Spiritual Dimensions of Poverty?
Is there such a thing?
When we understand poverty and lack, only in its material sense, we miss, to our peril, its spiritual dimension and, as a consequence, perpetuate the conditions we commit to address.
๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐
We were not created to exist in conditions of perpetually worry; worry reflects our denial of the lordship of God over our circumstances.
The enemy would wish us to be ignorant of certain core principles.
Jeremiah 17 states that there is a curse on the one who trusts in and relies on man rather than God.
Thus says the Lord,
โCursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind,
Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength,
And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord.
โFor he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert;
And shall not see prosperity when it comes,
Imagine that! As soon as the enemy recognises our lack of faith in God, he makes his case ready. Whom do we trust: Ourselves? Our Leaders? International Development Partners?
In addition to this spiritual principle, we often discover that the humans we place our faith in cannot deliver. We become disappointed. However, they cannot be to us all we desire because they are not the source, even though they may present themselves or we choose to consider them in this way.
In stark contrast, those who are faith-grounded are blessed with security in diverse forms. This does not mean the absence of challenges but they are assured that God takes care of those who trust and rely on Him. He is the Master Shepherd!
Jeremiah 17:
โBlessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord And whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord.
โFor he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters,
That spreads out its roots by the river".
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐.
๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Borrowing can easily become the swift route to chronic poverty. Particularly when done irresponsibly, borrowing cedes control to the lender. It can easily reduce men to indignity. However, if we look closely, we will discover that God has placed something in our hand and that โrodโ can be our way out. Often, itโs the very talent we ignore.
Many countries have added years to their journey of (under)development because they fell for the lure of borrowing their way out. They then found that their best assets were seized by those who saw, and thought they could make better use of, the vision God had for them.
๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ
The beauty about the God who restores is that He elevates rather than reduces us. Poverty should not mean absence of the best choice. Yet, many development interventions propose set recommendations for persons in poverty; options that retain social inequalities, despite the guise of progress. God has an entirely different blueprint. When he redeems a man, He pulls him completely from the bondage of poverty, in all its forms.
joydanyelle@foundationofjasper