The Earth Is The Lord’s
David begins the 24th Psalms by saying: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” This declaration goes against our common perspective of life and our society’s view of private ownership. We talk about my house, my wife/husband, my children, my job, my car, etc. Do you not know that you entered this world with nothing and you will leave this world in the same way? When we talk about ownership it is like two flees arguing about whose dog it is. We are just here on this earth for a short time…just passing through.
When God created man, He placed him in His garden to take care of it. He was to work the land and to eat of its fruit, but was never given ownership. Man was to rule, have dominion, subdue, but not to own. In Genesis 2.16, the Lord tells Adam that he can eat freely of every tree in the garden. Instead of ownership, man was given access. The thousands of different kinds of trees and plants and animals were his to enjoy and to responsibly care for. Private ownership limits one to the few things he many possess, but God’s riches are limitless. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine. The fullness of the earth belongs to Him. All the silver and gold are His and He has given us access to it all.
Ownership creates stress. If someone scratches our car we get stressed out for weeks. If we lose our job, we fall apart. If our father or mother dies, we want to give up on God and life. I heard of a woman that was given a diamond ring that cost over 5000 euros. She so loved that ring, but was afraid to wear it. She continually worried that someone would see it and want to steal it, so she hid it in a drawer of her bedroom. But she still worried that someone would break in and steal that ring. Owning that ring was not a blessing, it was a curse.
When God gave Adam access to all that was in the garden, it was not payment for the work he did. Work is the fulfillment of one’s personhood. Access to all that is God’s is a result of a relationship with Him and His love for us. All our being, all our strength and all our labor are a result of His grace working in and through us. What man can do in his own strength, God can never own. What is yours is cursed, what is God’s is blessed.
A young man approached Jesus asking Him what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus responded by telling him to keep the commandments. The young man responded that he had kept them all. Then Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor. This he couldn’t do because he had great possessions. Ownership can keep you out of the Kingdom of God. This rich, young man not only owned much, but was owned by his possessions. One cannot serve two masters.
Abraham received a son by a miracle of God. It was not a result of his own doing. In himself he could not produce a son. God gave him a son, but this son became to Abraham his prize possession, so God asked him to give him back. Because Abraham gave Isaac back to God, he then had access to multiple sons. The lesson here is not to hold on to what you cannot keep. Don’t try to own what is not yours. If you give back to God your house, family, car, land, etc., you will be given access to hundreds of times more; in this life. (Mark 10.29-30) The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Psalms 24; Is. 54.5; I Cor. 10.26, 28; Ec. 5.10-15; Mat. 19.16-22; Mark 10.29-30