Again, it is not the same thing for one who is troubled in “It is not the same thing to see a poor man once or twice and pass him by, as to look at him every day and not beĪroused by the persistent sight to mercy and generosity. As a little drop is to the boundless sea, so much a thousand years are to that future glory and enjoyment.” As one dream is to a hundred years, so the present life is to the future life or rather the difference is much greater. “So you must think about the life to come. Such is the nature of this abundance: the deeper you dig, the more divine thoughts will gush forth, for it is a never-failing spring.’”įrom Chrysostom’s six sermons on Lazarus and the rich man

John Chrysostom takes Christ’s famed parable of the rich man and Lazarus and attempts to plumb its immeasurable riches - knowing all the while that ‘no one will be able to empty all its wealth. This book is an effort to describe why restoring a soul-centric scriptural and patristic phronema to the Church is important and what it might look like.Įach chapter includes a series of discussion questions designed for book clubs, family reading, and church small groups. This short but profound book explores the deeper spiritual meaning-and necessity-of financial giving. God commands that we give for our salvation. God did not recommend that we give only when there is some perceived need or a capital campaign for a project. Too often, we as hierarchs, clergy, and lay leaders speak to our people about giving to meet the needs of the Church or the needs of the poor, and we forget to teach that the true need for each and every one of us is simply to give. “Today many Orthodox Christians, including bishops and priests, feel acutely uncomfortable discussing financial issues in church for a variety of valid historical and pastoral reasons,” writes Money & Salvation author Dr.

Money and Salvation: An Invitation to the Good Way and On Wealth

John chrysostom on wealth and poverty