4 Reminders About Poverty

By Allie Zehr Oct 14, 2019 3 Min Read

In the fight against poverty, we can become so focused on treating the symptoms that we forget to address its underlying cause.

Here are 4 reminders to realign your thinking.

1. God didn’t intend this world to be filled with poverty.

In the book of Genesis, we see that God made everything perfectly. He created the world and declared, “It is good.” But humans rejected God and His perfect creation, bringing sin and suffering into the world.

All the suffering we fight against in this world is a result of living in a broken, fallen world. Thus poverty is a spiritual battle and one that must be fought with the love of Christ.

2. In times of hardship, children are the first to suffer.

Children–easily the most vulnerable group of people on the planet–are the least to blame for the world’s problems, yet the first to pay the price. Statistics tell us that poverty affects children disproportionately. One out of every five children lives in extreme poverty.

3. The Church is called to respond.

A spiritual problem can’t be fixed with physical treatment alone. Spiritual issues require spiritual solutions. While physical aid is good (and necessary!), complete healing can only come through Jesus.

Church, we’ve been divinely commissioned to bring relief to the oppressed in the name of Jesus (see: Matt. 25:40 or Matt. 28:16-20), because we have the true solution: the Gospel. No other humanitarian, philanthropic, or charitable group is as equipped to tackle poverty as the Body of Christ.

Justin Taylor and his wife, Nancy, spent many years meeting the physical and spiritual needs of impoverished, at-risk youth. When reflecting on his experience, he wrote–

“Only one thing really worked. The Cross. There are kids today that Nancy and I worked with who are doing well, who are happily married, and who are pillars of their community. What made the difference for them? The Cross. It wasn’t about my words. It wasn’t about my effort. (After all, I tried just as hard or harder with other kids…) The kids who made it heard the Gospel, repented of sin, and were transformed through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.”

4. One day, the world will be poverty-free.

As much as we hate suffering, God hates it more. He went to the most extreme lengths–even death–to get rid of it.

The world we see and know today will always be subject to hardships and turmoil. But because Jesus has paid the price for our sin and rebellion, those who trust in Him can expectantly look forward to a future without a trace or memory poverty.