We are often admonished that we should not value our possessions too much. While this is correct in principle, we often tend to embrace the other extreme, not valuing other people’s property at all.

What then is the value of our possessions? All that we have are gifts and blessings from God (Psalm 50:10-12). We are merely stewards of our possessions; they do not belong to us. Therefore, if we waste or do not properly care for our possessions we have to answer to God.

While our own possessions are a gift from the Lord to be valued and received with thanksgiving, we need to look at the properties of other people from a different perspective. In addition to being gifts from God, the possessions of other people are the fruit of their labor. If we do not respect other people’s possessions, we are disrespecting their efforts. For, most people work hard to provide for their families and their families’ future.  The things they accumulate are more than just things, they are the direct results of diligent labor and the choices they make, and they can represent what they stand for. We need to respect other people’s property with that in mind, especially if we borrow something from a friend or neighbor.

It is not for us to belittle nor covet what others have, whether it be much or little. And when we borrow something from a neighbor, we need to treat these items with even more respect than we do our own things.

These issues are even addressed in the law and the prophets: If a borrowed item is damaged or a borrowed animal is injured, the borrower shall make it right (Ex 22:14-15).  For example, when a borrowed axe’s head slipped off and fell into the water, the borrower took the loss much more seriously than if it had been his own axe (2 Kings 6:1-5).

However, with all that said, we must also not forget…

Matthew 6:19-21 - “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.