What If They’re Wrong Series Exodus 20:15 “It’s Really Mine”
• Once a man wanted to rob a downtown Bank of America. He walked into the branch and, on a deposit slip, wrote "this iz a stikkup. put all your muny in this bag." While he was in line waiting to give the note to the teller, he started to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call police before he reached the window. So, he left the Bank of America and went across the street to a Wells Fargo bank. After waiting few minutes in line there, he handed the note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and surmised from his spelling errors that he was not the brightest light in the harbor. She said, "I’m sorry, sir. I can’t accept your stickup note because it’s written on a Bank of America deposit slip. You’ll need to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or you can go back to the Bank of America." Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK," and left. The Wells Fargo teller then called the police, who arrested the would-be bank robber a few minutes later as he was waiting in line back at the Bank of America.
We’ve probably all heard stories like this about dumb criminals.
• I like the one about a guy who was holding up a convenience store wearing his motorcycle helmet as a disguise. The only problem was that his name was written in big, bold letters across the front of the helmet. Police tracked this genius down very quickly.
Stories like these are always good for a laugh.
But they’re not so funny when someone actually steals from us.
Most, if not all of us, have had things taken from us.
I remember living in government housing in Illinois and walking outside one day to find that both of my older boy’s bicycles had been stolen.
If I had to describe my feelings that day I could sum them up in one word - violated.
It’s not so much the value of what was stolen.
It’s the principle that someone came into my yard and stole something that didn’t belong to them.
After all, everyone knows this commandment by heart: "You shall not steal."
But maybe we don’t apply this commandment to ourselves as strictly as we do to everyone else.
Could it be we’ve bought into the cultural lie that says sometimes taking things from others isn’t stealing?
For example, if I loan you my shovel and you never give it back, you’ve stolen that shovel.
Our culture says that if you intend to give it back it’s not stealing, even if you never give it back.
What about tax time?
How many people steal from the government year after year, simply because they think the government "owes" them?
You know how people cheat on their taxes - a little extra donation to the Salvation Army; some extra income not reported.
What about frivolous lawsuits and insurance claims?
And what about stealing from our employers?
We just can’t talk about the command not to steal without talking about stealing from employers.
A pen here; a paper clip there.
Some extra time for lunch or a little longer break.
It all adds up.
But, we don’t steal, we just borrow.
If no one notices that something’s gone, then it cannot really be stolen.
If you don’t get caught, then there’s no harm done."
You see, most people I know would never, ever consider actually going into someone’s house and taking their possessions.
That’s stealing!
Most of us have stolen at one time or another; in one way or another.
We might not think of it as stealing, but it is stealing none-the-less.
And we don’t always think about how we violate others when we steal.
When a person cheats on his taxes, who pays?
When a person files a frivolous lawsuit or insurance claim, who picks up the tab?
And when you steal from that big company that employs you, who gets to enjoy those higher prices the company has to charge to cover its losses?
When people indulge in this type of stealing they aren’t just stealing from the government or the insurance company or that big company, they are stealing from everybody - you, and me, and the countless other innocent people who don’t steal that way.
You see, companies will make profits one way or another.
If someone steals their product, then the price of that product goes up for everyone else.
If too many people shoplift from Wal-Mart, they’ll raise their prices.
That’s the way the real world works.
If I defraud my insurance company, then your premiums go up as well as mine.
This idea that one can steal from a corporate entity, and not real people, is a lie - it is still stealing.
And what about parents who steal from their children.
I’ve gone on benevolence visits where the family needed help with groceries or with utilities bills and found them spending all their money on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets.
You can find cable TV and satellite dishes but no food.
Or what about dead-beat dads who refuse to pay child support for their children?
That’s stealing!
What about stealing another person’s reputation or ideas?
Every time you utter a word of gossip or unfairly criticize or pass judgment on someone you steal the reputation of an otherwise reputable person.
Every time you take credit for another person’s thoughts, words, or concepts, you are stealing.
And what about stealing from God?
We don’t give much thought to stealing from God.
After all, we can’t see him.
Now, I know that most of you are thinking that I’m going to say we steal from God when we don’t tithe.
And you are absolutely right!
If you really believe that "the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it" (Exodus 9:29; Psalms 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26), then you really believe that God has told us we get to use 90% of everything he has given us.
He has put us in charge as stewards of his stuff.
When we fail to return his tithe, that 10% of everything he has entrusted to us, we are selfish, rotten stewards.
Not to mention that we really don’t trust God to provide for our every need.
But, there’s more to stealing from God than not tithing.
We rob God by not giving Him the worship he is due.
Sometimes, when I’m talking with people and tell them I’m a pastor, they say, "I believe in God."
Lots of people out there are quick to proclaim their religiosity.
But when I ask them where they go to church, they say, "Oh, I don’t go to church."
I used to say, "Oh" and leave it at that, but recently I’ve been going a little further.
I’ve been asking, "Well, if you say you believe in God then why don’t you do anything about it?"
How can a person believe in God but rob him of worship?
Personally, I don’t think it’s possible.
If you really believe in God and really believe that you are going to end up for all eternity in heaven, what exactly do you think you’re going to do up there?
You’re going to worship God!
The Bible says, "…since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..." (Hebrews 12:28)
If you can’t worship God down here, what makes you think you’ll even make it up there?
When we rob God of the worship due him we become like that person in the parable of the talents who buried his talent.
Each of us has been given a talent, a spiritual gift, designed to be used to worship God and build up his church.
When you don’t use that gift, you’re stealing from God.
Notice this passage says "so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..."
That word "reverence" means "with respect" or "with a sense of unworthiness.
That’s how we are to worship God.
None of us is worthy to enter God’s presence except by the blood of Jesus Christ.
But that word also means "regard for others."
When we talk or pass notes or walk in and out of the worship service or do other things to cause disruption in the worship service, we not only show that we have no respect or reverence for God, we have no regard for those around us who desire to enter into a sincere, meaningful worship experience with Almighty God.
Acceptable worship begins with a focus on God.
How can a person be focused on God when he or she is not paying attention to Him?
Not only do you steal from God, you steal from your fellow Christian.
Conclusion
As I said earlier, there is a cultural lie about stealing: There’s real, serious stealing; and then there’s what everybody does, which is not only acceptable, but expected.
God’s Word reminds us that stealing is wrong, even if we don’t get caught, or no one notices, or even if what we steal is never missed.
Where do you find yourself this morning?
