Thought for the Day

"So there is a good that can make you good, and there is a good with which you can do good. The good that makes you good is God, for only the one who is always good can make people good. In order that you, therefore, may be good, call on God. There is, however, another good with which you can do good, anything, that is, that you may have. It is gold, it is silver, it is good, not such that can make you good but such that you can do good with.
"You have gold, you have silver, and you are lusting for gold, and you are lusting for silver. You have it, and you are lusting for it, you are full, and you are still thirsty. It is a disease you have, not prosperity. There are people with a disease that makes them full of moisture and yet always thirsty: they are full of moisture and are always thirsty for moisture! So how can you enjoy your prosperity when your list for money suggests a bad case of dropsy?
"So you have gold, it is good; you have something to do good with but not something to be good with. 'What good,' you ask, 'am I going to do with gold?' Have you not heard the Psalm, 'He has distributed,' it says, 'he has given to the poor, his justice abides for ever and ever.' This is the good, this is the good you are good with, do good with the money you are not good with. You have some money, disperse it. By dispersing your money, you increase your justice."

-St. Augustine, Sermon 61.3

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