Description

Definition
Voluntary poverty is the ability to renounce material comfort and luxury for the sake of a greater good. To a Christian, it probably means relinquishing possession of material goods to serve God more effectively. This is strictly voluntary and is not the result of being poverty-stricken.
A rich young man asked Jesus what he must do to be perfect. Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matt. 19:21). On another occasion, Jesus taught His disciples the importance of not worrying about providing for themselves.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. . . . And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:22-23, 29-34).

If you have the aptitude of voluntary poverty, you have deliberately lowered your standard of living so you can serve a greater cause, avoiding the distractions of wealth and material goods. You invest the time, effort, and resources you save into your cause. Your possessions may be old or inexpensive, even if you could afford better ones, primarily because most modern conveniences and consumer products do not interest you. You may even reject better-paying jobs or financial assistance, simply because they are unimportant to you. You may be willing to live at the poverty level of your society to invest yourself in more worthwhile efforts than obtaining wealth and possessions.
Depending on the cause you have adopted and your other personality traits, you may behave much like someone motivated by generosity. If this is your situation, you may choose to serve the disadvantaged, being willing to live an austere lifestyle to share your resources with others.
Voluntary poverty has no real value by itself. It simply motivates you to do without what others consider essential so you can be more effective in some other way.

Typical Characteristics
● Deliberately lower your standard of living to serve more effectively.
● Consider most conveniences and consumer goods unimportant, compared to your work.
● Not interested in obtaining wealth and possessions, except to advance a cause.

Tendencies
Priorities. Most aptitudes have specific high priorities. Voluntary poverty, in contrast, deliberately avoids two common priorities–money and possessions–to focus on other priorities.

Misunderstandings
Because our culture is intensely materialistic, people may think you either have a poor self-image or do not understand what is important (based on their standards).

Vocations and Roles
One who chooses to live among the underprivileged to help or serve them.

Perversions

Self-Centeredness
(Perverts your aptitude by focusing it on you, emphasizing the pleasure or fulfillment it gives you.)
Self-centeredness is a focus on yourself or whatever you consider important. The more self-centered you are, the more self-denying you are likely to be and the more you may try to persuade others to be like you. Your tendency to deny yourself material pleasures may appear very humble and godly, but may instead be the result of self-centeredness, focusing on your perceived unworthiness or need for deprivation. Another expression of self-centeredness would be publicly denying yourself something so others will admire and praise you. Because you do not mind depriving yourself, you might easily impress people this way.

Extremes
(Perverts by exaggerating, taking your characteristics and tendencies to extremes.)
In the extreme, voluntary poverty may cause you to become destitute or impoverished. Extreme interest in voluntary poverty probably is the result of great zeal combined with a virtual obsession for your cause. Coupled with religious zeal, it could lead to asceticism–the belief that forsaking all worldly possessions is the only way to please God.

Control
(Self-centeredness makes you want to be in control, and you struggle for control in a way that is unique to your character.)
You probably feel a need to control when you see others engaging in what you consider wasteful practices–expensive purchases, silly entertainment, and so on. You may try to gain control by persuading them to forsake everything for your cause, using guilt to motivate them to give, or by showing them how wasteful they are being.

Redemption

Putting on Important Traits
Certain godly character traits are especially important to you. Consciously developing the following traits will help you forsake materialism to serve God more effectively.

● Humility (Considers self relatively unimportant compared to others; prevents using abilities for one’s own satisfaction.) Humility prevents you from drawing attention to your lifestyle for people’s respect or admiration.
● Agape (Considers others’ welfare, needs, interests, and desires more important than your own; motivates you to act for others’ benefit regardless of personal impact.) Agape motivates you to renounce material comfort and luxury so you can invest your resources to benefit others.
● Faith or faithfulness (Firm conviction regarding something for which there is no proof; action based on such conviction.) This gives you a firm conviction that your poverty has a greater purpose and worth than your personal comfort.

Repentance, Renewing Your Mind
(The changes you need to make in the way you think, including your attitudes, standards, priorities, and perspective.)
The purpose of forsaking materialism is to make more resources available to serve God and others, possibly for a specific cause. Your priority must be to benefit others; otherwise, your personal sacrifice is meaningless.

Denying and Humbling Yourself
(Rejecting your own desires and self-interests. Refusing to be motivated by desire for recognition or credit for the results.)
You must be unconcerned about personal desires and interests, either positively or negatively, and focus on others. Reject the tendency to deny yourself material comforts and luxuries when doing so wouldn’t serve any real purpose. Deprivation for its own sake has no value.

Taking up Your Cross
(Accepting that which has potential for great harm, threatens to break you down, or reveals your inadequacies.)
Even if it may cause great personal harm, be willing to relinquish material goods so others might benefit from the results. Another form of taking up your cross may be receiving gifts from others who want to show their concern for you; this can be very disturbing to you. The purpose of the cross is to destroy your sinful attitudes and behavior, not you, so you might become more like Christ in this life and able to serve others more effectively.

Following Jesus
(How you uniquely imitate Jesus by doing what He would in your situation.)
Jesus had no home of His own and did not even use His carpentry skills to support Himself. His reliance on God to provide for His needs is the model you are to follow, although this probably will not require you to give up your home and job.

Becoming Like a Child
(Accepting what God gives you, believing what He tells you, trusting Him to take care of you, and simply doing what He says.)
Trust God to provide what you really need and accept what He gives you, even if you would not have gotten it for yourself.