We all know children are far from perfect. They argue and fight with each other. They call each other names. They take things which don’t belong to them. They often fight over what adults would probably see as a useless argument, like fighting over a cheap plastic toy. When this happens, the most obvious question a parent would ask is this: Whose toy is it? The answer to that question is the key to deciphering what happens next. Whose is it? Who does that belong too? Who has ownership over it? The same can be said of our own lives on a much larger scale. The way we answer the following questions about our own lives will determine much of how we live:

Who do you belong to?
Who has ownership over you?
Who is your source?

Our flesh instantly wants to jump out and answer; No one owns me! I don’t belong to anyone. No one has ownership over me. I am my own source, everything I have I’ve worked for! No matter the excuse, each of these responses came from a place of defiance and pride. A place of never wanting to give credit to anyone besides ourselves. By saying we are our own source, we are essentially declaring ourselves God, and if we are our own God, we also claim we are our own source and the owners of ourselves.

Today’s verse declares something quite different about us and the world we live in. It doesn’t belong to us; it belongs to God. Not just the earth, but everything in it; the oceans, the animals, your house, and yes, even us. We belong to God. God isn’t just the creator of the world we live in, as we read in the very first verse of the bible. He is also the owner and final authority over everything He has created. If God is the creator, author, owner and source, then He also has complete authority and control over each one of us.

This truth can be very difficult for many people to swallow and accept. It’s humbling. Even Christians have a hard time grasping this idea and living it out as a reality. Most Christians have no issue with worshiping Christ as Savior and Messiah, but following after and obeying God as the owner and source of everything can be much more challenging. Especially when you realize what that entails: God owns everything I have. He owns my talents and my skills. God owns my time. God owns my money and any possession in my care. God owns my family, from my spouse to my children and everyone else I love. God owns it all. Everything belongs to God. If God is the owner, then I am not the owner, I am only a steward or caretaker of what ultimately belongs to God.

There is a constant battle within each person over this very idea. Our flesh cries out that we are our own gods; what we have belongs to us and we can do whatever we want with it. But our spirit knows the truth and desires to be in right standing with our Heavenly Father. Sadly, most humans choose the flesh and determine in their hearts to be their own gods, capable of deciding right and wrong for themselves. Because of a rejection of God’s ownership and sovereignty over creation, we are left with a fallen world that will continue to decay. We are left with corruption, poverty, disease, and violence. Everything evil and wrong with our world is a result of choosing self over the one true God, by choosing to reject the authority and rightful ownership of God. We have an opportunity before us to get the question of ownership right, not only for ourselves but for future generations.

Let’s be people who leave a legacy of seeing God as the owner, source and final authority over everything He created!