Against poverty but not the poor

Our Lord says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Does this mean that the poor go to heaven automatically because of poverty? Seems like it. Because the Bible says, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20NKJV).” How can this be? For just as there are good and bad among the poor, there are also good and bad among the rich. Besides, Abraham, our spiritual ancestor, whom the Lord increased immensely and blessed richly, in spite of his wealth, went to heaven. Because, he trusted the Lord and it was accounted to him as righteous. From this, it is clear to me that neither poverty nor prosperity adds or subtracts one iota from one’s prospect of salvation. All the poor are not necessarily pure in spirit. In fact, poverty more often succeeds in crippling the body, mind and spirit. It is doubtful that such poverty provides any guarantee for a spot in heaven at all. But the ‘Lady Poverty’ of St. Francis of Assisi is a poverty that is higher than itself. It is a spirit of generous love and compassion in poverty. Those who practice this poverty are the happy poor! They are called the blessed. Therefore, Lord says again, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew 5:3 NKJV).” Poor in spirit is a state of mind. Both the rich and the poor can be poor in spirit. When one is poor in spirit one is pure indeed. It is this spirit that enables us to give and receive love without counting the cost. In the final analysis, our Lord, perhaps, does not care who had been poor or rich in the past life. Heaven is His kingdom. We enter heaven not by our merits but at His pleasure. And we are earnestly invited to trust Him.