THE POVERTY MIND-SET
Simply put, being poor is not having enough food, clothing, and shelter for your family. It is an urgent unmet need for more money and material possessions.
Being poor can also be described as being without a dream that will take you out of poverty.
One false concept is that poverty has some mysterious refining qualities. Some believe that it is spiritual to be poor. That is not the way God lives and neither does He want us to live that way. Just look how He blessed Abraham. The Bible teaches us that we are to emulate and exceed the blessings of Abraham.
There are some things you should know about poverty from the Word of God. Take a bit of advice from one of the richest men who ever lived. That person is none other than King Solomon.
1. Poverty will attack you
Proverbs 6:11 - Then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
2. Poverty will destroy you
Proverbs 10:15 - The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
3. Poverty thrives on ignorance
Proverbs 13:18 - Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuses instruction: but he that regards reproof shall be honored.
Unemployment leads to poverty
Proverbs 14:23 - Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty.
4. Too much sleep leads to poverty
Proverbs 20:13 - If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat.
5. Poverty will limit your circle of friends
Proverbs 19:4 - Wealth makes many friends; poverty drives them all away.
6. Get-rich-quick schemes lead to poverty
Proverbs 21:5 - The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
7. Fantasizing about wealth leads to poverty
Proverbs 28:19 - A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.
8. Failure to give will lead to poverty
Proverbs 11:24 - There is that scatters and yet increases; and there is one that withholds more than is meet, but it tends to poverty.
LACK OF VISION
Poverty is a mind-set. If you can understand poverty as a mind-set that is created by lots of experiences, you’ll have a better chance of making an impact on your situation. The problem is not money and you must understand that more money will not solve the problem.
Over time, poverty creates a mind-set, and certain beliefs about self and the world that limits our
The cause of poverty is not a lack of money.
Many think that the cause of poverty is a lack of money. The lack of money can actually be a result of an action that causes poverty. The real cause of one living in poverty is a person's attitude and belief system. If an individual is brought up around poverty beliefs and poverty behavior, their mind-set can become the same.
Many people will use the excuse that they are in a negative situation because of the environment where they were born or raised. They are convinced that they are where they are today because of where they were yesterday.
That in many ways is true, but that does not have to be your future if you begin to make the right choices today. It starts with dealing with a poverty mentality.
Your poverty mind-set keeps you stuck where you are. You must become so desperate for change that you will change. That will start with your mind-set.
A poverty mind-set can manifest itself in a lack of vision for the future. You may end up stuck in a financial rut, perhaps working a job that barely meets the financial needs of your household. When you lack vision, it’s hard for you to break out and venture into new things or to believe that God would give you an idea to take your household to prosperity.
Wealth or poverty is something that resides within. Poverty is a state of mind and about perspective and not always about money. It is a fear of never having enough. To break that state of mind we have to make different choices and unlock the shackles that have been placed on our minds by our parents and the society around us. Our beliefs about how the world works is passed down from generation to generation.
People may say that they want to be wealthy, however a mind-set that is set for poverty cannot handle a sudden increase in wealth. God is the source of all wealth, blessings and riches, but these things can only be accessed by the mind.
Have you ever wondered why so many of those who win the lottery quickly end up poorer than they started? It’s because they have a poverty mind-set instead of a wealth mind-set. Being wealthy is not just about earning more money and similarly being poor is not just about having a low income or being unlucky. It has its root in the mind.
The poverty mind-set thinks of money as something that allows you to buy the fancy stuff you always desired. This person soon runs out of money and ends up in serious financial trouble, because poverty-minded people do not understand financial principles.
A poverty mentality, it is mindset that some people develop over time about money and is usually the deep-seated belief that you will never have enough.
The spirit of poverty is a demonic stronghold that will keep you from walking in the fullness of the victory gained for you at the cross and the blessings of your inheritance in Christ.
Prosperity is a mental attitude before it can become a material state but it can only be attained through a spiritual battle.
It’s also important to understand that poverty happens inside you before it ever happens around you. Poverty first manifests in the spirit and then the natural.
DEMONIC STRONGHOLDS
Satan builds spiritual strongholds of poverty over nations, churches, and individuals.
These strongholds attack the minds and hearts of people in order to build patterns of poverty-thinking and to stop them from giving to God's work.
A poverty mind-set draws our focus onto our conditions rather than the Word of God. It disguises itself as wisdom, claiming to look at things practically, but it actually sees things through the eyes of unbelief.
We need to cast down our bad thinking habits. A stronghold is a fortified city which allows nothing in and nothing out and it relates to the mind.
It means that any thought that does not conform to things we were taught as children, for example, will not be allowed in. That is why some people cannot accept God’s love because their minds have been fortified because of their experience as a child.
The same applies to a poverty mentality. Whenever anyone told me I could prosper and enjoy the abundance of all things, I rejected those thoughts the moment it hit my mind and as a result I lived in poverty.
But there are thoughts which are based on God’s Word that comes from the very throne of God and He wants those thoughts to penetrate your mind so that they can change the way you think or the way you have been programmed.
So if you renew your mind from having that poverty mind-set you are on your way to living the lifestyle you have always dreamed about living. Only you can make it happen. Establish this principle clearly in your mind. God wants you to be prosperous, and the devil wants you to be poor.
Prosperity is a part of our heavenly heritage. It comes with being a child of the King. God does not want you to live in poverty. Remember - Jesus became poor so that we could become rich. Start today by renewing your mind. Take verses of Scripture that deal with prosperity and blessings and pray them over your life. Meditate on them and build a mental picture of yourself living in abundance. Start confessing these promises over and over again.
Avoid associating with negative people or those who do not have a good financial testimony. Find yourself a spiritual mentor who has overcome poverty and broken strongholds in this area and learn from them. If you want to be successful, find someone who is successful.
Ask questions and be teachable and willing to make the changes that are necessary to your financial recovery.
Joshua 1:8 - This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
The state or condition of your mind tells you where you will be tomorrow.
