A Time to Possess, a Time to Share

THIS lovely bluebird perches on her twig and feels secure. Her mate is very protective. If another male comes close, her mate becomes a feathered fury and chases the intruder off “his” property. He is a possessive little fellow.

Man’s “best friend,” the dog, is another example of possessiveness. If you do not think so, just try taking away from him a bone that belongs to him!

This trait of possessiveness can even be seen in infants. Did you ever watch two young children wanting to play with the same toy? One has the toy in his hands. The other tries to take it away, but the first noisily refuses to let go. It is “his” toy, and he is determined to keep it that way.

Is it wrong to hold on to your possessions? The Bible establishes the principle of private property. Men are to build houses and live in them, plant vineyards and eat their fruitage, dwell under their own vine and fig tree. (Isaiah 65:21; Micah 4:4) The bluebird was there first and needs his territory in order to feed his family. The dog was given the bone and needs it to sustain himself.

But the child and his toy? It is his possession, but if he does not share it, he will have no playmates. He will be happier if he shares his possessions. Christians are not to forget “the sharing of things with others.” The rich are admonished “to be liberal, ready to share.” In such sharing there is great happiness.​—Hebrews 13:16; 1 Timothy 6:18; Acts 20:35.

There is a time to be possessing and a time to be sharing. In the final analysis, however, we should remember that “to Jehovah belong the earth and that which fills it, the productive land and those dwelling in it.” (Psalm 24:1) Learn to use those things that are temporarily at our disposal in a way that will please their true Owner, Jehovah God.

King David of Israel was a very wealthy man, but he realistically said to God: “Yours, O Jehovah, are the greatness and the mightiness and the beauty and the excellency and the dignity; for everything in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Jehovah . . . The riches and the glory are on account of you.”​—1 Chronicles 29:11, 12.

Rather than possessively hoarding what was his, David made a huge contribution toward the construction of a temple for Jehovah’s worship. Did he seek some special recognition for his generosity? No. Rather, he realized that, in a sense, it was not generosity at all. “Who am I and who are my people, that we should retain power to make voluntary offerings like this? For everything is from you, and out of your own hand we have given to you.”​—1 Chronicles 29:14.

Is not David’s attitude the correct one for all of us to have?