Symptom 5: Making excuses about why others are doing better: their good breaks, etc. They always seem to come up with a reason why they are superior for having less. Clearly Dr. Williams holds poor people in very high contempt. Now they either excuse the rich as being luckier than they are or brag about their poverty? Where is finding these poor people?
Symptom 6: This dark spirit encourages people to judge others as "shallow" if they think of, learn about or act on financial matters.
Symptom 7: This spirit will give a believer a sense of being more spiritual or mature than those who want to succeed financially, giving the believer a sense of moral superiority by having less. What??? I have never met anyone who considers anyone shallow for wanting to make money. Nor anyone poor thinking it made them more spiritual. In fact, the Bible teaches us the opposite. It is the rich that always feel justified but they give out of the wealth not their lack. These accusations from Williams become more and more ridiculous. There is only one dark spirit on display in this article and it is encouraging the writer to say the most repulsive things about people he claims are his brothers and sisters in Christ.
"Thoughts and words are important. The Scriptures are clear about that. Telltale poverty thinking and speaking that are attracting a poverty spirit are not often simple to identify but here's a sampling: Thinking, "Where do we cut?" instead of "How can we increase?" "This is my hard-earned money." "Money isn't important." "Rich people are greedy." Poverty thinking and speaking leads to a poverty belief and addiction, and finally, attracts a poverty spirit that destroys a person's chances and getting ahead financially." -- Dr. David Williams
Beloved this is straight word faith heresy. The belief that our words affect and create reality. They do not. Only God has that power and to try and claim it for yourself is to usurp God's power. Good luck with that David. Sometimes it is completely responsible to ask where we may need to cut in our budget. Sometimes the money is hard earned even if God provides the opportunities. Many rich people like Dr. Williams are arrogantly greedy. Compared to the kingdom and the Gospel, money is not important. Please understand that if David Williams stood before Christ today He would treat him as the rich young ruler. He would tell him to give away everything he had if he wanted to follow Him. Hmm"it sure seems like money was not important for Jesus when it came to that man! The point again is these statements do not create a poverty belief and addiction leading to a poverty spirit. Mercifully, he concludes:
"I believe the strong spirit named Belial is behind the poverty thinking today. From the etymology and historical records of the name Belial, we conclude: He is a spiritually twisted, proud, arrogant, independent spirit that refuses to come under any authority. And he tempts people with positions, titles, promises of fame, riches, popularity or practices which ultimately bring the individual to a place of uselessness, emptiness, futility and a meaningless, pointless existence. And there's why some are attracted to those late-night infomercials and web scams. But you're on a different plane because you chose God's covenant and God's principles. Proverbs 10:22 (KJV) "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." [AMPC adds: "neither does toiling increase it"] Remember, toiling will not increase your wealth, but the blessings of the Lord will." -- Dr. David Williams
Why not conclude by displaying complete biblical ignorance since there was nothing Scriptural in this entire article. Belial is not listed as a spirit in the Bible. In the Old Testament it was largely used as a proper name and it only appears once in the New Testament as a name for Satan. It is true that it can be traced and translated as "worthless" or "wicked." That does not make it a spirit roaming the Christian landscape looking for someone who has poverty beliefs. That is completely absurd. As is his usage of Proverbs 10:22 after such a horrific article. All this proverb teaches us is to give praise to God for any increase we get and do not rely upon ourselves for the increases we may or may not get in life. It is indeed all the blessing of the Lord.
Except Dr. David Williams seems to think that God wants everyone rich and greedy. If they are not it must be a poverty spirit they have invited into their lives with a poverty addiction and belief system. Beloved there are Christians being martyred as we speak in the Middle East who never had a chance to experience anything but utter poverty and persecution their entire life. There are good brothers and sisters hiding in basements in China living on Xeroxed chapters of the Bible and maybe a daily bowl of rice. To say these people are addicted to their poverty and are somehow holding God back from blessings them is beyond insulting - it is wildly ignorant and it has no place in the sane discourse of doctrine within the body of Christ.
