THE DECALOGUE:
A SUMMARY OF GOD'S PRECEPTS FOR GOD'S PEOPLE
The Eighth Commandment:
On Thievery (Exod 20:15)
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Dr. Paul Manuel
A SUMMARY OF GOD'S PRECEPTS FOR GOD'S PEOPLE
The Eighth Commandment:
On Thievery (Exod 20:15)
Dr. Paul Manuel
(There are different divisions of the Commandments in different traditions: In Protestantism (for the most part), v. 2 is the introduction and v. 3 is the first command. In Judaism, vv. 2-3 together are the first command. In Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism, vv. 2-6 are the first command, and v. 17 contains two commands. This study follows the primary Protestant division, recognizing that v. 2 is declarative and v. 3 contains the first imperative.)This sermon series is not particularly easy to preach, because it is often about the negative, about what you should not do. It concerns such an important passages, though, I thought it appropriate to treat them, even if it causes some discomfort. There is also the hope that it will encourage people to act accordingly.
A man was quite unhappy because he had lost his favorite hat. Rather than purchasing a new one, he decided he would go to a nearby church and steal one out of the vestibule. When he got there, though, an usher intercepted him at the door and took him to a pew where he had to sit and listen to a sermon on the Ten Commandments. After church, the man met the preacher in the vestibule doorway, shook his hand vigorously and said, "I want to thank you for saving my soul today. I came to church to steal a hat, but after hearing your sermon on the Ten Commandments, I decided against it." "You mean the Commandment, 'Thou shall not steal,' changed your mind?" the minister asked. "No, the one about adultery did," the man replied. "As soon as you said that... I remembered where I left my hat."I am hopeful that this series on The Decalogue: A Summary of God's Precepts for God's People, will inspire a better response, including the message this morning, On Thievery.
Whether God thought a simple phrase would be easy to remember or, because eyeglasses had not yet been invented, He wanted to keep it short so the print could be larger, the eighth command is as concise as numbers six and seven—a few words in English, just two words in Hebrew.1
Exod 20:15 [= Deut 5:19] You shall not steal.
As with other commands in this list, God provides no particulars, nothing more than the basic admonition. We do not know how pervasive the problem of theft was in Israelite society, but it has been a recognized problem in civilizations throughout history.2 Evidently, theft was also common enough among God's people3 for Him to include the prohibition here and to address the matter in more detail elsewhere.4
Most of the commandments thus far do not recognize variations in severity. Voluntary manslaughter is murder, regardless of whether the weapon is a sword or a rock, whether the assailant made the victim suffer or killed him instantly. The same is true for some other crimes. There are no degrees of idolatry or adultery. Because the law recognizes no variations in the severity of these crimes, it issues no variation in the sentence for these crimes. The guilty face capital punishment. The prohibition against theft, however, does recognize variations in severity. Stealing a loaf of bread is not as serious as stealing an ox. Consequently, there is also a variation in the sentence, with the degree of punishment designed to fit the particular crime.5 No matter what the variation, though, the point of the command is clear...
I. God condemns taking what properly belongs to another.
As I said, there are various kinds of theft and consequences for theft. For example...
A. If a person takes someone's property, the thief must compensate the victim with his own property (Exod 22:1, 3b-4).
Turn ahead a couple of chapters to...
Exod 22:1 If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.... 3b A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. 4 If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.When a person steals someone's property, he must return more than he took... perhaps a lot more than he took. Theft is like borrowing from a loan shark. The borrower has to pay it back, and the interest is often exorbitant. As with other sins, the sooner a thief rectifies the problem, the less trouble he makes for himself.
- If he still has the stolen property, he can return it, and the fine will only be double what he took.
- If he no longer has the stolen property, the fine will be triple or quadruple what he took. Notice that the more expensive the theft, an ox versus a sheep, the more extensive the fine.
Much of the economy in the Ancient Near East, including the economy in Israel, employed the barter system. People exchanged goods for services or for other goods. There was another system, probably more common in urban centers, that was also vulnerable to theft and that God includes in this prohibition.
B. If a person takes someone's money, the thief must compensate the victim with his own money (Exod 22:7).
Later in the chapter, God discusses this aspect of theft, explaining what the thief must return in addition to what he stole.
Exod 22:7 If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor's house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double.When a person steals someone's money, he must return more than he took—again, twice the amount.
Stealing someone's property or money is a criminal offense not a capital one, punishable by fining the thief according to the amount he stole. The sentence is not as severe as violations of previous commands in this list require and not as severe as what other Ancient Near East law codes prescribe, such as...6
Code of Hammurabi (c. 1700) 22 If a [citizen] committed robbery and has been caught, that [citizen] shall be put to death.God recognizes that some crimes are more serious than others and that the punishment should fit the crime. This distinction is evident in one other case.
C. If a person takes someone's liberty, the thief must compensate the victim with his own life (Deut 24:7).7
Turn to the last book of the Pentateuch, to Deut 24, where God discusses this most serious case of theft.
Deut 24:7 If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.The additional clause—"You must purge the evil from among you"—explains the rationale for this sentence and emphasizes the seriousness of this crime.8 The same reason underlies the penalty for several other capital crimes. Evidently, in God's estimation, they are all are in the same category and, therefore, entail the same consequence.9
- A person who falsely presents himself as a prophet
- A person who becomes apostate and worships other gods
- A person who speaks against a judge or priest
- A person who gives false testimony in a capital case
- A son who willfully and persistently disobeys his parents
- A daughter who falsely claims to be a virgin
- A couple who commits adultery
These three kinds of theft—property, money, and liberty—God condemns and assigns a particular punishment in each case. In our society, the punishment has changed, but the problem remains.
If you have ever been the victim of theft, especially if the criminal got away, you likely experienced more than the loss of your property. There was also a sense of violation, the feeling that someone had transgressed an area of your life that should be safe, that other people respect. You probably suspect that what compelled him was not a legitimate need, like the one Solomon mentions.
Prov 6:30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.That is an unusual situation. The thief's motive in your case was more likely
nefarious:
- He wanted what you had to keep for himself, or
- He wanted what you had to sell for money, or
- He wanted what you had to exchange for drugs.
Even desperation, though, does not excuse the crime, because Solomon goes on to say...
Prov 6:31 [As for the starving thief] if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.The disturbing conditional phrase, "if he is caught," is an uncomfortable reminder that the odds of recovering your property are not in your favor.
According to the FBI (2002), there are over 2 million burglaries annually,11 about 21% of all property crimes,12 and roughly proportional to the population of a given area.
- Urban communities, which account for 80% of the nation's population, experience about 83% of the nation's burglaries.
- Rural communities, which account for 12% of the nation's population, experience about 9% of the nation's burglaries.
What should you do? One option is to divest yourself of everything that is of any value, as Jesus advised the wealthy young ruler.
Matt 19:21b [G]o, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.Is that what you should do, take a vow of poverty and enter a religious order?
Jesus' instruction to this man notwithstanding, God obviously approves of private property, or He would not have issued laws to protect it.14 So you should take appropriate precautions to safeguard what you have worked to acquire. What God does not want, however, is for you to fixate on such things, to become attached to them, to assign them such importance that you fail to appreciate what is most important. Hence, Jesus issued other advice that is appropriate for all people.
Matt 6:19 [= Luke 12:33c] Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth... where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.., where thieves do not break in and steal.... 33a ...seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and.... 34a .. .do not worry about tomorrow....If you want to be free from the anxiety of becoming a possible victim of theft,15 you must recognize the temporary nature of physical things in contrast with the permanent nature of spiritual things, and make your priority the acquisition of the latter.16 What no thief can ever steal is the investment you make in the kingdom of God. Not only is it protected, it is permanent.
Theft is likely not a temptation for people in this congregation. You are concerned with protecting what you have acquired legally—not increasing what you can acquire illegally. What was it like before you became a Christian? Were your priorities about what things you acquired different? Were your methods about how you acquired things different? Paul notes that his readers had less than sterling backgrounds.
1 Cor 6:9c Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.When you became a Christian, God wiped your slate clean. You no longer face the eternal consequence of your sin, which is separation from God and consignment to a decidedly unpleasant location. There may be some temporal consequences, though, that He expects you to address. For example, if you slandered someone, becoming a Christian repairs your relationship with God but does nothing to improve your relationship with the person you wronged. That entails an extra step from you. Likewise, if you stole something, becoming a Christian does nothing to make the restitution God requires. That entails an extra step from you. What if making restitution is not feasible? A fellow who had shoplifted an item in his youth from a store that had since closed wanted to know what he should do. He had repented and confessed his sin to God, but was there a way he could and should make restitution?
Please turn to Num 5. Here the Lord instructs His people that whenever someone steals something,
Num 5:7b He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD....If you have confessed your sins and repented of them, they no longer threaten your eternal destiny, but are there some loose ends you should tie up, some reparations you should make? I am not suggesting you should create a problem for a good relationship by dredging up the past. In that case, it may not be advisable to attempt restitution to the party wronged. But if your sin damaged a relationship, and it has remained that way, then restitution may be in order. Even if it is not feasible or advisable to make restitution to the party wronged, you can still clear the debt by making restitution to the Lord.
As in biblical times, so today, theft is a crime. Unfortunately, because of other demands on modern law enforcement, many burglaries and robberies go unsolved, including, perhaps, those that have affected you or those close to you. What can you do? ...Apart from taking certain precautions, there is probably not much you can do. Perhaps the more important question is what does God expect you to do? The answer to that is two-fold:
- First, resolve the past. If you need to make restitution for something, do it. Even if you cannot afford to do it all at once, begin the process of retiring that debt.
- Second, secure the future. While you certainly must meet your present obligations, financial and otherwise, you can still prepare for eternity by making sound spiritual investments now.17
Part 2
For some people, sin has such a hold on their life that dislodging it requires unusual effort as well as a radical change, a separation from the circumstances that contribute to the problem.
A man with a nagging secret could not keep it any longer. In the confessional, he admitted that for years he had been stealing building supplies from the lumberyard where he worked. "What did you take?" his priest asked. "Enough to build my own house and my son's house...and houses for our two daughters and a cottage at the lake." "This is very serious," the priest said. "I shall have to think of a far-reaching penance. First, you need to get away from all of this and contemplate your sin. Have you ever tried a retreat?" "No, Father, I haven't," the man replied...."but if you can get the plans, I can get the lumber."I hope that sin does not have such a hold on you, especially the sin the eighth commandment of the Decalogue prohibits, the one On Thievery.
We noted last time that, unlike some of the other commands in this list, when God says in...
Exod 20:15 [= Deut 5:191 You shall not steal.
...the prohibition recognizes degrees of severity and applies different sentences to those guilty of transgressing it. The common element, however, is that in all cases...
I. God condemns taking what properly belongs to another.
A. If a person takes someone's property, the thief must compensate the victim with his own property (Exod 22:1, 3b-4).
Likewise...B. If a person takes someone's money, the thief must compensate the victim with his own money (Exod 22:7).
In the most extreme case...C. If a person takes someone's liberty (by kidnapping him), the thief must compensate the victim with his own life (Deut 24:7).
Matt 6:19 [ Luke 12:33c] Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth... where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.., where thieves do not break in and steal.... 33a •. .seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and.... 34a .. .do not worry about tomorrow....If you want to be free from the anxiety of becoming a possible victim of theft, you must recognize the temporary nature of physical things in contrast with the permanent nature of spiritual things, and make your priority the acquisition of the latter. What no thief can ever steal is the investment you make in the kingdom of God. Not only is it protected, it is permanent.
While your earlier priorities about what you acquired and about how you acquired them changed when you became a Christian, and while God has forgiven your past sins in those matters, there still may be some restitution you need to make. The Lord instructs His people in Num 5 that whenever someone steals something,
Num 5:7b He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD....If past sin of this type has continued to affect adversely a relationship to this day, then restitution may be in order. Even if it is not feasible or advisable to make restitution to the party wronged, you can still clear the debt, as this passage says, by making restitution to the Lord.
You will not be able to eliminate the problem of theft in society, but you can mitigate its impact on your life, by resolving your past and by securing your future.
God condemns active theft, the taking of what properly belongs to another. The same is true for passive theft, because...
II. God condemns keeping what properly belongs to another.
As with active theft, there are various kinds of passive theft as well as consequences for it, and treatment in the law of the two kinds is often similar. For example...
A. If a person keeps someone's property, the thief must compensate the victim with his own property (Exod 22:910).18
Exod 22:9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, 'This is mine,' both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.This case is similar to the first instance of active theft. If, for whatever reason, a person comes to possess property he knows belongs to someone else, and he keeps it, he is as guilty as if he had stolen it, and he is liable to the same fine. He must reimburse the victim twice the value of what was lost.19
To avoid the charge of theft that may result from keeping someone's property, a person must not let a situation develop to the point where it becomes a sin.20
Naturally, he must not accept stolen property, but there are two other instances in which he must be careful.
1. If a person finds something his neighbor lost, he must return it (Deut 22:1-3).
Deut 22:1 If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. 2 If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. 3 Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.Sometimes what first comes to mind when a person contemplates returning a lost item, especially a valuable item, is: "Will there be a reward?" That question does not arise here. On the contrary, there may actually be a cost to the finder. In this case, he may have to shelter and feed an animal until he can return it.
The easier course of action would be to let the animal wander or let the cloak lie where it is. The owner, when he realizes his property is missing, will probably look for it. Why get involved in another person's affairs? ... The reason is the admonition about lost property at the end of v. 3: "Do not ignore it." As far as God is concerned, His people are responsible to watch out for one another's interests.
A TV commercial for Pizza Hut pan pizza illustrates how not to apply the "returning what you found" principle. Perhaps you have seen it. A fellow confesses that he never returns anything he has borrowed from his neighbor until he sees the pizza delivery man coming to the house, at which time he shows up with the borrowed item and bums a piece of pizza. However cute that premise may be for a commercial, it is not a good practice to keep what you have borrowed from someone until you want something else from him.
There is another instance involving property that also requires care, so as not to develop to the point where it becomes a sin.
2. If a person holds (as collateral) something his neighbor needs, he must return it (Deut 24:12_13).21
Deut 24:12 If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. 13 Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.When someone requests a loan, it is customary for him to offer the lender something he owns as a guarantee that he will repay it. If the individual is very poor, what he offers to secure the loan might be an item he uses regularly and that he can do without only for a short period. In that case, the lender must allow him temporary use of the item. This passage illustrates the principle with a cloak, but it could be any item a person needs to survive.
For an example of this "returning what you hold" principle, consider the (fictional) case of Eddie and Eric. Eddie is a wealthy land baron. His wife, Grace, does not know this, but he owns some of the choicest property in southern PA. Eric is a poor contractor, who needs a loan to pay his mortgage before the bank forecloses on his house, putting him and his wife Lori—and Conan (their Great Dane)—out on the street. Eric goes to Eddie and asks for loan, stating that he has a job that will enable him to repay the loan in a few weeks. Eddie, ever the sharp business man, wants to know what Eric can offer as collateral—not the house, which the bank is threatening to take, and not his only vehicle, an old beat-up pickup, which the 'repo man' may soon get. All poor Eric can offer are his tools, which he will need to do this job.
If Eddie were a cruel man, he could agree to the loan and hold the tools, knowing that, without them, Eric would eventually default on the loan, and a person with as much property as Eddie has can always use more tools. But Eddie is a righteous man who knows the importance of "a righteous act." Moved with compassion for Eric's plight, Eddie agrees to accept his tools as a guarantee for the loan. Moreover, he will allow Eric to use the tools during the day, but he must leave them in Eddie's garage at night, until he is able to repay the loan. (This is actually a good deal for Eric, because his own garage is so full that he has no room for his tools, and this gives him additional space rent-free, but that is another story.) If a person holds (as collateral) something his neighbor needs, he must return it.
While you would certainly not keep property you know belongs to someone else, it is important to avoid the potential charge of theft by not allowing a situation involving property to become sin. A second kind of passive theft is financial.
B. If a person keeps someone's money, the thief must compensate the victim with his own money (Exod 22:7-8).
Earlier, in the same chapter, God says...
Exod 22:7 If a man gives his neighbor silver...for safekeeping and [it is] stolen from the neighbor's house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double. 8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man's property.This case is similar to the second instance of active theft, only now the possible culprit has not entered another's residence to commit his sin. "[T]he owner of the house" has, perhaps, lied to his neighbor about money entrusted to him. Again, the fine for such a crime is the same. He must return twice what he took.
To avoid the charge of theft that may result from keeping someone's money, a person must not let a situation develop to the point where it becomes a sin. Naturally, he must not accept stolen money, but there are two other instances in which he must be careful.
1. If a person owes salary to an employee, he must be sure to pay it (Deut 24:14-15).22
Deut 24:14 Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. 15 Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.While it is important to pay bills on time, most of people's dealings are with companies—the bank, the phone company, the electric utility, the insurance company—and none of these businesses will go under if a person's payment is late. That does not excuse delinquency, but this passage is about individuals who need prompt payments to survive. You may not know the financial situation of the plumber who fixed your sink or of the girl who cut your lawn, and you may withhold payment if the job is not satisfactory, but if the job is done well, do not delay for weeks or months. Pay promptly. "Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin."
There is another instance involving money that also requires care so as not to develop to the point where it becomes a sin.
2. If a person owes support to his parents, he must be sure to provide it (Mark 7:913).23
Mark 7:9 [Jesus said to some Pharisees]: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (the Hebrew word for an offering, a gift devoted to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13a Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down."This passage came up in our examination of the fifth commandment, On Family, where honoring your parents means, among other things, that you be willing to prove your concern financially. Some Pharisees in Jesus' day ignored this responsibility. Unwilling to deplete their savings to help their parents, they invoked a provision in the law that allowed for deferred-giving to the temple. They pledged to give the money at a future date but retained control of it until then. This enabled them to use the funds whenever they needed it and to claim the money was not theirs when their parents needed it. Jesus condemns this legal loophole as a violation of the fifth commandment. It may also become a violation of this eighth commandment, On Thievery.24
Keeping someone's property or money is a criminal offense, punishable by fining the thief according to the amount he stole. There is one other case that falls within the prohibition of this command.
C. If a person keeps God's portion, the person must compensate the Lord with his own portion, lest he become a thief (Lev 27:30-32; cf. Mal 3:810).25
Lev 27:30 A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.This passage describes an exceptional case. If a farmer wanted to expand his operation but needed proceeds from the sale of his entire crop to do it, including the ten percent that belonged to the Lord, he could buy back the tithe by adding a twenty percent surcharge. He would still be responsible to pay the tithe, the portion that "belongs to the Lord," but he could delay payment, perhaps until the next growing season. What the passage stresses, though, is the obligation of the tithe, because it is "holy to the Lord."
Eight hundred years later, when the exiles return to the land from Babylon, some of them have conveniently forgotten this obligation. Through the prophet Malachi, the Lord tells them what He thinks about their behavior.
Mal 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 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.Failure to pay the tithe is tantamount to robbing God, but it also robs the people, and He gives them a clear choice: Disobedience places them "under a curse," but obedience guarantees them "much blessing."
There is no indication that anyone in ancient Israel verified the amount a person gave to establish if it was accurate. No Levite or priest visited the local farmer to evaluate his productivity and assess the appropriate tithe. Likewise, none of the trustees or elders checks your tax return to compare how much you earned with how much you gave. God expected His people to make the right determination themselves and to be honest about it. This was, therefore, a system easy to cheat, but the offense was not only against the priesthood. It constituted theft of what rightfully belonged to God, and it robbed the offender of God's blessing.
To avoid the charge of theft that may result from keeping God's portion, a person must not let a situation develop to the point where it becomes a sin. In addition to the tithe, there is another instance in which he must be careful.
- If a person promises something to the Lord, he must be sure to fulfill it (Deut 23:21; cf. Mal 1:14a).26
Deut 23:21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.Beyond the tithe, a person could make an optional vow to the Lord. This was usually a commitment to bring an extra offering if God would grant the individual's petition for help. To renege on that promise is not an inconsequential matter. Just as God is good to His word, so His people must be as well. In fact, breaking a vow makes a person "guilty of sin."
Eight hundred years later, when the exiles return to the land from Babylon, some of them have conveniently forgotten the importance of this matter. Again, through the prophet Malachi, the Lord tells them what He thinks about their behavior.
Mal 1:14a Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord.Switching animals, from the one promised to one of lesser value, is the action of a "cheat", someone who plots to deceive, in this case, who conspires to steal from the Lord.
It is bad enough to cheat on an exam or on taxes or on a spouse; a person might actually get away without the teacher or the IRS or the spouse finding out about it. To cheat on God, though, as if He will not find out about it, is stupid. It is also self-destructive, because it brings a curse, divine wrath and retribution, upon the deceiver. It is bad enough to anger a teacher, the IRS, or a spouse; it is far worse to anger God. If you make a promise to the Lord, be sure to keep your promise to the Lord.
I certainly hope that theft is not much of a problem for you. If you want to make sure it does not become a problem, consider the apostle Paul's advice to those who had a history of thievery but who turned to God in repentance and faith.27
Eph 4:28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.Even if this does not describe your past, the apostle's recommendations can keep you from transgressing the eighth commandment. Paul's three-fold remedy for thievery is...
- First, integrity ("steal no longer"): Determine to be honest in your dealings with others.
- Second, productivity ("doing something useful"): Make it your ambition to develop some service or practice that is beneficial to others.
- Third, generosity ("share with those in need"): Look for opportunities to use what you have or what you can do to help others.
From a cursory glance at the ten precepts in this summary, you would probably go quickly down the list, checking off each one as something you heed. A closer look, especially at other passages that address these ordinances in more detail, should make you think more carefully and evaluate your behavior more critically. How are you doing so far? Have you found room for improvement? Most importantly, what are you doing with what you have discovered?
For the Bibliography and Endnotes see the pdf here
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Jim Skaggs