PROVERBS 10:15 (NLT)
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
Never accept the tag of poverty! Don't be associated with it and do all you can to fight that mentality. Reject it from your life in it's entirety. I have always said that poverty is a mindset, a state of thinking, that imprisons your talents and abilities. It stops your faith from working; it destroys all hope and blinds you from seeing opportunities. Poverty bestows timidity, failure and apathy on people - stopping them from using the wealth of gifts and talents God has placed inside of them. According to the Bible, most people are lazy and unable to use and employ their innate resource to help them generate wealth.
PROV ERBS 24:33-34 (NLT)
A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
After you've given your heart to Christ, poverty becomes completely unacceptable in your life. I know there are people who believe Christians ought to be poor, but that's due to lack of understanding of the scriptures. Poverty is not the temporary absence of money or other required necessities of life; it's actually the disabling of a man's mental prowess. It's a state in which a person's mind shuts down, and believes they cannot do anything to change their situation.
According to 2 Corinthians 8:9, Jesus took upon Himself not only the sins of the world but also the effects of sin, one of which is poverty. This is the reason every Christian must reject poverty. Nevertheless, poverty is a choice, or deprivation due to persecution is unacceptable.
The fact that you don't own a beautiful house or a nice car doesn't mean you're poor. As a Christian, all the wealth in this world belongs to you! Once you accept this truth in your spirit, and allow it to dominate your thinking, your life will take on a new meaning. It will become impossible for you to lack any good thing in life. No wonder the Bible declares that we make any rich (2 Corinthians 6:10). Everyday, say to yourself, "I see my prosperity and my greatness; I am called to help the poor; therefore, it's impossible for me to be poor in life."
Reject poverty in it's entirety because you're a joint-heir with Christ; everything that belongs to Him belongs to you. Let this be your mindset, for God's desire for you is that you prosper and remain in good health (3 John 2). God has made you prosperous and He's counting on you to lift others out of poverty.
Further Study:
Deuteronomy 8:18
1 Corinthians 3:21