What Are the Signs of Spirit of Poverty?

The signs of spirit of poverty are not necessarily observable just by looking at someone. This kind of mindset is usually inherited from generations of those living in poverty and affects a person’s worldview in heartbreaking ways.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Poverty causes stressors such as insecurity and uncertainty about food, housing, and income. Low-income communities tend to have specific characterizations such as limited resources, poor houses, high crime and violence rates, and an inadequate school system, which are all associated with poor mental health outcomes.”[1]

Poor mental health touches every part of person’s life, whether physical, mental or emotional. So, imagine this being your reality day in, day out, for generations. According to an article in Psychiatric Times, “Poverty is one of the most significant social determinants of health and mental health, intersecting with all other determinants, including education, local social and community conditions, race/ethnicity, gender, immigration status, health and access to health care, neighborhood factors, and the built environment (eg, homes, buildings, streets, parks infrastructure). The mental health effects of poverty are wide ranging and reach across the lifespan.”[2]

The spirit of poverty lingers and touches all parts of life, whether a person is conscious of it or not. Very simply, they do not have hope that fuels their future. They need something that improves how they see themselves and points to a life that is beyond the constant struggle for survival.

This is why GFA World created our Gift Catalog Program. By making available different resources for donors like you to purchase, the local GFA missionaries can gift vital things like farm animals to the poorest of the poor to give them an income path.

Two chickens are the start of a chicken farm for an individual who can sell the eggs and chicks. Not only is this income for the person or family, but it is also a service to the community. Fresh eggs may not have been available to the village before the gift of chickens. Everyone’s life might be helped by it. The person or family can now set their sights on tomorrow and maybe even further down the road to their children’s education and ability to get skilled work.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs in Gospel for Asia.Net

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Attitude Towards Suffering

Image
In 2 Timothy 2:3, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Everyone, at some point or another, faces suffering, the soldier especially. However, it is not so much what we suffer, but how we suffer that matters. The way our heart responds to suffering is crucial, because by it we will either advance or become stagnant. To suffer like a good soldier is to willingly endure all for the sake of the call. To suffer like a bad soldier is to grumble when difficult situations and hardship arise. Instead of throwing our lives into what God has called us to, we can try to hold on to our lives, wanting to get away with as little suffering as possible, paying as little price as possible. We have forgotten that we are under the orders of our Master and that we willingly gave up our lives. Christ’s Example of Suffering Christ lived with the expectation of suffering. Throughout the Gospels, He repeatedly referred to ...
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e...
Read more

Where Can I Learn How to Break the Cycle of Poverty?

Image
There are many methods for how to break the cycle of poverty which one can learn about. From education assistance to income-generating gifts like sewing machines or farm animals, there is hope for families who have been poor for generations. GFA World works in communities in all these ways through sponsorships and gift distributions, and one by one, we see lives changed as families escape poverty. Raina’s life had been dominated by poverty. She was part of a highly underprivileged people group that faced discrimination and deprivation from others in the region. Despite that, Raina had been able to attend school up until tenth grade, but she discontinued her education when it became too much for her parents to afford. Rather than receiving her certificates of completion, she had to join her parents in the field to earn money to put food on the table. After she married Ander, Raina continued to work in the fields to supplement his income with her own. In search of better job opportunitie...
Read more