What do we mean when we say that we own something? We mean that it is in our possession; that we have bought and paid for it; that it is ours to keep and ours to do with as we please; we are the owners; it belongs to us. We know what it means to own something.
Of course, there’s no need for us to review any of this, Our understanding of ownership began very early in our lives. If you had siblings, or spent a lot of time with other children when you were an infant, one of the first words that you ever learned to speak was “mine”. Kids are so cute aren’t they? Their first words are: Mama, dada, kitty, and MINE.
And the word “mine” grows up to be one of the major preocupations of our lives. We work hard almost all of our lives so that we can own things. Perhaps the first thing we ever worked to own was a bike, next came a car, then a house, then all of the stuff that is in the house. Then perhaps another house or a boat or some such thing. We almost always have our sights set on becoming the owner of something more. Owning stuff turns out to be the way that we keep score in our lives.
So no, we need no more education on what it means to be an owner, for personal ownership is so deeply ingrained in our beings that we cannot imagine ourselves apart from the things that we own. In fact the greatest horror story imaginable; the monster that nips at our heals in our nightmares, is the idea that if we don’t play our cards right, we could lose everything and become the owners of nothing.
You must have found the psalm that we said together earlier rather horrifying! For what assertion does it make? “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it” Scary scary stuff isn’t it? But, oddly enough, I saw no horrified faces when we read it. Perhaps we weren’t paying attention. This verse asserts that God is the owner of everything! Which means that we are the owners of NOTHING! So we are actually living out our worst nightmare! Are chills running up and down your spine? No? Why not?
It could be that you don’t really believe what it says. It could be that in your mind you have convinced yourself that this verse is not true, but I doubt that. It would be very difficult for you to be a member of this congregation if you approached God’s word in this way.
No, I’m guessing that when you hear this verse, that you actually find it comforting. You find it comforting because you know something more. You know the Earth is the Lords and everything in it, but you also know the Lord! And not just in a casual ‘howya doin” sort of way, but in a personal way! Jesus, your Savior has brought you together with him by the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus has told you that you are to consider the Lord to be your Father! So the earth is the Lords, but the Lord is your Father! A father who loves you so much that he has withheld nothing from you!
Owning nothing is not such a bad thing. Think back. Think back to that time of your life when you were the owner of nothing. When was that? When you were a small child. When all you had was your father and your mother...those people who loved you and provided for your every need. Do you remember how peacefully you slept? Do you remember how you didn’t have much to fret about? Remember the joy you had? Remember the peace? So what has happened to you of late? Why are things so different for you now? Why are you so tired? So bedraggled? So serious?
You became an owner! Didn’t you! And the way it sits now, to your way of thinking is that everything depends on you; everything hinges on you; you are the source of all that it is good in your life; you are the one who holds the responsibility for maintaining your world and your feeling the pressure! And here’s where it gets strange: there are times when you actually envy children! You envy the simplicity and joy that they seem to have in their lives. And you wish that you could have some of that for yourself.
But you already have it because you’re not really the owner. Wake up from your bad dream and remember what the psalm says: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world an all who live in it.” You are not an owner! You’re one of his children. It’s that simple. And if you were not blessed to have the childhood I described, you can begin to have it now! For the Lord is your Father by faith in Christ Jesus and he’s pleased to have you living in his care!
But that’s not to say that you want to become childish in your thinking and living. You are an adult after all. God has seen to it that you have received an education along with vast experience and knowledge. You know how exciting it is to be out there and use what you know to do important and meaningful things! You know that there is something to you and you are most satisfied when you use what you have to accomplish things. So no, while you long for the peace of mind that children have, you do still enjoy the challenge of being an adult. So what you really want is the best of both worlds!
And what I’m telling you today , is that with the Lord, you can actually have that. You can have that by learning to see yourself in the way that the Lord sees you, and indeed, in the way that you truly are. You are not the owner, you are a manager. The Lord is unmistakably clear on this: we are managers. Managers of God’s stuff. Why do you suppose Jesus told so many parables about managers? Think about it: We’ve got the parable of the talents, the parable of the minas, the parable of the faithful and wise servant, the parable of the dishonest manager, The tenants in the vineyard, the parable of the rich fool.
In trying to explain our relationship to God the Father, Jesus liked to use parables about managers. Because that is what we are. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, and he has asked us to manage it for him. And these parables all follow a similar story line. First, management responsibility is given to and individual. Second, a period time passes where said manager is allowed to freely exercise his authority. And third, a day of reckoning, wherein the manager is called to give an account of how he managed the owners stuff.. We are managers who have been entrusted with God’s stuff and we will be held accountable.
So, the next question is obvious Isn’t it? What are we supposed to be doing? Certainly, he expects us to use some of his stuff to live a full life. He wants us to feed our families, He wants us to have what we need. And, I might add, it’s not out of the ordinary for him to give us much more than we need. Remember Jesus with his first miracle? The wedding at Cana? Out of the storehouse of God’s goodness, Jesus poured out a massive amount of wine so that young couple could have a bigger and better party! He’s happy when we enjoy the good things of the earth; he likes it when we enjoy ourselves!
But he’s obviously not pleased when we become selfishly extravagant. The parables of the Rich Fool and the Rich Man and Lazarus make it abundantly clear that he does not approve of this kind of behavior. On the contrary, Since it is his stuff and we are managers of his stuff and also representatives of him on the earth, he wants us to truly represent him and be more like him. He wants us to be generous! Generous to those in need and generous in carrying out his all important mission to bring the word of Salvation to the earth.
Have you ever noticed that good feeling that you get when you give of yourself? Perhaps you gave time to help someone with a flat tire on the side of the road, or perhaps you helped a lost child be reunited with his mother in a crowd, or maybe when the clerk at the store gave you too much money in change, you caught the error and gave back the excess. I know that you’ve felt this before! It feels good doesn’t it? It puts a spring in your step. Well, that’s just a sample; a sample of the way you can feel about your whole life. The way that God intended you to feel: like a giver rather than a taker.
What you have already felt in these small ways can become the way you feel in a much bigger way. How? By coming to a greater understanding of the truth of the text “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it”. Our sinful inclination has always lead us to think differently. Instead of “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” , it is more typical for us to say what God’s enemy says: “the earth is up for grabs and I must get my share.” Or perhaps like the Schlitz beer commercial of a long time ago “You only go round once in life, and that is why you must grab all the gusto you can”. Simply put, this sort of attitude stands in opposition to the Lord. It violates all the principles of his “business.” It is a sinful way to think in that it denies the ultimate ownership of God! Since we are born sinful, we automatically think this way. “Mine” is one of our first words after all.
But here’s where we see the big big heart of our Lord. He knew this was what we were like when he called us to be one of his managers. He wanted us even though our approach to life and our understanding of the way things are was all screwed up. And he introduced each of us to his generous program by giving us not just his stuff, but by giving us the one thing that is most precious to him: his Son. He gave us his Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we could put to rest our sinful and selfish attitudes; so that we could not only be saved for all eternity, but also begin to see things as they truly are.
And when we begin to see things as they truly are, we can actually begin to become more like him and we start to reflect him in the way way we live our lives....we become generous. And maybe you have already sensed this in your own time with him. Maybe, as one of his trusted managers, you have begun to feel that it is time for you to reflect the will of the owner, maybe you have come to the conclusion that its time to be more generous.
Does God give us any direction on how to do this. Sure he does! That’s why he introduced the idea of the tithe, that is giving 10% of all your income back to God. Start by taking a moment to figure out what portion of your total income that you gave last year. How much did you give to support his work in this congregation? How much did you give to to other charities? How much did you give to individuals in need? Total all that up! --This is what good managers do, by the way, they keep a careful accounting and are aware of how things are spent. --Then take this sum total of giving and compare it to what you spent on other things like food, housing, vacations, cars, entertainment, pets and so forth.
How does it measure up? Are you approaching the tithe? Are some adjustments necessary to make the tithe? You should probably make them. Or maybe you have never given by tithe before and it seems quite daunting to even think about it. Here’s where you got to remember: God is a patient owner and is pleased to see any effort in the right direction This year, you could just make it your goal to start being a percentage giver. Pick a percentage that you think you could live with. Just do it and then give that amount. But be sure to keep your eyes open! Watch and learn and see how the Lord will make it possible for you to do even more! Since God is the owner of all things, you can’t really out give him.
“The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it!” We need to think that way. We need to live that way. For it is the way things are. AMEN
