Mentality of Abundance – Henri Nouwen

If we are to be peacemakers, it is essential that we take on what I would like to call a mentality of abundance and put away from us the mentality of scarcity. This sense of scarcity makes us desperate, and we turn to competition, hoarding, and a kind of parody of self-preservation. This greed extends not only to material goods but also to knowledge, friendships, and ideas. We worry that everything we possess is threatened. This is especially true in a society that grows more affluent, experiences more opportunities for hoarding and more fears of losing what has been stored, and in the process creates enemies and war. — The Road to Peace

Reflection Question: Do you feel more energized by a mentality of abundance or a mentality of scarcity?

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. – Deuteronomy 8: 3