Do we really ever own anything?!

There has been a real theme that has popped up in almost everything I have read and heard in the past week or so.  Stubborn as I am, I often don't pick up on such themes until God puts a giant billboard out for me saying " NEAL!  Pay Attention to what I'm saying to you!!!"   

If you were at GCUMC on Sunday morning, you heard Ben talk about putting ourselves at the center of the universe.  This mindset is so hard to avoid.  So much so that in my attempts to avoid it, I end up right back at the center of my universe.

A.W. Tozer at the very beginning of his book The Pursuit of God talks about prevenient grace... the idea that God had to first seek us before we could seek Him. He says"Before a sinful man can think a right thought of God, there must have been a work of enlightenment done within him; imperfect it may be, but a true work nonetheless, and the secret cause of all desiring and seeking and praying which may follow."

Ben talked about not putting ourselves in the center of the universe.

Paul talks about a community that supports each other in Acts.

So do we really own anything?  Should we really own anything?  Now before you go calling me a socialist or crazy liberal or whatever...remember this is coming from a background of capitalism and conservative school of thought.  Everything we have is because God gave it to us.  He created this earth, and He gives and takes away... remember Job?

But the things we pay for we own.  Right?!  We worked hard (hopefully) for the money we spent on our cars and houses, etc.  But do we really own them?  Do we ever stop paying for them?  We pay property taxes, insurance, etc.  Now this isn't meant to be a political discussion, just an illustration of our mindset.

We feel entitled to these things that we work hard to own.  But we own them realizing that we continue paying for them for the life of the object, and then we die and they are no longer ours.  So really someone else owns everything, and we just pay to use them or borrow them?  If you don't believe me stop paying for your car insurance and home owner's insurance and don't pay your property taxes.  Soon you won't be "owning/borrowing" your house anymore.

God created this earth for us... for us to live off of, to enjoy, and to live in community and worship Him while we were on this earth.  Not for us to divvy up between ourselves and decide that a corner property is worth more than the "sticks" with no road.  He created it as a place to enjoy His gifts and worship Him... but we continue to find ways to build up walls and segregate ourselves.  He first sought us so that we would seek Him.

Somewhere along the way, we decided we were due a piece of land and a house and that we controlled the things of this earth...  As Pete Wilson says in his book Plan B

I think we often treat God like we do a vending machine.  When you walk up to a vending machine, you expect to insert the appropriate amount of money, press the correct code, and out will pop whatever you were hungry for.


This is how we view life isn't it?  We go to school, get the job, get paid, push the appropriate button and out pops a car or house.  We earned it, so we should have it.  We're forgetting that the only reason that we have that job or that education in the first place is because God allowed us to.  Not to mention the mere fact that He allows us to live here (earth), and loves us even though we don't deserve any of His gifts.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we tear down our houses and buildings and live in caves, but I do think we need to reevaluate what is important to us.  We need to remember that these things we work so hard to earn can give us the mindset of entitlement.  "I work hard, so I am due a paycheck, and I am entitled to the car, house, food, clothes, etc. that I choose to buy with that money."  instead of "I work hard so that I can help other people that aren't as fortunate as me."

I am as guilty as anyone of this mindset, but how freeing would it be if we stopped worrying about how much money we made and how much "stuff" we could buy, and started worrying about how can I give more to others and be the body of Christ?  What a release of stress and worry if we forgot the things of the world and remembered the ultimate example of giving God showed us with His son.