Wealth and poverty. We are interested in each other.

Life reveals who we are, what our purpose in life is, and how we prepare for eternity. It starts today. Jesus wants to shape us. We are free people. Love over gold? “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe, even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

This well-known parable about a rich man and a beggar named Lazar was noted only by the evangelist St. Luke. “God help”. So the name explains everything and characterizes the beggar. A note about dogs is important. In the Scriptures, and even today in Islam, the dog is understood as an unclean animal and therefore the dog was despised. The evangelist emphasizes the misfortune of the beggar by the fact that he was unable to drive away these unclean animals, and what’s more, these animals when they licked his sores, caused him relief. This man is overlooked by another son of Abraham, the brother of Lazarus, the rich man.

Interestingly, the parable does not mention the rich man’s name, but only mentions clothes and food, which was understood as a sign of wealth. According to the Semites, God determined who would be rich and who would be poor. And in this parable, Jesus solves the problem of wealth and poverty -about eternal life. The Pharisees taught that wealth is an expression of God’s special favor and God’s mercy. Jesus points out that a bad approach to wealth creates the danger of losing eternal life. With this parable, the Lord Jesus does not reject wealth when someone has it, he does not condemn the rich, but points to a bad approach to wealth, when a person can lose eternal life. Jesus warns the rich not to be blinded by wealth, so that through its improper use, egoism, which often accompanies wealth, a person does not despise God, forget his soul, and thus condemn himself to eternal punishment. Simply, Jesus formulates the teaching about the relationship a person should have with material values. Whoever gives priority to anything before God excludes himself from the kingdom of God, and no one, not even Abraham, is in a position to change things. It is expressed by the words that are the answer to the rich man’s request to send Lazarus to the house of the brothers so that at least they can be saved, Abraham says: “And besides, there is a great gulf between us and you, so that no one – even if he wants to – can pass from here to you or from there to cross to us” (Lk 16:26). The rich man suffers in the fire, he is troubled because he forgot to listen to Moses and the Prophets and did not believe their words.

The simile is a reminder that a person should not forget the meaning of his life on earth for the sake of earthly goods. Wealth, and money,… lead to the fact that a person loses respect for his body. He sells his body, he sells his honor, his name, he betrays his pride, he defiles what is supposed to be holy, he kills himself before birth and also on order day and night and the security guards will not help.

Christ reminds us what he expects from us, and asks in relation to material things, especially wealth. Let’s not forget that the most beautiful monuments are in human hearts, which are built by love, generosity, and benevolence.