Song of Solomon 1:6
Look not upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has darkened me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept.
The other day, I had a conversation with a friend about intellectual property. What have I done or released in the earth that someone else is benefiting from, but not me. What have I done that has made others smile, but I have yet to see the harvest. I have long been a writer of poems, plays and other aesthetics. I did not know about protecting your work or maintaining your copyright. I thought that God’s gift was free and it should be freely given. There was never an expectation that I could actually prosper from my own work. I never thought that it could hold that value. I now know that it can and will because I did it for someone else and they reaped the harvest. The scripture says,”Muzzle not the ox, that treadeth out the corn.” You cannot use the ox to grind the meal, then restrict the ox from eating the corn that falls from the stone. There is a pervasive thought that Christians do not have the right to prosper from the work of their own hands. I learned that the hard way, as most of my work is in the hands of someone else. I think it is time that I keep my own vineyard.
