How you can identify the symptoms of the poverty mentality and break its cycle in your life.
<//center>What is a poverty mentality?
- It is a thinking pattern i.e. a way of thinking.
- It sows seeds of doubt & distrust into our minds about God's faithfulness & promises
- It conditions a person to live in “self survival” mode. It gives rise to attitudes like self effort, self-trust, and self-dependency.
A poverty mentality can exist in the minds of both the poor & the rich and it can oppress a person throughout their lifetime. It can also be transferred interpersonally and spiritually to the next generation to perpetuate the cycle of poverty. This is called generational poverty; it is different from situational poverty.
Symptoms of the poverty mentality:
1. You have a deep sense of the fear of lack
The fear of not having enough financially to meet your current or future needs. You may also feel like your needs will not be adequately met and will result in major failure.
2. You believe that you are the only one who is interested in your own survival
You trust no one else but yourself. You work twice as hard because of this attitude. You are a workaholic. You are convinced that no one is capable to assist you. You tend to be independent. You feel lonely & exhausted in all your own efforts.
3. You are uncertain & confused about the future
You don’t know what you can do to change your situation or future. You have difficulty believing that:
- God has a definite plan for your future
- Your life can be well in the future apart from hard work & labour.
You overwork yourself to maximum exhaustion; sometimes with a second job
4. You are conditioned to gather & have more than is needed
You want more than is needed. You feel you need to take all you can. You feel you need to “can” all you gather (stored up, safe-keep). You have no reason for all the things you accumulate & gather except fear of lack in the future!
5. You desire to get rich quickly and without the process
Get rich quick schemes interest you. You feel pressurised to get more before it’s too late. No doubt, God wants to prosper you. But not without the process or His dealings upon your life.
How to break the spirit of poverty?
It's quite simple actually. The spirit of poverty can be broken by the spirit of sacrifice & giving. This principle was modelled as an example for us by Jesus Himself (read Bible texts like 2 Cor.8:9).
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