Then you ought to know that you own nothing

[Mary Naeem]

By H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Then you ought to know that you own nothing, not even yourself.. because you had no existence before. Before you existed you were nothing, then God created you.. When you fell, this self became possessed by death... But God purchased this self and redeemed it with His blood, so it became His own...

So, as you see you own nothing, not even yourself. Thus, a person who sins against himself is in fact committing sin against God Himself That is because he is corrupting a soul which is the ownership of God and corrupting a body which God-after taking possession of found pleasure in making it a temple for His Holy Spirit..

The same may be said of the person who sins against others.. It is a sin against God Himself whether directly or indirectly... David sinned against Uriah the Hittite and his wife Bathsheba but he addressed God saying "Against You, You only, have I sinned" (Ps. 51:4). He said so not only because he transgressed against God but also because he sinned against two persons belonging to God..

If you become aware of this, my beloved brother, you will recognize how dangerous is sins.. You do not possess your self so that you may dispose of it as an owner..

Regarding property, we have explained that we own nothing, but all we have is a gift from God.. You are just a person entrusted such property to manage it with honesty as a good steward. You will be asked about it when God says to you, "Give an account of your stewardship." (Luke 16:2)

Therefore we find a very rich king like David realizes the real state of matters and says, "I am poor and needy" (Ps. 70:4).. According to the wrong human measure David the King was not poor.. but in fact, according to a spiritual eye, he owned nothing..

Therefore also, the holy fathers vowed to live in voluntary poverty and considered this one of the main bases on which their monastic life depended.