"The bread which you do not use..."

"The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked. The shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are so many injustices you commit." -St. Basil the Great

You know, every once in a while I have this thought: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Clare of Assisi, and many other saints (and I'm sure not only saints; not even only Christians - Ghandi as one example) spent large periods of their time as vagabonds. They felt called (by God) to go out with just the clothes on their backs, to beg for their food and shelter. They relied solely on the charity of others. That was considered honorable.

Now, we often place judgment on those who rely on the charity of others. We condemn as lazy those who receive payments from social welfare programs. We are taught to save money (or to go into significant debt, depending on who teaches us/whom we listen to). We are taught to invest, to have money saved for a rainy day.

It just makes me wonder: Which way of thinking is right? And this quote from St. Basil makes me think that in many ways, a total surrender is the only way to go. But at the same time, "common sense" and our worldly wisdom make so much sense. Maybe in a way it's because we don't like to rely on others. I don't know if it's pride or guilt/thinking we don't deserve anything unless we earn it. I know I'm there almost all the time.

Which age's world view is correct? Is there a balance? (I'm one who generally promotes balance as the best way to look at things - the middle way.) I don't know.