AC 2425 - To Act From the Good of Charity From the Lord

AC 2425 [3]

But those who are in the good of charity,
and from this in the affection of truth,
do all things with discrimination,
for they are in light;
since the light of truth
is from no other source than good,
because the Lord flows in by means of good.
These persons do not do good
to the poor, to orphans, to widows, and to strangers,
for the mere reason because they are so termed;
for they know that those who are good,
whether poor or rich,
are neighbors more than all others;
since by the good,
good is done to others;
and therefore insofar as these persons
do good to the good,
they do it to others through them.
They also know how
to make distinctions among goods,
and so among good men.
They call the general good itself
their neighbor in a greater degree,
for in this there is regarded
the good of still greater numbers.
Still more their neighbor
to whom charity is to be done
do they acknowledge the Lord's kingdom on earth,
which is the church;
and the Lord's kingdom itself in the heavens
even still more.
But those who set the Lord before all these --
who adore Him alone
and love Him above all things --
derive the neighbor in all these degrees from Him;
for the Lord alone
is the neighbor in the highest sense,
thus all good is the neighbor
insofar as it is from Him.