They Think They Own the Place
Is Jesus truly king of your life? If you’re not sure, or have questions about your spiritual life, we would welcome hearing from you, and will respond to you personally.
“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’” (Mark 12:7)
Do you remember playing as kids, one person would often start bossing the rest? Whether at the school playground or in a nearby ravine, someone would invariably decide to take charge. Then the others would grumble and complain, “They think they own the place!”
Jesus told a parable: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.” (Mark 12:1)
When the owner sent someone to collect the fruit from the vineyard, the renters refused to pay. They beat, treated shamefully or killed each representative the owner sent. Finally, the owner sent his own beloved son, thinking they would respect him. Instead of respecting him, the renters mistakenly concluded that killing the heir would mean they would receive the inheritance.
Somewhere along the way, these tenants forgot that they were tenants. They thought they owned the place.
We also live as stewards, not owners.
God entrusted us with children and blessed us with homes. He endowed us with athletic ability, artistic talent and intellectual capacity. But somewhere along the way, we started thinking we owned all these things.
Everything we are and everything we have comes from God. Neither houses nor children belong to us. We don’t own our talents or our positions. God gave them to us to use for His glory.
Let us humble ourselves before God and acknowledge that because God owns all things, He can decide what to do with them. Let us be thankful people and hold loosely the gifts God gives us.
Holy God, You are the giver and owner of all things. Forgive me for thinking I own the place and can do as I please. Help me to humbly serve You. Amen
Questions: Why do we forget we are stewards rather than owners? How do our lives change when we understand that God owns all things and we simply care for them?
4 Responses to “They Think They Own the Place”
Leave a Reply
Start a Conversation
Media
What Do You Fear?
What do you fear, and why? Is it holding you back from realizing your full potential?
>Watch
- Contact
- |
- Advertising
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Link to Us
- |
- Media Releases
- |
- What we believe
So glad that this devo touched you Gail and Betty! Thanks for stopping by and letting us know by leaving your comments.
As for your question Gerald, there are people of all different denominations that are active on this website, not just protestants, so by all means keep coming back.
True words always come from The Bible, I see Protestants teaching The Bible but no Catholic Bible site,maybe we catholics need to learn our lessons from the protestants,at least,that is what I’m doing. It works well with my protestant background and orientation but,were are the Catholics on the internet?
Exactly what I needed to be reminded of today…of course He already knew that. Thanks for making my day easier.
As a nature lover who spends the majority of the day outside, I’m reminded everyday to be a good steward of His amazing creation. Whether it’s feeding the birds or picking up trash during a morning walk, we must each step outside ourselves and be good caretakers of what He has given us. Thank you for a devo that touched me this a.m.