Question: What should someone do to become accustomed to giving alms, if from the beginning one does not enjoy giving at all?
Response by John: That person should remind oneself how God will reward those who give, and begin with small things, always advising oneself that one who gives little will receive little; one who gives much will also receive much, according to the words: “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9.6) And, from the little, the thought is gradually moved to desire the bountiful, and therefore always progresses toward perfection. Such a person can reach perfect measures in order to render oneself naked of all earthly things and become one in spirit with the heavenly things.
St. Barsanuphius and St. John of Gaza in Letters from the Desert: A Selection of Questions and Responses trans. John Chryssavigis (Crestwood, NJ: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003) 167.