POVERTY - Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Deuteronomy 28:45-48
For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

Psalm 72:12

Poverty is a curse because the Word of God puts poverty in the category of a curse.

I am aware that some people take vows of poverty. I respect them for their great sacrifice to the Lord. However, I can see clearly that when God cursed the Israelites, poverty was one of the frustrations to expect. All the curses of Deuteronomy 28 lead to poverty. However, in Deuteronomy 28:48, you see it a bit more explicitly: "God shall set thee up in hunger, thirst, nakedness and in want."

Poverty leads to a lack of education. Hosea 4:6 says that people perish for lack of knowledge. An entire nation perishes when there is a lack of the knowledge of the arts, science, medicine, law, etc. Poverty is a curse because it is a vicious cycle. Poverty brings about an inability to be educated. The lack of education leads to more poverty. The wealthy remain in their riches, and the poverty of the poor deepens.

Poverty causes poor health and disease. The life expectancy for rich countries is much higher than that for poor countries. There is a significant difference between the figures of these two groups countries. This difference is very much related to the state of wealth.

Poverty is also a curse because it causes people to get drunk. Many poor people drink to forget about their insurmountable problems (Proverbs 31:7).

But the good news is this: God is the helper of the poor!