Which professions to choose
— Today, many, especially people who have recently found themselves in the Church, are asking the question: “how can I, a person with a Christian worldview, find a job so that life does not turn into hell?”
“We are used to scolding neophytes for going overboard. This is true, sometimes they go to extremes, but often they do the very right things. For example, they understand that the work may not be Christian in essence.
The fact is that people easily and quickly get used to the environment in which they find themselves, and do not think about the fact that this environment can be harmful. Once I was traveling with a priest I knew on a train. He read a popular brochure about sins, which, in particular, said that it was a sin to work as a hairdresser. He, and I, thought it was funny. It is clear that a hairdresser is not a sinful profession. However, I thought: if the author of the brochure thinks so, then he must have reasons for it. Well, for example, a hairdresser does fashionable hairstyles that this priest does not approve of.
After all, the Apostle Peter writes: Let not your outward adornment be the braiding of your hair, or the ornaments of gold, or the finery of your clothing, but the hidden person of the heart, in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God (1 Pet 3:3-4). . It is possible that the priest took the apostolic words literally and considered the work of a hairdresser a sin. But while discussing this with my colleague, I remembered another story.
At a time when, as the apostles preached, people of various professions became Christians. Many of these professions turned out to be unworthy of a Christian. For example, a sculptor, because in ancient times this was primarily the one who made statues of idols. Tertullian said: “You yourself worship idols if you allow them to be worshiped!” By becoming a Christian, a person renounced a sinful profession, and the community was ready to support him until he acquired a new one.
—Is there a list of professions today that are unworthy of a Christian?
- There is no such list. But there is a concept of sin. And if this concept is applicable to a particular profession, a person should try to avoid this type of activity. Separately, it is also worth mentioning the distortions of quite good professions. For example, a Christian cannot work as a croupier in a casino, because the work will clearly contribute to sin, while (an example from a series of distortions) there is a gynecologist who can perform abortions or refuse. There is also a Declaration of the World Medical Association, adopted in 1983, which protects gynecologists and which states that, based on personal convictions, a doctor has the right not to perform an abortion*. In other words, to kill or not to kill is a matter of the moral choice of the gynecologist, and not the quality of the profession.
You need to understand that it is often the person himself who turns his life into hell. Although, of course, in the case of croupiers, strippers, etc., these are professions that are clearly associated with sin.
“But these professions are not taught in institutes and universities.
— No, of course, but you can earn money in these professions. The question is different. Why did ancient Christians think it was impossible for a Christian to be a sculptor? For the same reason that the ancient Jews who came out of Egypt were given commandments prohibiting making images. They needed harsh conditions, because they had a weak immunity to everything pagan.
In the ancient Christian era, people were surrounded by idols everywhere, so it was important for the beginner not to make any statues or sculptures at all. Today it is clear that sculptor is not a sinful profession; no one puts pagan content into this activity. But if, say, a person makes amulets and sells them as bringing happiness and good fortune... it seems to me that these are modern idols that a Christian should not make.
— A talented nuclear physicist is developing an atomic bomb. Is his profession sinful?
— You can even sharpen the question and recall the small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. To pose the question this way: is it a sin to work in the production of machine guns and tanks? I think this is not the same as working in the production of axes, although axes can be weapons, but initially they have a different field of application - peaceful. Weapons, in principle, cannot have a peaceful sphere of use. In a sense, there are far fewer questions for the nuclear physicist who invented the atomic bomb than for those involved in the production of the Kalashnikov.
The atomic bomb is a weapon of intimidation and is unlikely to be used. It can stop or prevent war. But with a reliable and easy-to-use AK-47, everything is more complicated. The Libyan rebels, the Afghan Taliban, and militants from many countries have these machine guns. This means that again everything depends on the motivation and moral choice of a person. Does he produce weapons to make money or to contribute to peace and security of the homeland? It is obvious that if we produce weapons, it will not be to start and fight wars, but to stop and end them.
What income should you target?
— The question “how to find a good job” is addressed largely to a psychologist. However, many turn to the priest with him. Why?
— Often, when asking how to find a good job, people are looking for an answer to another question: “What is God’s will for me, where should I work?” But those who ask this (often neophytes) do not quite correctly understand the expression “God’s will for us.” They think that God has a precise will for what we should be. For example, working as a lawyer, not a doctor. And, they say, if I am a doctor, then I will act against my will, and if I am a lawyer, then according to my will. God, of course, knows who we will be, but we must decide. People do not understand that in fact God’s will for us is one thing - that we be saved. Where we do this is another question. You can save yourself by being a lawyer, a layout designer, a saleswoman, a teacher, or a janitor.
Photo by Ivan Shagin
Alas, the problem is that people are looking for the will of God in the wrong places. They seek to be given strict instructions, to be decided for them, so that ultimately they do not feel responsible. Once the relatives of a seriously ill woman came to me with a question. The question concerned her life and death. If her leg is amputated, she will live, but if not, she will die after a while. And they asked me - what should she do? That is, neither she herself nor her loved ones understood that this could only be her own decision. And I simply do not have the right to decide for her what she should do. We all really tend to share our responsibility for serious decisions, and sometimes we simply dump it on a priest or some spiritually experienced person.
“But people ask such questions because they understand that even in an objectively good profession there are nuances and ethical difficulties. Maybe you will waste your talent if you think about ethics and give up good money?
— Whether we like it or not, the world greatly influences the Church and the consciousness of believers. This expression has stuck in my teeth, but today we live in an era of consumption. Just half a century ago, people could wear the same pair of shoes for decades. Today the cult of “newness” is thriving, and, of course, Christians (they don’t live on another planet) are infected with this. From the history of the Church we know that the pagans laughed at Christians because the latter never sought big earnings, but learned to be content with what they could live on, that is, with little.
Max Weber in his work “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” has a plot describing the first steps to take root the principles of capitalism in Europe. For example, entrepreneurs increased wages in exchange for more employment. But people worked less, saying: “Before you paid me five coins, now I get eight for the same. Why work more if five coins are enough for me?!” Until this principle of “I have enough” was defeated in people, until the desire for profit was cultivated, capitalism could not strengthen its position.
Today, many of us are trying to earn as much as possible. But this is precisely not a completely Christian approach, because a Christian should strive for moderation. Today anything is justified by good goals. For example, is it bad to give better education to children? I can pay for a cheap school, but if I earn more, I’ll pay for a good one. I am eager for big money, but at least I will start helping the poor. Alas, the person does not see the substitution he is making. He is looking for a beautiful way out of a situation that is destroying his soul. Remember Judas, who justified greed by love for the poor. Do you know how St. Gregory the Theologian answers the question “who can practice theology?” He says: “He who is free from external filth and rebellion.”
Praying in the bustle is difficult. Acting morally when you are faced with the choice of “a Christian act or money” is very difficult. And if a person sets himself the goal of earning as much as possible, then, as if on an inclined plane, everything else collapses: the spiritual world, the moral world. “Well, here I’ll act a little dishonestly,” he says, “but then I’ll also be able to help the poor!” But the further it goes, the worse it gets.
“Try to be a mother to everyone – small, big, and old”
Irina says that the whole family came to the church in honor of St. Luke - mother, brother, and other relatives:
“There was still a forest here, and we read a prayer service and asked the Lord to give us land for a temple. And when they began to uproot the trees and dig a foundation pit, she was already working at the future temple - we spent the night and lived here.
But, Ira recalls, she did not immediately decide to work in the church - the rector offered her three times, but she still hesitated:
– At the plant where I was a quality control inspector, there was a layoff, and I temporarily went to work at another plant - in the water bottling shop. At first the work there didn’t go well, but then things went so well that one day we started earning more money than ever before. I was happy, I think that’s it – I’m staying. And as soon as I thought, I slipped on something wet, fell and severely cut my arms and legs. She immediately left there and the next day, after dressing her, with bandaged hands she came to the temple construction site - and stayed. This is how everything happened according to God’s will.
Irina recalls that at first it was difficult for her to cope with many different people. The sick also came, cursing everything and everyone - both their illness and life itself. That’s when the rector of the temple advised her: “Irina, try to be a mother to everyone - small, big, and old. Treat everyone like a mother.”
– I read somewhere that the Lord loves every human soul so much that he is ready to give the universe for it. This is such a strong love that it seems incomprehensible to the mind,” says Irina. “And when a person enters a church, you need to look not at how he is dressed and what he says, but to see the image of God in him. And what state of soul he has, and what happened to him - this is already the Providence of God and He leads it. It’s not our place to interfere in this; there’s a priest for that.
What kind of work will help self-development?
— I know a talented economist who earns a lot of money. But not because he is chasing them, but because he is educated and has abilities that are highly paid. Of course, this leaves an imprint on his life; his children study in an elite school.
- It cannot be said that such a person is immoral. But any of us is capable of living more modestly. And for a Christian it would be better. Was it only in our time that there were rich people? In the 19th century, merchant Vasily Gryaznov lived in Pavlovsky Posad. He was a real ascetic, he fasted and prayed a lot, he had the gift of clairvoyance, many people were consoled by his miracles. After his death, he was glorified among the holy righteous.
Photo by Ivan Shagin
Therefore, it is not about how much a person earns, but about how much this income takes over his life. Does he earn money, or does earnings drive him, and he cannot stop in his thirst for enrichment? There are many families around in which the desire to earn money leads to children being left without parental attention, elderly parents not seeing their working children for months... These are clearly misplaced priorities.
— There is always the opposite situation, when a person, under the pretext “that’s enough,” stands still. And not only does it not develop, but it often falls into condemnation of “these rich people” and envy.
- The Apostle Paul says: If anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Let us remember again the ancient Christians. For example, the author of the Didache advises Christians to take care of those who do not have a craft, but so that they do not live in idleness. And he directly calls those who did not want to work “Christ sellers” and calls on Christians to beware of such. Those who could work had to work according to their profession, fortunately they were simple: plowman, carpenter, fisherman. The point here is not that you can do nothing, you need to do it. The point is that the state of poverty can be both a tense state and a relaxed state. A poor person who can earn more but tries to live modestly is one case. A person who lives poorly because of his laziness, refuses to develop and condemns others is a different case.
In general, the concept of “developing” is also an idea of today. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov did not earn much money, and the Apostle Paul was engaged in a rather primitive business - weaving tents. The idea that we should all develop in our profession, career growth, is the twin idea of profit. Many people forget that growth can be different, spiritual.
What is the archaeological concept of a cultural layer? In fact, this is garbage that was left over from previous generations. In this sense, much less remains of St. Seraphim of Sarov, of the house in which he lived, than of the palace. But to say that he is worse, lower, less developed than the man who invented the car or the rocket is hard to come by. The question is, what kind of development and growth are we talking about? For a Christian, the main thing is his spiritual growth.
—What is spiritual growth?
- This is the desire for holiness. This is a moral life according to the Gospel. If the fact that you earn a lot of money allows you to love your neighbors, if your money allows you to do good, then this is a manifestation of spiritual growth. Just remember JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter novel, who regularly donates colossal sums to charity and supports dozens of charitable organizations. Here you go, a man realizes his billions in a Christian way. Or you can, for example, buy a football club or two, and then watch your clubs play among themselves. You can realize yourself in different ways.
In fact, a rich man is in some ways very similar to a saint. We are accustomed to thinking that holiness is associated with poverty. Outwardly this is, of course, so, but in terms of spiritual disposition, the rich and the saint are closer to each other. We know that man was created for wealth, but spiritual wealth, not material wealth. Both spiritual and material wealth are achieved with great difficulty, but the rich man misses, he aims in the wrong direction. He feels this inner thirst, the human thirst for completeness, but he tries to fill it with the wrong content. The poor man, if it is not the intense “holy poverty” of renunciation of everything, is much less like a saint, because, in my experience, his position often stems from ordinary laziness.
“You try not to offend anyone”
– The hardest thing is working with people. People react differently, everyone wants attention, as if they were alone. And when there is a long line at the checkout, you talk to one person, others are waiting, and you try to please everyone and not offend anyone. But it is very exhausting - there are such hard days that you then have to lie down for half a day. I had to ask my father for another day off,” says Irina. – When a huge number of people pass by on a weekend or on a big holiday, you feel incredibly tired. You just stop thinking, but you try to always smile. Especially grannies, because they are real children. It is impossible to refuse them, and they need to be approached in such a way as if every granny is the only person in the world.
“The most difficult thing is communicating with people,” says Nadezhda. – Different people come, and you need to find an approach to everyone, not to accidentally offend them. The task is to explain, serve, and show. It's hard at times because people don't understand. But explain it, and – thank God!
According to Nadezhda, sometimes people come to church and simply make a scandal, provoke a conflict:
“Especially lately, a lot of people have started coming to argue about politics. But I restrain myself and don’t talk about such topics. At times I want to explain something, but I understand that it is pointless.
Should I join an Orthodox group?
— The question of finding a job concerns not only the profession, but also the people with whom you will work together. How do you understand whether a team is suitable and whether it will not be dangerous for your spiritual health?
- Scripture says: Do not be deceived: evil societies corrupt good morals (1 Cor 15:33). Therefore, if the team is bad, and a person does not feel the spiritual strength to resist this, it is better to leave immediately.
Frivolous people often do not see anything scary in a bad team. And in vain, because when sin becomes a familiar part of life (even if it’s someone else’s sin), willy-nilly we become more tolerant of it. For example, I noticed that almost no modern Western film with a melodramatic plot is complete without the theme of adultery. When you watch a film like this for the first time, you consciously cut off what you consider a sin. It is easier for believers and spiritually developed people to do this, but an ordinary person, the tenth time, begins to automatically treat sin as the norm. Gradually, from the fictional world, he transfers this norm to the world of real life, and a certain internal degradation of a person occurs. And here we are only convinced of the correctness of the apostolic words. Bad communities really corrupt morals.
However, if you feel strong in yourself, if you see at least potential in someone, if you understand that for someone in this environment you can become a witness of Christian life, then continue to work in such a team.
I really don’t like it when people say: “I became a believer. Now I'm not interested in being with old friends. I try not to see them." As a priest, I believe maintaining such friendships is the best way to learn patience. You need to maintain friendship, if only because when your old friends need Christian advice, you will be there. They will not be shy to ask, ask for help, because you are a friend. You are faced with a choice: will a Christian be present in the lives of these people, or will there be no one. What should a Christian choose? Obviously presence. If you can heal the sinful wounds of the collective with your presence, stay.
In no case is this an active mission. I’m not saying that a Christian should immediately start handing out leaflets to employees, start denouncing everyone and forcing them to fast. Of course not. There are two principles in pedagogy: “word” and “example”. You can tell what you should do, or you can show it. It often happens that people, seeing how kindly another person is, how he responds with love, how sacrificial he is, at first laugh, but then they accept him and become like him.
— Many people believe that a good team is an Orthodox team. Is it so?
— In order to understand what an Orthodox team can turn into, go to some Orthodox forum - many myths will be dispelled immediately.
The key problem within such communities is the problem of moderation. Often the external side here is brought to the point of absurdity: starting with morning and evening prayers in the workplace, a dress code with full-length skirts and scarves, ending with work “for the glory of God” instead of the required salary, under the pretext “we have many who are greater than you.” needs." All this in itself may not always be bad, if it does not become a cult. That's one problem.
There is another, no less complex from theological and moral points of view. The problem of heightened perception of others. Often, when communicating with people, I hear that when they were non-believers, they were kinder and calmer towards others. They accepted other people's shortcomings more easily and accepted others for who they are. But having accepted faith, they became embittered, condemn everyone and everything, and see only sins in others. Of course, the question arises: where do such fruits come from? But what is even more alarming is that a whole group of people with such an attitude towards others can gather! We must be aware that the Orthodox community is not a panacea at all.
Where do these fruits come from? Alas, Christianity does not always become the actual content of our life; it often remains external and shallow. After all, as soon as we accept Christ into our soul, we decide to live according to the commandments, we recognize a person’s freedom to be different. The neophyte’s problem is that he is not ready to do exactly this. It seems to him that if he understands or discovers something, he is obliged to share it, and everyone is obliged to agree with him. But if the apostles knew how to share and knew how to do it, today, alas, many do not know and do not know how. Therefore, the gospel turns into evil, good advice into condemnation and intimidation. It is no coincidence that St. Anthony the Great says that one of the main Christian virtues is sobriety of mind. The more soberly we treat our own lives, the more fruit there will be. And until we tell the truth about ourselves, we will not understand what to do next.
“Why am I so happy?!”
Nadya and Ira talk about their path to God and the opportunity to work in the temple - God’s will.
Both women came to faith as adults, and know firsthand what the search for truth and the main meaning of life is.
Nadezhda says that in her youth she came to sectarians with her children, so that the Lord would lead her away from the destructive path. I found the Church of St. Luke of Crimea with my heart right away, when he was still huddled in the corridor of the district hospital - there she married her husband and began to come to services. She says it was her late mother who brought her to this church on the fortieth day. But many more years passed before Nadya got the opportunity to work in the temple.
“The church needed a worker, and I came and asked. And before that, I confessed, repented of my sins, and the priest told me: “Nadya, something needs to be changed,” says Nadezhda. “And when the next day the rector’s father called and told me to come, I immediately quit the cafe and the next day went to work at the church.
Temple in the name of St. Luke Krymsky
According to Nadya, at that time she knew almost nothing about working in the temple - neither icons, nor much else. That’s why I studied everything – I took books, I asked everyone I could. She says it was very hard, but she was happy:
- God helped me. People come in and ask everything. And I think to myself: “Lord, help me! God help me!". And once - it comes to mind what to say to this person. Now it’s much easier - of course, I don’t know everything, but I already understand the most important things and can explain them myself. And then it was very difficult. But both then and now, when I am alone in the church, I look at the icons and think: “Why am I so happy?!”
Nadezhda says that even after five years of working in the church, she does not have complete confidence in her knowledge and absolute correctness. She constantly turns to the Lord for help, for admonition. And she understands well people who cross the threshold of the temple for the first time - their uncertainty, lack of understanding of elementary things, and even deliberate aplomb:
– I want to help them, explain, serve them somehow. And I always ask you to come to the priest to talk, to confession. And a lot of people come like this.
How to combine work and family
- In addition to people in the service, the work issue also concerns the people at home, your family. Should spouses agree among themselves what jobs to take? Or is it a personal matter for everyone, how to develop their abilities and talent?
— It is important to understand that both may be wrong here. The wife may not have sufficient moral grounds to prohibit her husband from getting a new job. A wife may prohibit something out of whim, jealousy and selfishness. And vice versa. She may have very serious reasons for considering this profession (work) unworthy for her husband. And here, if the family is Christian, you cannot do without the advice of a third person. This does not mean that you must necessarily look for some old man. It is enough to find an adequate priest, just a sober-minded Orthodox person, a friend who can tell you which of you is right and which is wrong. Scripture says: Salvation consists of much counsel (Prov. 11:14). It is really useful for Orthodox people to consult with each other, because sometimes we can be pulled in one direction or another. We support each other with our advice. It happens that sometimes a person simply doesn’t see himself, doesn’t understand why he doesn’t want someone else to work, what speaks in himself? Is it jealousy, envy, fear that something will not work out for your loved one? And on the contrary, the one who works thinks that all the arguments of the spouse are nonsense, trifles that do not matter. Although this particular position can work to destroy a family. Peace in the family is much more important than a career. If I have the opportunity to grow in my career or to grow in my relationship with my spouse, as a Christian I choose the latter. Because if we see marriage as liturgy, as mutual salvation in cooperation, as sacrifice and love, then it is obvious that this growth is much, much more important than any career.
*** — To summarize, what steps should a person take when faced with the question of how and where to look for work?
“I think that, firstly, a person should pray that the Lord will guide his choice, to help him combine the desired work with life according to the commandments. Secondly, a person should listen to himself, to his desires and capabilities, so that work does not turn out to be internally alien to him, as if imposed by fashion or tempting prospects. Thirdly, do not forget about your neighbors, try, while working, not to cause damage to family relationships.
4If the purpose of visiting the temple is a museum
If you need to visit the museum, you need to stop by the tour desk. Entrance to the Temple Museum is free. However, if you need an excursion, and it will be carried out, if necessary, provided that the group consists of at least 2 people, then it will be paid
If you intend to get to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and want to clarify all the information, then you can go to the temple website and see the schedule of upcoming services https://new.xxc.ru/bogosluzheniya or call the number
By the way
Shortly before his death, small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov wrote a letter to Patriarch Kirill, in which he asked the Primate: “My mental pain is unbearable, the same insoluble question: since my machine gun took people’s lives, therefore, I, Mikhailo Kalashnikov, ninety-three years old from birth, the son of a peasant woman, a Christian and Orthodox by his faith, is guilty of the death of people, even of an enemy?” The Patriarch wrote in response to Mikhail Timofeevich: “With pain in your heart, you write that the weapons you once created for good purposes are not always used today to preserve peace. But it is important to understand that the responsibility for this lies not with the inventor, but with those malicious people who turn the achievements of technical progress to harm their neighbors.”
