Who's is it?

       "I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have
        placed in God's hands, that I still posess"  Marin Luther

"Mine, Mine" are some of the first words children seem to teach themselves to say. We've all seen them fiercely grip their things and vehemently oppose anyone that would attempt to even borrow what they consider to be theirs. What children don't understand is they really do not own anything. Everything they have has been purchased by their parents and essentially loaned to them. If they misuse them, they can be taken at any time. And even it it upsets them, they couldn't stop us from taking them away.

Probably because we want them to learn to take care of their stuff, we allow them to call things "mine" even though they really haven't purchased anything until possibly later in their teen years. Even then, often they are driving our cars and using our gas to get to their jobs where they earn "their" money to buy "their" stuff. It is during this phase that people really get good at making the proclamation, "It's my money, I will buy what I want" and "it's mine, I will do with it what I want."

God never really authorized this type of selfishness. In God's economy, HE owns it all. Anything that we possess, even if we have earned it, still belongs to him. So, even though I physically possess it, and may feel like I have earned it - unless I mentally give up ownership of it, I will lose it. It's another one of those things God does exactly opposite of our natural inclination.

How would our decisions be different if we kept a consistent focus on this idea? He owns it all and we are just managers for him of the money, possessions and talents He has loaned us. We not only must change our attitude, but we have a great responsibility to manage His stuff wisely.