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Our Scripture lesson comes from...
May God bless this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.
As we look at the Eighth Commandment, we need to once again begin with God.
God is the Foundation of Private Property
The first two chapters of the Bible reveal our God is a working God.
God’s work did not end on the seventh day, only his work of creation.
Our Scripture lesson today reveals that what God made; God owns.
As those created in God’s image we are created to work and to own the fruits of our labor.
This is why stealing is so bad, ...
Stealing is an Attack Upon God and Those Who Bear His Image
If you have ever been the victim of theft, you know how it makes you feel violated.
Moreover, when we fail to live a productive and fruitful life, we dehumanize ourselves.
Unexpected Ways in Which We Steal
We all recognize robbing a bank, shoplifting, scamming and the like as stealing, but if you read Scripture carefully, you will discover that there are many unexpected ways in which we steal.
Let us look at three of them:
Idleness
If God is a working God, those who are created in His image should be working people.
Idleness was a real problem in Thessalonica.
Paul had to address this problem in both his letters.
In other words, idleness was so deeply embedded in their culture, one letter was not enough!
First:
Now for the second letter:
Taken together, we learn that each able bodied person is to work to provided for themselves in order that they will not be dependent upon anyone.
In fact, an able-bodied person should not be supported by others, rather they should go hungry until they earn their own bread!
This is not harsh, it is loving; because idleness dehumanizes us.
It is a great evil we do to ourselves and to enable an idle person to remain in their idleness is to share in that sin.
A second unexpected way we steal is...
Wastefulness
We can waste both our potential to be fruitful workers and the fruit of our labors.
For example we read in the Proverbs:
Drunkenness, drugs, gluttony and gambling have consumed countless fortunes and destroyed countless lives.
Many who are poor are poor because of their own actions.
Most poverty is a lifestyle choice.
It has very little to do with income.
My grandparents were poor by today’s standards, but they did not live “poor”.
They lived with dignity.
They worked hard, they were fugal, they kept themselves and their homes clean.
The third unexpected way we steal is ...
Cheerlessness
In some ways this is the polar opposite of wastefulness.
The Westminster Longer Catechism speaks of “defrauding ourselves and others” by not enjoying the fruits of our labor.
As Scriptural proof, it cites two passages in Ecclesiastes, I will read the first one:
From time to time, we have all know someone who died and they turn out to have been a secret millionaire.
Typically, they lives alone in a tiny house, never had a family, never had friends.
They never ate out, never had guests over, never had vacations, they just worked and saved every penny they earned.
Such a life is a wasted life, more importantly, it is a sinful life.
The third proof text in the Westminster Longer Catechism does not seem to fit at first, but a little thinking reveals that it does.
Here it is:
Our life and possessions are to be shared.
One of the greatest gifts we can give to others is joy.
If we are not enjoying the fruits of our labor in thanksgiving to God, we become like dark rain cloud blocking out the rays of God’s goodness and love.
Think back upon those “secrete millionaires” you have known.
They added nothing to those around them.
They were black holes.
They were in effect “unfruitful”, they wasted not only their wealth, but their lives also.
I hope this message has shown you that there is a lot more behind the Eight Commandment than you every realized.
I commend the Westminster Larger Catechism to you for study.
It does such a good job at organizing what the Bible teaches about stealing, but as I close, I want to point you to Jesus.
Although materially He was a poor man, He lived the most productive and fruitful life that has ever been lived.
Paul says that “He become poor, that we could become rich.”
What did Paul mean by this?
He meant that Jesus left the glories of heaven in order to die for sinners on the cross.
He did this so that we could be forgiven for our violations of not just the Eighty Commandment, but all the Commandments.
Don’t let the Commandments beat you down, let them turn you to Christ and He will lift you us.
Not only we He forgive you, but He will empower you so you can obey.
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