Are You The Landlord Or A Tenant?

In his book Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis gives some good advice on what our attitude toward ourselves should be. He poses the question: “Does it not make a great difference whether I am, so to speak, the landlord of my own mind and body, or only a tenant, responsible to the real landlord? If somebody else made me, for his own purposes, then I shall have a lot of duties which I should not have if I simply belonged to myself.”

This perception makes a lot of difference in life. If I think of myself as the landlord I make decisions differently and thus live differently—more selfishly. But if I understand that I am only a tenant in this body and that I belong to Jesus Christ, I make decisions based on what He would have me do. I consult with Him before doing things. I make sure I have His approval. I live selflessly with the intention of making a profit for the Landlord.

I think this is one of the things we are admonished to do when we are told to remember Christ. Remembering Him means, in part, remembering our relationship to Him. He is our Landlord and, therefore, we are obligated to care for His property in a way that will preserve that property and give Him interest on His investment.