Jesus, along with many other influential spiritual teachers throughout history, taught that the less attached we are to material things, the better positioned we are to experience total unity, a oneness with God, with humanity, and with the universe as a whole. Because our society is divided into distinct financial classes, we can readily see which groups are most likely, and least likely, to reach the spiritual awakening of oneness that Jesus and others spoke of so often.
As I’ve emphasized throughout this site, this teaching is universal. It did not begin or end with Jesus. Most, if not all, of history’s great spiritual teachers have expressed this same truth in their own words, and I’ve documented many of them below. To Christians who believe Jesus was the one and only teacher of these truths: he was not. These are universal laws, and Jesus stands among many iconic teachers who uncovered and taught them across the ages.
Furthermore. It should be understood that when Jesus said “I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
When Jesus speaks of “entering the kingdom of God,” he is describing the transcendent, euphoric state of achieving a higher level of consciousness: becoming one with God and the universe, just as he himself had done and was teaching others to do here while on earth. He is describing a state of enlightenment that can be achieved during the course of one’s life and this was NOT some post-death destination as mainstream Christianity would like most Christians to believe.
This doesn’t mean that owning possessions or having wealth makes that transcendent state impossible to reach. But as Jesus made clear, it does make it far more difficult. The person with few or no material possessions holds a real advantage, because freedom from attachment is the very key to walking this path toward enlightenment.
So when examining American society, which are the classes and demographic groups that are more likely to benefit from the advantage that Jesus and others taught their followers?
Thanks to the work of demographers, sociologists, economists, and statisticians, we know with real precision who holds the least financial wealth in American society. And in knowing that, we also know who stands in the best position to claim the spiritual advantage this essay has described: the natural path toward oneness with God, humanity, and the universe that comes with having the least to hold on to.
So who makes up the poorest economic classes in this country? The data is consistent year after year: racial minorities, particularly Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities, are disproportionately represented among America’s poorest. In 2025, for example, the poverty rate for Black Americans was more than double that of white Americans.
I’m convinced that those in power understand these spiritual mechanics of the universe as well, and that they work to keep lower-income communities from realizing the natural spiritual advantage they hold. They do it by allowing social problems to fester in these neighborhoods, by sowing division rather than unity within minority communities, and by actively encouraging a culture of materialism.
Hip Hop is a clear example. I grew up a fan of the genre, but over time it has been reshaped into something focused almost entirely on wealth, possessions, and the endless desire for more. In effect, it has helped undo the very spiritual advantage these communities once held by virtue of having the least attachment to material things.
This shift wasn’t an accident of taste. Hip Hop began as a voice for communities that had none. Songs like Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” and the work of groups like Public Enemy spoke directly to poverty, injustice, and the need for collective awakening. But in 1996, the Telecommunications Act removed the limits on how many radio stations a single company could own, and a handful of media giants quickly bought up stations across the country. Suddenly, a small group of executives, most of them far removed from the culture, decided what millions of listeners would hear. Independent and Black-owned stations disappeared, socially conscious artists were pushed to the margins, and the airwaves filled with a narrow, repetitive message: glorification of wealth, luxury, celebrity, material possessions and excess. Scholar Tricia Rose has documented how commercial hip hop shrank into a few profitable stereotypes during the very years it became a global phenomenon. The result was a genre that once carried the voice of the people being repackaged to sell those same people the very materialism that keeps them from the freedom Jesus taught.
If the idea of a deliberate effort to keep these marginalized communities divided sounds far-fetched, history says otherwise. From the 1950s through the early 1970s, the FBI ran a covert operation called COINTELPRO, designed to infiltrate, discredit, and dismantle civil rights and Black political organizations. In a 1968 memo, FBI leadership laid out their goals plainly: prevent these groups from forming a coalition, and prevent the rise of a “messiah” who could unify and electrify the movement. Read that again in light of everything Jesus taught. The greatest threat, in the government’s own words, was unity, and a leader capable of awakening it. The program planted informants, spread distrust between allies, and worked to turn communities against their own leaders, all with the aim of keeping people divided. COINTELPRO was only exposed in 1971, when activists broke into an FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, and leaked the files to the press. It’s fair to ask what else has been done, more quietly, ever since. This is not conspiracy theory territory, but objective reality and documented American history.
The answer, then, is not to chase what has been dangled in front of us, but to recognize what we already have. Those with the least material attachment hold a spiritual advantage that no amount of wealth can buy: a natural path to the total unity and oneness with God, humanity, and the universe that Jesus and so many others taught. That is a far greater reward than the cars, jewelry, and possessions paraded before us as symbols of happiness and success. Those things were never the measure of a life. They were the distraction.
For reference, other similar spiritual teachings across numerous teachers can be found below. The teachers may change but the laws of the universe do not. No single religion or spiritual teacher can claim ownership of this teaching. It is simply a law of the universe.
- Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)
Buddhism, approximately 500 years before Christ
Buddha taught that craving and attachment are causes of suffering. He renounced a privileged life and encouraged monks to live with few possessions. Spiritual liberation comes from letting go of craving, not simply being poor.
Core teaching: Freedom comes from releasing attachment, including attachment to wealth.
2. Mahavira
Jainism, 600 Years Before Christ
Mahavira taught aparigraha, or non-possessiveness. In Jainism, craving possessions binds the soul and obstructs liberation. Monks practice radical renunciation, while laypeople are encouraged to limit their possessions and desires.
Core teaching: The fewer possessions and desires that bind you, the freer your soul becomes.
3. Lao Tzu (Laozi)
Taoism, traditionally dated to 600 years before Christ
The Tao Te Ching praises simplicity, contentment, and freedom from excessive desire. Material accumulation can distract people from living harmoniously with the Tao.
Core teaching: Knowing when you have enough is a form of true wealth.
4. Krishna
Hinduism — Bhagavad Gita, Established 200 Years Before Christ.
Core teaching: Krishna teaches that spiritual liberation comes from acting without attachment to material rewards, personal desires, or the outcomes of one’s actions. Unlike teachers who advocate abandoning all possessions, Krishna emphasizes inner detachment: one can participate fully in the material world without being enslaved by it.
5. Mahatma Gandhi
Hindu-influenced spiritual and political leader, 1869–1948
Gandhi advocated voluntary simplicity and non-possession. He believed that reducing unnecessary wants helped cultivate self-discipline, nonviolence, and service to humanity.
Core teaching: Reduce your wants so that material possessions do not control your life.
6. Diogenes of Sinope
Greek Cynic philosopher, approximately 412–323 BCE
More of a philosopher than religious leader, Diogenes deliberately lived with almost nothing. He saw society’s pursuit of status, luxury, and possessions as obstacles to genuine freedom and virtue.
Core teaching: The person who needs the least is often the most independent.
7. Francis of Assisi
Christian mystic, 1181/82–1226
Francis renounced his family’s wealth and embraced voluntary poverty, emphasizing compassion, humility, and service to the poor. His poverty was an intentional expression of his devotion to Jesus.
Core teaching: Giving up material wealth creates room for devotion, love, and service.
So where do we begin? Start by discovering how little you truly need and how much you’re willing to leave behind you in the trash. Take an honest look at your life and ask how much you could realistically live without. Then open yourself to the truth that, at the deepest level, you need nothing at all, and let that truth reshape the way you live.
For me, this has always been a source of freedom. I like knowing that if an emergency ever called me to the other side of the country, I could leave at that moment with a single briefcase. That willingness to walk away from everything, if it ever came to it, is exactly what Jesus asked of those who followed him. Tell yourself you need nothing, and then live in a way that proves it. Become a minimalist.
This is also why we must stay alert to the culture around us. Much of the music and entertainment pushed onto us on a national scale is designed to feed materialism and the endless desire for more. For those who are already stand closest to experiencing a spiritual awakening, the ones with the least attachments to hold on to, these influences are more than distractions. They are obstructions placed directly on the path to spiritual liberation. Recognize them for what they are: poison, dressed up as entertainment.
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