All day I hear, “me”, “my”, and “mine”. You would think those words would be coming from the lips of one of my three boys (ages 6, 5, and 2). Sadly, that’s not the case. While the boys do use these words a fair amount, the majority of these painfully possessive words are uttered repeatedly from my mouth!

“Get your feet off of my sofa!”

“Why are you messing up my house?”

“Don’t break my dishes!”

“Get your hands off my chocolate!” (Perhaps I’m a little more possessive of this item.)

One day, my oldest son (rightfully, but perhaps not from the purest of motives) said, “Mom, isn’t everything we have God’s?” Whew. Sobering. Convicting. True.

This simple word, “my”, reflects my sinful heart. If I don’t rightfully set my life each day on God’s truth, I quickly fall into the trap of thinking the things of this world belong to me. To set my life on God’s truth, I must meditate on His Word:

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.  (Psalm 24:1)

The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
   the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. (Psalm 89:11)

So, the next time I get angry about mud tracked through the house, a dish breaking, or kids’ items strewn across the floor, I need to remember that all I have is the Lord’s, not mine. He’s given it to me for a short time, and I must steward it well. Once God deals with my sin, I am better equipped to parent my children in their sinful struggles.

This reflects yet another example of God using my children to reveal the sin in my life. Praise God for these little people that humble us and send us back to the cross each day.


Written by Leslie Melby, volunteer writer for the Summit Stewardship and Generosity Ministry.

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