Replacing a Scarcity Mindset With Gospel Truth
Many in the world today are living with a very real sense of scarcity and lack. And with so much division and political strife, a feeling of scarcity in our relationships may have also set in.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, Caesar shares his own experience of being raised with a scarcity mentality and where the true root of this mindset comes from. He’ll also help you find freedom and show you how to experience an abundance mindset.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- What causes a scarcity mentality and how to escape it.
- How living with a scarcity mindset affects all of life–not just money.
- How the gospel speaks good news and abundance to scarcity.
- Steps to begin to lose a scarcity mentality and find freedom.
From this episode:
“An abundance mentality flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. Remember, you were created in the image of our perfect Father God who loves you! Out of his endless supply and wealth, we can live in the reality that there is plenty and more than enough to share with others. This is true of money and time, of prestige, of recognition, of resources, of decision making.”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…
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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Coaching with Caesar and Tina in discipleship and missional living.
Free Discipleship and Missional Resources
Transcript
I was raised in a family perspective of scarcity.
Caesar Kalinowski:We weren't poor from a resource standpoint, but we were from a perspective standpoint.
Caesar Kalinowski:The prevailing tone was a fear that we weren't living at some higher standard.
Caesar Kalinowski:And the shame that came with that, a presiding perspective of scarcity.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he says, what this helped me recognize was the fact that scarcity and abundance Share a common core of fear.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, scarcity is the fear that I am not enough and I won't ever be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's really what's under it.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's the root of the whole thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:I will never be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm not enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll never be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm guessing others probably notice that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And even when we perceive abundance of resources.
Caesar Kalinowski:That gets twisted by fear too.
Caesar Kalinowski:It sounds like this in our heads today.
Caesar Kalinowski:I have more than I need, but I could lose it, so I need to hold onto it and or get more.
Heath Hollensbe:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast where you'll learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
Heath Hollensbe:In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
Heath Hollensbe:This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
Heath Hollensbe:And now here's your host, Cesar Kalinowski.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm recording this podcast episode today, a little earlier than usual, as I'm preparing for a long four day visit with my grandkids.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're coming to spend four days with Tina and I.
Caesar Kalinowski:So grandpa's going to be up early and lots of stuff, but I'm really excited about it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I'm getting the podcast done, getting it finished up, edited and off to the races we go with these kids.
Caesar Kalinowski:Can't wait.
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Caesar Kalinowski:Well, here we go.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're going to talk today a little bit about scarcity.
Caesar Kalinowski:Really more about a scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:This mindset actually shows up in all kinds of areas of our lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:We can experience new feelings of scarcity.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's like a sense of scarcity in our lifestyles.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's not only income or food that a lot of people are lacking or fearing they might not have enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:There can be a real sense of relational scarcity too.
Caesar Kalinowski:This word scarcity comes from an old medieval Latin word denoting sort of a sense of diminishment or being reduced.
Caesar Kalinowski:In today's language, I guess it seems to boil down to a question of enoughness, that's really scarcity is like, do I have enough?
Caesar Kalinowski:Will I have enough?
Caesar Kalinowski:I also looked up the word abundance and it comes also from a Latin root, meaning to move in waves, to flow, sort of like the waves of an ocean, waves, you know, that never stop coming, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Waves never stop bringing a fresh supply.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I think God and his provision is that way and we'll talk more about that as we go.
Caesar Kalinowski:All of this is super interesting to me because I know I have suffered from a scarcity mentality throughout my own life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Author Colton Shannon, I was reading, says most of the time our scarcity mindsets match our childhood and or adolescent traumatic experiences.
Caesar Kalinowski:So maybe we were taught or modeled there wasn't enough to go around financially.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I can remember as a kid, there was never any extra money.
Caesar Kalinowski:If I, if I wanted a quarter or like to go to the corner store or a dollar, maybe to go, there wasn't, we did never had it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And by the end of the month, seriously, we were down to our last quarter waiting for dad's check, or maybe there never seemed to be enough attention or belonging or trust or hope.
Caesar Kalinowski:In your childhood and check this out, tragedy, disease or natural disaster sort of pull back the curtain on the truth that beloved people or things can be taken from us in an instant.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're experiencing this now in profound ways.
Caesar Kalinowski:That was definitely the scarcity mindset that my grandparents and my parents passed on to us.
Caesar Kalinowski:My father was born in 1930 during the Great Depression.
Caesar Kalinowski:And this sort of scarcity mindset, it was thick and it was ever present, a state of fear that hung over our family like a thin smoke, always perceivable, always being proven, regardless of the current available resources.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I can remember when, like years later, obviously my father retired, now I've been raised by him and this whole great depression mindset, every.
Caesar Kalinowski:Scratching penny has to be earned and stashed away and put away.
Caesar Kalinowski:I mean, Oh, all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:But when my father retired, he had a little bit of money.
Caesar Kalinowski:He had saved up from savings and a small inheritance he had received from his mom and dad, because they had squirreled away every possible penny.
Caesar Kalinowski:Cause you might, you know, might not have any more.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he told me over and over.
Caesar Kalinowski:As he looked to try and manage or invest that little nest egg, he kept saying, I don't care if I make any money on this.
Caesar Kalinowski:I just don't want to lose any.
Caesar Kalinowski:I just don't want to lose any.
Caesar Kalinowski:Even though he needed, he needed income for his retirement.
Caesar Kalinowski:He was more concerned with loss.
Caesar Kalinowski:It was this scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's this quote by Lynn twists.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says, scarcity is like a pair of glasses.
Caesar Kalinowski:We do not know we have on, but they interfere with everything we see.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can relate.
Caesar Kalinowski:I really can.
Caesar Kalinowski:I recently read a short, but really powerful article by author and counselor Dave Anthony, and he said, I think about scarcity less as a measure of available resources and more as a mindset or perspective, a way of seeing.
Caesar Kalinowski:It is for me, he says more about the lenses we look through rather than just resources available to us.
Caesar Kalinowski:To put it in emotional language.
Caesar Kalinowski:I view scarcity as a manifestation of fear and shame.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm, wow, this is hitting me hard.
Caesar Kalinowski:He goes on to say, I was raised in a family perspective of scarcity.
Caesar Kalinowski:We weren't poor from a resource standpoint, but we were from a perspective standpoint.
Caesar Kalinowski:The prevailing tone was a fear that we weren't living at some higher standard, and the shame that came with that, a presiding perspective of scarcity.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he says, what this helped me recognize was the fact that scarcity and abundance share a common core of fear.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, scarcity is the fear that I am not enough and I won't ever be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's really what's under it.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's the root of the whole thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:I will never be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm not enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll never be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm guessing others probably notice that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and even when we perceive abundance of resources, that gets twisted by fear too.
Caesar Kalinowski:It sounds like this in our heads.
Caesar Kalinowski:Today I have more than I need, but I could lose it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I need to hold on to it and or get more.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can so relate to this.
Caesar Kalinowski:I feel like this guy's been reading my email.
Caesar Kalinowski:A few years back, um, I was having a, a nice drink and an expensive smoke at the Carnegie club in Midtown, Manhattan, with my good buddy and oftentimes mentor, Mike Breen.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some of you know of Mike Breen and 3dm resources.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we were talking about this whole scarcity mentality and how it affects not just our view of money, and resources, but it really affects all of life and it affects relationships.
Caesar Kalinowski:I came to see that day for the first time, kind of like a ton of bricks, that my scarcity mindset created a lot of anxiety in relationships with people for me.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, if I perceived someone could either help my career or ministry, or hire me or recommend my work, You I worried a lot about looking good to them.
Caesar Kalinowski:It wasn't so much like I had a fear of man.
Caesar Kalinowski:I wasn't trying to make them more glorious than God, but I was living with the fear that their perception of me was important because in my scarcity brain, I tied so many relationships to income or provision.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And when God used Mike to help me move from unbelief to belief in this, I was set free from so much.
Caesar Kalinowski:of my own personal scarcity mentality, almost on the spot.
Caesar Kalinowski:I had been believing the lie that my provision came from people who I needed to make sure liked and respected me, and that caused great fear and anxiety.
Caesar Kalinowski:I was not believing the truth that my Father God is my perfect and constant provision, and I don't have to impress Him, or try to prove myself, or earn anything from Him.
Caesar Kalinowski:He loves me perfectly, and has and will continue to care for me and my family.
Caesar Kalinowski:And someday my retirement needs, et cetera, whatever, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Freedom.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's freedom in this.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if I'm being honest, it can still creep in at times, but things are really different for me now.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe you can relate to any of that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't, that was really new to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've never really even talked about this with hardly anyone, just, you know, and now that's a big part of my scarcity mentality, but there are other ways that this affects people in business, in community.
Caesar Kalinowski:Relationships.
Caesar Kalinowski:Stephen covey explains it well in his book, the seven habits of highly effective people.
Caesar Kalinowski:He says the scarcity mentality is the zero sum paradigm of life.
Caesar Kalinowski:People with a scarcity mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit or power, or he says profit like resources, even with those who helped them gain those things.
Caesar Kalinowski:They also have a hard time being genuinely happy for the successes of other people, even and sometimes especially members of their own family or close friends and associates.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, see, you can see how this starts to speak into church life, community life, our families.
Caesar Kalinowski:He goes on he says it's almost if something's being taken from them when someone else receives special recognition or Has a big windfall gain or has remarkable success or achievement and although they may verbally express happiness for others success Inwardly, they're eating their hearts out.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, that's because their sense of worth comes from being compared and someone else's success to some degree kind of equals their failure to them.
Caesar Kalinowski:That, and that really is like a fear of man, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Who's really the most glorious in our lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:He goes on, he goes, only so many people can be an A student.
Caesar Kalinowski:Only one person can be the number one in an organization or at the top of the totem pole or in charge.
Caesar Kalinowski:So to win simply means to beat, beat out the other person.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's difficult for people with a scarcity mentality to be members of a complimentary team, he says.
Caesar Kalinowski:They look on differences that people have, like differences of opinion or different way of doing things as signs of insubordination.
Caesar Kalinowski:Disloyalty.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can remember one time when I worked at a very, very large church, that was exactly the case.
Caesar Kalinowski:You kind of weren't on the same team.
Caesar Kalinowski:It was kind of like everybody in every department was sort of pitched against each other for the numbers moving up and to the right.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if you had different thoughts or opinions, then let's say, Some of the senior leaders, which though I was one of them, but others that were more senior, um, they really saw it as almost as insubordination.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I remember too, if anybody ever left for a career change or like, you know, they were something that was more in line with their gifting or whatever, it was seen as disloyalty.
Caesar Kalinowski:It was like, Oh, how could you ever, how could you leave us?
Caesar Kalinowski:Why are you, you know, that, see that all flows actually out of a scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, Covey goes on.
Caesar Kalinowski:He says the abundance mentality on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, underline that, listen to that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Abundance mentality flows out of a deep sense, a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's the paradigm that there's plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody.
Caesar Kalinowski:It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, sharing in decision making.
Caesar Kalinowski:It opens up possibilities, he says, and options and alternatives for creativity.
Caesar Kalinowski:Can you see how this speaks into leadership and community in our churches?
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, this is, when I hear, like, this abundance mentality, I go, wow, that's what I want, and that's how our family generally operates, but I wonder how much of my scarcity mentality has come into my parenting or my leadership in churches and in community.
Caesar Kalinowski:Kofi goes on, he says, the abundance mentality takes personal joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment And it turns it outward, appreciating the uniqueness of others.
Caesar Kalinowski:It recognizes it being abundance mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:It recognizes the unlimited possibilities for positive growth and development, creating a new third alternative.
Caesar Kalinowski:He calls it a new third alternative.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that really caught my eye too.
Caesar Kalinowski:To me, that's really interesting.
Caesar Kalinowski:That third alternative or a third way of thinking that article that I was quoting earlier by Dane Anthony says something so similar and powerful.
Caesar Kalinowski:He says in time, he has gratefully come to know a third way.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's saying not scarcity or abundance, but this third way he calls sufficiency.
Caesar Kalinowski:The core of sufficiency is the recognition that we are enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he quotes St.
Caesar Kalinowski:Francis here as saying, I am who I am in the eyes of God, nothing more, nothing less.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he says, this has become for me a mantra of sufficiency.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I would say abundance too.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's that's where our abundance flows from believing who God says we are.
Caesar Kalinowski:He says, I experienced that as an invitation to humility and acceptance of who I am and an affirmation of the core of my being, my identity that flows from God himself.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what I'm thinking.
Caesar Kalinowski:And this perspective feels really different, wholly different, what he calls an expansive state.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's open.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's curious.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's vibrant and grateful.
Caesar Kalinowski:He goes on in this expansive state.
Caesar Kalinowski:We can feel the freedom of sharing inner and outer resources without the deep fear that will be permanently diminished or depleted.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, he says it's an intentional choosing of the ways in which we see and think about our life.
Caesar Kalinowski:our gifts and desires.
Caesar Kalinowski:So what is the ultimate thing behind the thing with this scarcity mentality?
Caesar Kalinowski:We're realizing it comes from fear and not having this deep sense of self worth.
Caesar Kalinowski:Is there more?
Caesar Kalinowski:Is there more behind there?
Caesar Kalinowski:It does come from fear and there is freedom in believing the truth.
Caesar Kalinowski:And as is always the case in believing the truth about God, let me remind you of one of the four Gs that we've talked about a lot on the podcast.
Caesar Kalinowski:God is great.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I don't have to be in control.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, that's good news for those living with a scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:How do I, how am I going to get enough with fill in the blank?
Caesar Kalinowski:Not just money, but everything.
Caesar Kalinowski:God is great.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I don't have to be in control.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like waves on an ocean, His grace and provision never stops coming.
Caesar Kalinowski:It is new and fresh, wave after wave.
Caesar Kalinowski:He controls all things and owns all things, and He knows our needs before we do.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if you ever start to doubt His great care and provision for you, look to the cross, look to the cross of Christ.
Caesar Kalinowski:God provided His best, His perfect Son Jesus to meet our greatest need.
Caesar Kalinowski:There was no scarcity in that provision, only abundance.
Caesar Kalinowski:An abundance of provision and grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:When we truly believe that God is great, so is He.
Caesar Kalinowski:We don't have to be in control and because of His grace, we don't have to earn anything.
Caesar Kalinowski:Our hearts and our minds start to shift.
Caesar Kalinowski:They start to shift from scarcity to abundance or sufficiency in Him.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's do a little comparing here.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, a scarcity mentality says, Oh, look at all our debt and look at our deficits and look at our bills.
Caesar Kalinowski:But abundance says, well, look at all that we do have and all that we can do.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what our focus becomes.
Caesar Kalinowski:A scarcity mentality says, we focus on just getting by in the present.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, we're just, we're paycheck to paycheck.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're just getting by.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's our focus.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're abundance.
Caesar Kalinowski:We joyfully look toward the future and to our God, who's a great provider.
Caesar Kalinowski:In scarcity, we compete for available resources, sort of that zero sum game sort of mindset.
Caesar Kalinowski:But abundance in our hearts speaks to there's more than enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:For everyone, because God owns it all.
Caesar Kalinowski:He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, as scripture says.
Caesar Kalinowski:Scarcity mentality gives us feelings of stress and anxiety, but with abundance we have an inner sense of worth and security.
Caesar Kalinowski:We have a sense of worth because it flows right out of our image bearing, who God is, who he's created us to be, what's now true of us.
Caesar Kalinowski:With scarcity mentality, we feel like I need to make sure I look good if I'm to succeed.
Caesar Kalinowski:But abundance mindset says if I succeed and you succeed, we all succeed and there'll be more for others.
Caesar Kalinowski:We can bless others through our success, through God flowing that through our lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's another, here's another thought of difference between scarcity and abundance.
Caesar Kalinowski:Scarcity makes us reluctant to contribute and share information with others and resources and our time, but abundance opens us up to collaborating and sharing what we have and what others need to get ahead.
Caesar Kalinowski:and see their needs met and grow and prosper.
Caesar Kalinowski:Scarcity makes me think I have all the answers, where abundance shows me that I can be willing to learn from others.
Caesar Kalinowski:That others have things that I might need, and that might be how God is routing that into our lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, it's an openness, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:It is the third way.
Caesar Kalinowski:Scarcity promotes only self and do to be accomplishments.
Caesar Kalinowski:I gotta get ahead.
Caesar Kalinowski:If I do this, then I'll be that, then we'll have that, and if I have more, I can lock down the future.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, it's about me being in control.
Caesar Kalinowski:But abundance promotes others and their achievements too.
Caesar Kalinowski:You see, see the difference here in how these things feel?
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to go through some of those because you can kind of get a visceral sense.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not every one of those trips my heart trigger, but some of them do, and maybe some of them also tap on your own heart if you feel like you have any areas of living with a scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's a few practical things we can begin doing to lose the scarcity mentality and shift to a mindset of abundance.
Caesar Kalinowski:First, count your blessings.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know that's old school, but literally take out paper, sit down, make a list of all the things you do have in your life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Think about it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Think about all, we all come into the world naked.
Caesar Kalinowski:We have nothing, zero.
Caesar Kalinowski:Think about all the things you have in your home, in your life, education, relationships.
Caesar Kalinowski:Knowledge, wisdom.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's so much that we do have count your blessings.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that kind of goes hand in hand with number two, developing a habit of gratitude.
Caesar Kalinowski:When we count our blessings, I'm saying literally count them, but what about having a, developing a habit of gratitude in our family and in in our coaching cohorts with the people we coach?
Caesar Kalinowski:So I know some of you are hearing this, we always rehearse the evidence of grace and goodness in our lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:Start to practice that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Develop that as a habit.
Caesar Kalinowski:What do I mean by that?
Caesar Kalinowski:Rehearsing the evidence of grace is speaking it out loud.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hey, you know what?
Caesar Kalinowski:God's doing this in our life right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is amazing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or, you know, in our discipleship, this is going on.
Caesar Kalinowski:That is God's unmerited favor.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or look at this provision or this raise at work.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or you know, we heard back from the doctor and it's, it's going to be okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or maybe it's not, but God's providing so we can praise God we have healthcare.
Caesar Kalinowski:Rehearsing the evidences of his grace and goodness in our life causes us to live with hope and expectancy, but it puts that hope and expectancy.
Caesar Kalinowski:Squarely back in God's hands.
Caesar Kalinowski:Really important to help us move from a scarcity mentality and start to shift to a mindset of abundance.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's number three.
Caesar Kalinowski:Stop hanging out with negative people who complain a lot and live with and promote a scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know who they are.
Caesar Kalinowski:They complain a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:They, they're always lacking.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're always bummed.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's always someone else's fault.
Caesar Kalinowski:They don't live very, you know, generously or any of that.
Caesar Kalinowski:You can see them.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're stingy tippers.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Surround yourself with people that have an abundance mentality, that live generously, that look to see others succeed, that are open to new ideas.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not just stuck in the past or doing ways things the ways we've always done them That's who we want to hang out with if you're hanging out with people that are just negative and have a scarcity mentality that will Only feed yours.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's another one number four avoid activities that trigger a feeling of scarcity So if scrolling through Instagram or Facebook or Pinterest photos of stunning vacations and rock hard toned bodies or delicious home cooked meals, if any of that provokes feelings of inadequacy or lack, well, stay away from that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe get off that platform or change your feed, you know, curate who you're following.
Caesar Kalinowski:with more encouraging accounts and people.
Caesar Kalinowski:How about that?
Caesar Kalinowski:Don't trigger this constant thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Think about marketing at its core is to show a lack to us that we have to fulfill.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's to show us that we have scarcity in this area of our life.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm not enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're not enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're not this enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're not that enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:You don't have enough of this.
Caesar Kalinowski:You want more of that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Lose that, like don't, don't participate in that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Get rid of that if that's what it takes.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can remember years ago There was something God was working on in my heart.
Caesar Kalinowski:It wasn't this scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, I'll tell you what It was a it was like it's just kind of a sort of a critical spirit Like I was just too critical about everything and God said well you watch this show and that show and that's all about just them Picking each other apart and being really critical.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know it's funny, but it's only feeding that And so I'm going to ask you not to watch that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so I didn't watch that show for years and years and years.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you know what?
Caesar Kalinowski:It helped.
Caesar Kalinowski:It did.
Caesar Kalinowski:It changed things.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now I've been since being able to watch it here and there, but I still kind of see it that way.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I don't really just gorge on it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now here's number five.
Caesar Kalinowski:And this is really the biggest one of all.
Caesar Kalinowski:Kind of already talked a little bit about this.
Caesar Kalinowski:Meditate on the reality that God is great so we don't have to be in control.
Caesar Kalinowski:Think, think deeply about the reality, the truth that God is the most glorious one in the universe and he loves you completely so you don't have to fear what other less glorious people think of you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Believe that God is good.
Caesar Kalinowski:So you don't have to look elsewhere for needs and satisfaction
Caesar Kalinowski:and, and God is gracious.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we never have to beg or try and prove ourselves to him or others in order to receive the things we need in life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Meditate on those.
Caesar Kalinowski:You probably recognize those as the four G's.
Caesar Kalinowski:You'll find whole episodes we've done of the podcast just going deep into those four G's.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I did the whole Advent series back in December on the four G's.
Caesar Kalinowski:But do you see how it speaks into this idea of trying to move from a scarcity mentality?
Caesar Kalinowski:To a mindset of abundance, who God is speaks directly to who we believe ourselves to be and where we find our worth.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's, that's where all this whole scarcity mentality, that's where the root of it is.
Caesar Kalinowski:And also where the fix is, where the hope and the change and the release and the freedom is found.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've heard it said that abundance is not something we acquire.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's something we tune into.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's so good, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Our God is a great and abundant and generous Father.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he owns it all.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it's there, even if we haven't seen it yet.
Caesar Kalinowski:Abundance isn't something we have to acquire.
Caesar Kalinowski:We just have to tune into it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe that's called faith.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to live out of an abundance mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to live generously with others in light of God's generosity and provision.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's how I want to live.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want that to be my heart and my perspective.
Caesar Kalinowski:The glasses I wear.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to live as a conduit of His endless grace.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't want to live like a barrel.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know what I mean by this?
Caesar Kalinowski:A conduit is like a pipe.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's something that water or electricity or any other supply is routed through from one place to another.
Caesar Kalinowski:A barrel is for storing up resources, for holding on to them for later use.
Caesar Kalinowski:God is looking for conduits of His grace and generosity.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's not looking for barrels to store these things in.
Caesar Kalinowski:So coveting our things and acting as if we're our own source of provision for income or supply, money, time, and so on, all that shows that our hearts are not at a peace.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're still living with fear.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're not ultimately trusting God for these things.
Caesar Kalinowski:We hang on to our stuff or we constantly focus on what we don't have because we believe everything's in short supply.
Caesar Kalinowski:Which do you most often represent?
Caesar Kalinowski:A conduit or a barrel?
Caesar Kalinowski:Whenever my wife Tina and I have prayed about giving a certain amount of money to someone or trying to meet some need, We've either usually ended up with the exact same number comes to mind, or Tina has come up with a number much bigger than mine.
Caesar Kalinowski:But she has never once thought about giving less than I was prepared to give in a situation.
Caesar Kalinowski:Her heart of generosity and abundance has helped remind me over and over again that she sees God as a great and generous God, able to refill the barrel if we will but trust Him and pour it out for others.
Caesar Kalinowski:So go ahead and tip over that barrel.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's more where that came from.
Caesar Kalinowski:I hope that's helpful.
Caesar Kalinowski:I hope you'll think deeply about some of these things.
Caesar Kalinowski:There is freedom in this.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, as always, I want to give you three big takeaways from today's talk from, from our topic today.
Caesar Kalinowski:You don't want to miss these if nothing else.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you can get this as a printable PDF.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you want these three for like talking points or to share with others, you can get this as a printable PDF just by going to everydaydisciple.
Caesar Kalinowski:com forward slash big three B I G the number three.
Caesar Kalinowski:And boom, then you can download it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here are the big three for this week.
Caesar Kalinowski:First, a scarcity mentality comes from fear, not from our current level of resources.
Caesar Kalinowski:Scarcity is the fear that I'm not enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:I won't ever be enough.
Caesar Kalinowski:And even when we perceive abundance in our resources, that starts to get twisted by fear, too.
Caesar Kalinowski:We think I have more than I need but I might lose it so I need to hold on to it or get more.
Caesar Kalinowski:All of this flows from not believing the truth that my Father God is our perfect and constant provision and I don't have to impress Him or try to prove myself or earn anything from Him.
Caesar Kalinowski:He loves me.
Caesar Kalinowski:He loves you.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's where that's, that's the core of all this scarcity mentality and move into abundance.
Caesar Kalinowski:Number two, an abundance mentality flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.
Caesar Kalinowski:Remember, you were created in the image of our perfect father God who loves you, and it's out of his endless supply and wealth that we can live in.
Caesar Kalinowski:The reality that there's plenty.
Caesar Kalinowski:And there's more than enough to share with others.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is true of money and time, of prestige, of recognition, of resources, of decision making.
Caesar Kalinowski:God is great so you don't have to control all those things.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let this truth open possibilities.
Caesar Kalinowski:Creativity and freedom in your life and number three to strengthen your abundance mindset go back listen to those five sort of practices you might want to start doing or stop doing and grab a pen and paper and ask yourself these questions.
Caesar Kalinowski:What areas in my life do I allow scarcity mentality thinking to dominate?
Caesar Kalinowski:How can I shift those thoughts to an abundance mindset?
Caesar Kalinowski:Where in my life am I already abundant?
Caesar Kalinowski:And where is God wanting to bring more abundance into my life?
Caesar Kalinowski:Will you let him?
Caesar Kalinowski:Like I said, go ahead, tip over that barrel.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, God's just waiting to bless us.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I think because of his great love and his great provision and his great generosity, I bet it just breaks his heart when we live with a scarcity mentality.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know just the preparation for this episode and to think through this deeply and even sharing some stuff that I've never really talked to with others too much about.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's really releasing me in new ways and fresh ways and reminding me of things that maybe I learned and tend to forget.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, well that's it for today.
Caesar Kalinowski:I really love being with you and I hope this has been helpful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Please share this with someone else that you love and care about.
Caesar Kalinowski:Share this with the people in your community, because remember, we're, we're looking to have relational peace with others.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what Jesus wants for us and freedom.
Caesar Kalinowski:I hope you'll join us again next week.
Caesar Kalinowski:We'll continue to talk about this lifestyle of discipleship and mission and how the gospel is really good news for all of life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, today.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know you'll join us for that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll look forward to it.
Caesar Kalinowski:I hope you will too.
Caesar Kalinowski:Talk to you
Caesar Kalinowski:soon.
Heath Hollensbe:Thanks for joining us today.
Heath Hollensbe:For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit EverydayDisciple.
Heath Hollensbe:com.
Heath Hollensbe:And remember, you really can live with the spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.