Land “Rights”

An article by Frank    2 Comments

One of the great problems amongst poor communities around the world is access to good land. This problem exists for a variety of reasons but is evidenced in many places.

Understandings of the human “relationship” with land and the environment can be the source of great productivity and harmony or chaos, marginalization and destruction. Interestingly, here in New Zealand there is a division playing out right now as our government seeks to change laws that some worry will lead to the wholesale destruction of trees.

Predictably the political divide has opened between those who view trees in some sort of sacred form, even if they would not describe it as such, and those who believe a private owner of property should be able to exert their “right” over the land that they “own” and therefore cut down any tree on their land if they so wish.

As this understanding of private ownership of land inherent in western culture shifts into more nomadic and largely tribal/collective cultures, it is causing numerous issues as it generally favours those who have ready access to capital for the purchase of land. All too often this results in large companies displacing the poor from land they occupy simply because the poor do not have access to the capital needed to compete for “ownership” thus they have no “rights” to exercise in a private ownership culture.

The Bible offers an interesting perspective around land “ownership” that speaks both to the situation of the poor and also our own situation related to private owners wanting to exert rights to cut down trees and the possible shift towards little to no barriers to stop them from doing so.

In the Bible there is a level of personification that often takes place when referencing land. It is seen as an intimate part of what God has created and far from being seen as a lost cause and an entity simply to be given up on until some future event, it is afforded all the requirements of care that would be expected for something gifted by the divine. For example  – Sabbath rest is not something simply offered to living entities as we would often understand them, rest in the laws given to the ancient nation of Israel is also afforded to the land.

The land is viewed as a gift and a thing that humanity exists in relationship with. When humanity is acting as it should, the Bible paints a picture of harmony between us and the land (Leviticus 26:3-6). On the contrary, when humanity is acting out of step, the land becomes a hostile entity as evidenced in the story of Genesis 3 and the decree of Leviticus 26:38 and 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.

The picture of land presented in the biblical account is not something we exert ownership over, rather it is something we live in relationship with and recognise as a gift that we cannot call our own. We are but tenants, custodians and caretakers of the land. This was taken very seriously by the ancient Israelites and by God himself. Written into their law was this:

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants. Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. Leviticus 25:23-24

Some could argue that this was an understanding that simply existed between the nation of Israel specifically and God, yet what we see is simply a continuation of the themes of the early Genesis stories. The land is ultimately God’s, we cannot and should not exert absolute ownership in such a way that we think we have the right to do as we please with that land.

The land is a resource that sustains us, not a commodity that we own and are free to use and abuse as we wish. If the use of land leads to the marginalization of people then it is being used wrongly. If it leads to people crying out for their right to do as they please with no real thought to the consequences apart from ones own pleasure, then it is being used wrongly.

As a Christian I do not believe in absolute ownership rights, rather I see humanity as custodians of the land. If I purchase land it is with the understanding that I am a tenant given custody of something that belongs to God. It is our job to tend it and care for it, not abuse it for our own pleasure. In so doing we reap rewards of sustenance that has offerings for all people, not just those at the top of the capital pyramid. When we step outside of living as we should, the bible clearly paints a picture of land as being something that rebels against us. With this in mind, one could rightly look around the world and the state of land and probably determine how well humankind is undertaking the journey of being truly human.

When land is abused it is humanity that suffers the consequences and all too often it is those with the least access to capital that shoulder the brunt of those consequences whilst the rest of us expend resources to insulate ourselves.