I’ve grown up in a culture and a country that doesn’t enjoy people having too much. Any sense of someone ‘flashing their cash’ or showing off in any way is strongly looked down upon. Whether or not the person in question was actually doing that or not was not really the point – judgement lives in the eye of the beholder. The irony of all of this was that none of us complained if we had too much. Sorry correction, if we even realised we had too much. No one wanted poverty or lack but in a strange way poverty was held in higher value than wealth.

The base line thinking was that those with any wealth or comfort had got there through inheritance or some kind of corner cutting. We rarely credited them with working hard. Those with little were presumed to be honest, hard working folk who hadn’t had the same luck. It’s not that people want to be poor, they still prefer wealth, they just don’t really warm to those who had it.

Confused?

Me too, and I live in it!

The mindset stretches beyond money, and into possessions, holidays, enjoyment, and even weather. Because we were worried about the appearance of ‘more’ we tried to downplay it. Let me give some examples;

• If someone admires our new clothes we will tell them how cheaply we got them or that they were a birthday gift. Of course this could be case but the point is we will try anything to stop us admitting we simply liked something and bought it.
• If we are paid a compliment for a skill e.g. singing, sport, sewing (yes, even sewing) etc. we will point out a deficiency the admirer hadn’t noticed or will point to another person who does that thing better. Again, this isn’t untrue – we aren’t perfect, and there is always another more gifted. This isn’t the point of course; we simply couldn’t have something think we did something well.
• When we cook dinner for someone we’ll tell them we ‘threw it together’ rather than admit we took ages to prepare. We even have the gaul to pretend we don’t like it in the hope someone will say it’s nice!
• If someone said “its a beautiful day” we’d start telling them when it is likely to rain – like we are in control of the weather! If they compliment the area we live in we will tell them its not perfect and has its ‘moments.’ The last thing we would want is for people to think we lived in a nice place!

My culture suffers from a scarcity mindset

We are simply more comfortable with lack than we are with abundance. If you are reading this from this cultural mindset you are probably getting nervous that I am about to write about a prosperity gospel. Don’t fear, although I have lots of thoughts on that, this is not the post for this.

I want to talk about the impact that a scarcity mindset has on us. I believe these effects can build up in seasons of restriction or supposed scarcity. I have seen many churches experience this, including ours, post Covid. Decreased attendance, volunteers, finance, time, all can result in us living in this scarcity mindset.

Here are some of the effects that I have noticed in my own seasons of scarcity.

• Illusion of enough – when we feel in lack we live with a dream of what the world would look like if we had enough money, people etc. We believe that when those things happen we would be living in the world of our wildest dreams. The reality is… this moment never comes. We never will reach enough, we never will find satisfaction in this search, because we are attuned to scarcity.
• We struggle with those who have – because we aren’t where we think we need to be we can get a little frustrated with those who are experiencing forward motion. This is a classic effect of the tall poppy syndrome that is common in a scarcity culture.
• Feeling of being behind – linked to the illusion of enough is the fact that because we haven’t reached that illusive ‘enough’ we are behind, we aren’t doing as well as we should be dong, and often we feel like we are failing.
• Future decisions delayed – because things aren’t as we would like me feel unequipped to think beyond the lack that we are currently facing. We start to use phrases like “once we have solved this we can get on with…..” this often sounds like wisdom but it can stop future movement.
• Vision wanes – this is the ultimate effect of the scarcity mindset. We get so used to survival that we forget how to live, move forward, and cast vision. The organisation, or team, that we lead begins to choose peace and calm as the goal rather than anything beyond that.

I think we need to get comfortable with more. I don’t mean we should become obsessed with growth, and striving, in the ungodly sense, but actually realise that our God is a God who has increase and more. He gifted us with some amazing abilities and it is actually worship to use them well and it is actually sin to downplay them. We are far from perfect, but He isn’t and our lives based in Him are lives to be celebrated.

So, the next time someone admires a new piece of clothing or a hair cut simply say – Thank you! The next time you are complimented for a skill or talent, especially when you have practised hard, say; Thank you, I really appreciate that, I’ve been working hard on that. When you cook a meal you took time to prepare and someone compliments that, thank them and take enjoyment in a job well done. When someone compliments your area, the weather, just appreciate it and say; yes, it is pretty! In doing this, we are giving God glory for the beauty and the gifting He has given us.

Let’s not be people who are sacred of more and settle for lack. Most of all let’s be people who look to the Lord for everything and live lives of worship before him.