Augustine of Hippo: TheWorm in the Appleof Riches is Pride

When you’ve taken these things away, practice the good works you now hear about. Let them be rich, he says, in good works. Let them not set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but what should they set them on? On the living God, who provides us abundantly with everything for our enjoyment. God bestows the world on the poor, he bestows it on the rich. Does it mean that, just because he’s rich, he’s got two bellies to fill? Attend to it, all of you, and see that the poor sleep having taken their fill from the gifts of God. The one who feeds you feeds them through you."

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in Essential Sermons, trans. Edmund Hill, ed. Daniel Doyle, The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (New York: New City Press, 2007), Sermon 39.4.

This is the second of seven posts exploring the theme of 'abundance' in the sermons of one of my favorite orators. Download the PDF freely here. Read a sermon if you ever miss going to church. You will find they are pure gold!

Hear this profound statement again: "The worm in the apple of riches is pride."

The good doctor sums up perfectly the danger of riches. We become prideful. We do. I have been guilty of this. Perhaps you can relate?

This leads us to behave like rich fools Don't let that be you! A rich fool holds on to riches, so they neither enjoy them (as they never have enough), nor share them.

Yet, notice how abundance comes into view in the thinking of Augustine.

When we humble ourselves and acknowledge that God has abundantly supplied us for our enjoyment and sharing, something special happens. We grasp what life is all about, namely, enjoying and sharing God's blessings.

This week I want to give you the opportunity to put into practice what you are learning about sharing from the abundance God has supplied.

But first, speaking of abundance, if you have not read the devotional I wrote on the topic with Nathan Jones, click here to download it freely.

I mentioned this yesterday and will do it over the next six days. This invitation to give is not for me. It's to aid war-torn souls entering the cold of winter.

I will return to Ukraine with CTU Global in December 2026. This marks my fourth trip since the conflict escalated in 2022. I shot the header photo of a cemetery in Buchanska on my trip in 2023.

Praise God! Since a dear Ukrainian friend translated the Abundance devotional into Ukrainian, I hope to share copies with people that I meet on this upcoming trip.

Click here to go to the CTU global website. Click the blue give button to give and be sure to write "Project: Ukraine" in the "add a note" section.

When you give, you will resource me and a team to bless the war-torn in Ukraine. We will provide churches with generators and emergency funds to aid Christian workers ministering in the war zones.

To paraphrase the last words of Augustine, "The one who feeds you feeds [the war-torn] through you."

I pray you enjoy what God has abundantly supplied to you. But don't stop there. You can kill the worm in the apple of riches by also sharing them richly.