PLGRM

One of the Desert Fathers, Abba James, said:

It is better to receive hospitality than to give.

I think it’s pretty clear that both sides of the equation are good, both giving and receiving. However, the Desert Fathers reverse the order of importance, and that actually makes a lot of sense to me.

If humility is one of the chief goals of a human’s life (according to these ancient monks), then receiving hospitality is the better part. There has to be a lack of ego in receiving.

We don’t like being out of control and that’s what receiving does to us. We don’t get to dictate the gift we are given, and we must practice accepting it graciously and gratefully. We have to practice being dependent on another.

Yeah, Abba James is right. That’s the harder practice.