As He was teaching his children how to live, God made property rights a theme in the Ten Commandments…He wanted this concept to be in the center of life for the children of Israel so they could prosper. It is a basic building block in the Biblical Worldview. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house” is specifically how it is stated in Exodus 20:17. Your neighbor’s house is theirs because they worked for it and built it. It is not yours and also not the government that is to own their house.

The founders of America believed strongly in property rights, because they understood without them people would not be motivated to fight and win a revolution to preserve their land. Jim Morrison talks about this, “The founders of America believed that property was in fact a spiritual thing. It was an extension of who you are. You put your blood, sweat and tears in to securing that property. You also experience profound joys on or in your property-raising kids, children playing and growing on the land and seeing the land yield its produce as you worked it. The property, the home, reflected who you and your family were, and still do today.”

God made a covenant with Abraham about a land where Israel would become a great nation. He is serious about ownership and coveting what is not yours. The founders of America understood through the example of ancient Israel the wisdom of not coveting your neighbors’ possessions. The idea of property rights serves as a powerful incentive to prosper; the idea of owning your own land, your house, your car, a place on the beach, or the serenity of a mountain retreat, a place to retire or a place to raise your kids. This is a good and godly desire. What a wonderful reflection on Gods heart to have the opportunity to rise from the depths of poverty and prosper in a land for you and your family.