“And again 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,” according to the book of Mathew, Jesus said that.

Funny thing is, what this means for a lot of Christians with money, heaven is kind of chock full of the people you didn’t want as your neighbours when you were alive.

Or at least, that is what you can gather from this charming story out of Phoenix. The people of an upper crust neighbourhood in Phoenix are all for feeding the poor of course, just not there.

It is a bit like how people can be all for being nice to monkeys, just not in a manner that encourages them to move in.

And it isn’t like this is without good, solid reasons. One of the homeless people mentioned in the story was a convicted felon who was found to have kiddy porn. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that guy in the park where my kids play.

Plus there is the whole problem with some of the homeless that are getting bussed in peeing in the gardens and breaking into cars. This really isn’t a bunch you want next door.

Which is why that particular quote always amuses me – there isn’t any real virtue in poverty. There are a lot of very decent, very smart and very amusing poor people, but in the end there is a reason why whenever we get a shot at it we try to live in the rich areas.