Scarcity vs Abundance

 Devotion for the Week...

Over the past couple of years, I've read quite a bit about different mindsets. I find it oddly fascinating to think about how our mindset affects so much of what we do, without us ever being aware of it. I can't remember how it came to my mind, but I spent last week thinking about the difference between a scarcity mindset and an abundance mindset and how those mindsets might affect us spiritually speaking.

For reference, someone with a scarcity mindset feels (either consciously or unconsciously) that something important to them - time, money, opportunities, popularity, and more - is scarce. On the other hand, someone with an abundance mindset feels (again, either consciously or unconsciously) that there is more than enough available to meet their needs.

If we feel that His blessings are a finite resource, then we resent the ones He gives to others and not to us. We hoard the blessings of time, money, knowledge and skill that He has given to us, rather than using them to bless others.

But if we know that "this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19), then we know that there are more than enough blessings to go around. When we are blessed, it does not diminish the supply of blessings that He can hand out to others. There is no limit to that supply!

A scarcity mindset would have us competing for God's favour, always trying to work harder than someone else or to be more "spiritual" than other people. But there is no need for competition! His favour is available to us all, regardless of how hard we work or how spiritual we act. 1 John 3:1 says, "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" It isn't what we do to earn His favour that matters - He loves us simply because we are His children. Paul wrote, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8: 38-39). That sounds like an abundance of love, to me!

Spiritually, a scarcity mindset robs us of the security of knowing that God's love and blessings are available to us in more abundance than we could ever imagine. After all, He loves us enough to have sent Jesus to redeem us. What more proof could there be of His delight in blessing us?