A holy life is prone to make it easier when we know the sequence and method of our responsibilities with all things settling in their proper place. Therefore, I will give you some brief guidelines to spend the day in a holy way.
Properly measure the time of your sleep so that you do not waste your precious hours in the morning slowly and heavily in your bed. That the time of your dream corresponds to your health and work, and not with lazy pleasure.
Make God have your first thoughts when you wake up; raise your hearts to Him reverently and with thanksgiving for the rest enjoyed the night before and give yourselves to Him for the day that continues.
Familiarize yourself so consistently with this that your conscience can inspect you when common thoughts get in the way of the first. Think of the mercy of rest from one night and how many have spent that night in Hell; how many in prison; how many in cold and hard quarters; how many suffering from agonizing pains and diseases, tired of their beds and their lives.
Think of how many souls were called from their bodies that night to appear terrified before God and, think about how quickly the days and nights go by! How quickly your last night went and your day will come tomorrow! Pay attention to what your soul is missing in preparation for such a time and look for it without delay.
May the prayer you make alone (or with your spouse) take place before the family's collective prayer. If it is possible that it is first, before any work of the day.
That family worship is done consistently at a time when it is more likely for the family to be free from interruptions.
Last purpose
Remember your ultimate purpose, and when you set out for your day of work or undertake any activity in the world, may HOLINESS TO THE LORD be written in your hearts in everything you do. Do not do any activity about which you can not give rights to God, and say truly that He has established you in it, and do not do anything in the world for any other ultimate purpose
that is not to please, glorify and enjoy Him. "Do everything for the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Dedicate yourself to the tasks of your calling in a careful and diligent manner. Thus:
You will show that you are not lazy or servants of your flesh (like those who can not deny it easily), and so you will encourage putting to death all the desires and carnal passions that are fed by ease and laziness. You will keep idle thoughts from your mind, which swarm in the minds of frivolous people. You will not waste precious time, something frivolous people are guilty of on a daily basis.
You will be on your way to obey God while the lazy are in constant sins of omission.
You can have more time to spend it in holy duties if you dedicate yourself diligently to your occupation. Frivolous people do not have time for prayer and reading because they waste time
wandering in your work. You can expect the blessing of God and his comfortable provision for both you and your family.
This can also stimulate the health of your body which will increase your competence for the service of your soul.
Temptations and Corrupting Things Stay fully aware of your temptations and the things that can corrupt you - and watch them throughout the day. You should watch, in a special way, the most dangerous things that corrupt, and those temptations that your company or business will inevitably put before you.
It watches over the dominant sins of unbelief: hypocrisy, selfishness, pride, complacency of the flesh and excessive love for earthly things. Be careful to be drawn into the mundane mentality and excessive worries, or plans greedy to excel in the world, under the pretension of diligence in your call.
If you have to make deals or trade with others, be vigilant against selfishness and all that smells of injustice or lack of charity. In all your dealings with others, be vigilant against the temptation of empty and frivolous talk. Watch also those people who will tempt you to anger.
Keep the modesty and cleanliness of language required by the laws of purity. If you converse with flatterers, be on your guard against bloated pride.
If you converse with those who despise and hurt you, strengthen yourself against vengeful and impatient pride. At the beginning these things will be very difficult, as long as the sin has some strength in you, but once you have attained a continual awareness of the poisonous danger of any of these sins, your heart will easily and willingly avoid them...
When you are alone in your occupations, improve the time with practical and beneficial meditations. Meditate on the goodness and infinite perfections of God; in Christ and redemption;
in Heaven and how unworthy you are to go there and how you deserve eternal misery in Hell.
The Only Reason
Whatever you are doing, accompanied or alone, do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Otherwise, it is something unacceptable to God.
Redeeming Time
Assign a great value to your time, be more careful not to lose it as you are of not losing your money. Do not let the worthless recreations, the television, the frivolous talk, the little company
profitable, or sleep, they steal your precious time.
Be more careful to escape from that person, action or course of life that would take your time than you would in escaping thieves and assailants. Make sure you are not busy, but rather that you are using your time in the most profitable way you can and do not prefer a less profitable path to one of greater benefit.
Eat and drink with moderation and gratitude for health, not for pleasure without profit. Never indulge your appetite for food or drink when it is prone to harm your health. Remember the sin of Sodom: "Behold, this was the wickedness of Sodom your sister: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness had she and her daughters" - Ezekiel 16:49.
The Apostle Paul wept when he mentioned those "enemies of the cross of Christ ... the end of which will be destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is his shame; who only think in the earthly "- Philippians 3: 18-19. Because if you live according to the flesh, you will die (Romans 8:13).
If any temptation prevails against you and you fall into any sin in addition to the usual faults, regret it immediately and confess it to God; Repent quickly anybody let it be the cost. Certainly it will cost you more if you continue in sin and remain unrepentant. Do not trivially treat your habitual faults, but confess them and fight against them daily, being careful not to aggravate them by the lack of repentance and contempt.
Remember each day the special obligations of the various relationships: be it as husbands, wives, children, chiefs, servants, pastors, magistrates, subjects. Remember that every relationship has its special responsibility and its advantage to do some good. God requires your fidelity in this matter as well as in any other duty.
Before returning to sleep, it is wise and necessary to review the actions and blessings of the day that is already happening, so that you can be grateful for all the special and humble mercies for all your sins.
This is necessary so that you can renew your repentance as well as your resolution to obey, and so that you can examine yourselves to see if your soul was made better or worse, if sin has come down and grace has gone up and if you are better prepared for suffering, death and eternity.That these guidelines can be recorded in your mind and that the daily practice of your life be done.If you adhere with sincerity to them, they will lead you to the sanctity, the fructification and the stillness of your life and they will add a comfortable and peaceful death.
