Do You Have a Scarcity or Abundance Mindset?
Recently I observed something interesting about hubby and me. He had the abundance mindset and me, the scarcity mindset.
My shampoo had half left. I had the urge to buy and stock up. My bottle of supplements had a quarter left, enough to last me a month, but stock up. Stock up. Stock up.
In most cases, my hubby will think things are still more than enough, and there’s no rush to stock up. On the other hand, I have this fear of things running out. I like to have ready stock in the house to replace the finished ones. I don’t like last minute buys, because it meant I’m overpaying for stuff due to lack of planning.
This scarcity mindset is a characteristic of the orphan spirit I long knew I had. God has been purging this spirit out of me all these years.
I’m not an orphan but child of God.
I have no lack but abundance.
These are truths I found it hard to digest and live out.
It is because of my upbringing. The constant reminders of lack impressed upon a young child’s mind and the competitiveness instilled in the young heart.
However, as I grew up, I realised our family had enough and we’re not living on tight purse strings. But I’ve been living my whole life as if we were in “poverty”.
And by God’s grace, I saw that there can be win win situations in life. In God, life is not a series of zero sum game. I was taught to fight and keep – leading me to be guarded and self centered. But God is peeling these layers to show me it’s a blessing to give than receive and there’s more than enough in His kingdom.
We give, but God blesses us abundantly more in Jesus. After all, Jesus gave us His life and we received salvation.
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10