A number of years ago I heard a story about a man who went to the police station and declared, "I need help with a serious problem. I need to know who owns the house I live in."

The officer on duty asked, "How long have you lived there?"

"Nine years," replied the man.

"Nine years, and you don't know who owns the house you live in? Who do you pay your rent to?"

"I don't pay rent," muttered the man, who was becoming decidedly more agitated.

Carefully, the officer eyed him and exclaimed, "Nine years in a house and no rent. Friend, you don't have a problem — you've got a gold mine!"

Angrily, the man shouted, "Oh, yes, I do have a problem! The roof is leaking and I have to locate the owner to demand that he fix it. If he doesn't, I am moving out. I am not going to put up with such stuff like that."

Amazing! Astounding! Incredible! Ridiculous!

How could anyone be so dense, so out of touch?

But wait just a minute, my friend. Is it possible that if Nathan, the prophet, were alive today he might look straight at you or me and say, "You're the one!"

Are possessions important to me? Does it matter who owns the house I live in? The answer to that question may be, "Well, it depends on my attitude about my possessions. It depends on whether I need an attitude adjustment!"

In the book, Love Unlimited, I read that "The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds [us] to Satan."1 However, there is no question that "Money has great value, because it can do great good. In the hands of God's children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and clothing for the naked."2

When we recognize that "All we possess is the Lord's and we are accountable to Him for the use we make of it,"3 and that, in fact, God is the owner of our house and we are just the caretaker, it allows us to put everything into perspective, doesn't it?

God is the one who has given us the means and power to get wealth — not to glorify ourselves, but to provide "for the necessities of life, in blessing others, and advancing the cause of Christ."4

When it comes right down to it, I'm glad God is the owner of my house. How about you?

J. Richard Terrell is the Lake Union Conference Stewardship director

1 Ellen G. White, Love Unlimited, (Oakland, Calif.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1958), 44.

2 Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, (Oakland, Calif.: Pacific Press Publishing Company, 1900), 351.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.