The Heavenly Proprietor

In the industrial world of maintenance and manufacturing, there exists numerous programs and positions to promote continuous process improvement. Improvements that implement safe work practices, save money, and prevent the repetition of monotonous activities for technicians are the type of process enhancements that management desires most. On one occasion, I set out to help upgrade the performance of a key piece of equipment by implementing more thorough maintenance practices. My strategy began by obtaining the manufacturer’s manual for a complete understanding of the equipment and requisite maintenance. Unfortunately, expecting to find these details in engineering drawings and step-by-step procedures left me disappointed. The scant manual did not leave me completely empty-handed as it stated in the Preventative Maintenance section, “Reference Drawing Number ABC9876543” (or some other three letter, seven-digit drawing). However, I did not have access to that drawing. This plight, and the continual underperformance of our equipment, led me to reach out to the manufacturer and ask one simple question, “May I please have drawing ABC9876543 so that I may reference it according to your manual’s instruction?” Although it annoyed me at the time, I am now thankful for the response I received from the company: “Most of what you’re asking for are fabrication drawings that are proprietary.” The term proprietary relayed to me the confidentiality of the drawings but it also expressed to me that the owner of the drawings ultimately gets to choose what to do with them. As I said, I am thankful now because the notion of proprietary rights reminds me of my Owner and His proprietary rights over me.[1]

He Owns Everything

Scripture testifies of God’s ownership over his creation, especially in the Psalms:

The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

-Psalm 24:1

If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.

-Psalm 50:12

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them.

-Psalm 89:11

These verses are no-nonsense, worship-filled declarations about God’s ownership of all that the heavens and earth contain. In the industrial world, relative ownership usually comes by either being the creator of a product or process or buying the ownership rights for the product or process. Interestingly, God has done both of these when he created the heavens and the earth and redeemed, or bought back his people (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Psalm 130:8; Galatians 4:5). While the civil laws of our present time acknowledge and uphold such practices as creative or proprietary rights, society at large appears to reject the same framework when applied to humanity’s Creator and His people’s Redeemer. But whether the world chooses to acknowledge its Creator or not, the fact remains that he owns everything. For this reason, he gets to do what he wants to with, “The world, and those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1).

Our Lord’s ownership, however, is not domineering. He is a kind and caring Owner, for he promises to work all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). He also pays careful attention to the details of each one of his creations from the moment he forms them in the womb (Psalm 139:13) to the appointment of their specific time and boundary of their life’s habitation (Acts 17:26). This Omnipotent Owner uses his power to serve his people (Mark 10:41-45). He gives clear expectations to His creation: love me and love others (Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:30-31). He is the only Owner worthy “to receive glory and honor and power.” And why, you may ask, is he worthy to receive this worship? Just as the Psalms proclaim: because he “created all things” (Revelation 4:11).

Conclusion

Your Owner is kind (Romans 8:28), detail-oriented (Psalm 139:13; Acts 17:26), a servant to His own (Mark 10:41-45), unambiguous in his instructions for you (Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:30-31), and worthy of worship (Revelation 4:11). If it appeals to your logic that when an inventor creates something then he or she gets proprietary rights over his creation, how much more sense does it makes that we should recognize the Preeminent Creator as the Owner over “The world, and all those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1)? Therefore, let us, His glory-garnering creations, join in with the psalmist and make known the proprietary rights of our Creator:

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them (Psalm 89:11).

[1] God is preeminent. Therefore, I am not comparing God with earthly ownership but rather I am comparing earthly ownership with God, who models ownership for such instances and concepts as “proprietary rights.”