Reaching way back

A couple of hard quotes...their difficulty cannot be the reason for indifference:

"God ordered all things to be produced so that there would be common food for all, and so that the earth would be the common inheritance of all. Thus, nature has produced a common right, but greed has made it the right of a few." - Ambrose of Milan

"How think you that you obey Christ's commandments, when you spend your time collecting interest, piling up loans, buying slaves like livestock, and merging business with business?...And that is not all. Upon all this you heap injustice, taking possession of lands and houses, and multiplying poverty and hunger." - John Chrysostom

I've been reviewing the Sermon on the Mount recently, and have begun to earnestly seek to know the will of God concerning material possessions. The SoM has much to say, and most of it is not easy for the 21st century American audience to hear without becoming defensive. I hope to pursue a personal honesty with regard to what it says. When we place ourselves in the role of the beggar, the homeless, the needy (our proper spiritual perspective), it's easier to release physical comfort and spend more time seeking the best for the eternal kingdom.