Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. Ecclesiastes 11:2
“Let us now follow the Word. Let us seek our rest in the world to come, and cast aside our surplus possessions in this world. Let us only hold on to what is good from all these things: let us gain our souls by acts of mercy; let us share what we have with the poor so that we may be rich in the abundance of heaven. Give a portion of your goods to your soul, not just to your body; give a portion to God, not just to the world. Take something away from the belly and consecrate it to the Spirit. Snatch something from the fire, store it far from the consuming flame below. Seize it from the tyrant, and entrust it to the Lord.
Give a portion to the “seven” — that is, to this life — and also to the “eight” — to the life that you will receive after this. Give a little to Him from whom you have received much; even give your all to the One who has given all to you. You will never surpass God’s bountiful generosity, even if you hand over your entire property and yourself in the bargain. Indeed, to receive in the truest sense is to be given to God. However much you contribute, there is always more left over; and you are never giving away what is your own, since all things come from God.
Just as it is impossible to step over your own shadow, which moves along exactly as far as we do and always reaches out the same distance before us — just as the height of a body cannot exceed the head, since the head is always above the body — so, too, it is impossible to surpass God in our giving. For we never give Him anything that does not belong to Him or that outshines His munificence…”
Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390) in Oration 14: On the Love of the Poor translated by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 81-82. The three Cappadocian Fathers, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus, cared so deeply for the poor and the sick that they helped construct some of the earliest hospitals.
Rhee adds this helpful note, citing Brian Daley (82): “Gregory apparently takes the number ‘seven’ here to refer to life in this world, created in seven days, and ‘eight’ to refer to the new creation, bringing with God’s ‘eighth day’ of resurrection.” Basically, Gregory calls us to live not for this life, but for the life to come through how we live, give, serve and love others.
When we follow the Word and grow in generosity we discover that “it is impossible to surpass God in our giving.” Don’t be inspired today, be deployed. Go, make a plan and share surplus possessions right away. Don’t leave them to children. Give your kin an inheritance that will not fade away by instilling in them a deep faith that is worth more than money. Show them how to be “rich in the abundance of heaven.”