Everything we have has come from you.
—1 Chronicles 29:14
Elisabeth Elliot, in Passion and Purity, wrote: “If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul.”
It’s difficult to develop a spiritual view of possessions—to own that ours is a position of stewardship, not ownership.
“Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you have already given us!” (1 Chr 29:14–15).
We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
—W.W. How
What you have is a trust to be used to fulfill God’s wishes,
not a luxury to be used to satisfy your wishes.