Live Generously in Scarcity

Whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with the Coronavirus, it has affected you. 

It’s affected me too.

I sat in silence, listening as they were discussing how the grocery stores were running out of supplies—toilet paper, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, all gone.  

“I’ve got plenty of toilet paper already, but, I mean, I also don’t want to run out. So maybe I should try to buy a bunch more.”

Her words pierced my ears because I was fearing the same thing.    

I have everything I need for today, but what about tomorrow? What if there's not enough to go around? The fear of not having enough began to set in.

Scarcity Mindset

I, like so many other people right now, am tempted to live out of a scarcity mindset. 

Scarcity mindset is the belief that there won’t be enough to go around. It’s thinking and operating out of a place of lack. 

COVID-19 has taken peoples’ health and for some, their very lives. It has cancelled major events, severely affected travel, closed schools and shifted the global economy with ripple effects that will take years to fully dissect.

Perhaps the most pervasive affect of the Coronavirus, one that is much harder to quantify, is the way it has changed the way we see one another.

You see, when people are fighting in the aisles of Costco over the last roll of toilet paper we all begin to feel our lack. That place of lack leads us to hyper self-focus.  

If everyone else is buying all the toilet paper, will there be any left for me? If they ban all travel, will I miss my vacation? If you don't stay home when you're sick, will I end up infected?

Rather than seeing the person in the grocery store as a neighbor, or colleague, we begin to see them as a threat.

We read the Facebook post of a friend or watch an interview of an admired public figure, and we now see them as someone who is foolish and isn’t taking this pandemic seriously, or someone who is panicking and acting irrationally. 

When you begin to believe that there isn’t enough, you elevate yourself and your needs above all others. You carry with you a sense of entitlement. Others may have to go without, but you should not have to suffer! Your thoughts and actions begin to shift to how you can insulate yourself from any possible discomfort or hardship—often at the cost of others. 

Another way

When we trust in Jesus as our Lord, we have a seat at the King’s table of honor. We are invited to the feast of abundance. We no longer need to crawl around in the dirt looking for whatever scraps may have fallen, fearful that we won’t get enough. Our position has forever been changed. We can know and live out of the knowledge that our God will supply ALL of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.(Phil 4:19)

Living out of this mindset of abundance doesn’t mean that you won’t run out of toilet paper or that you won’t contract Coronavirus. It certainly doesn’t mean that you are immune to any hardship or sacrifice that may come from all of this. In fact, the Bible promises that in this world we will have trouble.  

What it does mean, however, is that you can continue to live generously. The feast at the King’s table never ends. From where you sit, child of God, there is a surplus—never ceasing abounding provision!

Psalm 34:9 says, “Those who fear the Lord lack NOTHING.” 

Of course it is a good and right thing to prepare well and make wise decisions—to take precautions and be judicious in your day to day decisions. But do these things out of faith in your position at the table of the Lord, not out of fear brought on by empty shelves and fear mongering news feeds.  

Live Generously

Comfort those who are paralyzed with anxiety and fear. Give grace to those who are thoroughly annoyed at the handling of all of this. Offer to help those who are home-bound due to health issues or quarantined in whatever way you can. Leave the masks and gloves for the healthcare workers who need them. Pray for those who are spending another night alone in an isolated room or grieving a loss we can’t see. 

If the only symptom of the Coronavirus you have is scarcity of thinking, fear not. Believe the promise that your God will supply all of your needs. Live generously.

At the very least, give a smile—and maybe a roll of toilet paper. 

If Jesus is your Good shepherd, you have nothing to lose.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalm 23:1