The scarcity mindset.
Scarcity isn’t a word that we throw around everyday, yet few words better describe the American mindset. Scarcity is all about what we lack and what we need or what we think we need. Scarcity is about the countless ways we are deficient.
Our entire economy is built upon scarcity thinking. On our way home Thursday night Lara and I drove through Bloomington. At the Best Buy we noticed that people had set up tents and had brought sleeping bags in order to camp out in front of the store. There was something they thought they needed so badly, they were willing to camp out on the concrete for over twelve hours.
We are grossly unaware of how deeply we are impacted by this scarcity mindset. There is a reason that Thanksgiving barely lasts a day, while Christmas lasts two full months. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. By the way, Bergners is having this great sale, and did you see the Circuit City ad? We need to get to Lowes too."
There is a second piece to this scarcity thinking. Not only do I need, lack, or want, but there is a finite supply of resources available to me. There is only one pumpkin pie, but there are ten people standing in line. "I have to get to the front of the line. I have to camp out all night long. I can’t let Joe get my piece of pie. I have to eat my piece quickly before someone else takes it."
Our economy is built around this scarcity mindset. "You need X. And not only do you need X, but there are only eight in stock. And once they are gone, your kids are going to be cursing Santa." If you want to know why we have so much trouble giving, it is because this scarcity mindset has become so deeply ingrained in us. We are taught from a young age that to give is to lose, to give is to remain deficient, and to give is letting someone cut in line in front of us.
The scarcity mindset says, "Don’t give up your place in line! Get your piece before someone else does. Hoard all that you can. Protect what you have from others. Forget Thanksgiving and focus on those things you don’t have."
A lot of what drives us is scarcity thinking.
For example, consider the infamous teachers of the law who in Jesus' day strode about in long white linen robes. They so badly wanted to be noticed by others. They wanted to be recognized in the marketplaces and to be greeted with special titles of honor. When they gave to the poor, they announced it with trumpets so they could be honored in the synagogues and on street corners. Matthew 6:2 (NIV) says, "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."
When they prayed, they would stand in prominent locations where they could be seen by all. And they would pray for hours on end, with great eloquence, showcasing their spirituality. Matthew 6:5 (NIV) tells us, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."
When they fasted they would disfigure their faces. Matthew 6:16 (NIV) says, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." When they attended synagogue ora special feast, they would take the most prominent seat available, where they could sit in full view of the entire assembly. Or they would try to sit to the left or right of the host, or whoever was in a position of honor that day.
These teachers were driven by what they lacked. They lacked status, they lacked honor, and they lacked recognition. No matter how much recognition they received, it was never enough. They were attention addicts, perpetually craving their next fix. They were never happy, never satisfied, and never full. They were always empty, always discontented, and always in competition with others. They were never serving and never giving up their place in line. They were always hoarding, protecting, maneuvering and serving themselves.
Mark 12:38-40 (NIV) says, "As he taught, Jesus said, 'Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces,and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punishedmost severely."
Just imagine that your whole life was defined by what you lacked. I wonder if you caught the deeply disturbing detailthat Jesus offered about these teachers? He said, "They devour widow’s houses..." This is a statement about the lengths they would go to in order to quench their appetites. They gained the trust of widows, then the widows were convinced to turn over their property, including houses, to the teachers of the law.
Whenlife is definedby what you lack, evilreigns.
At home we have three dogs with insatiable appetites. One of our dogs has such an insatiable appetite that he rummages through the whole house searching for food. All of the garbage cans at our house are either behind a closed door or sitting up high on a table. This dog eats Kleenex and he’ll eat the other dog's hair. Whenever I hand thisparticular dog a treat, he virtually bites my hand off. When I put food in his dish, he inhales it like it is his next breathof air.
Those teachers of the law, "devour widow's houses." Their sense of lack and their sense of scarcity was animal-like.They were ravenous beasts. There wasn’t anyone they wouldn’t take advantage of and there wasn’t anything theywouldn’t do in order to get their piece of the pie. They would destroy each other. They would profane the name ofGod. They would use religious ploys and put on false masks of piety to con widows into forfeiting ownership of theirestates.
When scarcity is your primary frame of reference in life, no thing will ever be enough and no limit will ever berespected. Your whole life will be defined by what you don’t have and you’ll use people as a means to personal gain.No wonder Jesus says, "Watch out!" That part of you that lacks, wants, needs, craves, and devours will destroy yourvery soul. It will destroy the people around you.
The widow's mite.
So in Mark 12:40 we find these teachers of the law who, out of a scarcity mindset, devour widow's houses for personalgain. In the very next verse one of these widows shows up at the temple. Notice the stark contrast between the widowand the teachers of the law.
Mark 12:41-43 (NIV) tells the story. "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched thecrowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow cameand put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'I tellyou the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; butshe, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.' "
The widow gave two very small copper coins that wereworth only a fraction of a penny. A mite was a small copper coin whichwas the smallest denomination in use. It was worth about an eighth of a cent. Most of us wouldn’t stop to pick up adime, much less a penny. But here is the God of the universe taking pleasure in a poor widow offering a gift worthone fraction of a penny. The Bible says it was, "all she had to live on."
What is the difference in mindset between this widow and the teachers of the law? What compelled one to devourwidows but the other to surrender everything she had to live on?This is what we know. The rich gave out of their wealth. They calculated an amount that they could easily recover in aday or a week. Their gift was safe, comfortable, and generous, at least from the perspective of men.
But the widow gave an amount that she could probably never recover. She was old and probably unemployable. Shedidn’t sit around calculating what she had or didn’t have. For her, giving to God would have meant not being able tobuy even a small crust of bread for later that day. Yet she gave all she had to God, trusting in him to meet her needs.
1 Timothy 5:5-6 (NIV) says, "The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continuesnight and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives."
Some people believe that our faith is measured by how much we give. "I gave ten percent." "I gave one thousanddollars." God measures our faith by a different standard. He measures not by how much we give, but by how much weretain. Those with a scarcity mindset keep most for themselves. Those with an abundance mindset make the deepestsacrifices.
In the end, who do you think receives more?
Offering meditation.
2 Samuel 24:24 (NIV). "But the king replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.' "