Ambrose (theologian and church leader, 4th century) wrote: "There is your brother, naked and crying! And you stand confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering."

Basil the Great (theologian and bishop in modern-day Turkey, 4th century) wrote, "The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor."

John Chrysostom (theologian and pastor, 4th century) said, "The almsgiver is a harbour for those in necessity: a harbour receives all who have encountered shipwreck, and frees them from danger; whether they are bad or good. … t escorts them into his own shelter. So you likewise, when you see onearth the man who has encountered the shipwreck of poverty, do not judge him, do not seek an account of his life, but free him from his misfortune."