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Property as a Trust

It's all the Lord's, and we are His.

An Economy of Love (5)

 

“The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.” Leviticus 25.23, 24

The economy of the first Christians
The people of Jerusalem in the days of the apostles were astonished by what they saw within the community of those who believed in Jesus. The way they managed their lives – the economy that defined their common existence – indicated that something was at work among them of which the surrounding world knew next to nothing, and could only admire.

These people spent time with one another, sharing meals and learning together, even worshiping in their private homes. They talked eagerly and joyfully about their faith, and encouraged others to join with them. They freely parted with their wealth and property, including lands and other real estate, to aid or assist those among them who were in need, and even took up collections to help other communities in distant parts. No one said that anything they possessed was his own; rather, they were glad trustees or stewards of things which, they understood, ultimately belonged to God.

And when problems arose within the community, they acted with discipline and love, with the result that the Word they lived by grew in influence and power, and the ranks of their members increased accordingly.

That’s what happens when believers practice an economy of love, based on an unchanging Law of liberty (Jms. 2.12).

The Law and property
The idea of holding land and other possessions in trust for the Lord seems altogether foreign and iffy, if not downright ridiculous. And not just to our secular neighbors; most Christians have only a minimal concept of this, because most Christians have little concept of how to love according to the teaching of God’s Law.

The right to private property is so fundamental in the American mindset, that for a property-owner to consider that he only holds his land as a trust from the Lord, and only as long as his use of that land pleases the Lord, is, well, fanciful at best. In spite of the fact that God is loving, true, gracious, generous, lavish in His good gifts, clear about His moral requirements, and ready to favor all who trust in Him, people today will not countenance the idea that, somehow, at the end of the day, their property belongs to the Lord.

But that’s the way it was in ancient Israel, as we see in the Law of God. God reserved the right to determine what uses property could be put to, and what constituted fair and fruitful use of property. And, although properties and land could be bought and sold, the value of each was carefully determined within a fifty-year cycle of harvests and profits, so that it was not the market but a fixed system of valuation that determined the price of land.

Moreover, when land was purchased, the only way one could make money from it was by increasing the productivity of the land, so that it generated more harvests than the standard measure. At the end of a fifty-year cycle the land would return to its owner without a fee; so, if you planned to make money in Israel from land, you had to work hard, and to work in a way that conformed to the statutes and rules of the Law of God. For all the land belonged to the Lord, and He alone determined the proper uses to which it might be put.

Trustees of the secular state
Apart from the giving Christians contribute to their churches and other endeavors, the idea of holding property in trust to the Lord seems far-fetched today. We prefer to hold our land as a trust, not to an unchanging, true, and gracious God, but to a self-interested, whimsical, and all-powerful state. While we think we own our property, free and clear, we only own it in accord with the uses which the state allows. Zoning laws, property development and maintenance laws, laws governing access and egress, taxes on property, the law of eminent domain, and inheritance laws loom over every one of us.

Should my local government, for example, decide to rezone my neighborhood to allow for business, that would dramatically affect the value of my property – permanently. When we lived in Northern Virginia, a battle concerning eminent domain raged, as neighbors whose family farm went back generations were being threatened with having their land divided, so that the county government could run a connector road through it. In New England people who owned their homes for many years were forced, in the name of eminent domain, to move out, so that a new shopping center could be built for the economic benefit of the entire community – not unlike what the Chinese did in dispossessing and relocating thousands of Beijing residents to make room for Olympics venues.

So it strikes me as curious that Americans seem only mildly concerned about government being the ultimate trustee of their property – given the changeable and often self-serving ways of politicians – and yet balk at the idea of holding their property in trust to God, Who is all-wise and all-loving and unchanging in His ways. I am not recommending a return to the fifty-year fixed standard of Biblical Law as a way to manage property today. I’m only suggesting that God and His Law are much fairer and much more predictable as ultimate guarantors of the best use of private property than our whimsy-prone, self-serving politicians.

Moreover, God’s Law would not allow the use of private property for certain kinds of enterprises that degrade or threaten a community, even though the state, in the name of “freedom of speech” or “free enterprise” is perfectly OK with licensing porn shops, abortion clinics, and other kinds of polluters.

In an economy of love, such as the Law of God prescribes, land and property would be put to more humane and edifying uses than those revolving around mere self-interest. But unless such an economy emerges among believers today, as it did in first-century Jerusalem, our secular age will have no reason to think that a better alternative exists to what they presently believe.

For reflection
1.  Is it possible for Christians as communities to show a different view of property from what the surrounding world maintains? Explain.

2.  In many ways, Christians seem to be trying to work in God’s field, not according to His economy, but according to that of the world. Do you agree? Explain.

3.  What are some practical steps Christians might take to begin being better stewards of all their property as unto the Lord?

Next steps – Transformation: What are some things you might do, beginning today, to show that all your property is a trust from the Lord, and that you intend to use if for His glory?

For a free overview of the teaching of God’s Law and how to apply it, write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and request our Kingdom Catechism.

The Psalmist says the righteous person meditates on the Law of God day and night (Ps. 1). Do you? If you had a compendium of all the laws and statutes of God, would you be more likely to do so? Order your copy of The Law of God and begin taking up the discipline of daily meditation in God’s rules for love (click here). And if you need convincing that the Law of God still matters, order a copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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