The brother who is poor may be glad because God has called him to the true riches. The rich may be glad that God has shown him his spiritual poverty.

James 1:9-10 (Phillips)

Christianity is often caught between the extremes of the poverty gospel and the prosperity gospel. There are believers who see being poor or being wealthy as a sign of holiness. Both are equally unhelpful and unhealthy forms of Christian spirituality.

The gospel does not favour the wealthy, and neither does it penalize the poor. The Apostle James exhorts his readers to be circumspect about their material circumstances. After all, both rich people and poor people suffer from different kinds of oppression. Only through the blessings of salvation do they heal themselves and become the people God wants them to be.

There is no intrinsic glory in poverty or prosperity.

We must learn from Christ. He became poor so we might be made rich in Him. Hence, the materially poor can rejoice that God has revealed to them their true wealth in Christ, and the materially rich can rejoice that God has shown them their true spiritual poverty without Christ. This alignment to the kingdom economy is crucial for our spiritual growth and maturity. One thing is that it enables all of us to give in equity.

Equity in giving is not about giving the same amount, or in the same way. It is about giving according to our wealth. Everything we have is from God, so we give what we have with gratitude and generosity. Sadly, many of us are good at rationalising and even better in making excuses. Often we let our circumstances dictate our giving habit. We withhold when it is within our ability and power to give.

When we make God’s kingdom a priority of our life and lifestyle, He will only take care of all our needs, but He will also provide more than we can imagine. In other words, God will not only sustain us, but He will also create new ways of doing good and being generous with His provisions.