(Gen 17:8 KJV) And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Whatever we take hold of, we take possession of and whatever we take hold of, takes possession of us. So ‘possession’ is a word we use to express some kind of association with another thing that involves authority, ownership, control, management or manipulation.
Anyone who has ever raised a plant, pet or child will know that ‘possession’ is a two way street, we are possessed by whatever we serve, whether for love, pleasure, power or money.
Often what ‘possesses’ us is invisible and intangible, an idea, an emotion, a dream, a vision or a desire. The source of this ‘invisible’ possessor is often unknown or impossible to rationalise, perhaps it comes from some inherited family trait (like instinct) or like some pre-programmed hypnotic response to subtle sensual stimulus or maybe some spiritual wireless messenger world beyond our ken, but whatever the origin, it can only take possession of our soul, if it takes us unawares, like a desperate mouse in a trap; Or, if we are aware, by our willingness to irresistibly comply and take the bait anyway.
Either way, temptation (bait) has a large part to play in the entrapment of all living things.
Yet there is security and peace in being possessed by a ‘good’ keeper… the plant, pet or child raised by ‘good’ parents benefits from being possessed. While the plant, pet or child raised by ‘evil’ parents is likely to be neglected, used, abused and ultimately consumed.
There is also a middle ground, where nature and providence rule over the plant, pet and child, involving a non-possession or freedom in the wilderness where only God or the wild ways of nature prevail.
The problem with possession is it weakens the position of the possessed through dependency and elevates the position of the possessor with godlike status. We are not here to possess or be possessed, that is delusion. Life is not about possessing, life is about being ‘good’ or aligning our behaviour with what is true and right. A man does not even possess his sperm, it is like seed to be spread… millions fall by the wayside, it is impossible to save them all. Fate (the lotto of life) by God determines which sperm finds its way to the egg. This is a fair system, who dare contend with the process of natural selection. Only cheats would try to manipulate a lotto win, when they… lost.
How can any man possess any other thing, when he doesn’t even possess himself?
The danger with possession is it enables wrong things to exist at the wrong time and place, resulting in unnatural, unfair, biased and evil outcomes.
(Mat 8:28-32 KJV) And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go.
POSSESSION