by Melissa Spas, Managing Director of Education and Engagement, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving
How do we practice the shift from a mindset of scarcity to an expectation of sufficiency in light of the promise that God would wish for us to “have life, and have it abundantly”? We can do this by learning to identify assets anew, as a practice of our faith. This requires an attention to our traditions, texts, and practices, and we will need time and space to understand the shift we are making. All of this can best be done in community, through relationships with others who are also seeking to expect and identify abundance and assets, rather than focusing on scarcity or need.
“We live in a culture dominated by expectations
of scarcity.”
This mindset includes a zero-sum, competitive way of viewing resources, including time, money, and other forms of capital. When we expect scarcity, we see assets as inherently limited, without enough to go around. We can see this play out in our consumer culture, in the way we relate to one another, and in our philanthropic assumptions. Scarcity expectations and the related anxiety can result in a closed-off, ungenerous way of living. This is limiting – damaging, even – when viewed sociologically, but it is even more troubling when viewed through a theological lens.
The meaning we make in our lives through religious understanding and the practice of our faith is distorted by the mindset of scarcity. Religious traditions and the scriptures underlying them are full of invitations out of lack and into abundance. In the Hebrew bible, Proverbs 3, for example, aligns faithfulness with provision of abundance, and the commitment of God to God’s people. It says that obedience to the commandments of God will provide an “abundant welfare,” and instructs believers: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” This is, truly, a counter-cultural corrective to the prevailing expectation of scarcity; instead, this theological expectation is of sufficient provision for every need, reliant upon God’s abundance.
One way to shift away from scarcity and into an imagination of sufficiency is by really changing our expectation about what assets look like. Last week I was privileged to hear the Rev. Dr. Starksy Wilson tell a story about his organization, the Deaconess Foundation, whose faith-grounded mission is the improved health of the Metropolitan St. Louis community and its people. The Deaconess Foundation was created as a health conversion foundation in 1998, and carries forward the mission of the Deaconess Sisters, who began their work in the late 1800s. Dr. Wilson told a story about the way in which those sisters, serving the immigrant community, established an orphanage. Being told that they did not have what they needed, in terms of money, buildings, or infrastructure, Wilson described the leaders replying, as a plea and also a charge, “We have orphans.” I love this anecdote, because it reflects the shift in mindset that transforms a perceived need into a realized asset.
The meaning we make in our lives through religious understanding and the practice of our faith is distorted by the mindset of scarcity. Religious traditions and the scriptures underlying them are full of invitations out of lack and into abundance. In the Hebrew bible, Proverbs 3, for example, aligns faithfulness with provision of abundance, and the commitment of God to God’s people. It says that obedience to the commandments of God will provide an “abundant welfare,” and instructs believers: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” This is, truly, a counter-cultural corrective to the prevailing expectation of scarcity; instead, this theological expectation is of sufficient provision for every need, reliant upon God’s abundance.
One way to shift away from scarcity and into an imagination of sufficiency is by really changing our expectation about what assets look like. Last week I was privileged to hear the Rev. Dr. Starksy Wilson tell a story about his organization, the Deaconess Foundation, whose faith-grounded mission is the improved health of the Metropolitan St. Louis community and its people. The Deaconess Foundation was created as a health conversion foundation in 1998, and carries forward the mission of the Deaconess Sisters, who began their work in the late 1800s. Dr. Wilson told a story about the way in which those sisters, serving the immigrant community, established an orphanage. Being told that they did not have what they needed, in terms of money, buildings, or infrastructure, Wilson described the leaders replying, as a plea and also a charge, “We have orphans.” I love this anecdote, because it reflects the shift in mindset that transforms a perceived need into a realized asset.
“When people who are seen as the object of charity become instead agents and drivers of transformation, a shift takes place in the balance of power.”
What once appeared to be a liability or need can now be seen and understood as an asset. The principles of an asset-based approach are taught by DePaul University’s Asset Based Community Development Institute. The founders and leaders of this model describe their work as “asset-based, internally focused, and relationship driven.” The practices that follow from that priority are built around mapping those assets, utilizing social capital, and building from strength. This does not mean that resources or assets from outside a community aren’t needed. Development in this direction requires imagination, the “eyes to see,” and the Deaconesses had the vision to understand the orphans they knew as an important asset in their drive to care for the community. They could then leverage that asset in a way that effectively employed other resources as well, including financial, social, and relational capital. This has a real theological implication as well – sufficiency changes our understanding of God. Leaders of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference also focus our attention in this direction, proclaiming that “The theology of sufficiency recognizes the complexity of God’s perseverance in diverse and/or marginalized communities…” This theology can allow for transformative, lasting change, from the inside out; scarcity is not inherent to the ordering of the world, but can be refused in exchange for a vision of sufficiency and abundant life.
Questions for Reflection
Questions for Reflection
- How do you practice the shift from a mindset of scarcity to an expectation of sufficiency in light of the promise that God would wish for us to “have life, and have it abundantly”?
- What once appeared to be a liability or need in your community or organization might now be seen and understood as an asset?
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