How foolish are those who do not recognize their spiritual poverty. Besides refusing to listen, they also refuse to be shaped by life experiences, focusing only on worldly matters. This example appears in Luke 12:13–21: they may be freed economically, rescued from a failing career, or improve their reputation, but they do not improve their character. When people do not recognize their poverty, what gets fixed is their economy, career, or education, and if there is a family problem, they ask to be prayed for. We must repair our inner life so we do not become like the figure in Revelation 3:17, where the Lord says we are blind, naked, poor, and wretched yet unaware of our condition and instead think ourselves great.
Many people are not yet addicted to the truth, so they do not feel thirst or hunger for it; as a result, their hearts are hard to shape. True theology is theology that changes a person’s character, demanding concrete implications and applications; theology that will transform us into the likeness of Jesus, turning sinful human nature into the people of God. If we remember the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, we should lament ourselves, not only lament Jesus who died on the cross. 1 Timothy 6:6–10 says the root of all evil is the love of money, because loving money leads a person to deny their faith and destroy themselves. Money will never help. We must be sensitive to hear God’s voice so we can use our money according to God’s will, not to buy branded goods.
We must dare to have no cravings so we can be free. Only after we have surrendered our hearts and lives to God do we have a heavenly calling. We must be sensitive to God; whether money is in our hands or not does not matter, because our happiness does not lie in money. How can we stop loving money? Speak honestly to God and admit that we still love money, but that we want to forget the past and leave it behind. We stop loving money by hearing pure Scripture, sensing God’s presence, and continually having our thinking changed until we can forget and abandon our old self, until we desire God alone and truly become the poor who are blessed before God.
We must not take this statement lightly. It is an extraordinary declaration. In Greek, several words can be translated as “poor.” First, penichros (πενιχρός). This word denotes poverty in relation to worldly possessions or financial poverty—poor in the general sense. When Jesus points to a poor widow in Luke 21:2, the word used is penichros—poor in material terms.
Second, penes (πένης). Penes also means poor, but still having the capacity to support oneself through work. There are poor people around us who may barely make ends meet but can still survive—third, ptochoi (πτωχοὶ). When the Lord uses the word ptochoi, it indicates extreme poverty. This word also denotes utter helplessness.