Chapter XII.
To be greedy, poor, and a fugitive. How abject was King Ahab in the presence of Elijah; and how the sinner is always caught? In the end, the rich are encouraged to use their wealth lawfully.
For every abundant person considers themselves poorer; because they believe they lack whatever others possess. The whole world is lacking, whose desires the world cannot satisfy: but to the faithful person, the whole world is a treasure. The one who considers their conscience fears being caught and therefore flees from the whole world. Therefore, according to the story, Ahab said to Elijah, but according to the riddle the rich person said to the poor person: 'You have found me, my enemy.' (Ibid., 20). What a wretched conscience, which has mourned its own betrayal!
51. And Elijah said to him: I have found, because you have done evil in the sight of the Lord. That king was Achab, and the king of Samaria; Elijah was poor and in need of bread, lacking sustenance for his meal unless ravens provided nourishment. So dejected was the conscience of the sinner that he was not lifted up with the pride of royal power. Therefore, like one of little worth and of low estate, he said: You have found me, my enemy; you have discovered in me what I thought was hidden; nothing of my mind escapes your knowledge; you have found me, my wounds are exposed to you, captivity is at hand. The sinner is found when his wickedness is revealed, but the righteous says: You have tested me with fire, and no wickedness has been found in me (Psalm 16:3). Adam was found when he was hiding, but no burial was found for Moses. Ahab was found, but Elijah was not found. And the wisdom of God said: The evildoers will seek me and will not find me (Proverbs 1:28). Therefore, in the Gospel (John 8:21), our Lord Jesus was sought but not found. Therefore, fault betrays its own author. Hence, Thesbytes said: I have found that you have done evil in the sight of the Lord; for the Lord delivers the guilty into the power of their enemies, but does not deliver the innocent into the power of their enemies. Finally, Saul was seeking the holy David, and could not find him; but David, who was holy, found King Saul, whom he was not seeking, because the Lord delivered him into his power. Therefore, wealth is captive, poverty is free.
52. You serve, O rich men, a truly wretched servitude, when you serve error, when you serve greed, when you serve avarice, which cannot be satisfied. There is a certain insatiable abyss, swifter when it plunges: just as when it overflows like a well, it is polluted with mud, it ploughs up the earth, which will be of no benefit to it. It is fitting for you to be admonished by this example as well. For if a well is not drawn from, it easily corrupts with idle rest and a degenerate condition: but an army shines with appearance, it is sweet for drinking: so also a heap of riches, sandy with a pile, is beautiful in use, but is held as useless in idleness. Therefore, something is derived from this well. Water extinguishes a burning fire, and almsgiving resists sins; however, stagnant water quickly produces worms. Your treasure will not stand, nor will your fire; it will stand against you unless you turn it away with the works of your mercy. Consider how much you are enriched, rich man, by fires. Yours is the voice of the one saying: 'Father Abraham, tell Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue' (Luke 16:24).
Therefore, whatever you contribute to the needy benefits you; whatever you diminish increases you; by feeding the poor with that food which you give to him, you yourself are fed; for he who has mercy on a poor person himself is fed, and the fruit already is in these things. Mercy is sown on earth, it germinates in heaven; it is planted in the poor, it blossoms with God. Do not say, says God, 'I will give tomorrow' (Prov. III, 28). For how does one who does not allow you to say 'I will give tomorrow' permit you to say 'I will not give'? You do not give to the poor from your own, but you return from theirs. For what is common given for everyone's use, you alone take for yourself. The earth belongs to everyone, not just the rich, but there are fewer who do not use their own than those who do. Therefore, you are repaying a debt, not giving an undeserved gift. And so Scripture says to you: Decline your soul to the poor, and return your debt, and respond peacefully with gentleness (Sirach 4:8).