Stealing has become a big business in our wireless age. A survey of 583 companies in the U.S. revealed: “90% of the respondents said their organizations’ computers had been breached at least once by hackers over the past 12 months.” More than 40% of the businesses surveyed stated they had spent more than $500,000 in security measures in an attempt to stop the security breaches. Inside the US, someone steals another’s property every three seconds.
Honesty is a rarity. The well-known painter, Norman Rockwell, painted the scene of a butcher’s shop. Behind the counter is the jolly butcher, with his apron stretched over his ample belly and his pencil tucked neatly behind one ear. Also in the picture is his customer, a respectable-looking woman of perhaps sixty. Like the butcher, she looks pleased. The two of them exchange a knowing smile, almost as if they were sharing a joke, but the joke is on them. The painting shows what they were secretly doing. The butcher is pressing the scale down with his big fat thumb so as to raise the price. At the same time, the woman is trying to get a better deal by pushing the scale-up with her finger. The reason both of them looked pleased is that neither is aware of what the other is doing.
According to some reports, larceny makes up over fifty percent of all crimes in the US. This morning I want to talk to you about being honest. We continue to work our way through the Ten Words, or the Ten Commandments. And today we cover a commandment that is universally condemned – stealing. Even people who don’t read the Bible know the eighth commandment in their hearts.
Today’s Scripture
“You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28).
This verse lays down three principles that need your attention.
First, “Let the thief no longer steal…”. Second, “let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands…”. And last, “so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” All three of these principles are wrapped up in God’s words to Moses: “You shall not steal.”
1. The Necessity of Integrity
Here is a simple, straightforward statement: “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). The act of stealing is the secret taking of another’s property without the owner’s knowledge or permission. Put simply: to steal is to take something that doesn’t belong to you. This includes withholding what rightly belongs to another. Ask any mother of preschoolers and she will tell you children possess a keen sense of ownership. One of the first words each of our children learned was “mine!”
Stealing goes by many names in our society:
burglary…
robbery…
larceny…
hijacking…
shoplifting…
embezzlement…
extortion…
racketeering…
pickpocketing…
or purse snatching. It’s all the same thing – it’s stealing.
As if stealing itself were bad enough, you often follow this immoral act with acts of deception and trickery. The Bible says: “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight” (Proverbs 11:1). In the OT, dishonest acts included secretly moving boundary markers (Deuteronomy 19:14), the use of false measures and weighted balances (Deuteronomy 25:13-16), selling goods of inferior quality (Amos 8:4-6), and charging interest to poor people (Exodus 22:25).
There are all kinds of stealing within the pages of the Bible. Achan steals items that were devoted to God (Joshua 7:1). Micah steals 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother. When Naboth had a vineyard that King Ahab of Samaria wanted, his wife Jezebel conspired to get the property for her husband: So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead” (1 Kings 21:8-14).
As soon as Naboth’s body was cold, Ahab took possession of his property. The king is confronted by the prophet Elijah and it is Elijah who tells him: “And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, ‘Have you killed and also taken possession?’’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood’” (2 Kings 21:19). Just one chapter later, dogs are licking up the blood of the king after his death (1 Kings 22:28).
Nathan tells the story of a man stealing a sheep from a poor family to King David David is incensed and demands that the poor family be repaid four times the amount stolen. Nathan points his finger in the king’s face to tell him that he himself has stolen. Only the king has stolen another man’s wife (2 Samuel 12:1-4). And in the opening pages of your Bible, Joseph is kidnapped by his brothers and sold into Egyptian slavery. Luke tells us the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). The story of a short man who climbed up in a sycamore tree to see Jesus over the crowds. When Jesus entered Zacchaeus’ home, Zacchaeus turned from his sin. He would restore fourfold anything he had stolen. As the story of Jesus continues, we discover that even one of Jesus’ followers is a thief. As Judas is stealing from the moneybag when the money was supposed to be going to the poor (John 12:6). Jesus Himself was crucified between two thieves (Matthew 27:38). Jesus refers to Satan as “the thief” (John 10:8-10). People who steal have no part of the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
The whole human race is a band of thieves. Let me show you just a few of the many ways you can steal. Stealing is when we underpay our taxes. Stealing is making false claims about disability and Social Security. Stealing happens at work. Stealing is filling out false time cards. Stealing is calling in sick when you want a day off. Stealing is when fail to put in a full day’s work for your employer. Stealing is surfing the internet at work. Stealing is emailing your friends on company time. Stealing is playing computer games instead of putting in a hard day’s labor. According to some estimates, as much as one-third of a product’s cost goes to cover various forms of stealing that occur on its way to retail stores.
Employee theft and shoplifting together account for the largest source of property crime committed in the US annually. Stealing is when the employer demands longer hours than agreed upon. Stealing is keeping some transactions off the books. Stealing is false advertising and deceptive packaging. Stealing is when a salesman exaggerates the value of their product. Stealing is a credit card company charging twenty percent interest. Stealing is insurance fraud. Stealing is plagiarism. Stealing is identity theft. Stealing is violating copyrights. Stealing is cheating on a test. Again, the whole human race is a band of thieves. Stealing is gambling. Stealing is a Failure to Trust
If we trust God, then we will not steal from our neighbors to provide for our own.
“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Malachi 3:9-10)?
Imagine a world where there were no locks on homes or cars. What would it be like if you lost your purse and didn’t have to worry about canceling your credit cards? If you have stolen it, pay it back.
In a national time of revival in the country of Belfast in 1922-23, converted shipyard workers brought back tools and equipment they had stolen. They brought them back in such quantity, that an additional storage shed had to be built to hold the tools once stolen.
2. The Importance of Industry
“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28).
This verse lays down three principles that need your attention. First, “Let the thief no longer steal…”. Second, “let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands…”.
The Bible encourages work: “Six days you shall labor…” (Exodus 20:9). “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).
Prior to the first sin of Adam and Eve, God commands Adam to work. After their first sin, work becomes harder. Nevertheless, work is present for humans in the perfect garden of Eden. The Bible teaches the value of honest labor. Work is God’s gift to us as we receive dignity and respect from our work. “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23). What is your work ethic? What is your children’s work ethic?
Parents, let’s use the “Me-Us-You” principle. First, it’s “Watch me do this.” Then it’s “Let’s do this together.” Finally, it’s “Now you do it.”
Most of us neglect the “us” part of the principle. And we often forget to reward and cheer them on when they are doing it.
Why Gambling is Wrong?
Give me a minute to chase a rabbit. Gambling fosters a something-for-nothing attitude. The Bible calls for careful and wise management of all your possessions. Gambling calls for reckless abandon. The Bibles condemns greed – the naked and raw desire for more and more. Gambling thinks greed is good. If two people meet in an alley and one points a gun at the other and takes his money, they call it robbery. But if two people meet in a casino and one takes the other person’s money, they call it “gaming.”
Someone says, “But gambling is willingly handing over your money whereas robbery is not.” Dueling is merely murder by mutual consent. Just because two people agree to shoot one another doesn’t give another the right to take another person’s life.
3. The Joy of Generosity
“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28)
“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18).
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
If you wish to avoid stealing, be a wise and careful management of your money.
1. It starts with taking care of the needs of your family.
2. It continues to the church and the global work of the Gospel.
3. It reaches out to the poor in our community and the world itself.
As God’s children, we know that we actually have no rights over property or wealth. It’s not ours; it all belongs to God. I no more own my house, my car, and my bank balance than I own my library books or my latest Netflix DVD. Everything – in different ways – has been issued to me on loan. They remain the possessions of someone else and one day they will be returned to Him. The difference is that while the librarian may merely smile and say “thank you,” God is going to ask me what I did with all that He loaned to me.
Delight in being generous. Don’t make generosity a duty. Jesus told a parable about a man going to Jericho from Jerusalem. There he encountered thieves who beat him, fell upon him, and stripped him of all of his possessions, and left him for dead. Then Jesus told about the Pharisees who passed by the man on the other side, not caring that the man was dying leaving him for dead. Later a Samaritan ministered to him, loved him, and expressed compassion on him. In that story, it has been well said that there are three philosophies of life presented.
1) The philosophy of the thief says, “What is yours is mine and I’ll take it.”
2) Another kind of thievery was represented by the Pharisees and their philosophy was, “What’s mine is mine and I’ll keep it.”
3) The Samaritan came along and gave of himself saying, “What is mine is yours and I will give it.”
