In this video Father Spyridon Bailey cautions us that everything in this fallen world is temporary and will pass away. He reminds us that only God is permanent and will give us what our souls desire most in eternity.
Here are multiple excerpts from Fr. Spyridon’s wisdom-filled teachings (bolded headers added for emphasis):
Everything of This World is Temporary
“One of the essential spiritual lessons that we all need to learn is that everything of this world is temporary. Everything that we put our trust in, everything that we rely on, everything that we look to of this world will pass away; that can be taken from us. Not only can it be taken from us, but it will be; everything!
There is nothing of this world that we can put our eternal trust in. Everything we cling to of the world for security, whether it be good or bad, will fail us, will crumble. No matter how hard we cling to it, we will lose it.
Only God is Permanent
The essential spiritual lesson for every one of us is that only God is permanent. Only God can offer us security that will not fail. Only God is the one that gives us eternal security.
There is a reality also beyond the things of this life which God continuously warns us of, not just in words but through experience.
Dangers of Attachment to Worldly Things
The [Church] Fathers tell us that a death the soul that is accustomed to satisfying itself with the things of this world, the soul that clings to the things of this world, the soul that feeds its passions of the flesh on of the world, will continue in this state after death.
But at death all these things will be taken away. We will lose everything that satisfies us in this way. And the soul will find itself in a horrific, a terrible condition: craving, yearning to satisfy itself with these things, but it no longer has access to. The worldly things will pass away and that soul will be in torment; a self-created torment. It is a frightful condition.
God Warns Us to Think Eternally
Not only the Fathers, but God himself continuously tries to warn us of these things.
The longer we feed the passions, the longer we allow ourselves to dwell completely on the things of this world, the harder we are making it for ourselves. Not only in this life, to repent and to uproot these things from ourselves, but the harder we are making it for ourselves when we die.
We must think eternally. We must think of what is coming.
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God Shakes us Through Struggle, Pain, and Failure
And so it is in the world. God, when there is hope for us, gives us struggles, gives us pains. God continuously warns us that these things will pass away. He shakes us. God shakes us through struggle, through pain, through failure.
God continuously shows us the temporary nature of the things of this world and of this life.
Like the doctor who sends sometimes difficult prescriptions, God seeks to heal us of our reliance and our trust in the things of this world.
And sometimes we are so stubborn. Sometimes we turn our back to us to such a degree, that it takes something catastrophic to truly awaken us, to shake us from the complacency that this world would give us.
God’s Love, Mercy, and Compassion
But this is God’s love. This is God’s mercy. This is God’s compassion for us. Demonstrating Himself. Calling us back to sense, to reality. That we must let go of the world.
Because sometimes that can be a painful experience, letting go. Pulling out the hooks from the heart that the world has caught us with. And all of us, all of us, our hearts are hooked in some way; each of us.
God shakes us. He humbles us through suffering, through struggle, and through failure.”
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What Do We Truly Desire?
The Fathers say to us every worldly attachment is a potential source of sorrow in our lives. All the things that we deliberately attach ourselves to are potentially a source of suffering, a source of grief.
So each of us must look carefully at our hearts. Must call ourselves to account and say: what am I truly longing for? What am I truly desiring? What am I allowing to hook itself into my heart?
What Do We Desire for Our Children?
Also, what do I desire for my children? What am I bringing my children up to long for, to crave, to seek in life?
What am I applauding and celebrating in my children’s achievements? Is it all worldly things? Or am I encouraging my children to recognize the fleeting nature of the things of this world. The things that God continuously warns us about through these difficult experiences. Trying to shake us out of this complacency.
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Listen to God and His Servants
The time for this change, the time to address this false security in our lives is now. This is the time that God has given us, to pull out these hooks. This is the time when God is saying: listen to the warnings I have given you, through the Scriptures, through the Prophets, through the Saints and the Holy Fathers, through My Son Himself.
And if we are deaf to all these teachings, then God will say: in My mercy I will shake you. I will shake you. It will be painful.
And if you do not become resentful. If you do not turn angry towards God and say: why me Lord, why me? But are able to see what God is doing in those moments. Are not wise enough to find enough discernment to recognize God’s hand on us. And that it is this love and mercy that is bringing us through these painful experiences, that we may learn from them.
While we suffer. While we struggle. Let us remember we still have hope. If we’re going through a particular period of our life where things are easy, we mustn’t fall into the trap of imagining that suddenly there is no hope, of course.
God Will Give Us a Rest
Sometimes God will give us a rest. Sometimes there are periods where God knows our weakness and sees that we need to recover from what has gone before. He doesn’t overburden us. He doesn’t give us more than we can cope with.
We need to trust in Him. Trust that He knows us, better than ourselves.
Time to Change is Now
Believe that this time to change is now. Because every one of us must face the consequences of how we have lived this life.
We will face the consequences in terms of how we mold and shape our soul here and now, but we will also face the consequences eternally.”
~ Fr. Spyridon Bailey
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Additional bolded headings and organizational edits to optimize readability made by Chris Banescu.
