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Gary G. Hoag
“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”— 1 Corinthians 4:7
“Let us think we are poor and not run into debts which we have no money to pay. Our wealth must come from elsewhere, and we never know when our Lord will leave us, without any aid from Him, in the prison of the miseries of human nature.
If others think we are good because He shows us mercy or honor, they will find our virtues are only lent us and will look as foolish as we shall. The truth is that if we serve God with a lowly heart, He will succor us at length in our needs.
But if we are not really humble, He will let us slip at every step, as they say, and He thus shows great kindness, for He does so to make us value His grace and thoroughly to realize that we possess nothing which we have not received.”
Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) in The Way of Perfection (London: Thomas Baker, 1919) 235. Download this classic work in PDF form freely here.
This is the seventh of seven posts from this book at this time. I hope her insights have been helpful for your growth and maturity.
The title of this post and today's Scripture announce a biblical truth that paves the way for generous living, giving, serving, and loving.
"We possess nothing which we have not received."
This should humble us. Remind us of our need, our poverty, and inspire us not to live beyond our means, amassing enormous debt. Instead, choose detachment, simplicity, and generosity. Teresa would sum it up with the word, poverty.
On our journey toward perfection we realize that God wants us to come to a place of poverty of spirit or to be poor in spirit.
When we get to this place, Jesus promises an unfathomable gift. We get the kingdom! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3
I conclude this week with a bonus prayer from Teresa. As she is as alive as ever with the Lord, I think it's what she would say to you and me today. Read it, and then pray it as your prayer to God.
May it please His Majesty that the extraordinary generosity He has shown this miserable sinner serve to encourage and rouse those who read this to abandon completely everything for God. If His Majesty repays so fully that even in this life the reward and gain possessed by those who serve Him is clearly seen, what will thisreward be in the next life?
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) in The Book of Her Life (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2008) 138.
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