In the course of one of His talks to His companions ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that a poor man who is patient and forbearing is better than a rich man who is thankful. However, a poor man who is thankful is more praiseworthy than the one who is patient, while more meritorious than all is the rich man who expends his wealth for others.

They who are possessed of riches, however, must have the utmost regard for the poor . . . There is no honor, except what God may please to bestow, that can compare to this honor . . . and well is it with the rich who bestow their riches on the needy and prefer them before themselves.