Is a Scarcity Mindset or an Abundance Mindset Running Your Wallet?

Speaker A00:00:00

Do you ever look at your money and feel one or two things almost immediately? Either you feel this. It's never enough. Or maybe you feel like God has carried you before and he's going to carry you again.Because here's what's wild, Fred. Two people can get the same paycheck and you can feel peace or you can feel panic. Same numbers, but different feelings.So maybe your biggest issue isn't the math. Maybe it's that mindset behind a map. So, friend, if you've ever been stuck in panic, I want you to hear me. You're not broken. You're not failing.You can renew this. So here's the question you and I are answering today. Is a scarcity mindset or an abundance mindset running your wallet?I'm going to get into what that means, but I'm going to help you recognize what's been shaping your money decisions so you can move from fear to faith. Because, friend, you can learn to breathe again around money. Hey, friend. Ralph Etep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where we learn how to walk through life and money with wisdom, with peace, and with a heart anchored in God's truth. My mission today is simple.To help you break that cycle of financial shame that so many of us find ourselves in and build steady habits rooted in faith and become financially confident Christians. And I am so happy you're here today. Yesterday, you and I wrapped up that savings habit series.We talked about building peace with systems, with automation and milestones. And yesterday, we just nailed it about trusting God with what you save and what you can't. But today, we're going to start something new.This is what I call the mindset shifts week because your habits matter. But your mindset is what fuels your habits. And if your mindset is rooted in fear, it's going to quietly shape everything you do with money.So if you've been feeling money is heavy right now, this episode is for you. Here's today's listener question. Ralph I keep trying to budget, but no matter what I do, I still feel anxious about money.Like I'm always behind, even when I'm making progress. I just don't feel it. Why does money still feel so heavy? Friend, let me start by saying that's not a math problem. It's not about math.That's a mindset problem. But here's the good news. The best news of all. Your mindset can be renewed. Now. It's not going to happen overnight. It's not going to be perfect.But truly, yes, you can Be the kind of person who feels peace again. Do you believe me? Let's get into it. Because if you've lived and not enough for a long time, here's the problem.If you've lived in that scarcity starts feeling normal. It's your go to thing. You start bracing for that next bill. You start bracing for that next surprise.You live in this thing of next, something happened. And that constant bracing doesn't just affect how you spend, it affects your breathing. You start to breathe a little more shallow.So if money has been making you tense, this episode is a place to unclench your hands. Finally, because God does not want you living like you're alone in this. Because, friend, you're not alone in this.I want to start by defining two mindsets clearly so you can spot what's been running the show in your own lives. Let's talk about scarcity first. A scarcity mindset says this. There won't be enough, so I've got to protect myself. That's what a scarcity mindset.There are never going to be enough. I can protect myself. Got to be in control. An abundance mindset says God is my provider, so I can steward wisely without fear. But I want to be clear.Abundance does not mean you ignore reality. A lot of people say abundance, oh, I'm just going to forget about reality. It doesn't mean you spend carelessly and call it faith either.Abundance means you trust in something higher than your fear. It means you can be wise without being ruled by anxiety. And here's the best part, friend, you can learn that. See, I'm Ralph Estepp Jr.I'm an accountant. I've seen this over and over in my work. Two people can have the same income. I'm talking about the exact same income.But one has a scarcity mindset and makes decisions all the time from panic. The other one has a faith rooted mindset and makes decisions from peace.Not because life is easier for either one, but because the anchor is different for both of those. And you can choose a new anchor today. See, I've watched scarcity show up in two opposite ways. This is what I've seen in my own life.Sometimes scarcity tells you I've got a hoard. I just got to do that because I feel scarcity. So the money sits there and guess what? When it sits there, guess what happens? You still feel unsafe.Other times scarcity tells you, well, guess what, I better enjoy it now because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. So the money goes Fast. And when the money goes fast, bang, guess what? Shame enters the whole picture. Same root, different fruit.Scarcity always produces urgent. That's what I've seen. And when the truth is, urgency rarely produces wisdom.And that's why this matters to you today, because you don't just want a budget, you want to breathe. It's one thing to have a budget, but you got to be able to breathe in that. So here's the heart of today.What thoughts are shaping your money choices before they even touch the calculator?Because the story you tell yourself, and I want you to hear this loud and clear, listen for a second, the story you tell yourself shows up in the decisions that you make day after day and week after week. So let me start by saying this. Scarcity, at its very core is fear driven. See, scarcity isn't just being broke.Scarcity is living like fear is the boss of that whole thing. It says, I'm on my own. Oh, I can't risk everything, Ralph. I have to control everything.And see, the problem is, when fear's the boss, you make money decisions pretty fast. When you make things fast, you don't make them lies, you make them fast. And friend, if that's been you, that doesn't mean you're bad.It doesn't mean you're bad with money. It means you've been trying to survive. See, for so many of us, scarcity can look like hoarding or overspending. And this surprises people.Scarcity doesn't always look like saving. A lot of people say, well, if they're living in scarcity, they save everything. That's not what I've seen. Sometimes it looks like spending.See, scarcity hoarding says I can't let go. But scarcity spending says, I better grab joy now because later might be even worse. It's that same fear with different coping strategies.And friend coping makes sense in the moment, but it doesn't always bring you peace in the long term. So let's set the record straight. Abundance is trust, not denial.A lot of people say, well, that abundance mindset, well, you're just going to say, ralph, everything is fine. That's not what I'm saying at all. It says, God is with me even when it's not fine. That's the whole point.God wants to be there in your story when things aren't fine. That's what he's there for. It acknowledges reality, but then refuses to worship that reality. Abundance is not pretending. It's trusting.And friend, trust is something you can practice even if it starts super small, if we're being honest, your mindset rates the script, your habits follow. See, that's the whole problem. You don't touch budget with numbers. A lot of people say, oh, Brad, I'm good at a budget, I'm good with numbers.But that's not the answer. You budget with your beliefs. Think about these beliefs. Beliefs like I'll never get ahead.If that's your mindset, guess what, friend, you're never gonna get ahead. Hate to spoil it, but you won't. Or maybe you feel this way, I'm always behind.If you feel that way, that mindset, guess what, you're going to stay always behind. I hear this one nine times out of ten. I'm bad with money. That's a self fulfilling prophecy. If you keep thinking that, you will remain bad with money.Or maybe this one. This is the most sinister of them all. Nothing ever works for me. You're leaning into that. That's your mindset.Things aren't working for you because that's what you believe. These beliefs aren't harmless. They shape your choices. Believe it or not, that is the truth.If you believe this, if you believe you're going to fail, you're going to stop trying. You're just going to stop. You're. Why do I bother? I don't believe any of this. I'm not good with money, I'm bad with money.I can never save all those things. That is self fulfilling negativity. But if you believe God will provide, you can start taking faithful steps.And friend, today you can take the next step. You don't have to take the whole staircase. Just step on that first step. Because I want you to realize that mindset shifts happen through replacement.See, a lot of people think I just got to stop doing something. You can't just stop thinking scarcity. It's in your core. You've been indoctrinated into that. But you've got to replace it with some truth.And that's why scripture matters. That's why I tie faith and finance together. Because scripture gives you something solid to stand on when your feelings are loud.Feelings make great visitors, but they're terrible leaders. So friend, you don't have to obey every feel for thought that goes through your head. You can answer this. And this isn't about getting rich.A lot of people say, oh, Ralph, I know where you're going. You're talking about that abundance mindset. Dad, what's the won't get wealthy? I'm not saying that abundance is not the gospel of more. It's just not.It's not God will make me wealthy. There's a lot of clowns out there, these prosperity preachers that are preaching this gospel. And not. That is not what I'm saying.What I am saying is God will meet my needs. Now, needs and wants are completely different things. You may want a whole ton of stuff, but God's going to meet your needs. And part of that is peace.Part of that is wisdom and strength. And let's see, we talk about in the prayer, our daily bread and that grace to keep going. And God can meet you right there.Look at Philippians chapter 4, verse 19.And my God will meet all of your needs, not some of your needs, not part of your needs, all of your needs, according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Now friend, that verse doesn't say you're never going to feel pressure.It doesn't say, hey, God's going to meet all my needs and I'm never going to feel pressure. It doesn't say that. What it does say is you're not abandoned. God is a provider.And when your heart believes that, when you truly believe that, and you're not going to believe that right away, you got to build in the structure to that. Your wallet starts to breathe a little bit and you start to live your life differently and make better decisions. So here's your action step today.I want you to write down one scarcity thought that you've believed. We have so many of these. Just one. Pick something like I'll never have enough. Just write it down.Or maybe I'm always behind or I'm going to mess this up or God won't come through for me. And I want you to replace it with truth. Write this, write Philippians 4:19 and my God will meet all of your needs. That's first part.But then make it personal. God will meet my needs. God is with me. I am not alone. I want to encourage you do that today.It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be honest and friend. You can do one thing today and then do the next thing tomorrow. How about we pray together? Lord, thank you for meeting our needs.Help us shift from fear to faith, Lord. And when scarcity thoughts rise in us, replace them with your truth.Give us hearts of abundance in you to stay steady, to stay grateful and to truly stay wise. And Lord, for the friend listening right now, help them breathe again, help them trust again and help them take that one faithful step.Not the whole stairs, just that first step and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.Friend, if you're tired of feeling money heavy and you want encouragement that's practical and faith rooted, I want you to come join our community. You get to it by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join. I'm going to give it to you again. Financiallyconfidentchristian.com/Join.You're going to find support, reminders of truth and a place where you can grow without shame. And friend, you don't have to figure this all out by yourself. So come join our community. Remember this. Fear limits us, but faith releases us.And your mindset matters more than you realize now. Tomorrow we're going to go even deeper. We're going to have a great show tomorrow. We're going to talk about why doesn't more ever satisfy.If you ever felt that, you know exactly where I'm going tomorrow.So friend, if you know somebody right now who's stuck in this scarcity mindset, if you say, you know what, I know this person, they're stuck right where you're talking about. Ralph, share this show with them. Because this is a show not about financial shame.It's a show about walking in wisdom, staying financially savvy, and truly working to become, one step at a time, a financially confident Christian. God bless you and you have a great day today.