And [Jesus] told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21
One of the ancients spoke wisely and simply about thoughts. “Judge thoughts,” he said, “before the judgment seat of the heart, to discern whether they are ours or those of our enemy. Place those which are good and properly our own in the inmost shrine of the soul, keeping them in this inviolable treasury. But chastise hostile thoughts with the whip of the intelligence and banish them, giving them no place, no abode within the bounds of your soul. Or, to speak more fittingly, slay them completely with the sword of prayer and divine meditation, so that when the robbers have been destroyed, their chief may take fright. For,” so he says, “a man who examines his thoughts strictly is one who also truly loves the commandments.”
Theodore of Edessa (d. 848) in Philokalia V2.29.70.
When you study passages like today’s Scripture, you see clearly the destructive power of rogue thoughts. The worst thing we can do is to think to ourselves like the rich man did. That leads to nothing but trouble.
When we think to ourselves our mind follows the way of the flesh instead of the way of the Spirit. So in the words of Theodore, we must “chastise hostile thoughts” and “slay them completely with the sword of prayer and divine meditation.”
Notice the giving that Theodore recommends regarding any wayward thoughts. We must be found “giving them no place.” Take time to think about how this relates to your generosity. If you examine your thoughts closely what do you see?