When a fourth-century desert Egyptian monk named Macarius returned to his monastic cell one day, he found a thief stealing the few possessions he owned. He reacted calmly, though: he even helped the thief load his donkey with the objects from his cell. As the thief departed, Macarius said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Macarius may not be a literal model for us, especially those who own possessions for the sake of family and loved ones. But his freedom toward his possessions—that they come from the Lord, that they could be taken away without any effect on his disposition—is surely an attitude that all Christians can strive to imitate.