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34. But then the Lord saith,
“Be not solicitous for your life what ye shall eat, nor for the
body, what ye shall put on.” Rightly: because He had said above,
“Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” For he who preaches the
Gospel with an eye to this, that he may have whereof he may eat and
whereof be clothed, accounts that he at the same time both serves
God, because he preaches the Gospel; and mammon, because he
preaches with an eye to these necessaries: which thing the Lord
saith to be impossible. And hereby he who doth for the sake of
these things preach the Gospel is convicted that he serves not God
but mammon; however God may use him, he knows not how, to other
men’s advancement. For to this sentence doth He subjoin, saying
“Therefore I say unto you, Be not solicitous for your life what
ye shall eat, nor for your body what ye shall put on:” not that
they should not procure these things, as much as is enough for
necessity, by what means they honestly may; but that they should
not look to these things, and for the sake of these do whatever in
preaching of the Gospel they are bidden to do. The intention,
namely, for which a thing is done, He calls the eye: of which a
little above He was speaking with purpose to come down to this, and
saying, “The light of thy body is thine eye: if thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light; but if thine
eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness;”
that is, such will be thy deeds as shall be thine intention for
which thou doest them. For indeed that He might come to this, He
had before given precept concerning alms, saying, “Lay not up for
yourselves treasures on earth where rust and moth doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves
treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where thy
treasure shall be, there will thy heart be also.”2582
Thereupon
He subjoined, “The light of thy body is thine eye:” that they,
to wit, which do alms, do them not with that intention that they
should either wish to please men, or seek to have repayment on
earth of the alms they do. Whence the Apostle, giving charge to
Timothy for warning of rich men, “Let them,” says he “readily
give, communicate, treasure up for themselves a good foundation for
the time to come, that they may lay hold on the true life.”2583
Since then
the Lord hath to the future life directed the eye of them which do
alms, and to an heavenly reward, in order that the deeds themselves
may be full of light when the eye shall be simple, (for of that
last retribution is meant that which He says in another place,
“He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me
receiveth Him that sent Me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name
of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that
receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall
receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to
drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the
name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, his reward shall not be
lost,”2584
) lest
haply after he had reproved the eye2585
of them which bestow things
needful upon the indigent both prophets and just men and disciples
of the Lord, the eye of the persons to whom these things were done
should become depraved, so that for the sake of receiving these
things they should wish to serve Christ as His soldiers: “No
man,” saith He, “can serve two masters.” And a little after:
“Ye cannot,” saith He, “serve God and mammon.”2586
And
straightway He hath added, “Therefore I say unto you, be not
solicitous for your life what ye shall eat, nor for the body what
ye shall put on.”E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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