Read Psalm 50:10-12; Psalm 24:1; 1 Chronicles 29:13, 14; and Haggai 2:8. What’s the message here, and what should this truth mean to us and how we relate to whatever we possess?

 The book of 1 Chronicles, starting with chapter 17, records King David’s desire to build a house for God. He shared this desire with the prophet Nathan, who responded, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you” (1 Chron. 17:2, NJKV). But that night the word of God came to Nathan and instructed him to tell the King that, because he was a man of war, he couldn’t build God’s house. His son would do the work instead. David asked if he could, at least, draw the plans and prepare the building materials. When David was granted this request, he spent the rest of his life amassing a tremendous amount of hewn stone, cedar, iron, gold, silver, and brass “without measure.” When all of the building materials had been prepared and assembled at the building site, David called all the leaders of Israel together for a ceremony of praise and thanksgiving.

 In 1 Chronicles 29:13, 14, in King David’s public prayer, what did he say was the real source of all the building materials that he and the people had spent time and money preparing? Of course, in essence, he said, “We really can’t take any credit for all these special materials because we are just giving You back Your own stuff.”

 The point is important for all of us, whether rich or poor (but especially the rich). Because God made everything in the beginning (see Gen. 1:1; John 1:3; Ps. 33:6, 9), He is truly the rightful owner of all that exists, including whatever we possess — no matter how hard and diligently and honestly we have worked for it. If not for God and His grace, we would have nothing, we would be nothing; in fact, we wouldn’t even exist. Thus, we must always live with the realization that, ultimately, God owns all that is, and by praising and thanking Him for His goodness to us, we can keep this important truth before us.