Chateau Lloyd

Americans are used to abundance.  When we want something, the assumption is that so long as we have enough money, we can get it.

The strange thing about this abundance is that over time, we actually approach things as if they were scarce.  Even though various things may be plentiful, we act as though we have to get them right away because they may go away.

This is fueled by our credit-based economy, which further feeds the need for instant gratification.

Thus, instead of looking at something we want and saying "that looks neat, when I have the money I will get one," we jump to "I need it sooo bad and I need it now," as if it's the last one on earth.  This is the "scarcity mentality."

Sadly, the pandemic has only increased this tendency because we actually did run out of stuff.  If you didn't have enough toiler paper, you had a problem.

Opposing this is the "abundance mentality," which could be regarded as a complacency regarding the availability of things, but I think it also ties in to focusing on all the things you have rather than the things you want.

The best illustration of this is the difference between hoarding and collecting.  True collectors buy things with great discernment.  There's almost a reluctance to buy something lest it taint the integrity of the rest. 

You know you've met one of these people when you suggest something that seems to fit and they stare at you with disgust.  "You think I would want one of those?!" 

Hoarders are by definition far less discerning.  Heck, some even stockpile their own poop.  They always want more and can't let anything go.  They suffer from a scarcity mentality.

Indeed, one of the hallmarks of that mentality is keeping broken or semi-functional things (often multiples of them) out of fear that they might be needed.  That is to say, they could become scarce.

I'm increasingly trying to embrace an abundance mentality, and in particular focusing on the intangibles, like love, grace, and comfort.  Instead of looking at books I want, I will take a moment to look at books that I have.  

This is particularly useful for me when I find myself in awkward financial circumstances because a bunch of bills or unexpected expenses pile up.  Before lamenting the postponement of future purchases, I find it useful to step back and look around at the things I already have, and how blessed I am to have them.

Some call this "the attitude of gratitude," and I think its an essential feature of well-formed Christians, especially American ones.  We have received unprecedented prosperity, though at the moment that seems to be imperil.  Instead of asking why we must make do with less, why not be glad at all that we have?

Indeed, I think much of our current turmoil is because we've come to take God for granted, and assume that we're entitled to peace and prosperity just because. 

A cursory glance at history shows this to be false, but Americans are often terrible at that subject as well.