Rose Fres Fausto Interviews Bo Sanchez
Last Monday you watched the video of Bo Sanchez reading Chapter 1 of The Retelling of the Richest Man in Babylon (link). Today I invite you to join us in our pleasant and engaging conversation one fine morning at their lovely home in the south.
The first Bo Sanchez bestseller that I read was 8 Secrets of the Truly Rich. It was an enjoyable easy read and I immediately passed it on to my youngest son, who was still in his early grades. Back then, Anton would complain to me about how the rich and poor are pitted against each other, “Ma, why is it that the poor are always the good ones and the rich the bad ones in these stories? But I want to be very rich and very good at the same time?” And when he read Bo’s book, he found reconciliation between his two goals and he used the lessons he got from the book in his projects in English and C.L.E. He also used the term “psychological wallet” in family gatherings, much to the amusement of his uncles and aunts.
We both loved how Bo explained the often misinterpreted verse: Matthew 19:24 “Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
First, we should not forget the next two verses: Matthew 19:25-26 “When the disciples asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.’”
Then there’s the literal vs. the cultural meaning of “eye of a needle.” No wonder a lot of people believe that it’s impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God because it is physically impossible for a camel to enter an eye of a needle (the one that we use for sewing). But for ancient Jews, “eye of a needle” was the doorway of a camel’s home. The doorway was very small so the camel, coming home from a caravan would have to unload the bags, and stoop down and crawl to enter. And this is pretty much what you have to do when you are very rich. You have to have a healthy detachment from your wealth and you have to acknowledge that all these are God’s gifts currently in your stewardship.
It is more difficult because as in all things in life (wealth, talent, etc.), as stated in Luke 12:48 and used by Spiderman’s Uncle Ben, “To whom much is given, much more will be required.”
It’s still one of my favorite Bo Sanchez bestsellers because of its ability to reconcile Anton’s (and probably everyone’s) two seemingly opposing goals.
Join me in my conversation with Bo Sanchez one fine morning in their beautiful home. I was glad to meet his lovely wife Marowe, youngest son Francis and a visiting nephew, and also their domestic helpers who are the subjects of Bo’s other bestseller My Maid Invests in the Stock Market.
(Click this link Rose Fres Fausto interviews Bo Sanchez or the thumbnail above.)
You may also want to read the article published in RaisingPinoyBoys.com Bo Sanchez (Life Stories of Financial Literacy Advocates part 4) and PhilStar.com link.
