In the 1920s and 30s, John Rockefeller was the richest person in the world. He founded the Standard Oil Company and owned 90% of all the oil and gas industries. His net worth was over 1% of the entire U.S. economy!
One day, he was asked, how much money is enough? Do you know what his response was?
Just a little more.
How many of you feel like you’ll have enough when you have just a little more?
It turns out that enough isn’t about an amount. Enough is about your attitude. You could drive fancy cars and own a private island but still not have enough.
Author Steven Covey called this attitude the Scarcity Mindset. It’s when you believe that there’s only so much to go around so you keep what you have. That’s why people don’t give. Because if they give, they won’t have enough for themselves.
Many of us live with this Scarcity Mindset. We believe we don’t have enough. We believe we need more. That’s how the Scarcity Mindset works. But it also affects how you live.
- It makes you anxious and afraid.
- It leaves you unhappy and unfulfilled.
- It keeps you from taking risks and doing big things for God.
So why are we preaching on giving?
Because God doesn’t call you to live a life of scarcity. He calls you to be a generous giver. As Beth Nolson said last week, “With God, there is always enough.”
God isn’t a God of scarcity; he’s a God of abundance! With God, there is always enough.
