The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Psalm 24:1
…For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21.
… my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19.
Let’s apply God’s truth to our view of material possessions and then to our financial decisions.
Principle one is: “God owns everything.”
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it…”
Let me ask, “What about your house? Who owns your house?”
You may think, “Well, the bank owns most of the house.”
Actually, God owns the house, because God owns the bank, and God owns you. God owns everything. You and I are stewards of whatever God entrusts to our care; God is the owner.
You may be thinking, “But, you don’t understand. I’m a self-made man. I started out with nothing, and I’ve built my company from the ground up.”
Actually, you are not self-made. You started out as a baby born of two other people. Ultimately, you go all the way back to the Creator God who supplied you with everything you have. God owns everything. You need to realize that God is the source of everything you need. While you may work and succeed at your work for a while, God can make it all go away in an instant. God loves you enough to do what it takes to help you experience and learn what you need to know. You need to recognize God as the source and the owner of everything.
In fact, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Were they starving? No, He wanted them to live each day with an attitude of dependence on God. Jehovah Jireh means God is our provider. If you don’t know Him as your provider, you need to know Him better. Once I acknowledge that God is the owner and the source of all things, it takes an incredible burden off of me.
Principle two: “I owe everything to God.”
This is a logical follow-up to principle one. If God owns everything, then everything I have I owe to Him. The first time this truth began to grip me was when I was asked to sing at a wedding in college. Afterwards, I was paid. Because I love to sing, I didn’t even realize I would be paid. I was doing something I enjoy, using a talent God gave me. I felt like I didn’t really earn the money.
Then, God started talking to me, “Jim, what about the rest of your money?”
I thought, “I work for the money I make as a janitor in the library. I scrub, vacuum and work hard for that money.”
God reminded me, “Jim, you wouldn’t have the physical strength or the mental know-how to scrub a floor apart from my grace. The money you make as a janitor is just as much a gift as the money you made singing at the wedding.”
God owns everything. We owe everything to Him. Don’t ever forget to thank Him.
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