This land is My land...

As I go through Leviticus and see the list of rules and proscriptions handed down to make the Israelites a moral, loving, controlled people, it's interesting to see all of the commands. The section today discussed ownership and the presence of the year of Jubilee, or the 50th year of each cycle. I am not sure if the year of Jubilee was ever officially celebrated, or if all the actions of the year of Jubilee were ever performed, but there was one command that stood out today.

"And remember, the land must never be sold on a permanent basis because it really belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenants living with me." Lev 25:23

In all of the Lord's rules made to set the Israelites aside, or to make them different, He also gave them this rule to equate them with their neighbors. So, while the Israelites are expected to behave morally, with control, and with love toward their neighbors, they are also expected to remember that they, too, are foreigners. Guests in this world. The yin/yang of spirituality comes into play here also. They are different, but the same...

We are all guests in this world. The concept of ownership is pretty fresh in my mind. I "purchased" a house that was far to big for me. And it was far too expensive for me. I have been living in it for two years, and barely scraping out payments as I fight to control my debt. I have come to the conclusion that the house is the bank's. At this point, even if I pay it off, I will never feel like I "own" it. I have felt like a poser, a renter, in a house for too long for it ever to feel like my own. My car, even though it is paid for, is simply an asset that could be tied to a foreclosure process, and so I have lost "ownership" of that as well. We don't really "own" anything, but all our lives we struggle for the illusory concept of "ownership" as though owning something will give us some semblance of control. With control of a thing comes pride of mastery, and with pride comes selfishness and the death of one's spirituality. The fall is inevitable.

By reminding the Israelites that there is no such thing as ownership, God reminds them (and us) of our actual temporal status, and the joy of life that we have been granted, so far. By not owning something we are using every day (life), we recognize that this thing, life, in our hands, is a wonderful gift, something not to be squandered, but to be cherished and adored, and for which we are thankful. The first step toward pride (the concept of ownership) was removed in this section, keeping us ever penitent and thankful for that which we do have, today. We don't own anything. We don't have a right to expect "tomorrow" but when it comes, we can be thankful. We are foreigners living among God, in His land.

It would be such an amazing world if this were a central feature of the Bible. If the concept of a lack of "ownership" of anything were taken to heart by everyone in the world, what a world that would make.

What would you do if you knew you owned absolutely nothing? How would you feel? If you accept that God's words apply to you, take a second and apply these words. Then look around you and do what's next.