“There’s no such thing as scarcity when you are a child of God.”
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
The Association for Psychological Science describes a “scarcity mindset” as “people seeing life as a finite pie, so that if one person takes a big piece, that leaves less for everyone else.” The opposite is an “abundance mindset” which “refers to the paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody.”
In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul is calling believers to live their lives with a mindset of abundance. Why? Because we worship the God who owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10) who will ensure that “at all times” we will have “all that [we] need” to do his will. If we believe that, we will be willing to sacrifice for the good of others, knowing that God will not allow our needs to go unmet.
This means you can sacrifice the spotlight on a project, knowing that God will give you all the attention you need to carry on “in every good work.” It means you can sacrifice time to help a struggling colleague, knowing that God will redeem whatever time you need to finish your to-do list. It means you can give generously to meet the needs of others, knowing that the Lord will not let you go hungry.
Commenting on today’s passage, Jen Wilkin says, “Our lives should demonstrate that there is no such thing as scarcity when you are a child of God.” Amen. With the truth of this passage in mind, bring an abundant mindset to your work that enables you to sacrifice greatly for the good of others today!
