Not Our Own

by Gene Poore

Before interpreting the handwriting on the wall, Daniel told King Belshazzar
and all the King’s partying, godless multitude that they had defied “The God in
whose hand thy breath is. . . .” (DAN 5:23). Daniel told the King that he sickened
the same God who “Formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life. . . .” (GEN 2:7). Thus, Daniel reminded the King, the
King’s court, and the King’s sinful society that their lives were not their own.
Today, like during Belshazzar’s reign, governments and societies need that
same reminder. Often forgotten--or ignored--during our daily pursuits and
merrymaking is that we are not our own. Our body, our soul, the heart that beats
within us belongs to our Maker. At anytime our Maker can revoke our license to
live, because we are not our own.
Since body, soul, and time belong to our Creator, so do any talents that
bless us. A parable from Christ’s teachings reminds us that God loaned us talents
not our own. Yet, even God given talents remain useless to man--and God--when
deactivated by lazy, uncaring, or selfish hearts.
Wealth, no matter how little, how great, how gained remains on earth when we
die. Jesus warns us, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . . .” (MAT 6:19-20). We are to “Fear him
which is able to destroy both soul and body. . . .” (MAT 10:28).
Unfortunately, we forget we are not our own, like the rich man in the Bible
forgot he was not his own. The rich man amassed so much he considered tearing down
his barns to build larger buildings to hold his abundance. The rich man planned to
spend the rest of his life in ease. However, that same night, “God said unto him,
thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those
things be, which thou hast provided?” (LUK 12:20).
God took the rich man’s life. God took the rich man’s soul. Thus, time was
no longer. The rich man’s talents evaporated. The rich man’s riches remained
behind. The rich man learned, too late, he was not his own. Rich or poor, he
belonged to God.
Like the rich man, we are not our own. We belong to God through Jesus
Christ, because Jesus shed His blood on Golgotha Hill. At Calvary, Christ “bought
[us] with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God’s.” (1COR 6:20). If we belong to God, we are not our own but, also, we are
never alone.