Why poverty is a mindset

Where are you right now? What are you doing in this moment? It's 9:43 am where I am. Are you waking up to go to work, school, doctor's appointment? Do you have the luxury of lying in your bed for the day? Do you have lights in your home? It's January so I am sure some of you may have heat or a space heater? What about a roof over your head? Do you have clean running water? Were you able to grab something to eat before you left out of the house to hold you over until lunch? Did you have the pleasure of looking at the clean faces of your children as they enjoy the fruits of your labor? More importantly, Are you alive?

Or did you wake up to only remind yourself of what you lacked? Did you find yourself waking up to complain about what hasn't happened for you yet? If you find yourself doing this, you have been stricken with an "Impoverished Mindset". An impoverished mindset eliminates the ability to appreciate what one may have due coveting what another person has. What we have now in this moment is a gift from God. If you are unable to see it, prepare for a miserable experience on earth because life requires the mental fortitude to see beyond the surface. Never allow your food to get cold desiring what another person may have on their plate.

Coming from poverty and never really shaking the demon of being disadvantaged will disrupt all of the good things life has to offer. An impoverished mindset will rob you of what life can really do for you. Count your blessings. The greatest blessing of all is being alive and with the chance to have a second chance. You must "cancel" the impoverished mindset when you pray to release any blessings that may be in the vault due to your inability to appreciate what is being offered to you in the moment. The cancellation of the impoverished mindset promotes abundance. (2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV / And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.)

If all is well, you are not impoverished. You are in fact rich according to scripture. (Deuteronomy 8:18 ESV / You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day). Therefore we have no real excuse to complain.

WE ARE ALL BRATS! You are in fact doing very well for yourself & your family if you are able to feed, clothe & house them. Some people may challenge this by saying I have mice in my home or I am due for a paint job. Some people may say I have food in my fridge but I am too stressed about having to cook. These are all common complaints of those who are privileged. Clean running water, Heat/AC, Gas to be able to cook and a roof over your head are sufficient enough features that give you an advantage to obtain more. These assets make it easier for you to navigate through everyday life. Can you imagine how difficult things could be for someone who didn't get to jump start their day with those features?

I remember being a child, not having full access to our shower BUT, was able to take baths in my sink. WE HAD WATER! Yes, we had mice but OUR PLACE WAS CLEAN. We had a roof over our heads. The home was full of love. We never went hungry. Our clothes got washed by hand & hung on the clothes line. Our gas services were disconnected but we were able to temporarily invest in those kerosene heaters. We never complained. We knew people had it way worse and my grandmother made it her business to remind me of this daily.

We all groan about leaving our beds for work but we forget we have been awarded the gift of receiving fruit from our labor. We aren't getting up everyday for sport. We are getting up to get paid to pay our bills & support ourselves and our families. To be able to maintain the many blessings we take for granted is a privilege. (Ecclesiastes 5:19 ESV / Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.)

The word poor/poverty is an abused term. People have lost sight as to what it truly means to be impoverished. Let's dissect some terms:

poor

/po͝or,pôr/

adjective

1. 1.

lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.

*Note*

Notice how the definition of poor states that poverty is determined by society's standards. Society's standards can be unrealistic. If we are required to have so much, how come we haven't funded more charities and organizations that are struggling trying to empower those that are really disadvantaged. I have had the honor of volunteering at a local charity and learning that some people are really just trying to aim for 3 meals a day. Some people yearn for clean clothes and the opportunity to hit a shower. Some nerve we have complaining...

pov·er·ty

/ˈpävərdē/

noun

1. the state of being extremely poor.

"thousands of families are living in abject poverty"

impoverished

/imˈpävəriSHt/

adjective

1. (of a person or area) made poor.

"impoverished villages"

If you are not living in a hut, unable to access doctors, eating scraps from the garbage, walking 50 miles to obtain clean water, YOU ARE NOT POOR. The constant complaining causes us to inappropriately devalue our lives and our situation. When we complain about what we do have (Job, home, family, friends, possessions) God decides to place a hold on future blessings because of our inability to appreciate what we do have. Even worse, God can & will remove those things or cause calamity to fall upon them.

Often times when we complain, we don't even take the time to make the best of what it is. We ask for a home of our own only to throw a fit when it doesn't appear as we thought. Instead of looking at the home as a fixer upper, we began to resent the place and allow it to lose it's value by never making any repairs, never cleaning & never honoring the blessing of having the home in the first place. (Proverbs 12:11 ESV / Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.)Yet, we will make it our business to complain. Our ungrateful attitudes mock those that are truly in situations where it is a everyday struggle to get the basic necessities.

WE MUST PRACTICE GRATEFULNESS and hold each other accountable when we lose sight of the heaping portions that we have. The desire to constantly anticipate what's next without truly soaking in what is going on in the moment is insanity. You have to enjoy the present. Tomorrow & tomorrow's luxuries aren't promised. What is the incentive to your complaining? Does it get you what you want faster or does it send you into a whirlwind of resentment & ungratefulness? Once you're there, you begin to plague everything & everyone.

Some of us have come from nothing and feel "entitled" to what we have "worked" for. There is no harm in being proud of yourself for setting a goal and achieving more for yourself. The harm comes when you believe you obtained all of it on your own and continue to aspire for more without practicing gratefulness. Ungratefulness is disrespectful to God and those that yearn to be in your spot.

We must retrain our brains to operate on appreciation, mercy & gratefulness. We can develop a prosperous mindset by giving thanks and giving those that are less fortunate. (Proverbs 19:17 ESV / Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.)

Thoughts?