“Thus you see that the holy patriarch Abraham is endowed with all virtues. For the sake of his nephew Lot he serves in utmost love those who were unworthy of his kindnesses. When he has achieved the victory, he is not eager to increase his wealth and power but has a heart that is free of ambition, greed, and other lusts; and he clings only to the promise of eternal life and to the Possessor of heaven and earth….
How much different the ungodly descendants are from their father! Abraham is content with eternal and spiritual benefits, and those that are material he proudly disdains; but they neither expect nor seek anything but what is material. They are so little concerned about the spiritual benefits that they even persecute and hate the preaching of the Gospel, because it is a doctrine that gives no instruction about wealth and power but only about the forgiveness of sins.
Thus Abraham is described to us here as full of faith and of hope concerning eternal life. He makes use of this earthly victory as of a field or any other thing that serves only to exercise the body but does not give the heart cause for worry. His heart he keeps attached to the mercy of God and to the promise of the future Seed, in accordance with the statement of the psalm (62:10): “If riches increase, set not your heart on them.”
He has a wife, servants, and maids; but he has all these as though he did not have them. He is a true monk; for he truly despises the pleasures, glories, and riches of the world, and with his whole heart he is engaged in waiting for the promise concerning Christ. For this alone he longs and wishes, but other things he rates far below this and almost disregards in comparison with this superb gift” (On Genesis 14:21-24, Luther’s Works, Vol. 2, p.397).