You cannot give what you don't have

The Latin language has its own uniqueness. You can express many things in a few words. ‘Nemo dat quod non habet’ means, ‘you cannot give what you do not have’.

It literally means "no one gives what he doesn't have" and is a legal rule, sometimes called the nemo dat rule, that states that the purchase of a possession from someone who has no ownership right to it also denies the purchaser any ownership title. This rule usually stays valid even if the purchaser does not know that the seller has no right to claim ownership of the object of the transaction (a bona fide purchaser); however, it is often difficult for courts to make judgments as in many cases there is more than one innocent party. As a result of this there are numerous exceptions to the general rule which aim to give a degree of protection to bona fide purchasers as well as original owners.

Let us forget the legal understanding for a while and think of this spiritually. There was a poor old lady washing her face near a stream in a village. Suddenly, (some call it serendipity- sudden luck) a very precious pearl came into her hand through the flowing stream. The pearl would cost thousands of rupees enough for a lifetime. She took it with joy. Unfortunately, a man saw her with the pearl. He followed her to find her residence. The next day he begged her for the precious pearl. Without a word. She gave it to him. Tears of joy filled his eyes and his gratitude to her exploded.

Next day, the lady heard a knock on her door. She saw the same man in tears and kissing her feet. “Please take back this precious pearl. I cannot sleep. Without any hesitation, you gave me this pearl. I don’t need it. What I need to know about is how to have a heart like a heart like yours. A generosity like yours. All the worlds’ wealth cannot buy love, charity or generosity it must come naturally from the heart”.

In the Gospel of Luke Chapter 12 Jesus gives such a beautiful parable. A farmer said to himself, my barns (storehouses) are too small, so I will break them down and build bigger ones to store more grain for the future. But God told him “you fool, if today God calls you from this world (death) what will your big barns do?’ So don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow. Take care of each day. Live without desire or fear. If your yesterday is gone or today is gone. Don’t be worried. God has a tomorrow for you if you trust in Him.