Learning Torah is what keeps the world functioning, and it says in various holy sefarim, that if for one moment no one in the world would be learning, the world would immediately cease to exist, as it says in the holy Zohar. Yet there are people who thoughtlessly belittle poor Torah learners, as if they were insignificant
This is like a nobleman who travelled in a fancy train, and when he entered the locomotive car, he saw that all the workers and all the walls were black with soot. He immediately decided that it was not proper for such a fancy train to have such a dirty locomotive, and ordered all the dirty workers to leave the train. As a result, the train grinded to an unscheduled stop as soon as the coal in the engine finished burning, to the nobleman’s dismay. So it is in this world, the whole world is motivated by the Torah learners whose faces are black from learning diligently under trying conditions. How a person should honor and revere these people who are poor in possessions and rich in spirit, and should appreciate them for keeping the world going.