You Must Not

Ex.20:¹⁵ “You must not steal.”

The eighth commandment reveals our struggle with integrity. The root cause of stealing is the desire to get as much as possible while giving as little as possible.

In families, there is a lot of stealing going on; people want to give as little as possible while getting as much as possible. In marriages, businesses, churches, in communities, there is a lot of stealing going on. When you have anyone that wants to take more and give as little as possible, such a person will eventually steal.And when you look at your relationships, you have to ensure that you are a giver in your relationships. Ask the people around you, “am I a taker or am I a giver?” and when they tell you, do not be upset.

The struggle to take as much as possible while giving as little as possible, is addressed in the eighth commandment and it is summarized in the struggle with “me or Jesus?” Will I be selfish or will I be selfless? And God is saying to you and I, “You must not steal.“ It is stealing when an employee that has a resumption time, shows up late for work. I know many people do not see it like that but that is what it is. If you have a closing time at work and you leave earlier than the stipulated time, there is only one word for it and it is called stealing. When you extend your one-hour lunch break to two hours, it is called stealing.

When one party in a marriage deprives the other person of intimacy, there is only one word for it and that is stealing. Single people always wonder if such things really happen in marriages because of how much they are looking forward to getting married. Depriving your spouse of sexual intimacy is called stealing. In fact, the Bible says do not defraud yourselves. The word “defraud” there is the same word used for armed robbers or scammers.

When you take up the time you should use to work and you use it to read your Bible, there is only one word for it and it is not Bible study. It is called stealing. You are stealing your employer’s time. If you spend the time allotted for work on evangelism, you are stealing. As an employer, if you hold on to the worker’s salary instead of paying them as at when due, it is called stealing. It is clear that when it comes to this commandment, we all need help.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help me daily not to be guilty of stealing, in Jesus Name. Amen!