Exodus 20:15

15          “You shall not steal.

The Eighth Commandment

Hard to create an introduction for this command. Do not take what is not yours. Some would argue that it’s okay to take from someone else’s abundance, especially when it is grounds for survival. As our current world walks through a battle of equitable wealth, the morality about stealing gets a little grey because of wealth inequalities debate.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What does this 8^th commandment mean to you? Is it deeper than just not taking what’s not yours?

Give and Take

It’s a focus to respect the property and rights of others. In the ancient Near East, theft was very serious offense that disrupted relationships and trust. Stealing would be viewed as a threat to the stability of the community. God wanted the Israelites to live in a society that was focused on justice and respect for each other.

The Book of Leviticus teaches the Israelites to be honest in everything that they do. Paul teaches us believers should be transformed from a taking mindset to a giving mindset. Stealing can be seen as a lack of trust in God’s provisions. We can recognize the legitimate needs born through the unjust systems; this command call su to both personal integrity and collective justice. By taking what others have, one fails to rely on God to meet the needs that we have.

Jesus teaches believers to trust in God in all things and seek the Kingdom of God before everything, trusting that all our needs will be met. In a broad sense, this commandment can be viewed as a called to stewardship. Believers are entrusted with certain resources and are called to use them wisely and generously, reflecting God’s character.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What does this bring up for you when it comes to stealing?

When someone steals from you, how do you feel? Guarded, afraid, and upset are the first emotions that come to my mind. Someone violated my trust and my boundaries to steal from me. It’s a terrifying experience, which has happened to me. I was on my way home from class one day, taking our public buses home. Someone had asked me to use my phone to do something, and they made the call take my phone and run out at one of the bus stops a few miles before my home. I was so stunned, so confused, and so upset by everything. I assumed they were in need, and trusted that they would use my resources wisely, and abused that generosity. Now, at the same time – it was a phone. Phones can be replaced, but that hurt and that trauma cannot be. It made me guarded for a long time. That trauma lingers, but so does Jesus’ call to forgive while still seeking systemic change so fewer reach that breaking point.

If they were honest about what they needed, would things have changed? Maybe? I can only assume that they used that phone to pawn and get some money. If they asked for money, would things have changed – possibly? Maybe? It’s hard to say for sure. My views on lending money to strangers is that I do it when I can. Do I do it always? No. Sometimes I’m in such a mood that I can’t be bothered, but that’s an inner problem on my end. At the same time, would they have used it for the reason they mentioned? Who knows. This is all a conversation between truth and honesty that does not happen a lot in our world.

Sometimes, we need help. We need help from others. We need help from our government agencies. We need help from friends and family. Unfortunately, systems are broken to where the help we can receive takes forever or the relationships we thought we had don’t go deeper when we need help. The systems are overloaded with people in need but are struggling with proper support and funding. Our friends and family are dealing with their own struggles and may be actually unable to help us out. When it comes to this, we do need to lean into God more.

Am I saying that God isn’t providing the proper help and guidance to us currently? No. I am saying that often, God does provide us the resources to live, but we try to live beyond them. We try to live a life that compares to society and social media often, when we can find options to peel back certain areas, simplify what we purchase and upgrade, and find areas to live more modestly. Some people are already doing that and still struggling, which I completely understand and want to acknowledge, but this is also a call to us to be more giving as well. For them especially, our call to generosity becomes urgent – sharing time, advocacy, resources to build the equitable system God desires. To be able to reflect on the excess that we have and work towards providing for those that are in need with whatever they have going on.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How can you reflect and look at what you have to see how you can help someone else?

Next part: Speak Truthfully || I Command You || Part 9