"... The concept that a person’s true possessions are what he or she gives away was known to Seneca, although Seneca would have advised a more judicious (from a worldly point of view) deployment of benefits than Jesus, who tells us to seek out those who have no means of repayment, so that God will repay us “at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14). The striking vision of Matthew 25:31-46, in which the righteous are separated from the wicked on the basis of beneficence toward the needy, surprises the hearers and readers by asserting that providing food and clothing and comfort to the needy is the way to return the favor to the one who has given us all we need for our well-being and survival (gifts of food and clothing, for example; Matthew 6:11, 25-33). We have the opportunity to make a gracious return to our Lord and benefactor in the person of the poor or the oppressed. Especially in the letters of Paul we find a remarkable transformation of the cultural code of patronage. Monetary contributions and other forms of assistance or beneficence within the local church or between cells of the church universal remains a source of recognition and honor ..."