God Has Nothing To Do With Our Poverty!

By Bo Sanchez


“Bo, you’re wrong. Poverty is a matter of fate…”

He came up to me right after I gave a talk on financial literacy. The man spoke to me with the gravity of a Supreme Court Justice, it scared me.

“Why do you say that, sir?” I asked.

“Because there are people who are born poor,” the man said, “And there are people who are born rich. That’s destiny. That’s the will of God.”

I winced. How could I tell him that I’ve been working for years (no, decades) with the poor—and this was the exact kind of distorted thinking that has trapped a lot of people in poverty. “God made me poor,” is an invisible placard written on the foreheads of many poor people I’ve met.

I told him, “To be born rich or poor is not a choice, that’s true. But to become rich or poor—that’s a choice that God leaves up to us.”

He looked at me as though I spoke in Swahili.

I wanted to explain myself but he wanted to ask me a very disturbing question…


God Leaves The Choice To Us
Whether To Be Rich Or Poor

“Bo, why are you teaching us to become rich?”

His tone of voice was sharp. Like he was asking me, “Why are you teaching us to murder people, burn their bodies, and eat their liver?”

He continued, “If you’re really a Christian, you should teach us to be content with where we are. Bo, aren’t you content with where you are?”

I laughed. “Oh, I’m very content.”

I never told this to him, but I’d like to tell you: Right now, if I choose to, I can stop working, deposit my money in a bank—and live on the interest. Sure, I have to simplify my lifestyle even further, but we’ll still be very comfortable.

With the interest I’ll earn from the bank, I can maintain my small house and simple car.

And yes, I can still bring out my wife for our weekly romantic dates.

And I can still bring my kids for our twice-a-year vacations. No more Macau trips, that’s for sure. But Tagaytay would be just fine.

I can even pay for our homeowner’s association dues. (A whopping P120 a month! Yes, I live in a happy third class subdivision.)

But if I stop working and live on my interest, a few things will have to change…


Life Isn’t Just About You

Today, I send a number of poor children to school. That has to stop.

Today, I finance a few missionaries. That has to stop.

Today, I provide capital for livelihood projects for the poor. That has to stop.

Today, I finance my new ministry projects in its trial period. That has to stop.

This is the reason why I’ve chosen to grow, to expand, to increase, and to become richer because I want to bless the world more.

That’s why I work very hard today!

Here’s what I learned: (1) To be content and (2) to want to grow can co-exist in your heart.

That can only happen when love rules your heart.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez