The Most Toys

March 29, 2011 Length: 1:01

St. John Chrysostom and Elder Amphilochios on overcoming materialism.

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“He who dies with the most toys wins!” That bumper sticker slogan sums up our culture’s emphasis on getting more and more stuff.

But St. John Chrysostom contrasts this with the angels when he says, “Do not the angels differs from us in this respect, that they do not want so many things as we do? Therefore the less we need, the more we are on our way to them; the more we need, the more we sink down to this perishable life.”

This is why Elder Amphilochios of Patmos says, “Don’t ever pay attention to anything earthly and unstable. Strive for the union of your soul with God.”

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