Gregory Nazianzen

Recognize to whom you owe the fact that you exist, that you breathe, that you understand, that you are wise, and, above all, that you know God and hope for the kingdom of heaven. You have been made a son of God, co-heir with Christ. Where did you get all this, and from whom?…. What benefactor has enabled you to look out upon the beauty of the sky, the sun in its course, the circle of the moon, the countless number of stars, with the harmony and order that are theirs, like the music of a harp? Who has blessed you with rain, with the art of husbandry, with different kinds of food, with the arts, with houses, with laws, with states, with a life of humanity and culture, with friendship and the easy familiarity of kinship? … Is it not God who asks you now in your turn to show yourself generous … Because we have received from him so many wonderful gifts, will we not be ashamed to refuse him this one thing only, our generosity?