"Poor man Laz'rus, sick and disabled"

"Dip your finger in the water,
Come and cool my tongue,
'Cause I'm tormented in the flame.

"He had to eat crumbs from the rich man's table

"Dip your finger in the water,
Come and cool my tongue,
'Cause I'm tormented in the flame.

"Rich man Dives, he lived so well

"Dip your finger in the water,
Come and cool my tongue,
'Cause I'm tormented in the flame.

"And when he died, he went straight to Hell

"Dip your finger in the water,
Come and cool my tongue,
'Cause I'm tormented in the flame."

(from an old spiritual)

Why did the rich man in today's Gospel (Lk 16:19-31) go to Hell? Mostly for ignoring Lazarus in his need, but also for the reasons given through Jeremiah in today's first reading (Jer 17:5-10):

Cursed is the man
who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.

He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.

Do we ignore those in need?
Do we put all our trust in human efforts or in ourselves alone?
Do we have our hearts set on things other than God?

If so,
we can look forward to excruciating nothingness,
for all that is not of God will pass away.

On the other hand...

Blessed is the man
who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.

He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.

If we trust in God,
we may suffer,
but we will endure and prosper forever.