Living in Abundance: Encountering Suffering & Scarcity

One of the hardest issues to reconcile when attempting to live in abundance is the ever-present nature of suffering and scarcity. You may see God's provision in your life in simple ways; but you continue to experience a gnawing feeling the floor will drop out underneath you when you least expect it. Even living in an abundance mindset, you will face scarcity and suffering. It is a lie that scarcity and suffering are not part of the world. To reconcile these factors with an abundant life, you must understand you live in two systems. 

Living in Abundance: Systems of Eden & Systems of Cain

The System of Eden resides in the narrative of the creation story. In the garden God represents ever-present sustenance. The creator meets your needs and there is abundance, safety, and security available to you. In the Garden of Eden, there is no separation of human consciousness from God. As a result, Adam and Eve follow God’s edict in Genesis 1:28 to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” Cities would have been born, civilizations established, crops sown and harvested, and political systems ruled with fairness and equity. 

The metaphor of the Garden of Eden is God as your sustenance. Imagine living life on earth with no fear, lack, or scarcity. Think how this would affect civilization! The Book of Revelation, Chapter 21 gives insight into what life looks like in God’s framework. 

Revelation is a metaphorical rebirth of planet earth. There is a new creation, eternal life, an abundance of food and resources, and restoration and healing for the nations. God restores humanity to its place as creators and rulers of the world. God’s original and final design for humankind is not a framework of suffering. In the System of Eden, we become co-creators with God.

Title: Mountain Pass, Author: Nico Time, Source: Flickr is license by CC BY-SA 2.0

Conversely, the System of Cain is the dominant scheme in which humankind lives. It is a system born in the metaphorical fall of Adam and Eve. In this system, humankind lives independent of their God and rule themselves. The Systems of Cain, like Eden, create cities, civilization, and institutions; however, at the very spiritual root of these systems are fear, scarcity, and lack. 

The first System of Cain was established following the murder of his brother. God sent Cain to live in a far-off land, where he built the first city on earth. Cain and his descendants built a magnificent civilization. The city prospered in its mastery of agriculture, music, and metal production. However, for the first time a city was walled on all four sides. The wall protected its people from outside threats. It symbolized the fear, loss, and scarcity mindset of a culture designed without God.

The great flood destroyed the civilization created by Cain, but a new spiritual rebellion re-emerged through the lineage of Noah’s great grandson, Nimrod. Like his predecessor Cain, Nimrod built a great civilization. The cities of Nimrod invented architecture, government, war, religion, and the infamous Tower of Babel. The tower became the first collective, socio-cultural rebellion against God by humankind.

Like the cities of Cain, Nimrod’s civilization was based upon fear, scarcity, and lack. The goal of building the tower was political, and ego based. Nimrod and his descendants wanted to rule and master the earth. After God destroyed the Tower of Babel, fear and scarcity-based systems continued to manifest in history. Systems of Cain re-emerged in the Babylonian-Assyrian kingdoms, the Roman empire, as well as in modern cultural and political systems. The Systems of Cain has corrupted the political, cultural, economic, and religious (yes religious) systems throughout history to this very day.

Living in Abundance: Understanding Suffering & Scarcity:

Consider every experience of suffering in your life. Was your experience because of God, or is it related to the dominant System of Cain? You don't have to look far in society to see the heavy-handed influence of Cain.

Poverty and food scarcity is a System of Cain issue. We have enough food production to feed the world many times over. Yet, due to waste, stockpiling, and corporate greed people go hungry every day. Let’s also consider poor health. While we may have a genetic predisposition towards certain disorders, our modern diet consists of foods treated by chemical agents as well as processed foods that further deteriorate our health. When considering modern rates of inflation and economic downturns, there are connections made to corporate greed and society's ravenous materialism.

In order to live in true abundance, you must realize you are living in two systems: the Systems of Cain and the Systems of Eden. 

The Cain based design and our perpetual materialistic participation in the world systems creates a majority of suffering. Too often, you and I are quick to blame God for our suffering, lack, and scarcity; when God is providing the very best considering our collective choice to take part in a world system based on fear, greed, self-sufficiency, and lack. It is within the Systems of Cain that suffering is born. Remember the System of Cain is not God’s plan. You must realize you are living in two systems: the Systems of Cain and the Systems of Eden. 

Paul the Apostle knew we live in two competing systems: one of suffering and one of abundance. He emphasized in Romans 12:2 (WEB), “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is good, well-pleasing, and the perfect will of God". Living in abundance requires changing of your mind, thoughts, and way of living.

Abundance in the Spiritual System of Eden:

Many well-meaning people believe one must suffer in order to serve God. However, you will note there was no suffering in the original plan. All current experiences of suffering, scarcity, and lack are based in the Systems of Cain. Make no mistake! The Systems of Cain are tempting and lulls individuals into complacency with its promises of comfort, wealth, and power. Yet these benefits will always occur by creating lack, scarcity, and poverty elsewhere in the system. The Systems of Cain truly uses the proverbial, “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” when ensuring prosperity for a select few.

Remove any inclination that suffering is from God and assign blame to its rightful owner, the Systems of Cain. Hardship is not a test of your faith! Hardship and poverty result from living based in the Systems of Cain. When you think of hard times, lack, and scarcity you are no longer experiencing the person and presence of God. Instead, you acknowledge the System of Cain as your sole provider.

To escape the Systems of Cain, you must transform through the renewing of your mind. Once the false belief that God causes suffering, lack, and scarcity is removed from your consciousness; you transform your thoughts to new ways of living.  

Abundance Knows Only Love:

Systems of Cain are based on fear, but the Systems of Eden know only love. When faced with lack and scarcity, it is not uncommon to be overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions based in fear. Your thoughts race, “How will I pay my bills?” or “How will I feed my family?”. You feel small and impotent!

In the spirit of incapacity and helplessness, you respond to the world with fear, contempt, jealousy, and hatred. You focus on putting your needs before others. As a result, scarcity and lack perpetuate suffering and hardship in your relationships, community, and the world as it spreads its venom like a ravenous virus.

Systems of Cain are based on fear, but the Systems of Eden know only love

To leave the Systems of Cain behind, you must move from thoughts of lack and poverty to thoughts of love and generosity. You stop looking at your own lack and need. Instead, you envision a world where God is your all-sustaining sustenance. You stop looking to the outward world for your security and turn inward. The God that provided you with your needs as an infant, when you still yet could not care for yourself, will provide your needs daily. As you trust God to meet your needs out of the abundance of Eden, you will live more generously with others, your resources, and your time. 

Abundance Knows Only Gratitude and Blessing:

The second step in moving your thoughts to an abundance mindset is to live in a spirit of gratitude and blessing. This is not the overused cliché of an “attitude of gratitude”. It is not an arbitrary list of things your thankful for. It is a spiritual sense of awe and realization that God is an ever-enduring presence that surrounds you. Living in this sense of awe creates a natural born gratefulness, that is deeper than simple thankfulness. 

From the awe-inspiring sense of gratitude, you bless the resources and supports God has already given you. Instead of living in fear, you live in divine trust. The appreciation, love, and gratitude found in God mobilizes you to use your resources to bless others. God knows you are ready to receive additional blessing when you use your resources to serve.

Abundance Knows Only Generosity:

Abundance is not based on hoarding wealth. The Systems of Cain encourage you to seek the newest car, over-priced branded clothing, and the biggest house in the neighborhood as status symbols. Materialism is your personal Tower of Babel.

Although there is nothing wrong with having quality possessions; using material wealth to define your identity and sense of worth is not living in abundance. Instead, in an abundance mindset you surrender all your material goods to God for service to others and your community. As Christ stated, “For where your treasure is, there your heart is also” (Matthew 6:21, WEB)

Conclusion:

You live in two worlds that demand your spiritual attention. The dominant System of Cain is based on fear, lack, scarcity, and insecurity. This system is self-focused and depends on competition for limited resources. This competition results in fear, anger, and hostility towards others as your fellow man becomes a competitor versus a brother and sister in God. The second system based on the Garden of Eden views God as your supplier and sustainer. Its focus is on abundance and service to others versus competition. Living abundantly manifests through a life of love, gratitude, blessing, and generosity towards others.

Written by: Heath B. Walters, Ph.D.

Copyright © March 21st, 2023, Heath B. Walters DBA Spiritual Life Resources, All Rights Reserved.

Reference

Word English Bible (2022). Web Online. https://ebible.org/study/.