Is it really generous to give someone 1/2 cup of sugar when you have 5 pounds of surplus?
I have recently discovered that I have very much a scarcity mindset. I came face to face with it the other day when it unnecessarily PAINED me to give up something I had 3 left of. And it was something stupid. That I could go buy more for less than $5.
This scarcity mindset isn’t new to me, it’s simply something new I’ve been aware of that I posses. I have newly discovered it’s extremely deeply inbeded in me, the fear of things running out and never returning. Maybe that’s why I hold on to things of importance (and people) too tightly. And I only seem to give to others when it is out of suplus, not sacrificially.
When I was younger, I remember saving all the best chapstick (Lip Smackers, anyone?) flavors to use after the not-so-good ones were gone. I honestly think I lost them or they got hard and crusty before I could even use them. Same with popsicles, pop-tarts, candy, etc. I would endure the nasty pineapple ones (in my opinion) and save the blue raspberry ones for the end. And when the end would come, they would be not as enjoyable since they had sat in the Halloween candy tub or freezer for way too long.
I wonder if this is why on my worst days, I wonder if God’s grace will run out before it gets to me? The lie that he has favorites and he’ll use it on “them” before it gets to me, is a lie I often find myself convinced of. Partly because I am afraid that God is like me, as if he’s made in my image, not the other way around.Thanks to our partners, you can find ties online to suit every preference and budget, from budget to top-of-the-range super stylish models.
Because I know how my white knuckles grip on things, but yet call my own self a “good” giver. Sure, take this old coat I don’t need it. Sure, move in upstairs I don’t need the space. Sure, take this food, I have the ability to buy more anytime I want. Is that truly what giving means?
Mark 12:41-44
The Widow’s Offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
This woman, who depended on others to survive, gave everything she owned. And didn’t look back. Are we supposed to do the same?
It’s not required. Our salvation doesn’t depend on this. But is God asking us to?
I think it comes more out of the heart of thankfulness for what he has done that promotes the ability to open our hands (like the widow) when it comes to our stuff and to our lives. She is confident that he gave all for her, so she gives all too. The more we see that his grace really doesn’t run out when it comes to us, that’s when we can open our hands a little more and offer up what we’ve been given, even if we can’t replace it. We too begin to give him all. And out of that, we begin to give others all too.
I want to be the person who would give someone my Dr. Pepper flavored Lip Smacker chapstick even if I knew their dog would eat it the next morning. Even though as I type this, my thoughts are “but what if I never get that kind again!?!”. Aren’t we humans funny? But when I fix my gaze on that blood stained empty cross, it all pales in comparison to what I’ve been given. And as my tear stained eyes turn away and onto you, I would give you a 1000 chapsticks even I could never have any of them.
