You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:15 (NIV)
Have you ever stolen anything? Perhaps when you were a little boy or girl you decided to acquire something that caught your fancy. So you just took it.
I remember an occasion when I spied a pocketknife at the local store in my community. It was a beautiful thing, and to a boy of about eight it was very tempting. In fact, it was too tempting. I decided that it had to be mine, so when the owner wasn’t looking, I took it out of the cardboard display rack and stuck it in my pocket. I played with the knife all afternoon. It was mine, I thought.
When I arrived home, I decided to tell my mom that I found the knife. All was well, I thought. What I did not know was that she didn’t buy my story any more than I had bought the knife. But she didn’t confront me. She did something worse, she told dad!
When dad came home from work and learned about my little adventure in crime, he was not a happy man. He was very calm as he told me to get in the car with the knife. He remained calm as he took me back to the store and made me give the knife back to the owner and apologize for taking it. Then he spoke to the owner in private and I think he paid for the knife even though he did not get it back. Then my dad stayed calm as we rode back to the house. When we arrived at the house, he took me into the bathroom and removed his belt. I felt sure he was not planning to change his pants. He literally picked me up off the floor with one hand and proceeded to give me a thrashing I have not forgotten to this day. It was one of the worst times and the best times of my life. That day I learned that stealing was not acceptable behavior. The truth of the Eighth Commandment was illustrated to me. And it made an impression.
Stealing is not just a matter for kids, however. Adults engage in it as well. Of course, there are some who make it a career. There are those in the Mafia, and others in organized crime. There are men and women running a multitude of scams on unsuspecting people. And there are thousands of petty thieves and robbers in our cities and suburbs.
Years ago there was a popular television series called, To Catch a Thief. It was based on the well-known saying, "It takes a thief to catch a thief." There is some truth to that saying. Equally true, however, is the fact that there is a little thief in all of us. When we studied the commandment on murder we saw that you can kill in more than one way. Just as you can kill in more than one way, so you can steal in more than one way.
The Eighth Commandment says, "You shall not steal." Another way to rephrase this command is to say, "You shall acquire by honest methods." What this commandment has in view is our dealing in honesty and integrity as we seek to gain. When we do otherwise, we violate both the letter and spirit of the law. When we do not acquire by honest methods, we become thieves, and are guilty of stealing.
With that in mind, let me ask you a question. Do you acquire by honest methods? Are you honest in your business dealings? Do you deal with others in integrity as you buy and sell? Are you guilty of stealing? Could there be a thief living inside of you?
How you answer these questions means a lot. The answers not only impact our relationships in the marketplace, but our walk with God. In order to have a clear conscience, we must allow the Lord to search our hearts on this matter, and we must squarely face who we are. Psalm 23:3b (NIV) says, "He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake." May we allow the Lord to put His finger on these areas in our lives and give us clarity of understanding so we can stand before Him with clean hands and a clear conscience.
We Can Steal From OthersThe Eighth Commandment makes it clear that we can steal from others. This, of course, is its obvious meaning. When we think of stealing, we usually think of one person taking something that belongs to someone else. That is basic.
It is clear from the Bible that the ownership of property is acceptable. The Bible does not teach that the state or any other collective of people should be the sole owners of all property. It is also clear that there are certain property rights that property owners possess. Additionally, there are acceptable as well as illegitimate ways to acquire property and possessions.
One acceptable and honorable means by which we may procure things is work. The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 4:28 (NCV) admonishes, "Those who are stealing must stop stealing and start working. They should earn an honest living for themselves. Then they will have something to share with those who are poor." This is the New Testament version of the Eighth Commandment. Not only is the prohibition against stealing included, but also we have on the positive side an alternative presented –– good old fashioned hard work.
Whether we are white-collar workers, or blue-collar workers, or the new category of service oriented workers known as pink-collar workers, we are all called to do the same thing –– to earn our living by daily work. God has ordained work, and dignified it with His blessing. Through our diligence and labor we earn money and are enabled to purchase material goods, as God gives us wisdom to do so. By work we have the supply for our needs and also have something to share with others who have need. And in so doing we gain self-respect and self-esteem.
Also acceptable as a means of acquisition is the wise investment of our possessions. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 and Luke 19 is a Biblical example of our Lord’s approval of prudent investment. We are not talking about shady business speculation and risky gambling, but rather the shrewd but wise investment of the material and monetary blessings the Lord has given us stewardship over.
A final means by which we may acquire by honest methods is to ask God for what we need and trust that He will supply our needs after we have prayed and done what we can do. After we have done all we can do, sometimes there are times when there are no options left available to us except prayer. In those instances we need to pray. Many times God will come through in amazing ways. I remember several times the Lord has met my need in miraculous ways. One stands out.
Years ago, when Toria and I had only been married a short time, and when times were very tight, I figured up our bills at the beginning of the month and determined that we would be about $200.00 short. We were trying to be faithful to the Lord in our need as we have throughout our marriage, so I prayed and asked the Lord to give us $250.00. The reason I asked for $250.00 instead of $200.00 was that I figured that by the end of the month we would need the extra $50.00. We did not talk about it, or tell people about it. One day as I was driving up in the driveway Toria stood at the opened front door. She held up in her hand a pink slip of paper. Man of faith that I am, I thought it was a bounced check! As we met in the front yard I discovered that it was not a bounced check, but rather a check to us. Not only was it a check to us, it was a check for exactly $250.00. Not only was it a check for $250.00, it was an anonymous cashiers check for $250.00. I had no one to thank but God! Prayer is both effective and acceptable.
But there are unacceptable and illegitimate means of acquisition. There are ways we can be guilty of robbing from others. The Eighth Commandment was given because some people will not honor the legitimate ways of acquiring property. Because of greed and dissatisfaction with what they have, they will steal.
Stealing is not always clear to us, written in shades of black and white. Sometimes the issue appears in shades of gray. In those cases it is easy for us to rationalize.
Consider the employee who routinely takes from work a variety of things without permission, such as pens, pencils, staplers, notebooks, paper, and the like. What about the employee who uses the copier to run hundreds of copies, who uses the company telephone to make long distance personal calls? If you did not work for it, pay for it, or even ask for it, in reality, you stole it!
Another form of theft is borrowing something and simply never returning it. Do you have things that you have borrowed and have had for months, even years? Perhaps it’s a neighbor’s extension cord, or hand tool. Maybe it’s a serving tray or kitchen utensil. How about those books from the church library, or videos? You may have had good intentions of returning them but you never did. But you have in effect claimed them for yourself by not returning them?
Still another way of stealing is deception, even in its most ordinary forms. Proverbs 20:23 (NLT) says, "The Lord despises double standards; he is not pleased by dishonest scales." We doctor the scales today in a variety of ways. When we shade the truth, or misrepresent our product in business, when we deal in half-truths or tricks or slick sales pitches designed to get the business whatever the cost to the customer or client, then we are guilty of stealing. Wheeling and dealing may be acceptable to your associates, but it is not to God. We need to be reminded of the words of Jesus in Luke 6:10-11 (NLT) "Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?"
Finally we can steal from others by failing to give to others what is due them when it is due. Has someone lent you money and you have neglected to repay him or her? Have you legitimate debts that you are not repaying? Are you behind on agreed upon obligations while you use money to buy things, eat out, and entertain yourself? It is a form of stealing.
You can kill in many ways and you can steal in many ways as well. One way you can steal is to steal from others.
We Can Steal From OurselvesWe can steal from others and we can steal from ourselves as well. How, you may say? If it’s mine, I can’t steal it, can I?
In reality, all we have is given to us as a stewardship from God. Our life, our health, our money, our possessions, our job, our family, our time, everything is a gift from God for which we are accountable.
When we squander the things God has given us we are really stealing from ourselves. Our time, for instance, is a precious commodity, even more precious than our money. We are exhorted in Scripture to "redeem the time." The NIV translates that passage, found in Ephesians 5:15-16: "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." When we fail to use our time wisely, we steal valuable events from our lives. If, instead of using our time to pursue the Lord and the things of God, we merely employ it in recreational activities, and self-serving events, then we rob ourselves of spiritual life, the blessing of God, and a future reward.
Jesus gives us extremely valuable instruction when He says in Matthew 16:26 (NLT), "And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" You can be so busy filling your barns that you neglect filling your soul. You can be so busy building your kingdom that you neglect His kingdom. Are you laying up treasure in heaven or on earth? Are you faithfully laboring in the local church where God put you in both the good times and the bad?
How do you steal from yourself? Do you steal years of productive life by not taking care of yourself? Do you steal from yourself the blessing of God by not living in a full-on commitment to Jesus? Do you steal from yourself the blessing of seeing someone with whom you work, or a neighbor come to Christ through your witness because you keep your faith to yourself? We can steal from ourselves.
We Can Steal From GodWe can steal from others; we can steal from ourselves; and we can steal from God, as well.
In Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV) God accuses the people of robbing Him. God asks: "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
The principle of tithing, that is, giving ten percent of everything we earn to God through the local church where we attend, is clearly taught in Scripture. We see it in the Old Testament and Jesus affirmed it in the New Testament. In Matthew 23:23 (NIV) we read that Jesus said: "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things."
But not only did the Israelites rob God, so do we when we use His tithe for ourselves in acquiring things.
God gives all we have to us. We are stewards or managers of His possessions. In 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NLT) it tells us: Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. And if we are faithful in those things God has put into our hands here and now, we will be blessed with so much more later. We will hear those words recorded in Matthew 25:21 (NIV): "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."
As a part of our stewardship He asks us to be faithful to support His work on earth by giving back a minimum of ten percent of all our income as a token of our love for and commitment to Him. By doing so we declare that all is His –– that we are His. To do any less is to steal from God what belongs to Him. Can you live with that? I hope not –– for your sake and for the Kingdom’s sake.
God challenges us to be honest people, people marked by integrity. He challenges us to acquire by honest methods, to be careful in our dealings with others, to be upright in our business transactions. He challenges us not to steal from others, from ourselves, or from our God. Is there a thief in you? One day the court will be in session and he will be dealt with. You have the opportunity to deal with him today.
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Note: I am grateful to Bill Hybels for the chapter in his Book, Laws That Liberate, entitled Acquire By The Rules, which provided a number of ideas that have been incorporated in this message, although modified.
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