Believe: 5 Days of Inspiration to Build Your FaithSample

ABUNDANCE MENTALITY

I’ve eaten the same breakfast on weekdays for years, Special K cereal with fresh fruit. A couple of months ago my wife told me there was no special K at the grocery store. I had read there was a strike at the Kellogg’s plant, so I figured it was related.

But then weeks went by, the strike was settled and still no Special K. There was Special K with fruit, with protein and other varieties but not the original. Weeks became months until finally this week my wife came home from the store with three boxes of Special K.

Of course, my cereal is not the only thing that is scarce. Some shelves in stores are bare; baby formula, bread, toilet paper and other necessities might not be available. Pictures on social media show stores with shelves of missing items.

And it’s not just food. We brought our car for service to the dealership and could not believe what we saw. For years there have been hundreds of cars parked in every available spot at the dealership. Now most of the spots were empty since there were far fewer cars to sell.

The combination of the Pandemic, supply chain issues and lack of workers has created a scarcity like most of us have never seen. The reality is far too many live their whole lives with a scarcity mentality. They believe the pie is only so big and there are only a certain number of slices.

With an abundance mentality the pie is much larger. In my Italian heritage a pizza is a pie. And where I’m from in New England we have a party size pizza. So, instead of a medium with six slices, the pie may be an extra- large with ten slices. Or even a party size with 24 slices.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Abundant means with surplus. And surplus is the opposite of scarcity. We are to live with an abundance mentality because Jesus has told us we can live this way.

Abundance keeps us from comparing and competing since there is enough for all, not just for a few. It helps us to be more giving and generous knowing there are greater blessings. It causes us to walk in faith believing God will provide instead of being fearful of not having enough.

Scarcity leads us to be pessimistic about the future and think more tough times are ahead. Abundance leads us to be optimistic about the future and believe the best is yet to come.