Augustine of Hippo: Weed out greed and plant love

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 7:18-19

“Do you have wealth? It is a good thing. But only if your use of it is good. You will not be able to make good use of it if you are evil: wealth is an evil for the evil, a good for the good, but it is converted into good when it is in the hands of the good.

Do you want to have honor? It too is a good. But only if used well. How many are those whom honor has led to a bad end! Yet how many others have been helped by honor to behave well!

Be a good tree. Do not fool yourself that you can produce good fruits if you are a bad tree; good fruit comes only from a good tree. So, change your heart and your actions will change too. Weed out greed and plant love. As the root of all evil is greed, so the root of all good is love.

If only you knew what goodness is! What you want is not good, the good is what you do not want. Look within yourself, seek within. What is not pleasing to your renewed heart, kill off; what is pleasing to it, nourish.

If you find yourself void of good works, why are you so keen to have external goods? What use is a coffer brimming over with money, if your conscience is empty? What use are the things you have, if you do not have the One who gave all?

Do not put your trust in untrustworthy riches. Hope in God, in God alone. He gives you all in abundance: the goods of the earth for your use, the goods of eternity for your pleasure.”

Augustine of Hippo in Sermons 36, 5ff (PL38, 217) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 292-293.

We must weed out greed, that is, the desire for money, and plant love. To plant love is to plant the reminder in our hearts that we have everything we need, have ever needed and will ever need in Christ.

What Augustine is getting at is the source of our power and trust. He’s asking us to consider what we are trusting in to produce any results, any fruits in our lives. Only love, not money, can produce fruit that lasts.

I head from Cairo to London today. I have a meeting there with Sas Conradie and hope it bears fruit between Tearfund and GTP. Make it so Lord Jesus.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

“You are guilty of over-simplification if you define as fortunate the rich and the powerful. They are on the contrary most unfortunate and miserable because they possess the good things of this world and use them in pursuit of vice and wickedness.

Therefore if you see depraved people wallowing in wealth, don’t say ‘What happiness.’ They are unfortunate precisely because they have too many opportunities of living in iniquity.

If you see other people who seem upright, imprisoned by adversity and poverty, and don’t at once think they are unfortunate and don’t accuse God of injustice. They will suffer no harm through their misfortune, because they have been educated by it to bear discomfort like the champions of virtue that they are.

For just as dwellers in iniquity pervert even good things to use as weapons of wickedness, so lovers of virtue can adapt even bad things to act as material for true wisdom.”

Theodoret of Cyrus (393-457) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 291.

Today’s Scripture celebrates the gift of trials. They develop our character and make us ‘perfect’ (our word yesterday) and complete, ‘lacking in nothing.’ Let’s lean into that idea of ‘lacking in nothing.’

When God allows difficult situations in our lives to shape us into new people, He does this for our good and His glory. But it’s only when God is all we have, do we realize that He’s all we’ve ever needed.

My family is facing quite a trial right now. Whilst I’ve been traveling and teaching around the world, literally more that circumnavigating the planet on this five country tour, my wife’s car was smashed by a reckless driver.

Thankfully she walked away. And though she has headaches, bumps and bruises, what we lost was a reliable vehicle. Of course the motorist was uninsured and while we have that coverage, it’s yet another headache.

But what have I learned afresh in the process? It was only a car. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. I have been reminded that when God is all I have, He’s all I’ve ever needed all along.

Now when we find ourselves in hard times, we tend to dream of riches and power. We do. Instead, we must see that place for what it is. Wallowing in wealth positions us to trust in ourselves and commit all manner of sins.

Let us rather, as ‘champions of virtue’ allow the trials to make us into people who as Theodoret keenly noted ‘can adapt even bad things to act as material for true wisdom.’ We’ve got this, because God’s got us.

And he even knows what our next car will look like.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

“The perfect person does not only try to avoid evil. Nor does he do good for fear of punishment, still less in order to qualify for the hope of a promised reward. The perfect person does good through love.

His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit, so he does not have personal advantage as his aim. But as soon as he has realized the beauty of doing good, he does it with all his energies and in all that he does.

He is not interested in fame, or a good reputation, or a human or divine reward. The rule of life for a perfect person is to be the image and likeness of God.”

Clement of Alexandria in Miscellaneous Studies, 4.22.135ff (Stählin II, p. 308)  in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 158.

When people hear the word ‘perfect’ they often think it means without sin. In the biblical sense it refers to something that is ‘mature’ or ‘rightly aligned’ with God’s design and desires for us.

Clement shows us the perfect way: do good through love. Each time I have taught on this trip, either solo or with fellow instructors, I have prayed for God to fill us with the Spirit and love. Any fruits flow from that!

Love is the one thing Christ wants us to be known for and the only thing that can overcome the evil and corruption in this world. This is timely inspiration for each of us on the Lenten journey.

On retreat today we will reflect on God’s love for us and for this region. A dear friend and Abiathar to me, Rich Haynie, is also praying Isaiah 11:2-4 over us as we retreat with the Lord. God be with us. God be with you.

I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has [found] nothing in Me. John 14:30

“The devil does not have only one weapon. He uses many different means to defeat human beings: now with bribery, now with boredom, now with greed he attacks, inflicting mental and physical wounds equally.

The kind of temptation varies with the different kinds of victim. Avarice is the test of the rich, loss of children that of parents and everyone is exposed to pain of mind and body. What a wealth of weapons is at the devil’s disposal!

It was for this reason that the Lord chose to have nothing to lose. He came to us in poverty so that the devil could find nothing to take away from Him. “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has [found] nothing in Me.” John 14:30

The devil could only test Him with bodily pains, but this too was useless because Christ despised bodily suffering.”

Ambrose of Milan in On the Gospel of Luke 4.39 (SC9, 162ff) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 133-134.

The more we fast and do without certain things during Lent, the more we discover that we really don’t need those things like we thought we did. Jesus ministered without them, so do we really need them?

I have a friend that is “going for broke” this Lent. While the world aims for prosperity, he’s aiming for poverty following Christ’s example. Does that shock you? It means traveling lightly and living generously.

Remember, Jesus modeled the way! He had nothing to lose. For example, when He sent out the 70 in Luke 10, He wanted them to go out broke, to have nothing to lose, to teach them God would supply.

The conference went great today in Amman. GTP provided biblical and practical governance teaching to 40+ influencers. Pray the seeds planted will bear fruit, and praise God we’ve already been invited back.

Now Andrew Mahfouz, Ereny Monir, and I have arrived at the Dead Sea to retreat with the Lord together to discern next steps regarding all we have seen and heard from these governance trainings in Cairo and Amman.

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14

“The cradle of all temptations and all useless and unhealthy thoughts is idleness. Idleness contains all sin. The idle are never servants of God. Those who do not do what they must with fidelity and fervor, those who do not do it with the intention of serving God, are idle when they come to act.

And it is ridiculous to look for idle works to escape idleness. An idle work is one that has no usefulness or is done with no intention of becoming useful: useful in the first place to one’s own conscience, enriching the heart’s treasure.

Do you want to know what you should busy yourself with? Over and above daily prayer you need to work — in such a way, though, as to preserve, or rather, to increase your spiritual happiness.

Certainly, some kinds of heavy work distract the soul and weary it. All the more reason for you to have a sense of your own weakness and to have humility of heart.”

Bernard of Clairvaux in Letters to the Brethren 21 (PL 184, 321) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 133-134.

Prayer and practice helps us nurture our fidelity and fervor. Why warn the idle? God does not need us to do works. We need to do them to increase our spiritual happiness. I pray your Lent is off to a strong start.

Today I flew to Amman, Jordan, with Ereny Monir and Andrew Mahfouz to lead a governance training on Saturday and then to have a prayer and fasting retreat by the Dead Sea. I’m excited for this.

Our hosts treated us to some tourism seeing ancient ruins in Amman (pictured above), a Roman Amphitheater, and a trip to Mt. Nebo, from which Moses looked into the Promise Land.

The ruins made me think. If you visit the “Who are we?” page of the GTP website, you see that we are builders of trust. Pray with us that tomorrow’s seminar accomplishes this objective for the 40+ planning to attend.

Citing Isodore of Sevilla, on vices and virtues, Defensor Grammaticus writes “Sometimes little vices ward off bigger ones. But you cannot heal vices with others vices; healing comes rather through the practice of virtues.”

Defensor Grammaticus in Book of Sparkling Sayings 27 (SC77, pp. 352ff) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 132.

Lent is a season to practice the virtue of giving. We get better with practice. With regard to money, some people battle with materialism, or spending money on things. Others hoard seeking security in holding large sums of money. Those are just a couple examples.

How do we grow beyond these vices? Practice giving. It’s what God made us to do. Need help or inspiration in this area? Check out the 40 Acts website and take the generosity challenge this Lent. Help your giving find healing.

And thanks for your prayers for me as I lead a governance seminar in Cairo today and then spend the evening with a cohort of workers that I trained in raising local funds. I hope to encourage them in their progress.

For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. Matthew 25:29

“It is important to understand the right use of external objects and pictures of them in our imagination. The reasonable use of them produces for its fruit the virtues of chastity, charity, and right knowledge. Their unreasonable use results in debauchery, hatred, and ignorance.

It is through the measure in which we misuse the powers of the soul, namely its desire, emotion, reason, that the vices install themselves: ignorance and folly in the reasoning faculty, hatred and debauchery in the desires and emotions. Their right use, on the contrary, produces right knowledge and prudence, charity, and chastity. 

Nothing that God has created is in itself bad. Food is not bad, gluttony is; the procreation of children is not bad, lechery is; wealth is not bad, avarice is; glory is not bad, only vainglory is. So you see nothing is bad in itself, only the misuse of it, which is the soul’s negligence in cultivating it’s true nature.”

Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662) in Centuries on Charity, 3, I (SC9, 123) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 125.

Welcome to Lent. The reason we have a season in church history for focusing on giving, praying, and fasting is that we often need to reset our lives to be sure we are on track.

Related to wealth, there is a right use of it and an unreasonable use. When we follow God’s design for living, He often blesses us with wealth. During Lent we root out avarice through right enjoyment and sharing.

Some may choose not to discipline themselves to grow in prayer, fasting, and giving. But there is a danger because these are central disciplines to the Christian faith. They are not optional.

What we have may be taken from us, so our lives will instead be filled with debauchery, hatred, and ignorance. Hear my heart. I am only trying to awaken you to the importance of these formational practices.

We order our desires through fasting and prayer to feast on what will enrich and enliven us. Father, during this 40 day season, teach us the right use of all you have given us and make us more compassionate. Amen.

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. Song of Solomon 4:7

“You can see that a city is prosperous by the wealth of goods for sale in the market. Land too we call prosperous if it bears rich fruit. And so also the soul may be counted prosperous if it is full of good works of every kind.

But first of all it has to be farmed energetically. Then it must be watered by abundant streams for heavenly grace for it to bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some hundredfold. The soul only acquires goodness and the capacity of fulfilling its duties if it has the grace of God.

On the other hand, what is uglier or more disgusting than a soul given over to base passions? Look at the hot-headed person: he is like a wild beast. Consider the slave of lust or gluttony: who can bear the sight of him? Pity the victim of melancholy whose spirit is totally prostrated.

It is for us to seek to acquire beauty, so that the Bridegroom, the Word, may welcome us into his presence and say, ‘You are utterly fair, my love, and there is no flaw in you.’ 

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) in Commentary on the Psalms 29, 5 (PG29, 316) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 110.

Lent is a season when we energetically farm and water our souls with the grace of God to acquire beauty. We want to become the Bride that Christ desires that is full of good works. So what will Lent look like for you?

Today is commonly known as Fat Tuesday, the day of indulgence that precedes Ash Wednesday and the start of the 40 day fast. Indulge on this today, that is, the notion that Jesus wants us to indulge on the Word.

It transforms us from becoming ugly victims of our own lusts into beautiful souls full of goodness. To grow in compassion, perhaps feast on Scriptures this Lent linked to God’s love for us, so He makes us more compassionate.

As I teach African seminary leaders in Cairo (pictured above) on generosity in contrast to prosperity in the Gospels today, I am already seeing God work in them. Our compassionate God will transform some to bear fruit thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some hundredfold.

He desires that His grace turns us into people who, as Basil puts it, are “full of good works of every kind.” The beauty we acquire is not for ourselves but for reflecting His goodness to the world.

God, make us beautiful reflectors this Lent we pray. Amen.

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Joel 2:12

“Many people eat plenty and grow fat on it. Others abstain from some kinds of food in order to practise asceticism, and condemn those who eat. Put shortly, they have only hazy ideas why they should eat or why they should abstain. 

We, on the other hand, when we fast, give up wine and meat, not because we detest them, as though using them were a crime, but because we hoping for an eternal reward. We willingly go without things that please the senses in order to be able to enjoy the pleasures of the spiritual table: we sow in tears today in order to be able to reap in joy tomorrow.

Do not despise those who eat, when they are eating in order to keep their strength up. Do not condemn those who drink wine in moderation; it does their stomachs good. Never regard meat as an evil in itself… If you abstain from those foods, do not do so as if they were unclean. Rather, think of them as a good thing which you are content to give up for love of a far greater spiritual benefit.”

Cyril of Jerusalem in Catecheses, 4, 27ff (PG 22, 489) in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 75.

Are you ready for Lent, the season when we return to God and focus on fasting, giving to the poor, and prayer? It starts Wednesday.

Consider the fasting part today in this light. It’s giving up a good thing “for love of a far greater spiritual benefit.” It’s a pathway to greater gain.

To grow a heart of compassion linked to generosity this Lent, perhaps we need to jettison something first.

Think of something to fast from in order to feast on “the pleasures of the spiritual table?” Take time to pray about this today.

I’m doing the same between teaching sessions in Egypt. I love this season of year but I think it must started with prayer.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10

“There are good things, bad things and things that are indifferent. Some of the things that are indifferent people consider to be good or bad while in reality they are neither. I will give you an example, to explain my meaning more clearly.

Poverty is in general thought to be evil. Not so; if someone who is poor practices watchfulness and wisdom, poverty itself can completely overcome evil.

On the other hand, wealth is regarded as a good thing by most people. But that is not entirely true: it depends how you use it. If wealth were a good thing in itself and on its own account, then everyone who possesses it ought to be good. Yet, not all rich people are virtuous, only those who manage their money in a responsible way. Therefore, wealth is not a good thing in itself, it is only an instrument for doing good.

So with regard to indifferent things: they are either good or bad according to the use that is made of them.”

John Chrysostom in Commentary on Isaiah, 3ff (PG 56, 146) in in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 46.

It’s hard to keep my days straight while traveling and tech issues delayed this post. It’s Monday morning in Istanbul en route to Cairo. Don’t know why it did not post before I left Seoul.

To my Father, Jack Hoag, in Lake Wales, Florida, I want to send birthday greetings. Happy 81st Birthday, Dad. I love you. Thank you for teaching me to use wealth as an instrument for good.

By the time you read this, I will be looking toward my next assignment which is teaching on “Wealth in the Old Testament” on Monday to African seminary leaders convening in Cairo.

Wealth is an indifferent thing. It can be an instrument of good or evil. It shows where we place our trust. Today’s Proverb reminds us that we must honor the Lord with it.

We must be sure, however, to read such Proverbs descriptively, and not prescriptively. Descriptively is shows us God’s design. Generosity will not leave us empty but rather enriched.

A prescriptive reading, however, results in prosperity gospel, or to put it plainly, a way people would attempt to manipulate God. I will do this so God will give back to me. Giving to get. Don’t go there.

If you want my handout from today’s talk, simply reply to this email and I’d be happy to share it with you. And please pray for Spirit-led teaching and receptive hearts. Thanks.