The Stress of Pride of Ownership

Have you ever thought about the stress in owning things, especially if you own a major thing, like a big house?  Many people can’t sleep at night worrying about all their possessions, or how they’re going to pay for it all.  And the more a person has, the more work to keep it all up and working in tip-top shape.  And the more a person has, and the bigger the house, this often means that two people need to be working in order to pay for it all.  But I’d like to share some thoughts about not just what we own, but what can happen as a result of taking too much pride in it.  

Recently, I took a trip to see one of the major flood-damaged areas in our province.  I wasn’t at all prepared for the devastation that I witnessed.  What was once a pretty town with a spacious well-treed park in a valley was now a mass of broken trees, no grass and 10 to 15 feet dirt dikes running along the river banks.  The park was so badly damaged that they’ve closed off the two bridges, so that no one can drive through the extensive flood-damaged area.  For a town that depended on its beautiful park, which included a bird sanctuary and walking paths, famous bridge and gorgeous river-front properties, it now has much less to offer for tourists hoping to escape to the serene beauty this town has usually offered.  This year there were other major flood-damaged areas in our province, one in which wiped out nearly all the cottages and homes on an entire eastern side of a large in-land lake, popular for its sandy beaches, and shallow blue water.  Many homes and farms in the area were also affected. 

But local flooding is not all that has been happening.  It seems that in the last few years, the greatest disasters all had to do with water.  In 2004, one of the worst tsunamis ever recorded in history occurred in Indonesia and in the Indian Ocean.  Many beautiful ocean-front resorts and properties were completely wiped out, not to mention all the people that got swept away by the water.  Then in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico wiping out many southern historical areas, including Mississippi towns and New Orleans, and again, a terrible loss of human life.  And this year, 2011, Japan was hit with a major earthquake with tsunami waves that followed, killing thousands of people and wiping out whole villages and towns.  If you are to drive along the major coastal areas of the world, in most countries, you will find the most beautiful and expensive properties in the world.  Even along our local lakefronts, there are mansions, and if not mansions, property that is valued much higher than inland properties.  In other words, we put a much higher value on having a view of water than on any other types of property known (as far as I know).  Isn’t it interesting that these properties can be wiped out in a few seconds by a large body of water, or over time (as we’ve seen around our local in-land lakes) by land erosion caused by the waves.

A few years ago, my husband and I thought we might like to buy or custom-build a new larger home, and preferably one on the lake, or even one in the city on a man-made lake. We wanted a new home because there would be little to no repairs and it would free up our time for other things.  And we wanted the extra room for doing our extensive crafts and hobbies (me mostly artworks, my husband wood-working), and for hosting larger family-get-togethers.  We thought that a water-front view would provide beauty, serenity and inspiration, which I think most people are looking for.  So we tried to think of ways we could make this happen without going into a life-time of debt and having to work several jobs to pay for it.  But nothing seemed to come together for us.  So we thought we’d pay a small price, support a local hospital organization, and buy a ticket and perhaps win one of their new lottery homes.  If it wasn’t one on a lake, we could sell it and use the money to build what we wanted where we wanted it.  But this never happened either, even after trying each year for a few years.

Recently, I asked the Lord why we still haven’t been able to build our dream home and why we never won one of the lottery houses.  I wasn’t quite prepared for His answer, but it has begun to make perfect sense to me and has begun a process of humbling me.  He directed me to the following passage:

2 Samuel 7:5  "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?

2 Samuel 7:6  I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.

2 Samuel 7:7  Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' NIV

When I first read it, I realized that Almighty God never had a building to dwell in.  Jesus never had a place to rest His head (see Matthew 8:20). And if you read further in the New Testament, all those who believe in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, are the “temple” of God, and He dwells within us by His Holy Spirit. 

1 Cor. 3:16  Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? NIV

This tells me that even though God is so magnificent and awesome that it goes beyond words to even describe Him, He doesn’t care about all the pomp and beauty of His dwelling place, but rather He cares about us instead.  In other words, if anyone deserves the most royal and extravagant palace to live in to show His magnificence, you’d think it would be God, wouldn’t you?  After all, we expect those of royalty to live above the rest of us, don’t we?  We expect the Royal Family in England to live in their castle and have everything done for them by servants.  And we expect people of wealth and privilege to own the most beautiful homes and estates, and probably live on an island or on the ocean.  And yet, God Himself chooses to dwell in the most temporary accommodations, tents and our human body.  This speaks volumes to us of Who God really is - that He is a God of love and that He loves us so much He wants to dwell with us on OUR level and in a way that makes Him easily accessible to us. 

Pride of ownership can include anything that we hold onto and prize as our own, perhaps even hoarding it for our own purpose and pleasure.  I now wonder if God allowed these deadly tsunamis that struck coastal areas throughout the world, and even local flooding on our lakes and land, as a reminder that buildings, land and water-front views are not something we should ever strive for, or take pride in if we are fortunate enough to own.  They are only temporary and have no lasting value in terms of eternity.  Throughout Scripture and especially through the humble life that Jesus lived here on earth, it becomes clear that what matters most to God is people.  After all, He sent His only Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be saved from an eternity of darkness, and instead spend eternity with Him in His heaven.  He chooses to dwell with us by abiding in us, even though He should be dwelling in the most spectacular and beautiful property known to man (although not even the highest heavens can contain Him – see I Kings 8:27).  And as for me and my dream of owning a new house with a water-front view, I know that I cannot make this a priority.  After all, if God can dwell in a tent, why should we expect anything more?  And if God does bless us with such a house, then it must be for His purposes, which will bring glory to Him.

Today if you are struggling with pride of ownership, I encourage you to dedicate it all to God for His purposes and see what He wants you to do with what He’s given you.  Or if you are like me, and may sometimes dream of having something more or different, I encourage you to approach it prayerfully and carefully.  We need to always remember, our relationship to God and other people matter much more than anything else in life, and God has us where we are for a reason, whether it’s a tent, a house, a mansion, or a humble apartment.  May God bless you and give you contentment and joy, no matter what your circumstances.