Mine, Mine, Mine!
We, as a society, seemed to be obsessed with ownership and the idea of claiming something specifically for ourselves. We always seem to want more, simply so it can be ours and ours alone. We buy more and more goods to showcase our wealth and possession as though they are the most important thing. We label everything in order to truly claim it as our own. MY school, MY house, MY books, MY music, MY church, MY God. Beyond personal ownership, the countries of the world are all trying to claim parts of the world for themselves. They attempt to divy up the land, the water and the air. The more we attempt to lay claim to more of the world, the more it becomes clear that is not how it was meant to be. It's only been in the past year that I've been able to let go of my own claim of ownership on many of the things in my life. I've begun the process of de-cluttering my life, which is more difficult than I had originally believed it to be.
It is not only the process of letting go of my attachment to the physical things in my life. That's easier than I had originally thought it would be. It may help that I'm still in the process of moving my life around every few months. It's always much easier to move when there are less things to be concerned with. There are a few things that it's more difficult to give up my claim on. My friends, my time, my faith, my parents. I can't lay claim to my friends all the time. They may be my friends, but their decisions are not focused around me. My time is not entirely my own. I was given a certain amount of time on this earth, but I'm highly aware it's only on loan until I get called home. My faith is not meant to be kept solely for myself. If I treat it like that, then it will never grow. It also prohibits others from learning from it. My parents are also not solely my parents. They are unique individuals who have their own lives that are separate from the fact that they are my parents. In my experience of letting go, I've come to realize how much people hang on to.
Beyond the physical things in life, people will lay claim to the earth, the air and the sea. Somehow that feels wrong to me. These things are not ours to begin with. We did not create them, we have not nurtured them the way they were meant to be and we certainly do not deserve them. As spoken by C.S. Lewis in the Screwtape Letters, "The joke is that the word 'Mine' in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything. In the long run either Our Father or the Enemy will say 'Mine' of each thing that exists." While we may desire to lay claim to everything that we can, it is not necessarily our right. We have been given a gift we have done nothing to deserve. We should not be so intent on claiming it that we do not recognize the value in it.
The most prosposterous claim of possession we make that has led to many wars is the exclusive claim to God. Every religion seems to think they have a monopoly on God, that His love and grace are their's and their's alone. God doesn't work like that. He doesn't play favourites. He loves all his children even when they screw up, maybe especially when they screw up. God does not exist solely in the lives of Christians, or Muslims, or Jews. God lives in the hearts and lives of all of those who come to know Him, those who seek a closer relationship with Him and those who love Him. Because God loves you. And that's all that matters.


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