But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. (Gen 14,22-23)

I have mentioned before that the true greatness of a man is where he surpasses the boundaries of the generally accepted moral standards, and that so far Abram has done that in at least three things.

For the first time, he decided not to adapt in the matter of religion and to keep his different one in spite of his environment. Thus he himself suffered socially and made life difficult for future generations of his descendants.

For the second time, he suffered a loss in business by being generous to Lot and letting him choose which part of the country he would live in. Of course, Lot chose the better one - which meant restricting Abram to less lucrative pastures. It was certainly not an easy decision, he, like any entrepreneur, had to gain enough for himself and his workers (he had to sustain the entire staff of the farm, which gradually grew to hundreds of people).

For the third time, he gave up Sodom's profit, which could have equaled today's lottery jackpot. Abram was a man of flesh and blood, he knew what a loss it was. He was hearing the same inner voice that, like with anyone else in a similar situation, would not forget to tell him that he must have gone mad to let such an opportunity pass.

After all, it is not so long since Abram became rich in Egypt through deception. And today he rejects the riches to which he would have an unquestionable claim, with reference to his God! "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap..."

A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing. As long as Abram's religion consisted of a free-thinking blather about spirituality, until it did not touch his wallet, it would be hard to believe it. But he has changed profoundly as he follows his God - because this cannot be questioned where a person's attitude to money changes.