Command them [the rich] to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:18-19
Lawrence (258)
True Treasure
Lawrence, a deacon in the Roman Church, was arrested along with the bishop and other deacons during a spate of persecution in August 258. As well as helping to administer the communion cup and reading the Gospel, he was in charge of the Church money and ensured that it was used for the poor and needy. All the others were beheaded but Lawrence was spared because the magistrate was aware that he kept the money. Lawrence was asked to hand over the Church’s treasure, which he agreed to do in three days’ time. After selling the expensive vessels and giving away all remaining Church money to the poor, Lawrence gathered together the poor and sick people who had been helped by the Church in the courtyard. He told the magistrate, “Here is the Church’s treasure.”
The furious magistrate immediately ordered Lawrence’s execution and he was roasted slowly to death over an iron grill. In the fifth century Augustine said of Lawrence’s example, “Lawrence ministered the blood of Christ to the faithful, and for the sake of Christ’s name he poured out his own.”
Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God; He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train,
His truth forever stands secure;
He saves the oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)