15 "You shall not steal."
- Exodus 20:15, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
"The Seventh Commandment"
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we do not take our neighbor’s money or property, or get it by dishonest dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and means of income.
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we study the Commandments, we’ll recall that in each one there is something in particular that God is protecting or emphasizing for us. In the First Commandment, it is God’s glory. In the Second it is the proper use of God’s name. In the Third it is the Word of God. In the Fourth it is God’s representatives. In the Fifth, it is the gift of life. In the Sixth it is the gift of marriage...
Today we come to Commandment number Seven. What’s the emphasis here? Under the short statement "You shall not steal," God addresses us on the proper and improper use of the gift of possessions. Continuing in our series, we now turn our attention to
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
Before we get into a Scriptural analysis of what God forbids or desires according to this Commandment – and consequently that which the Child of God, out of love for Jesus Christ and the salvation He has won for us wishes to either avoid or actively practice – let us begin by stating two basic Bible principles about the things we have (and which we often refer to as "our own")...
Biblical Statement #1: God is the owner of all things. Everything we have comes from Him. This means that we are but stewards or managers of the many possessions God in His grace has entrusted to us – when and as He will. The ancient hero of faith, Job, displayed a correct understanding of this principle in our first lesson today. In the midst of unspeakable personal tragedies and loss, he nevertheless made this confession: "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
Although no Christian would consciously disagree with Job’s assessment, it is relatively easy to unconsciously slip into the belief that what we have is the result of our own hard work or careful planning or wise investment. And it must be said that to some degree this is true. We are to use the talents and opportunities the Lord has given us. We could certainly cite Scriptural references that encourage hard work and wise planning and condemn laziness or the expectation that God should simply drop things into our laps...
But once again, the bottom line remains: God is the owner of all things. Everything we have comes from Him. Or, as the inspired author James tells us: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." In whatever way the Lord chooses to bless us – whether it is the ability to work, the reception of gifts or inheritance – the common denominator for all that we have is God.
Why is it important to remind ourselves of this truth? Because when we do we are less inclined to get all wrapped up in our personal possessions, more grateful to God for what we have, and more confident that God will always provide for us the things we need.
Biblical statement #2: As managers of what He has given us, the Lord expects us to use our possessions in a wise and God-pleasing manner. As we page through Scripture, we come across four specific areas where God expects wise, prudent and direct use of the material blessings He has given us.
The first area is in providing for our family. In 1Timothy 5:8, the Apostle Paul writes: "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." These words are self-explanatory. But I believe it is also safe to say that this obligation is not limited only to the area of finances; emotional and spiritual provision is also included. The message for those of us who are involved in any aspect of family life is this: personal and business goals are fine, but they must not interfere with taking care of the family God has given us or placed us in.
The second area is providing for those who are in need. In John 3:17 we are asked this rather probing question: "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" In considering this passage let us note that we are talking here about legitimate cases of need. (Not everyone who says they are in need actually are; likewise there are times when we may best help someone by not giving them everything they say they "need.") But for those who have true needs, God asks us to help. The Book of Proverbs (19:17) puts it this way: "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord..."
The third area is in providing for the government. Yes, we’re talking about taxes. Romans 13:6-7 speaks to this issue: "That is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue." Sometimes the question is raised about paying taxes to a government which then uses them for ungodly and anti-Christian purposes (for example, federally funded abortion). Why should we support activities which offend and even morally outrage us?
The answer: Because our God tells us to in Scripture. When it comes to the use or misuse of how our taxes are used, we can state the underlying principle this way: submission to the government belongs to us while judgment of the government belongs to God. The context of the words we read just a moment ago may also be helpful. They were written by the Apostle Paul at when Nero was the Emperor of Rome. An opponent of the faith to the highest degree, it is entirely likely that Nero used Christians’ own tax money to eventually persecute them. And yet we are told to support our government.
The fourth and final area is providing for the work of the church. It is far more fitting to speak of this not in terms of obligation, but of privilege. Because God, in an exhibition of pure grace and mercy, has called us to be His own. He forgave us our sins and made us heirs of salvation through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, through the work of the Holy Spirit He has given us the gift of faith so we understand everything Jesus did and continues to do for us. And because of this, we know the answers to the big questions in life that so many are searching for. We know who we are and what we are and where we are going.
To spread this glorious gospel message is the privileged work of the church. And we are the church. When it comes to supporting the work of the church through our possessions, the Apostle Paul offers us some practical guidelines. Writing to the First Century Christians in Corinth, he instructed: "On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income..." From this we learn the timeless truth that Christian giving is to be a) each individual’s responsibility, b) planned, c) regular, and d) proportionate. And if asked, "How generous are we to be?" We can answer with another question: How generous has God been to us?
So in all the areas we have just mentioned – providing for family, those truly in need, the government and the work of the church – God expects faithful and responsible use of the material gifts He has given us.
Let’s now turn our attention to the exact wording of the commandment itself. You shall not steal. Outside of the general instruction it provides for us on the subject of God’s gift of possessions, what is specifically involved in this command? How is it broken? How is it kept? We again look to the explanation found in Luther’s small catechism: We should fear and love God that we do not take our neighbor’s money or property, or get it by dishonest dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.
Theft, robbery, fraud, and intentional waste are the most obvious ways in which this commandment is violated. But there is more. Martin Luther expands upon this in the opening paragraph of his Large Catechism’s treatment of the Seventh Commandment:
"Next to our person and our spouse, our temporal property is dearest to us. This, too, God wants to have protected. He has forbidden us to rob or pilfer the possessions of our neighbor. For to steal is nothing else than to acquire another’s property by unjust means. In a few words, this includes taking advantage of our neighbor in any sort of dealing that results in loss to him. Stealing is a widespread, common vice, but people pay so little attention to it that the matter is entirely out of hand. If all who are thieves, though they are unwilling to admit, were hanged on the gallows, the world would soon be empty, and there would be a shortage of both hangmen and gallows. As I have just said, a person steals not only when he robs a man’s strongbox or his pocket, but also when he takes advantage of his neighbor at the market, in a grocery shop, butcher stall, wine and beer cellar, work shop, and, in short, wherever business is transacted and money is exchanged for goods or labor."
He goes on to give a number of examples, which are just as applicable today as they were then. For instance, he talks about how not giving our employer an honest day’s work is stealing from him. A modern day equivalent of this would be calling in sick to work when we are not (and then expecting to get paid for the day). Luther says if we stole the money outright that we are causing our employer to lose by our absence or laziness, we would be tried as thieves. We could cite other examples, but you get the picture.
Other violations of the Seventh move from outward actions to inward feelings. A predisposition toward envy of what others have (and we don’t) and/or generally greedy thoughts can lead us to a lack of contentment with what God has given us, actual sin, and, in some cases, even the loss of faith.
Recall the counsel of our second Scripture lesson for today. When the Apostle Paul talks about "godliness with contentment being great gain" the conclusion we are left to draw is that, even among believers, the two don’t always coexist. He also talks about "the love of money" (as opposed to money itself, which God’s people can use for great good) as being the "root of all kinds of evil." And he warns about the spiritually perilous traps and temptations which can beset those who "want to get rich" or are "eager for money." Consequently, the word to the wise Christian – especially those who live in a prosperous and materialistic society as we do – is to be on guard against the insidious temptation of greed. The constant desire for more can make us spiritually less...
On the other hand, what our Lord is looking for in His Children – and what we wish to offer Him as the proper keeping of the Seventh Commandment – is just the opposite. And here is the good news: What the Lord desires from us will develop within us as we carefully reflect upon all He has done and continues to do for us.
For example, as we reflect upon the spirit of selflessness with which Jesus went about His work on our behalf, we are moved to a spirit of selflessness in the distribution of our time, talents and treasures...
As we reflect upon what Christ has provided for us – a fulfilled life of inner peace now and eternal life to look forward to in heaven – we are filled with a spirit of contentment that shows both an understanding and fulfillment of Hebrews 13:5: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you...’" Knowing Christ breeds a deep and abiding sense of contentment for which there is no substitute.
Finally, as we reflect upon the generosity of Christ – the willing dispossession of His heavenly glory to humbly live among us on our sin-stained planet for 33 years – we are moved to be generous toward Him. And so, in the words of our sermon hymn, "as brothers, sisters, we will gladly give to God our all our best" – with the prayer that He will use our support to bring others to know Him as we know Him...
The Seventh Commandment. God’s gift of possessions. May we always understand where they came from, be content with what they are, and use them to His glory. Amen
"You shall not steal or take away
What others worked for night and day,
But open wide a gen’rous hand
And help the poor in the land. Have mercy, Lord!"
(Christian Worship 285 verse 8)