(CNN) -- Does money make you happy? Does being rich contribute to your spiritual life and its possibilities? 

Is the gap between the rich and poor a religious problem as well as a social problem in desperate need of solutions? 

Jesus, Pope Francis, and brain scientists have asked these questions, and the answers are clear if unnerving. Wealth and power are dangerous for your mental health, your spiritual condition, and for society in general -- especially when they contribute to the neglect of the poor. New research explains how this works (more on this in a minute). 

Ridding the world of poverty is, of course, a fantasy. Jesus knew this: "You will always have the poor among you," he said (Matthew 26:11). He also said, "God blesses you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours." (Luke 6:20). Only a few verses before this moment in Luke, he cries (echoing the Old Testament): "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor." (Luke 4:18). 

Jesus also noted, famously and controversially, that it is easier "for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23-24). 

Let's just hope that we've got some very skinny camels. 

Jesus discouraged the accumulation of wealth, worried about its effects on those who had it, and took special pleasure in helping the poor, dedicating his efforts to them. He must have shaken his head at the large gaps between rich and poor throughout ancient Palestine in the first century. 
What did he worry about?
 worried about its effects on those who had it