Description
Understanding the Commandment: You Shall Not Steal
Explore the deeper meaning behind the commandment ‘You shall not ste… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Some people consider property to be theft. God says, don’t take what doesn’t belong to you. Why might that be? We consider that as we meditate on this commandment. Exodus 20 verse 15: You shall not steal.
It’s very simple. It’s very neat. It’s easy to understand. Don’t take the things that don’t belong to you. But why might that apply to us?
Well, we see in the pattern of creation that God gives humans, custodianship of the earth. He makes us stewards of this creation. He puts under our authority the physical things in this world. And this is something that he doesn’t want to abuse.
So the things that he’s given to us personally, they are for us to be good stewards of, to make good use of the resources that he’s given us. And we are not to take those from other people in a way that offends God’s moral law.
And it’s very easy to fall into this trap, isn’t it? There are many ways in which we can steal. It may start with stationery at the office. It may start with stealing time, doing personal things where you should be doing your work. Or it can involve borrowing things from people with no intention ever of returning them, or just conveniently forgetting that you borrowed it in the first place.
God wants us to love people. And we love people, we respect each other by respecting the things that God has given them to hold onto, to be stewards of. We aren’t entitled to keep any of this. Nothing that God has given us will make it beyond our death into heaven. We are temporary custodians of this. And he expects us all to make the most of what he entrusts to us. And we should not fight against that by taking others’ resources where we are not entitled to do that.
So it’s a simple commandment, but it’s one that’s worthy of some thought and meditation to ensure that we aren’t overlooking areas of theft in our own lives.
God, I ask you that you help us to follow this, to observe your moral law, to look after the things that you’ve entrusted to us and not to take from others the things that you’ve entrusted to them.
Amen.
