R
“In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 25:13-17

E
Because every 49 years this year of Jubilee meant that all people should return to their property, it meant that people didn’t keep what they bought forever. There was a point in time that they needed to keep track of, where they gave back what they held onto. God cared about the justice of these transactions to point out that the price of property should reflect the number of years left before the year of Jubilee. He even said that what you’re really paying for is the number of crops, not the property itself. It reminded Israel that they don’t own things like God owns them, and it reminded them to deal honorably with each other.

A
If I own something, I’m not it’s master. Everything I own is a servant foremost of God. When I use, buy or sell anything, I should do so in a way that is honoring to its master. Meaning, I sell things according to how useful it is. I don’t try to sell things for more than they’re worth. That dishonors God by conveying that I don’t trust him to care for me. That I get my things for myself, and God didn’t give them to me.

P
Lord, I want to give you what I own. Let my things be to your glory, as you intended them to be when you gave them to me. When I sell something, help me trust that I only need what it is worth. I don’t need to attempt to make a profit on every possession because the God who gave it to me owns everything. You are my only provider. I’m not my own.

This post is part of my Weekly REAP series. I’m posting these from my personal journal to share what God is teaching me, and to give some practical examples of the REAP method.  I didn’t write any of these with publishing in mind, so forgive me if they don’t always wax eloquent. Here is some more information on the REAP study method.