Why can believers be happy even when they are poor?
Believers can be happy in poverty because joy is a spiritual thing, whereas happiness is only material. Spiritual joy does not depend on wealth or possessions, so it remains even in lack. This joy is grounded in God through Jesus Christ and the atonement, enabling contentment regardless of earthly circumstances.
Les explains that believers can be happy in poverty as well as in wealth because joy is a spiritual thing, whereas happiness is only material. He connects this to enjoying God through the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom believers have received the atonement. Les emphasizes that terms like justification, eternal life, and atonement are doctrinally heavy. He notes that Old Testament atonement was a misnomer—a covering or sweeping under the rug that never took away a single sin—until Christ's blood was shed. Then sins were atoned for, taken away, and forgiven. This spiritual foundation gives joy independent of material circumstances.