But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High,[f] maker of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
The bible is full of sacred “buts.”
But the Lord said.
You have heard it said, but I [Jesus] say unto you.
But the people rebelled.
But. It is the reminder of reality is full of edges and competing plans rubbing up against one another. It is a reminder that drama and life is built out of conflict and not repose. We cannot escape it. And in the end, it is a reminder that the path of the holy is always in contrast to paths of least resistance, the path of personal gain at the expense of neighbor.
There is Abram of chapter 13–the Abram who profits by, how do we say it, prostituting (?) his wife BUT then there is Abram of chapter 14. The one who frees family and friends, and takes no material gain in the matter. Is there a redemption for the patriarchy? This is the Abram who has made covenant, promises, and plans with the “Lord, God Most High”.
You desire for yourself, but what does God desire for you?
You desire to become rich, but what is rich to God?
Who will make you rich?
No matter the climb of success, like Ivan Illich, the Lord, God Most High makes himself known in our minds in a single word: But.
But what does God desire of you? Within the meditation are (other)worldly riches.
Impatient Holiness 