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...I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at a commensurate speed... (Angelou 120-21).


As Maya Angelou witnesses a conversation between Brother Stewart, a cotton picker, and Momma, Maya makes an observation. Maya observes that when people are in poverty, everything is seen as a blessing from God. However, as people move out of poverty, everything is seen as a result of one's own perseverance an hard work. This now raises the question relevant to today: As people become more affluent, does their reliance on faith, or religion, for support diminish? Upon closer examination of several aspects of this problem, it is clear that as people move up the “materialistic scale,” God and religion become less important.
In general, those who are in poverty are happy for every blessing. They are joyous for a place to live for the food on the table, and for clothes to wear. For example, Brother Stewart tells Momma that the one “who get[s] the credit [is] the blessed Lord” (Angelou 121). Brother Stewart, though he does not have much, gives the Lord credit for what he does have.
John Wesley was as Anglican minister during the eighteenth century. In one of his sermons. He discusses the attitude of people who become more affluent after leaving poverty. John Wesley observes that “as we become more affluent we acquire self-importance” (Shepherd). Wesley feels that as the less fortunate ones become more fortunate, the credit for their accomplishments is solely given to themselves.
Although many people forget God after reaching elevated heights on the scale of materialism, there are still those who hold the steadfast faith in God, both while in poverty and in riches. For instance, Ben Carson grew up in the ghettos of Detroit. As a...