God Owns it All
We’re just managing things that have belonged to Him all along.
If you think that you really own anything in this universe, you’re mistaken. Because the Bible says that God owns it all.
I used to make plans about what I was going to do with “my money.” But it’s important to understand what that really means. The money isn’t mine in the sense that I own it; it’s simply mine in the sense that I’m responsible for managing it.
The money isn’t mine in the sense that I own it; it’s simply mine in the sense that I’m responsible for managing it.
Too often, we believe that the things that we have are really ours — I certainly did. This attitude can got down into my heart and made me a slave to money. To break free, I had to replace that erroneous idea with this true one: God owns it all.
Creator and Owner
When you think about it, the idea that God owns everything makes perfect sense. After all, God created us, and the earth that we inhabit. We had no right to exist outside of His sovereignty; why would we think that we have an right to own anything beyond what God’s sovereign will allows?
The truth is that God owns everything in this world. We may think that our stuff belongs to us, but God says clearly in His word that it really belongs to him. Here are some examples:
- Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
- Psalm 50:10 — “…Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.”
God claims exclusive ownership of everything in this world, including the Earth itself and all of the creatures that live in it. He also claims all of the world’s wealth: Psalm 50 was written in a time when the economy was based on agriculture, and animals such as cows, goats and sheep were considered units of wealth. So when God talks about owning livestock, He’s not just saying that He owns some animals. He’s demonstrating that He is the creator and owner of all of the wealth in the world.
Every dollar I spend ought to have eternal purpose attached to it.
The thought that God owns everything can be a sobering one. It certainly affects the way we handle money. After all, if God really owns everything, I’m responsible to Him for how I spend the money He has allocated to me. That means every dollar I spend ought to have eternal purpose attached to it.
Freedom in God’s Ownership
There’s a lot of responsibility here, but there’s also a lot of freedom. If God owns it all, He must have infinite resources at His disposal, and He can use them to meet our needs and to bless us.
God is greater than any business, government or bad economy. It doesn’t matter how much bad news there is in the media or what the experts say about current events. God owns everything and gives us those resources when we call on Him.
In the Old Testament, king David understood this principle well, and gives us a beautiful description of it in I Chronicles 29:12-16:
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.
David recognized that all of the wealth and abundance of the Israelite were gifts from God, and out of that blessing they built a temple to worship Him.
God owns it all, and He gives to us out of His own abundance. We who are blessed should remember where our resources truly come from, and always seek ways to honor God with the money that He has given us.
Making the Most of the Money God Gives You
Learning to make the most of the money God has given you doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and discipline to go from where you are today to where God wants you to be.
For years, I’ve been helping people discover God’s plan for financial freedom, and it would be my honor to do the same for you. You can begin the journey to freedom by subscribing to God, Money & Me. Signing up is completely free — just fill out this form, and I’ll come alongside you with wisdom and inspiration to help you live the financial life that God has planned for you.
I can’t wait to start walking this journey to freedom with you!
Photo by Leo Vietor. Used under Creative Commons License.
Thanks for the scripture references in this post. It is helpful to remember that in addition to money and resources, our talents and even our time are also His.
kda
So why work at a job you don’t like? If God can take it all away at any time, why not just relax and enjoy life. I”m not talking about living on welfare, but why save? Why not be like the birds and flowers in the field?
Because that’s not the way He created us to live. Work is part of God’s plan — He gave Adam and Eve work to do in the garden before they even sinned. We are made to work and made to enjoy the fruits of that work. And life isn’t a crapshoot — God’s word has extensive instructions about the things we are supposed to do with our money, including working to provide for our families, saving for our futures and giving generously to those in need. Spend some time reading other articles on this site and you’ll find a lot more information on what God has to say about those topics.
So does God own Sin?
Sin is not of God, and it certainly does not belong to him, but does he own it? I mean surely to own something, is for it to be under his control. I mean it’s a hard one really. Maybe sin is lack of existence, because sin is lack of God, and Jesus is the life…..if sin only brings death, and you are 100% sin, then maybe you simply do not exist. Not to say sin doesn’t exist, just that it’s the lack of life. Which takes refuge in them that chose death, unless we are covered by the blood of Jesus, which allows him to fill us? To make us whole?
I struggle in this topic. Probably because in my childhood we occassionally struggled just to eat sometimes even though we were a Christian family doing the best we could to honor Him. Persecution I get. But if He owns everything why do so many of us around the world struggle to get even the most basic resources to life? Food, shelter, medical attention, clothing. I’m not a believer that we should all be filthy rich because I know that most of us including myself would likely be ruined by the problems that brings. But a believer starving or a child dying from an easily treatable illness? I’m probably just not understanding scripture right.