The Truth about Scarcity vs Abundance

Could fear of not having enough be quietly controlling your decisions?

And I'm not just talking about whether you have enough money.

You can make good money, pay your bills, have money in the bank—and still live with a scarcity mindset.

I know because I did.

There was a season of my life when I was making great money. My bills were paid. I had a job I loved, and generosity was genuinely important to me.

I volunteered my time freely and often.

At Christmas, I would bring my daughter with me to ring the bell for the Salvation Army.

We handed out water to runners during charity races.

We volunteered together through the Kinship program.

We brought flowers to elderly people in our community.

And there were so many other little opportunities where I intentionally brought my daughter along because I wanted her to develop the heart of a servant.

I wanted her to understand that we could use our time and our talents to serve other people.

That we could be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community.

But there was a piece of generosity I wasn't teaching her.

I was generous with my time.

I was generous with my talents.

But when it came to my money?

I was afraid.

I remember sitting in church one Sunday listening to a sermon about tithing.

The pastor was talking about something he called “God's economy.”

And honestly?

I had no idea what that meant.

But I remember feeling convicted.

Because I knew I wanted to give.

I believed in generosity.

I was actively trying to raise my daughter to be generous.

And yet, when I thought about actually giving away part of my paycheck, my immediate thought was:

How?

How am I supposed to give this money away when I need it?

Because even though I was making more money than I ever had before, I still felt like I was going from paycheck to paycheck.

And somewhere in my mind, I had decided that the solution was to make more.

If I could just earn more money, then I'd finally feel secure.

Then I'd have enough.

Then I'd be able to give.

Except...

I was already making more.

And I still didn't feel like there was enough.

That's when something completely unrelated came back to me.

Years earlier, a coworker had given me advice about our 401(k).

She told me, “Just start with 3% so you can get the company match. See if you even notice it missing from your paycheck. If you can still pay your bills, keep doing it. You won't regret what that money can grow into for your future.”

And for whatever reason, sitting there wrestling with giving, I remembered that conversation.

So I thought...

What if I did the same thing with generosity?

What if I actually started giving and then saw what happened?

So I did.

I started giving 10% from each paycheck. I broke it into weekly giving to my church, and I decided that if I could continue paying my bills, I would continue giving.

And I could.

So I kept going.

Until eventually, life happened.

An emergency came up where continuing to give at that level was no longer financially responsible for me.

So I paused.

I took care of the emergency.

And when that season was over, I went back to the habit of giving that I had already built.

And looking back, I realize something really important happened during that season.

I finally brought my generosity into alignment.

I had been generous with my time.

I had been generous with my talents.

But fear had been controlling my generosity with money.

And giving didn't teach me that financial limitations aren't real.

Because they are.

The emergency proved that.

It taught me something different:

There is a difference between making a financial decision because wisdom says “not right now” and making a financial decision because fear says “there will never be enough.”

And THAT is where I want to talk about scarcity.

Scarcity Isn't About How Much Money You Have

We tend to think scarcity belongs to people who don't have enough money.

But scarcity isn't an income level.

It's a way of thinking.

Scarcity says there isn't enough—and there may never be enough—so I have to protect what I have at all costs.

And the tricky thing is that scarcity can show up in completely different behaviors.

Scarcity might sound like:

“I can't afford that.”

“I better hold onto this just in case.”

“I'll start saving when I make more.”

“I can't charge that much.”

“What if something happens?”

“Who am I to make that kind of money?”

“I can't give right now. I need this.”

Or maybe:

“If she gets that opportunity, there might not be one left for me.”

Notice something?

Not all of those have anything to do with the actual amount of money in your bank account.

That's why you can increase your income and still feel like there's never enough.

And a lot of these beliefs started long before we ever earned our first paycheck.

Think about the family you grew up in.

How did they talk about money?

Was there enough?

Did your parents fight about it?

Or maybe money wasn't talked about at all.

Did you constantly hear, “We can't afford that”?

Did you learn that wealthy people were greedy?

Did you watch someone lose everything?

Did money disappear as quickly as it came in?

Did you learn that a good woman takes care of everyone else before she takes care of herself?

Those experiences taught us something about money.

And sometimes we're still making today's financial decisions from beliefs we learned decades ago.

So What Does Abundance Actually Look Like?

This is where I think abundance gets misunderstood.

An abundance mindset does not mean:

“There will always be more money.”

It doesn't mean spending whatever you want because God will provide.

It doesn't mean ignoring your budget.

It doesn't mean giving money you don't have.

And it definitely doesn't mean pretending financial limitations aren't real.

Remember my emergency?

There really wasn't enough for me to continue giving at the level I had been.

Pausing wasn't scarcity.

It was stewardship.

An abundance mindset means I can acknowledge the limitations in front of me without allowing fear to make every decision for me.

Scarcity says:

“I can't afford that.”

Abundance asks:

“Is this important enough for me to prioritize?”

Scarcity says:

“What if something happens?”

Abundance asks:

“What can I do today to prepare for the things I can control?”

Scarcity says:

“I'll start saving when I make more.”

Abundance asks:

“How can I faithfully use what I have right now?”

Scarcity says:

“I can't charge that much.”

Abundance asks:

“What is the value of what I'm providing?”

Scarcity sees another woman's success and thinks:

“Maybe there's less opportunity available for me.”

Abundance can look at her success and think:

“That's evidence that opportunity exists.”

And maybe one of the biggest differences is this:

Scarcity says:

“I need more before I can feel secure.”

Abundance says:

“I can build security with what I have while continuing to grow.”

That's a very different relationship with money.

And This Is Where Faith Comes In

Remember that phrase from the sermon?

God's economy.

At the time, I didn't understand it.

I thought security was something I could create if I could just accumulate enough.

Enough income.

Enough savings.

Enough control.

Then maybe I could loosen my grip.

But for me, understanding abundance has become less about believing God is going to give me everything I want and more about recognizing that what He's already placed in my hands has purpose.

My job is to ask:

How can I faithfully use it?

How do I care for my family?

How do I prepare for the future?

How do I grow what I've been given?

How do I enjoy it?

And yes—how do I use it to bless other people?

I don't have to choose between wisdom and generosity.

I don't have to choose between building wealth and giving.

I don't have to spend recklessly to prove that I trust God.

And I don't have to hold onto every dollar out of fear to prove that I'm financially responsible.

I can steward what I have with wisdom, intention, faith, and generosity.

And that's why I want to bring you back to the question I asked at the beginning:

Could fear of not having enough be quietly controlling your decisions?

Maybe for you it isn't giving.

Maybe fear is keeping you from investing in your business.

Maybe you have money saved, but you're still terrified to spend any of it.

Maybe you're undercharging because you're afraid people won't pay what your work is worth.

Maybe you're constantly comparing yourself to other people.

Maybe you keep telling yourself you'll finally feel secure when you reach the next income level.

Or maybe you know exactly what you need to do with your finances...

but fear keeps stopping you from doing it.

So here's a question I want you to start asking yourself:

Is this decision being made from wisdom—or is it being made from fear?

Because abundance isn't about having unlimited resources.

It's about fear of not having enough no longer getting to make every financial decision for you.

And if you're listening to this and realizing that some of your financial decisions may be coming from old beliefs or stories about money, this is exactly the kind of work we're going to do together in my Money Makeover Challenge.

Over three days, we're going to look beyond just the numbers.

We're going to get clear about where you are financially, look at the stories and beliefs that may be influencing the way you handle money, and start making decisions with greater clarity and confidence.

You don't have to have everything figured out before you come.

You don't have to have a perfect budget.

You don't need a certain income.

And you definitely don't need to have your money perfectly managed.

We're going to start exactly where you are.

If you're ready to change the way you think about and handle money, you can join me for the Money Makeover Challenge at the link below.

And until next time, remember:

Money isn't the measure of your worth.

It's a tool you've been entrusted to use.

And you can learn to use it without letting fear make the decisions.

Join my Money Makeover Challenge I created it to help you get clarity, control, and confidence with your money so that you can lead your family, business and life well. I can't wait to meet you there!