If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me. When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. —– Matthew 19:21, 22

Although you say you have never murdered, or committed adultery, or stolen, or borne false witness against another, you make all of this diligence of no account by not adding what follows, which is the only way you will be able to enter the kingdom of God. —– Basil the Great, To the Rich, section 1

The problem is not failure. The problem is low aim. —– Dr. Benjamin Mays

Educator Benjamin Mays understood the source of many social ills was a desire to just get by in life rather than to seek to be the best in academics and whatever else we…

Do you wish to see what makes a bed truly beautiful? … I am showing you the bed of David. Not one adorned all over with silver and gold, but with tears and confessions.   St. John Chrysostom, First Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich Man

As we are at the beginning of Great Lent, it is fair to bring up this point of Chrysostom’s chastisement of luxurious living. Here, the “golden mouthed” preacher makes reference to the Prophet Amos’s denunciation of those who “sleep on beds of ivory and live delicately on couches” (1).  In the parable, it is not hard to imagine the rich man doing this.  Dining sumptuously every day and dressed in purple, of course he would also have furnishings more of status and wealth than of function.  Poor Lazarus couldn’t even get a crumb from a table made of expensive materials.  While dogs licked his sores…