Monastic versus family life - St. Paisios

 One day St. Paisios  was asked: can monastic life be considered higher than family life? To which the elder answered with a short parable: 

“Suppose two people go on a pilgrimage. One goes along a well-groomed road, the other goes along the path. However, both marchers have the same goal.

The Monastic Life: The way of perfection

With the advent of monasticism, a special way of life appeared in the Church, which however did not proclaim a new morality. The Church does not have one set of moral rules for the laity and another for monks, nor does it divide the faithful into classes according to their obligations towards God. The Christian life is the same for everyone. All Christians have in common that “their being and name is from Christ”1. This means that the true Christian must ground his life and conduct in Christ, something which is hard to do in the world.
What is difficult in the world is attempted with dedication in the monastic life. In his spiritual life the monk simply tries to do what every Christian should try to do: to live according to God’s commandments. The fundamental principles of monasticism are no different from those of the lives of all the faithful. This is especially apparent in the history of the early Church, before monasticism appeared.