If everything that exists was made by God and for God, and God is superior to the things made by Him, he who abandons what is superior and devotes himself to what is inferior show that he values things made by God more than God Himself. (Maximos the Confessor)

I wonder how Maximos would have judged Isaac Newton. He would have seen a life devoted to the study of the material universe. Yet Newton explained,

This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent Being. … This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of his dominion he is wont to be called “Lord God” παντοκρατωρ [pantokratòr], or “Universal Ruler”. … The Supreme God is a Being eternal, infinite, absolutely perfect.

As a young man Newton had hoped to become a priest, but could not afford the expense of theological education. Nonetheless Newton was devoted to better understanding God through a more accurate understanding of God's creation.