Today’s Gospel Lesson (John 2:13-22) is jarring isn’t it? Instead of the meek and mild Jesus, we get one with whip in hand driving out cattle merchants and flipping over the moneychangers’ tables. But you can understand Jesus’ anger. After all, these crooked salesmen were taking advantage of worshippers by selling them sacrificial animals at inflated prices right there in the shadow of God’s temple! Such thieves and cheats were deserving of the whip.
Would you say the same thing of the two in this Norman Rockwell painting? A butcher presses down on a chicken-laden scale with heavy hand while the customer pushes up with dainty forefinger. Each wears a pleased smile as if they’re in on a private joke. Are they thieves? No doubt neither would rob a bank nor steal a car. And each would be indignant if accused of stealing, but neither do they see anything wrong with a deception worth only a few cents for either of them. (Dan Jackson)
As we turn our attention to the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal,” God gives us an opportunity to come clean of our sins against this command. An outright refusal to do so will earn more than the whip come Judgment Day. Why is God resolute about protecting his gift of possessions? Because by refusing to take what doesn’t belong to us we show love for others, and we also demonstrate our trust in the Savior-God to provide what we need.
With the Seventh Commandment God makes it obviously clear that we shouldn’t rob banks or swipe money from someone else’s wallet. The trouble is when we reach into Mom’s purse to grab a toonie without her consent, we may say to ourselves: “I’ll pay it back.” But we usually don’t because we “forget” that we “borrowed” any money to begin with. When we get used to doing that we may move on to stealing other items. We bring home office supplies from work without our manager’s consent because “They don’t need all that paper anyway,” or “This ought to be one of the perks for being such a good worker.” The problem isn’t that your company or your mother is suddenly going to go broke; the problem is that such actions reveal the sin of selfishness. Martin Luther correctly summarized the Seventh Commandment when he wrote: “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.”
How well did you do at protecting the property of Avis the last time you rented a car from them? Or did you feel that because it was a rental, you could treat it anyway you wanted to? And how about that hotel room? Did you treat the beds like a trampoline and the TV remote like a football? “Oh, lighten up, Pastor! No one treats a rental car or hotel room as if it’s their prized possession.” Why not? Was Jesus kidding when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself?” According to the Seventh Commandment we show such love not just by being respectful of the person but by protecting their property as well.
Unfortunately it’s only become easier to be a thief in this digital age. Why pay $15 for an album when you can download it for free from that peer-to-peer file sharing website? Why spend $50 a month on cable when you can steal a signal? Can you honestly say that with these actions you’re helping your neighbor protect his property, even if that neighbor is big business or a millionaire musician? And what about the way we get deals off of Kajiji? Are we like this ancient haggler? “‘It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase” (Proverbs 20:14). Friends, it’s one thing to shop around to get the best deal so that we’re good stewards of our money, but it’s quite another to take advantage of others in the name of good stewardship. Such sinful selfishness does not go unnoticed by the Lord. The book of Proverbs also records these words: “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31).
No, you might not be taking advantage of the “poor” when you download music you haven’t purchased, but what you’re saying is that unless you do this, you yourself may become poor. And you may be right. You might not be able to afford all the things that you would like to have. But that doesn’t mean that it’s OK for us to get them by stealing or by any other form of deception. Perhaps the reason God hasn’t given us the means to purchase everything we would like is because he knows that this wouldn’t be good for us!
Here’s the bottom line. The reason God doesn’t want us to steal is because he has promised to take care of us. Jesus understood this. That’s why he didn’t run around trying to acquire the latest and the best. “Well, he didn’t need to,” you might say. “He was here to win our salvation not to amass an impressive financial portfolio or a garage full of sleek cars. Plus as the Son of God he could be certain that his heavenly Father would care of him!” So how is that different for us? Or goal isn’t to amass wealth or a garage full of sleek cars…is it? Is it?!? No. The goal of a Christian is to hold on to the salvation which Jesus won. And as children of the heavenly Father we can be certain that God will take care of us just as he cared for Jesus. He can do this miraculously if he needs to like he did when he kept Jesus alive in the wilderness for forty days even though Jesus had nothing to eat out there. “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” (Matthew 4:4) said Jesus to Satan when tempted to take matter into his own hands and provide food for himself.
It’s true. You might not get to enjoy as many luxuries because you’re honest on your tax return. And you may have to spend more of your budget on mundane items like photocopy paper because you’re not going to bring it home from work anymore. Do this trusting that God will make sure you still have what you need. Actually, God often delights in pouring out abundant blessings on those who put their trust in him and not in their schemes to get ahead. Abraham found that to be true. When there wasn’t enough pastureland to support both his flocks and the flocks of his nephew Lot, Abraham invited the younger man to take his pick of the land. Abraham promised to settle elsewhere. Even when Lot chose the well-watered valley leaving barren scrubland for Abraham, the patriarch didn’t complain. He entrusted himself to the Lord. And God continued to bless Abraham (Genesis 13).
Just think of how much more stress-free your life would be if you consistently followed Abraham’s example. Why fret about not getting the bigger piece of the pie after supper, or not getting a bonus like your friend did? God knows what you need and he will provide it at the right time. Just chillax! Oh I’m not saying that you can be lazy. No, God has urged us to be faithful with the time and talents he’s given us. Work hard. Apply yourself but leave the results to God.
Just as God can take care of us without help, he can care for his kingdom without our aid. He doesn’t really need our offerings to make sure his Word is preached, for example. Still, he invites us to participate in supporting this work. When we fail to do this, even when it’s by giving him what we have left over at the end of the month, we rob him. Yes, robbery! That’s what God calls it in Malachi 3. Isn’t that what you would accuse me of if you entrusted me with money to give to an African congregation to build a church but instead of wiring the money, I use a large portion of it to fly first class to Africa and then to stay in a five-star hotel before I give them what’s left over?
There are so many ways in which we break the Seventh Commandment, including our poor stewardship! Jesus ought to bring the whip down on us daily for these sins of selfishness and lack of trust. But even when he did just that at the temple in our Gospel Lesson it was out of love. Jesus drove out those deceitful merchants to keep them from continuing in their sin. Jesus made it clear that he loved those sinners when he was asked to give a sign to prove he had the authority to carry a whip Jesus said: “‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ 20 The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body” (John 2:19b, 21).
Do you hear the wonderful words of grace? Had I been Jesus I would have said, “A sign? You want a sign to prove I have the right to swing this whip?” Then I would have called fire down from heaven to destroy that ungrateful lot. Instead Jesus offered them a sign of grace. “I’m going to let you destroy this body,” he said, “because by doing so I will pay for your sins and the sins of the whole world.” Friends, if you have stolen from your employer, or even if you just haven’t done a good job taking care of someone’s bike you borrowed for an afternoon, repent and undo the harm your sin has caused. But know and trust that you have forgiveness no matter what you may have stolen or wrecked. The death of the God-man Jesus upon the cross is more than payment enough for these sins.
Let me take you back to that Norman Rockwell painting. What would you do if you were the customer and saw the butcher trying to finagle a few more cents out of you by pushing down on the scale? You certainly should point out that man’s sin but then ask if he needs the extra money. If so, what is there that you can do to help? Because you have a God who is looking out for your needs you can afford to offer such assistance, and motivated by Jesus’ forgiving grace you will do just that as you joyfully help protect the possessions of others to God’s glory. Amen.
