meditatio at the water's edge

Scarcity and Abundance
I was recently talking with a couple about how relationships remain healthy when this simple clarity was given to me. I realized that many of the self-centered, destructive behaviors we exhibit often result from a mindset of scarcity or lack. Love, however, is possible only from a mindset of abundance. The thought basically developed like this:

Humanity was intended to operate in a mentality of abundance. This is to live in and by the awareness that '...I lack nothing that I need.' Of course, for those who trust in Yahweh, the possibility of such an awareness is located in the reality that Yahweh is our shepherd. The picture at either end of the Scriptures (the innocent humanity of Genesis 1-2, and the restored humanity of Revelation 21-22) is of abundance. Indeed, even in the Crisis between those images, when humanity operates in harmony with Yahweh there is an awareness of abundance (i.e., Israel finding manna and quail in the wilderness, Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, Jesus at the well in Sychar [Jn 4:32], and Paul in his letter to the Philippians).

To operate in a mentality of scarcity, however, is to be less than humanity as it is intended to be. It is to put oneself in a mentality similar to animals. In general, animals operate out of a mentality of scarcity. Some might inform me otherwise. Humans hoard on a level that no animal in the world even approaches! But have you ever reached toward the food dish of a hungry dog? Maybe this comparison and contrast with animals needs some more thinking through, but the point is that when we operate from a mentality of scarcity, we are prevented from reflecting the image of Yahweh to creation and to one another. The examples in human history show the results: violence, murder, strife, war, starvation, rape, theft, exploitation--and that's just from the Scriptures!

Scarcity thinking prevents sharing and promotes hoarding. Scarcity thinking prevents love and promotes lust. The results are nothing short of disastrous.

Being the people of God means that we live according to the order of the world under the reign of our generous King Yahweh. To live in this way means that we live from a mindset of abundance. We can truly be free from anxiety about what we will eat or what we will wear--Yahweh is our shepherd, we lack nothing that we need. That is why we can generously share what we have been generously given--we're not afraid of coming up short.