At Thanksgiving I enjoyed the cacophony of little kids running around playing together. With toddlers in the mix, cries of MINE! rang out, as each claimed a toy in the hands of another.

No one was surprised by this behavior among children. But I perceive the attitude in myself. I’m happy if you have what’s yours, as long as I get what’s mine.

The Lord, however, throws a wrench into my grabby nature. He told Job, Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

I may consider a possession as my own, but it’s actually the Lord’s. I might hoard dollars in a bank account, but the dollars and the account and the bank building and the bankers themselves all belong to God. What I hold comes from the hand of the Lord, and I simply serve at a steward of his gifts.

As I look back on an old year and turn to the new, it helps me to think on this principle. Hold my money and possessions loosely, and stay generous with the goods under my stewardship. I’m far better when I release the totality of all I have, and instead grab at the ways of the Lord.

Job 41 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Andres Perez