Ownership and stewardship
My family did some major remodeling of our house over the last three or four years. I think we are finally done. A friend asked me if it was a wise investment: would we ever see the market value of the place exceed what we put into it?
No, it's unlikely that the market value of the house will ever surpass what we've spent on it, but, as I said to my friend, we don't really own it anyway, we're just stewards of it for a time. Several people owned it before us, and many will own it after us. In the meantime, we have invested in making it a wonderful home for us, and hopefully for those who follow us. He looked at me, mouth open, and an uncomprehending look in his eyes.
The whole idea of ownership gets muddled in so many ways. I understand the legal meaning of ownership: deeds, bills of sale, rights of owners, "sanctity" of private property, and all that. The legal meaning of ownership is important. It defines boundaries that make an orderly and secure society possible. Thou shalt not steal makes little sense if we don't have a mutual, and legally binding, understanding of what is mine and what is yours. But I also understand that our possessions come and go through our hands, there is little permanence to them. In my adult years I have owned six houses, a dozen cars, all kinds of clothing, equipment and gear, and let us not forget food, and "personal effects." They come, they go.
