The mindset of scarcity, which is fueled by fear, is blasphemy against a God who has filled creation with super abundance.
The Sermon on the Mount confronts our fear-driven mindset: birds neither sow nor reap, yet God feeds them; lilies neither toil nor spin clothes, yet their beauty surpasses kings. Creation testifies to incredible abundance and divine generosity, but we act as if God withholds good things or doesn’t care about us.
Our struggles today are not new. First-century Israel lived under Roman taxes, feeling scarcity at every turn. Jesus’ call to live generously contradicted their fear.
America, the richest nation in history, is haunted by this mindset. In Passing the Plate, a 2006 survey found that more than half of Christians say they cannot afford to tithe. Strikingly, lower-income believers give proportionally more than wealthier ones. Though the study is dated, it is doubtful that percentage has decreased.
Generosity is not about capacity but about mindset. As the study concluded, many live in “a subjective world of scarcity, not abundance, gratitude, and generosity.”
Two generations ago, fiscal crisis forced Wyomingites to confront scarcity, forcing the state to change its mindset. In 1968, the state treasury had $80 to its name.
The following year, the situation looked even more bleak. Proposed biennial spending was $8 million more than projected revenues. In his budget message, Republican Stan Hathaway suggested an unpopular idea that he himself opposed in his race for governor: enact a 1% severance tax on minerals.
Hathaway drafted a bill, but no legislator was willing to carry it. There was fear a severance tax would do such damage to the oil and gas industry, causing people to lose their jobs.
On the last day of the budget session, Campbell County House Revenue Chairman Cliff Davis called the governor and told him he would introduce the bill because he felt sorry for him.
Hathaway’s proposed a severance tax on minerals was an idea fiercely opposed by industry lobbyists, who used fear and scarcity to influence the public. Yet he and the legislature chose to rise above the mindset of fear, passing the tax. That was just the beginning.
Minerals are finite.
In 1974, Hathaway urged a constitutional amendment to protect mineral revenues for future generations, saying, “… if we are really looking at future generations, if we want to give them some resource out of the depletable minerals of this state, it must be tied into a constitutional amendment. Otherwise, some legislature at some specific time might get selfish and decide to spend all of that fund at one time."
Scarcity causes us to protect ourselves at others’ expense; governments merely mirror that fear.
Hathaway’s shift toward abundance and generosity cast a vision for the benefit of others. With a little sacrifice, the value of finite minerals could be multiplied through stewardship for the benefit of multiple generations.
The legislature seized onto the vision, passing the proposal.
Later on that year the language for the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund (PMTF) was adopted in the Constitution overwhelmingly by voters: 78,842 for, and 32,414 against.
Hathaway envisioned a billion-dollar fund by century’s end. By 2000, it had reached $1.6 billion.
Today, Wyoming’s investments exceed $33 billion, with the PMTF alone valued at $12.3 billion.
Earnings cover more than 30% of the state budget — an amount citizens don’t have to pay in additional taxes. That is abundance in action: minerals mined decades ago still blessing us today.
Hathaway’s wisdom was prophetic. Some now argue we should drain the PMTF to decrease OUR taxes today, or redistribute it directly to citizens for OUR benefit.
That is the scarcity mindset speaking again. Our constitution wisely forbids such actions, ensuring only the earnings can be spent by the legislature while the fund remains inviolate.
Inflation and economic pressures tempt us toward fear. But scarcity-driven policies are shortsighted. They prioritize today’s comfort over tomorrow’s prosperity. They echo the unbelief Jesus warned against: Gentiles worrying about food and clothing, expressing doubt in God’s generous character.
God gives. That's who we are supposed to image, but instead we desire and take for ourselves because we are influenced by fear, scarcity, and unbelief.
For all our talk of faith, we simply don't believe God is generous enough to take care of us, and so we act according to our own wisdom and knowledge, often messing things up for everything else.
The lesson is clear. Scarcity takes; abundance gives.
Faith calls us to trust in God’s generosity, steward wisely, and build for generations yet to come.
Our parents and grandparents sacrificed a portion of their mineral wealth so their children could thrive.
They chose to save and give to bless us today. Will we honor that vision, or squander it?
Scott Clem can be reached at: ScottClem@Live.com
