Matt .5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. James 4:6 But He gives greater grace; therefore it says, "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." Rev .3:17 Because you say, I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
[Part 2 of 2] Poverty is not a hindrance if it does not come with pride. But nothing can be done about poverty when it is in a proud person. Poverty is not the problem. Being like Laodicea is a problem because Laodicea was poor and proud yet thought that she was rich. In the spiritual realm, it is hard to find a person who is poor but not proud. On the contrary, it is often the rich ones who are not proud. It is a pity that many of God's children go around in circles and never advance. The sole reason that they suffer loss is because they think that they have something. Did she [the church in Laodicea] have something? Yes, but what she had was of no benefit to her. If she really had something, she should have rejoiced, yet she was wretched and miserable. She did not behave as if she had anything. Her wretchedness and misery tell others that she was poor. Poverty is always linked to blindness. Those who are spiritually poor are always blind. The blind ones always think that they are rich. Those who have not seen the cross think that they know the cross. Those who have not seen the kingdom think that they know the kingdom. Those who have not seen the Body of Christ think that they know the church. All those who think that they have something are poor. Whenever we truly see something, we will not dare to boast that we are rich. Whenever our eyes are opened, we will see that we are naked. Only the foolish ones boast of what they have. A Laodicean is poor, but does not see his own poverty. This is a warning to us.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 58-60. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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