Blessed Are the Poor

The richest man in the world is Mexican-born Carlos Slim Helú. At age 71, he is worth an estimated $74 billion, surpassing Bill Gates at $53 billion. Born to Lebanese parents in Mexico, Helú made his fortunes in telecommunications. He is chairman of Telmex, a Mexican phone company that controls 80 percent of the landlines in the country. Helú is so wealthy that his net worth is equivalent to over seven percent of Mexico’s GDP.

Perhaps what is most remarkable about him, however, is his frugality. Though he is the richest man in the world, he still lives in the same modest six-bedroom house that he has resided in for more 30 years. Not only this, even though kidnapping is prevalent in Mexico, he still drives himself to work.

Of course, most of us probably have the inclination to envy this man. Think of all the things we could do with only a fraction of his wealth! We have our wish lists that contain all the toys we’d like to buy. We have our dream homes and our fantasy vacations.

Yet Jesus gave a stern warning to those who are wealthy and for those who covet wealth. After a young man came to Jesus, asking Him what he had to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give his money to the poor. The young man turned away sorrowful, however, because he was too attached to his toys.

It was then that Jesus declared that it “is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25).

Key Bible Texts

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3 KJV)