Lazarus' friends were poor also, very poor indeed. They could not care for him. So one day they carried him to the gate of a rich man who lived near by and left him there to beg for something to eat. They thought the rich man would surely help him.

The rich man knew that Lazarus was just outside his gate, needing food and kind treatment. Yet he did not try to help. He turned away, pretending not to see the poor, sick beggar when he passed that way. He did not care whether Lazarus even got any crumbs of food for which he asked.

Soon some hungry dogs, looking for crumbs, came trotting down the road. They saw Lazarus and stopped to look at him. They wanted to help, they even had more sympathy than the selfish rich man. Then they came near and licked his painful sores. Not long afterwards Lazarus died. Jesus said Lazarus would go to the beautiful place called heaven. Then he will never be hungry, sick, or unhappy.

By and by the rich man died, too. But Jesus said he would never go to heaven because he had been so selfish and had not been kind to others while he lived. -Luke 16:19-31.