Action and Intention

At enim Dominus ait: Nolite solliciti esse animae quid manducetis, neque corpori quid vestiamini. Recte, quoniam supra dixerat: Non potestis Deo servire et mammonae. Qui enim propter hoc Evangelium praedicat, ut habeat unde manducet, et unde vestiatur, simul se putat et Deo servire, quia Evangelium praedicat; et mammonae, quia propter ista necessaria praedicat: quod Dominus dicit fieri non posse. Ac per hoc ille qui propter ista Evangelium praedicat, non Deo, sed mammonae servire convincitur; etsi Deus illo ad aliorum provectum, quomodo ipse nescit, utatur. Nam huic sententiae subiungit, dicens: Ideo dico vobis, nolite solliciti esse animae quid manducetis, neque corpori quid vestiamini: non ut ista non procurent, quantum necessitatis satis est, unde honeste potuerint; sed ut non ista intueantur, et propter ista faciant quidquid in Evangelii praedicatione facere iubentur. Eam quippe intentionem quare quid fiat, oculum vocat: unde paulo superius loquebatur, ut ad hoc descenderet, et dicebat: Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus; si oculus tuus simplex fuerit, totum corpus tuum lucidum erit; si verooculus tuus nequam fuerit, totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit; id est, talia erunt facta tua, qualis fuerit intentio tua cur ea facias. Et ad hoc enim ut veniret, supra de eleemosynis praeceperat, dicens: Nolite condere vobis thesauros in terris, ubi aerugo et tinea exterminat, et ubi fures effodiunt et furantur. Recondite vero vobis thesauros in coelo, ubi neque tinea neque rubigo exterminat, et ubi fures non perfodiunt et furantur. Ubi enim erit thesaurus tuus, ibi erit et cor tuum. Deinde subiunxit: Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus: ut illi scilicet qui eleemosynas faciunt, non ea faciant intentione, ut vel hominibus velint placere, vel in terra sibi quaerant rependi quod faciunt. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Opere Monachorum

But the Lord says, 'Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor for the body, what you shall wear.'1 And rightly, because He had said before, 'You cannot serve God and mammon.'2 For he who preaches the Gospel on account of this, that he may have something to eat and something to wear, thinks that he can at the same time serve both God, because he preaches the Gospel, and mammon, because he preaches on account of these necessaries, which the Lord says to be impossible. And because of this he who does for these things preach the Gospel is convicted of serving mammon and not God, even if God may use him, though he knows not how, to profit other men. For to this sentence He adds, saying 'Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life what you shall eat, nor for your body what you shall put on,'3 not that they should not procure these things, as much as satisfies need, when they can do so honestly, but that they should not look to these things and for these things do whatever in the preaching of the Gospel they are commanded to do. The intention for which something is done, He calls the eye, of which a little above He was speaking that He might come down to this and say, 'The light of your body is your eye: if your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light; but if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness,'4 that is, such will be your deeds as your intention why you do them. And indeed that He might come to this, He had above given instruction about alms, saying, 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where rust and moth destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Truly lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure shall be, there will your heart be also.' Then He added, 'The light of your body is your eye,' that they who give alms do not do so with an intention that they should wish to please men or that they seek to have repayment on earth for what they do. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Work of Monks 1 Mt 6.25 2 Mt 6.24  3 Mt 6.31  4 Mt 6.22   5 Mt 6.19