Ernie Carrasco
[Originally published as Mine!]
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:8
We have all experienced watching toddlers at play before they have learned to share. One will grab a toy that does not belong to him, but he likes it and assumes possession. Another child sees the same toy, wants to take possession of it, and the fight is on. “Mine!” They both cry. Eventually, a grown-up has to step in and attempt to teach the youngsters how to share.
We grown-ups can sometimes behave the same way with the things God has blessed us with. We assume that because we worked to earn the money to buy those things, they belong to us. We think, “Mine!” Then, there are those who do not work and covet the things of those who do, and they think, “Those should be mine!”
God looks down on His children (By that, I mean all of His creation, not just “His Children,” i.e., Christians) and says, “No. Mine!” He is Creator of everything — the earth, all the creatures that dwell on the earth, the plants, the seas, all of the mineral wealth of the earth, all of the heavenly bodies and all the wealth they contain, and every human being that has ever walked or will ever walk on the earth. Since He is Creator of all, that makes Him owner of all. We do not own anything. As Klaus Schwab might say, “You own nothing; now be happy.”¹
Thankfully, God is not Klaus Schwab, nor does He share the attitude of the elitist World Economic Forum (WEF).² God does indeed own it all.
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. (Psalm 50:10-12, emphasis mine)
“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4, emphasis mine).
Unlike the WEF, God wants to share His wealth with His creation.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28, emphasis mine)
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God made the earth and everything in it and outside of it before He created man. He made all of this for us.
“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18, emphasis mine).
He made it all. He owns it all, and He put mankind in charge. Then mankind blew it, but that is another story.³
So, what about all of “my labor” to get all of “my stuff”? As Barack Obama once said, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”4 Obama had the right idea, but the wrong conclusion. The “somebody” to whom he was referring was the government. However, the fact is that the “somebody” in reality is God, and He does this for all of mankind. Jesus said that God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).
God created mankind in His image.5 Therefore, we have life, abilities, talents, skills, creativity, ambition, motivation, etc. All of these come from God. Also, because He gave us dominion over the earth’s resources, we benefit from the gifts of others. For example:
- “my pickup” was designed by an engineer.
- The materials to construct it came from the earth and were fabricated and assembled by those having those kinds of skills and talents.
- It was delivered to the dealership by those who operate trains and drive trucks.
- It was sold to me by a person talented in filling out detailed paperwork.
- I earned the money to purchase it by using the skills God gave me to serve my employer.
And so on. It all belongs to God, and He has shared what belongs to Him to bless you and me.
So, you can recognize that you actually own nothing, and you can be happy knowing that all that you have comes from a generous heavenly Father. Our part is to be good stewards (i.e., managers) of the blessings God has placed in our care. They all belong to Him. They are not ours.
Dear reader, if you do not know this generous God, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
Notes:
- “You Will Own Nothing and Be Happy,” Klaus Schwab – America Out Loud
- The World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
- Genesis 3
- ‘You Didn’t Build That,’ Uncut and Unedited – FactCheck.org
- Genesis 1:26-28
