Division of Property

Some values are common to every religion, creed and ethnic group. One of those is the respect for what belong to another man. It’s odd then that circumstances can cause property rights to become fuzzy.

West Virginia may be unique among states in respect to rights of property ownership to a degree because of geography. The mountains create a relationship among neighbors that doesn’t happen in other places. Right to property has a way of becoming clouded.

One way this occurs is when a man’s house becomes landlocked, or maybe creek locked is a better word. Water flowing down a mountain can erode the ground so much that a creek can grow so large it can’t be crossed. The driveway has to be rerouted or a bridge must be constructed which can be more expensive than the house itself.

Often a cheaper alternative is to use a neighbor’s driveway to find a better access point up the hill to the house. This often happens.

After a few years of using the neighbors’ driveway it is assumed to belong to both.

So neighbors share. That can present a problem if the relations between neighbors sour or maybe the house is sold to a person who is the disagreeable sort. In fact, this has been the source of numerous feuds.

I used to live in West Virginia. A friend there told me about a family feud that developed between his brother and a neighbor up the mountain. After a particular severe disagreement his brother built a fence across his land thus cutting off the neighbors’ only access to his house.

The neighbor retaliated by setting fire to his brothers house. His brother reacted by shooting at the neighbor as he was driving by his house. Both men ended up in jail and I doubt the dispute ever came to resolution.

All of this occurred because two people claimed to own the same piece of land.

A friend once told me that churches and ministries are much the same. He said that people will remain friends a lot longer if each has his own ministry and knows what belongs to the other. Failure to respect what belongs to another inevitably leads to war.

There is a sad commentary about this. Folks can be spiritual brothers one day and the next become bitter enemies. And it occurs in churches all the time.

You can say that no amount of property is worth such division between brothers and you would be right. But the fact is, establishing a harmonious relationship begins with respecting what belongs to the other man.

I think this is the reason Communism and Socialism don’t work. Any system that does not recognize the right of a man to possess what ought to belong to him is doomed to failure.

The law that says “Thou shalt not steal” is simply telling us the way life is. One of the first things kids growing up in the same house must learn is what belongs to me and what belongs to my brother. They may live long but they will be bitter rivals until they understand how to live within the framework of law.

When a government, be it church or state refuses to recognize the right of a private citizen, a local community or a local congregation to own property, it has set itself up for failure. That church or state has violated a basic right of man and a law of God.

A man may not recognize the law of gravity, but when he acts contrary to the properties of the universe it will reach out to bite him anyway.

Men may not recognize the 8^th Commandment, but the consequence of abusing man’s God-given right to own property has a consequence as sure as the sun rising tomorrow.

Until next time,