Robert Kiyosaki wrote a book called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” The gist is that you can make more money through income-generating assets. Read: real estate. Kiyosaki claims to teach you how to make money the way his “rich dad” mentor, not his “poor dad” paternal father, taught him.

The “rich dad” can obviously teach you how to generate income, but can he necessarily teach you why you should make it?

Perhaps not. Perhaps the “poor dad” can, though.
 
We can learn from everyone. Rich dad can teach you to make money, to invest money. The poor dad teaches you what money is for. Or so he taught me.

I spent ten days Cuba among very poor people. My guide, a middle-aged teacher, took my friend and me through his neighborhood, his city, his region. He prepared lavish meals for us, though when we left, he and his family returned to eating one or two simple dishes daily.

An old friend called to tell me about his new “business.” He told me about his business mentor and his associates, how people are finally making what they’re worth. “You might be able to cash in, too,” he said.

Translation: pyramid scheme.

Every now and again, someone I know is seduced by the lust of get-rich-quick schemes. Some are more susceptible to this than others, and chase every opportunity that comes along. Without fail, they all involve network marketing, promises of freedom, great wealth, and no real industry competence. Success stories are told, and track records are presented. And all these schemes require money up front. Someone does have to get paid somewhere.

Some estimates say the scriptures mention poverty more than 2,000 times. Life in the city mentions it on street corners, under bridges, and in darkened alleys at night. Some people want, and they ask. Others need, which asks something of us.

“You will always have the poor among you,” Jesus said in John 12:8.

In Deuteronomy 15:11, God said, “There will always be poor people in the land.”

Jesus said, “Give to everyone who asks you” (Luke 6:30), echoing what God commanded in Deuteronomy 15:11: “Be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” 

Sometimes people on television deliver advice on how to become wealthy. They tell you about your potential, your destiny, or God’s reward for your behavior. Any of these, depending on the charlatan or shyster of the hour, can lead to a home in the Hamptons and four-car garage. 

The worst of these peddlers are those who find some obscure scriptural reference to proof-text why you too will grow filthy rich.

“God wants you to be rich,” they thunder or suggest, depending on the audience.

These people always intrigue and sadden me: they have bumper stickers decrying the plight of a people or the earth. They rally and picket. They have a cause (or maybe the cause has them). And they’re filled with rabid poison toward their adversaries.

You know them. They show up on 24-hour news channels, in your college classrooms, at protests and political fundraisers. They burn with passion for their cause, supposedly spurred on by love. But you can feel their anger and bitterness.