Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15
“Living a just and holy life requires one to be capable of an objective and impartial evaluation of things: to love things, that is to say, in the right order, so that you do not love what is not to be loved, or fail to love what is to be loved, or have a greater love for what should be loved less, or an equal love for things that should be loved less or more, or a lesser or greater love for things that should be loved equally.”
Saint Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book 1.27.
The challenge for the person wanting to live a just, holy, and generous life is to keep their loves in the right order.
We say, “I love this restaurant” and go there often. We say, “I love this activity” and do it often. We say, “I love this house” and we pour resources into it.
Then soon we forget that these are just gifts from God and not God. We have diminished margin for generosity. But sharing these gifts with others releases their power over us.
What do you love? Pause to reflect today on the gifts you enjoy and the Giver who supplies them. Consider how you might put your loves in the right order by balancing loving and sharing.