Scarcity Mentality

Your hardworking neighbor comes home with a brand new luxury SUV. One of your in-laws gets a big promotion with a big fat raise to go with it. What’s your reaction to the success of others? Are you happy for your neighbor? Are you happy for your in-laws? Or are you just a little bit jealous? Do you find yourself resenting other people’s success? You might be suffering from Scarcity Mentality.

Imagine as a child, you and a sibling are staring at the last piece of pie. There are only four ways for this scenario to play out. You could get the last piece (You win). Your sibling could get the last piece (You lose). Neither of you could get the last piece (Dad wins, kids lose). You could share the last piece (Compromise). This fighting over the last piece of pie is representative of the Scarcity Mentality. According to Stephen Covey this is a zero sum game. In this worldview, everything in life is limited. In this system, the more one person gets, the less someone else gets. It is the belief that socialism and communism are founded on. This belief affects our ability to be happy for others, even people we love.

There is another way to view the world, especially in a free, capitalistic society (which of course is fading fast in the U.S.). Stephen Covey calls this the Abundance Mentality. This is a belief that there is plenty for everyone. Consider the pie scenario from before. If there was another pie in the refrigerator, then there would be no dispute. We all win and we are all happy.

How does this Scarcity Mentality play out? If I am jealous of my neighbor’s success it might be because I think that I deserve that success. That’s Scarcity Mentality. Did my neighbor’s success prevent me from being successful? Of course not. If my in-law gets a big promotion why shouldn’t I be happy? That promotion did not come at my expense. If my neighbor wins, I don’t lose. Instead it should be a sign that the system still works. Those who work hard are being rewarded. Should anyone really care how much money Bill Gates makes? He didn’t make it stealing from me or you. He earned it by producing great (well, usually great) products. He won and there are plenty of others winning. His winning does not cause me to lose.

In an extreme case of Scarcity Mentality, I will view everyone’s success as hurtful to me. I can’t be happy when someone I love has lost weight and I haven’t. I fail to complement someone on a new hairstyle or a new look, because I am so unhappy with the way I look.

What does God have to say about this? Paul told us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited” (Romans 12: 15-16).

If I can’t rejoice in the success of others, if I can’t be happy for others, that speaks volumes about me. Pride, jealousy or maybe just a wrong relationship with the Father is preventing me from the joy that could be mine. Is God limited? Certainly not! Malachi 3: 10-11: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.”

Father, today help me to focus on my blessings and not my wants. I am most happy when serving You and not when I am acquiring material goods. Bless my neighbors and bless my family and friends as you see fit. My hope and my trust are in You.