You Shall Not Steal

“You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).

When was last time you heard a sermon or read an article on stealing? We usually don’t give it much emphasis, do we? Perhaps we say less about it than other sins because stealing is so widely regarded as wrong behavior. Theft has been prohibited in virtually every civil code of man. Even largely godless societies have recognized it as unethical.

Stealing is simply depriving someone else of what rightfully belongs to him. God’s word condemns stealing outright. Under Moses’ law a thief was usually punished by having to restore what was stolen (cf. Exodus 22:7). Jesus said that theft defiles a person (Matthew 22:36-40). Paul wrote that thieves will not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:10). Stealing violates the “golden rule” of treating others as we would have them treat us (Matthew 7:12).

Stealing is a troublesome issue for people who claim that morality is all relative. They will sometimes argue that stealing is justified by a desperate condition such as poverty. Yet these same folks will still get very upset if someone steals from them. That indicates that deep down they recognize something inherently wrong in it. Solomon said, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9).

Stealing is sinful. But most people are not burglars or pickpockets or shoplifters or car thieves. Does the eighth commandment have anything to teach the rest of us? I believe it does, because many people steal in other, less obvious ways. Do you?

Do you steal through dishonesty in buying or selling? “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight” (Proverbs 11:1; cf. 20:23). This image from an agricultural marketplace shows that God wants us to deal honestly in business transactions. It’s shameful to hear a Christian boast about taking someone to the cleaners in a business deal. And the excuse that “it’s just business” makes it no less sinful (and makes one sound rather like a member of the Corleone family in The Godfather).

Do you steal from your employer? Employee theft — workers stealing money, supplies, or inventory from their employers — is a factor in one of every three business failures. The typical retailer loses more money to employee thefts than to shoplifting, to the tune of over $40 billion a year. Now, I doubt that most people would embezzle funds or steal inventory. But there are lots of other ways to rob your employer. Do you pilfer office supplies or equipment? Do you pad time cards or expense reports? Do you waste time on the job? Those things are no less stealing than the others. God says our work should be “not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance” (Colossians 3:22-24).

Do you steal by violating copyright laws? If I receive and use a copy of something without paying for it, I’m robbing the rightful author of the money he would receive if I purchased it. Copyright laws exist to protect the rights and income of authors and artists.

Lots of folks who would never think of shoplifting a book or a CD or a computer program don’t hesitate to steal them by copying them illegally. Christians sometimes fall victim to this without even thinking because it seems so minor. Do you have a library full of pirated music that was copied, not bought? Do you use “bootleg” computer software that was copied, not purchased? Even churches often have poor track records when it comes to printed material, most notably in photocopying copyrighted Bible class workbooks and tracts instead of buying them. While such things may seem insignificant, in doing them we break the law and rob someone of income for which they worked.

God seeks honest hearts in his people, and such honesty will not permit us to take from others what is rightfully theirs. Instead of robbing others, our aim should be to share with them. “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28).