Ownership

     Psalms 24:1 and 1 Corinthians 10:26 "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof". God created the earth and everything on it, through His Son. So nothing on this planet truly "belongs" to anyone here. But each of us, His children, has been given our own right to make choices, also called agency. As a result of that we often end up claiming ownership of things that aren't really ours at all: land, plants, animals, even other people. These days, slavery is not as widely practiced as it has been. We tend to be pretty critical of any effort humans make to "own" other humans. Human trafficking is a crime in all civilized societies. However, there are still incidents of spouses acting like they "own" their mates- everything from outright domineering and physical abuse to "trophy wives" or the self-serving attitude of demanding a wealthy, good-looking partner to show off to the world. Child labor, and I'm not referring to having the kids do chores to help around the house, is abolished as well in civilized societies. But once again, there are parents whose primary attitude toward their children is more like an owner. They get angry when their young athlete doesn't play as well as they want to be able to brag about. They're upset when their child chooses something different than they had planned for them. I'm not referring to being a drug-user as opposed to a healthy lifestyle or choosing living on welfare as opposed to a legitimate job to support themselves.
     Having standards for children is not the same as trying to select their life path for them. When my first children were small, I was sincerely concerned about what I was going to teach them. It was essential to me that I never mislead them. In order to teach them truth, I needed to learn it for myself. I read books and sought advice from medical and health professionals about living healthy so I could give them good counsel about eating, exercising, and sleeping. I tried to learn facts from old wives' tales about the world in general so I could tell them scientific truths to the best of my knowledge. I did my best to learn a little about our country and government so I could try to prepare them to be good citizens. I have sought the best moral standards to promote happiness and a healthy society so I could teach my posterity. I have also tried to learn about God, whether He exists and His nature. I know that's a confusing topic in the world so I needed to find what I could for myself, not relying on any single individual or book. I continue to share with my posterity what I have learned but I recognize and respect their right to choose for themselves whether or not I agree. They are "my" children and grandchildren but I do not own them.
     Before leaving the topic, I have some confusion about ownership of animals. I believe God expected His children to care for animals. Animals were created before man and are capable of survival without man's intervention. However, they are no longer capable of survival due to some of the interference of man: poaching for tusks, fur, and other body parts; pollution and destruction of habitats, etc. I think it's good to have zoos for educational purposes and they have done well promoting protection of endangered species. Having pets is a bit of a gray area. I don't think having pets should be outlawed but I'm glad there are laws that create consequences for people who abuse animals. I know pets can be satisfying companions for humans. However, I cringe when I see people try to change the nature of animals by dressing them in human-style clothes to show them off- not the booties to protect their feet or the sweaters to keep them warm. I cringe when I see people stuff their pets with unhealthy treats to encourage the pet to adore them or show off some cute trick. I cringe when I see horses painfully hobbled simply for the purpose of getting them to prance in an unnatural way. Circuses are dying out. I guess a lot of animal trainers treat animals well enough. I just don't know if the animals are intelligent enough to resent humans taking advantage of them- caging them, getting them to do things simply to impress other humans. Is it appropriate to "own" animals? How do you distinguish taking care of them, training them to not be destructive according to human standards, and misusing them? I guess I still have a lot of wisdom to gain because I don't know.