From Spiritual Warfare to Structural Awareness: What I Learned About Poverty

Isaiah 10:1-2 – “Woe to those who make unjust laws… who deprive the poor of their rights…”

Before studying sociology in graduate school, I didn’t fully understand the root causes of poverty. Like many others raised in spiritual communities, I was taught that poverty was a demonic spirit; something to be bound, cast out, and defeated through fasting and prayer. I believed that if people remained poor, it was because they hadn't broken the spiritual chains holding them back.

That was what was taught to me. And for a time, I accepted it without question.

But during graduate school, as I studied sociology and global systems, my perspective began to shift. I learned that poverty cannot be explained solely by spiritual causes. In fact, reducing poverty to a demon can dangerously oversimplify a much deeper problem and can lead us to ignore the real-world structures that keep entire communities in cycles of lack.

One of the most eye-opening revelations I encountered was the concept of systemic oppression—a form of injustice that is built into the fabric of society. Systemic oppression isn't about individual acts of hatred or discrimination. It’s about institutional policies, practices, and power structures that disproportionately harm certain groups while protecting and privileging others.

In the case of Black Americans, poverty is deeply rooted in centuries of systemic injustice:

• Over 400 years of free labor through slavery built the economic foundation of the United States.

• After slavery, Jim Crow laws, redlining, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and unequal access to education continued to strip Black families of opportunity, land, and wealth.

• To this day, Black communities face barriers in healthcare, housing, banking, and employment.  These barriers that are not accidental but woven into the systems that govern American life.

This is systemic poverty, not just personal failure or spiritual bondage.

What I came to understand is this: Poverty is not merely the result of demons—it’s the result of decisions.

Yes, spiritual warfare is real. But prayer must be partnered with policy, advocacy, and economic empowerment. We cannot rebuke our way out of injustice. We must also confront the systems that create and sustain inequality.

What encouraged me most during this journey was realizing that the Bible doesn’t shy away from structural injustice. Scripture doesn't merely present poverty as a personal or spiritual failure, it acknowledges that oppression and corruption are often behind it.

Ecclesiastes 4:1 – “I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter…”

These verses rebuke the kind of societies that exploit the vulnerable, ignore the cries of the poor, and legislate inequality into the daily lives of the marginalized.

God’s Word aligns with the sociological truth: poverty is often enforced by unjust systems. And God holds oppressors accountable.

Today, I hold a more holistic view. I believe poverty must be addressed on multiple levels:

• Spiritually, through prayer, discernment, and inner healing.

• Socially, through education, equity, and economic reform.

• Systemically, by dismantling the structures that keep entire communities locked out of opportunity.

We serve a God of justice.  A God who sees the oppressed, hears their cries, and raises up people who are willing to stand in the gap and bring change.