Orthodox Heritage, vol7, Issue 09-10, p. 26