What's it like to have your home broken into? If you have insurance, you dont lose anything, financially. With a new for old policy, you may even end up with better stuff. But who would choose to be broken into?! Theres more to it than just losing our things, and having to repair damaged doors or windows. A robbery goes deeper than the material loss. When another person takes your property, it hurts you. Often people who have been broken into talk about it as a violation. It is like being attacked, emotionally. Thieves take more than physical property: they take away a persons sense of security. Goods can usually be replaced. Damaged doors or windows can be fixed. But its harder to fix the personal hurt, especially when the items that have been wrecked or stolen have sentimental value.
Stealing is the height of rudeness. How dare someone take what belongs to us! And how dare we take what belongs to someone else!
Two hundred years ago, people who stole even a handkerchief or a loaf of bread, were punished harshly. Some of them ended up here, deported to the newly formed convict settlement of New South Wales. Surely this was too harsh. Often the poor people of England stole to feed a hungry stomach that hadn't eaten for days. We can imagine that sometimes a man fished in a stream his forefathers fished from, only to be hauled away on the charge of poaching, because some wealthy landowner decided he wanted to keep all the streams for himself. If we scrutinised the actions of the rich and powerful throughout history, we would no doubt find many serious acts of theft. Among these might be listed the theft of a continent. A continent which was then used to punish those who stole watches, handkerchiefs and breadrolls. We will leave this big question for your own pondering. Lets go back to the person who stole a loaf of bread because he was hungry. Surely that makes it right, doesn't it? Proverbs 6:30 & 31says
Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
The laws God gave to the Jews gave no excuse for stealing. Stolen goods had to be restored, as it says in Exodus 22:1 "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
Stealing doesn't just happen when someone enters someone elses home or shop, and takes things he or she has no right to. We steal from our employers, whenever we do not do a fair days work. We rob people whenever we supply them with poor quality goods, and pretend that they are better than they really are. If we take credit for someone elses work, this too is stealing. Copyright laws are hard to comply with sometimes, but they are there to protect our intellectual and cultural property. Some people try to make a living by writing or performing songs; or writing articles, books, or computer software. When we copy these things without even the intention of payment or permission, it is stealing. We are robbing the author of his or her livelihood. If it doesnt seem like much, then imagine going up to someone, taking his wallet out of his pocket, and then extracting a couple of dollars. That's not much - surely its ok?! Of course we wouldn't dream of doing that! So we should respect copyright laws, and do what we can to comply with them.
Luther puts it like this in his Large Catechism:
To steal means to get hold of someone elses property illegally. Briefly, this includes taking advantage of our fellow human beings in any kind of business transaction which means a loss for them.
In Romans 13:9, Paul tells us: The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbour as yourself."
This is what its about: love. Last week we heard that the opposite to adultery is love. In another way, the opposite to stealing is also love. To love another person in light of this commandment is spelled out by Paul in Ephesians 4:28. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
The emphasis of our lives should be giving, not receiving. Luthers summary in the Small Catechism puts it so well:
We are to fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbours money or property by stealing or pretending to have a right to them. Instead, we are to help our neighbour improve and protect his property and means of making a living.
Our property is a gift from God. As our Creator, and the creator of all things, everything really belongs to Him. When we make our offerings, it really is as one of our hymns (No. 372, (Australian) Lutheran Hymnal ) says:
We give Thee but Thine own, whate'er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone, a Trust, O Lord, from Thee.
Sometimes God allows our property to be stolen or damaged in order to make us think about our attitude to material possessions. Jesus tells us clearly:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
God is not against possessions. He gives us all things richly to enjoy, 1 Timothy 6:17. But He does not want us to be possessed by our possessions. We are to trust in Him. He is the living God. The same passage in 1 Timothy points out that riches are uncertain. A modern illustration is gold. For a long time, it was a standard of wealth. But over the last year (1998-9), the price of gold has plunged. Some people have lost a lot of wealth by investing in gold, or in stocks of various kinds: What seems a sure thing one year, may be a sad loss the next. (I don't need to convince farmers about this!)
So where are your treasures? Have you been tempted to own more and more things? How would you fare, if you were the rich young ruler to whom Jesus said: Go, sell all your goods and give to the poor, then come, follow me.?!
We are commanded not to take what belongs to other people. We have been given what we have, to enjoy and to look after, but also use for the good of others.
Paul gives uses his own example to teach the elders of Ephesus when he was just about to leave them after serving the Church there for 3 year. Luke tells the story in Acts 20: 32-36. (Paul said)
"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 36When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
People do not have the right to take from us without permission. Our money, our property, our ideas, and our time should be respected by others, just as we should respect the money, property, ideas and time God has given them. At the same time, God calls us to give generously, just as He gives everything generously to us.
The LORD commanded the Israelites to give to Him the first fruits of our harvest, and to give Him a tenth of what they had, as an act of worship. This action recognised that the Lord owned everything. It was also a celebration! Now God showed the Israelites much love and mercy, but we have been blessed far beyond God's Old Testament people: We know the Messiah! We have been baptised and received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. We look forward to an inheritance that will last forever, and we could list so many other blessings lavished on us by God. We have so much more to be thankful for than the people of the Old Testament. So surely we ought to worship God with at least a tenth of our income! If we arent giving God anything, or if our offerings are smaller than what we can reasonably and generously afford, then could it be, that we are, in fact, stealing from God?
What about all the times we forget to give Him glory for all the things He does. How often do we take the credit for things that are really His gift. A good crop is a blessing from God. Any crop at all would be impossible without Him. He designed this world. He made the world. He sustains the world! How dare we presume to take credit that really belongs to God!
Earlier we said stealing was the height of rudeness. We also said it was a violation of a person. We get upset when others take our things without asking; if they damage our property; take credit for what they didnt do, or take up time that we wanted to give to something or someone else.
Stealing insults God, as well as hurting people. A thief says by his or her actions, God, you have failed. You havent given me what I need, so Im going to go and get it myself. Too bad about anyone else.
Has God really failed? Let's look to the cross. There we see God. His arms stretched out. Suffering and dying to buy forgiveness for us. He did this as a gift to us. A free gift. He gives us permission to take His gift of forgiveness. There is nothing irregular about the cross. The devil came to steal and to kill and to destroy us, Jesus tells us in John 10. Sin, death and the devil are all thieves and robbers. They steal from God the honour and obedience that belongs to Him. They rob God of his childrens love and respect. But Jesus plundered the devils domain, and reclaimed us for Himself. Just as sometimes the police have to break into a persons house with the authority of a search warrant, Jesus plundered the devils domain with the authority He has as our Creator and Redeemer. It cost Jesus His all to save us. As He suffered and died, -except for the nails that held Him to the cross-, His hands were empty hands. His life-blood was poured out for us and for all people.
We owe God so much. We have run up huge debts because of our sins. We can't even restore all that we have stolen from God and others, let alone make proper reparations.
How relieved we are to hear Gods message of forgiveness. This means our debts have all been forgiven! Jesus paid the price to make this possible. Now we are free of debt. Forever!
Through Jesus, we learn how generous God is. We find he is kind and merciful, a God who gives, and keeps on giving, till His children are safely where they belong: with Him in His heavenly home. How precious is His promise in John 10:28 No one is going to snatch you out of my hand.
We do our best to look after our property. But no matter how hard we try, we could be robbed. God however, is not going to be robbed of us. We are His cherished possessions! Today he calls us to gratefully receive what we have as His gifts of love. He invites us to use our gifts generously, to worship Him and to serve the needs of others as well as our own needs. But most of all, He calls us to realise that our most precious possession is in heaven, safe from every thief and robber. What is this precious possession? It is our relationship with the living God, the most valuable of all Gods gifts to us: it is the gift of Himself, as our loving Saviour and Lord forever. Amen.
The peace of God which is beyond all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, AMEN.
First command (God) | Second command (God's Name) | Third command-a (Sabbath, part 1) | Third command-b (Sabbath, part 2) | Fourth command (authority) | Fifth command (Life) | Sixth command (sexuality) | Seventh command (property) | Eighth command (reputation)| Ninth command (wanting things)| Tenth command (wanting people)| command against idolatry| 'What does God say of all these commands?'