Salvation of the Rich and Poor

                          The Poor, the Rich and the Miserable

         The entrance into everlasting life, which is participation into the very life of the Holy Trinity, is a privilege granted to mankind through the free and bountiful mercy, goodness and love of God.

        God, however, desires that all men be saved and come to everlasting happiness. He wants to share His Divine Life with us. Since society is basically divided into rich and poor, Jesus did establish certain conditions for the salvation of each group. In order for the rich to be saved, it is necessary that they utilize their wealth in benefit of the poor who are in misery. There is a difference between poverty and misery. The poor have the basic elements needed to live, though they might lack certain comforts and privileges that the rich possess. The miserable poor, on the other hand, live in subhuman or inhuman conditions and lack the fundamental elements needed for a decent human life and survival.

         In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man went to hell and Lazarus to heaven. Even though the rich man was aware of Lazarus’ suffering, anguish and miserable conditions, he closed his eyes to the situation and continued his voluptuous life. For leaving Lazarus in his misery, the rich man merited the punishment of eternal chastisement. Lazarus went to heaven for patiently bearing up his pains and privations in peace and humility. Lazarus did not curse the rich man, nor attack and assault him, or become avaricious, envious and full of hate. If he had had these feelings, actions and attitudes, he too, would have gone to hell and lost heaven. We read, however, in the Gospel account, that no such evil came out of the mouth and hands of Lazarus. For this reason, he merited to gain everlasting life.

        The rich, therefore, have a serious moral obligation to help those in misery if they want to enter into the kingdom of God. They, don’t, however, have any duties towards the poor. If a rich man does not assist a poor person, he will not go to hell nor lose his soul because of this. This was the case of the young rich man. He had kept all of the commandments, and Jesus loved him for his fidelity. Jesus then told him that if he wanted to be perfect, to sell all his goods and follow His group. Jesus, in this case, was offering a counsel, a free choice, and not something obligatory. Pope John Paul II, commenting on this episode, said that the young man lost a lovely vocation, but not his soul. If a rich man, besides helping the miserable, also wants to be generous with the poor, he proves that he is living a greater and more perfect love and charity. This, of course, is his personal decision (which is highly meritorious), though not binding to him.

        Someone might ask: “If the salvation of the poor and miserable consists in patiently and humbly supporting their state of life and sufferings, would this not justify Marx’s phrase that “religion is the opium of the poor”? No, because the poor are encouraged to better their conditions and the rich exhorted to help them out. This is the essence of the social doctrine of the Church. Christ Himself came on earth to combat misery and establish a world of justice and goodness. God does not approve of the millions of human beings dying of hunger in the world, without protection, education, higene, etc. He wants to put an end to the thousands of abandoned children on the streets, the great number of unemployed or elderly people without social benefits. On the other hand, Jesus praised and loved the poor that were not avaricious, envious or full of violence because of the wealth that others possessed. He called these blessed and told them that their future inheritance was nothing less than the kingdom of God and everlasting life.

       It is for this reason that socialism and capitalism are such loathsome, despicable and hideous doctrines and philosophies. Such teachings have brought millions of poor people to eternal perdition, since they sowed and incentivated hatred, violence and deep envy in their hearts towards the rich and the goods they possess.

Father Anthony Mellace