Benny is a miser of legendary exploits. He buys NOTHING without a coupon. He spends hours fighting with customer service representatives. “Let me speak to your manager!” He stops at twenty restaurants on Veteran’s Day to collect free meals—all of them to-go. “Oh, I WILL get what’s coming to me.” His stories progress from amusing to appalling as his battles for money take a sordid turn.
And Benny has money. A retired state employee, he is well-fixed for retirement, but has taken another job because there is never enough. The single man with no children craves money.
But he rents an apartment. Wait, what? That’s right: he is a RENTER! Though renting goes against every financial principle, Benny has never purchased a home. For over three decades he has “thrown away” money on rent that could have earned equity in a home. Had he bought a house thirty years ago, he might now own a home worth $200,000 or more. Instead, Benny lives in an apartment with nothing to show for thirty years of rent payments.
Owning is better than renting. God promises ownership to His children. Psalm 37 is best known for verse four: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” But four times in the psalm, David writes that God’s children will INHERIT THE LAND.
“The humble will inherit the land” Psalm 37:11.
“Those who are blessed by Him will inherit the land” v.22.
“The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently” v.29.
“Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land” v.34.
There is something special about owning land. Biblical ownership means provision and security: you can grow food and build a shelter. In that culture, land ownership is LIFE.
And God promises land to us if we are (1) humble, (2) blessed by God, (3) waiting on the Lord, and (4) keeping His way.
Don’t be a renter forever. Become an owner by obeying God and being humble.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 