"Thou shalt not steal" (Exod. 20:15). This eighth commandment is very straightforward and needs little explanation. Nevertheless the Scriptures say quite a bit about this sin and it may surprise us to find out how many different varieties of stealing are referred to in the Bible. There may even be a variety that applies to you, and you never realized it before!
Several types of stealing are mentioned in Leviticus 6 in conjunction with the trespass offering:"If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor, or have found that which was lost and lieth concerning it and sweareth falsely …." (verses 2,3). First, we read of one entrusted to keep the belongings of his neighbor but keeps it for himself, perhaps pretending that someone else stole it. This matter is expanded upon elsewhere:"If a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief be found, let him pay double. If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbor’s goods." Just because something is currently in our possession does not mean we have title to it. We must be especially careful against the temptation to think something like, "I have done so much to help this person and he has given me so little in return, I deserve to take a portion of his goods for myself."
Second, we read of more or less the classic example of stealing, that is, using forceful or violent means to take something belonging to another away from him. Third, we read of one using deceit, as opposed to violence, to steal from his neighbor. This covers a multitude of sins, such as selling inferior goods or services at a high price by representing them as worth more than they really are. How about those times when you have sold or traded in your old car? Have you always given all of the information the prospective buyer would need to make an informed assessment as to the worth of the car? Have you always given exactly the information you would want a car salesman to tell you if you were the prospective buyer? The so-called "Golden Rule" (not a scriptural term) applies here:"All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matt. 7:12).
Fourth and finally, we read in Leviticus 6 of one who displays the mentality of ‘Finders keepers, losers weepers." This is what we often hear children saying when one finds some money or candy or a toy that his playmate has lost and is looking for. That is very childish behavior to be sure. But there is an adult version of this behavior that is a bit more subtle but no less sinful. The Lord, in Leviticus 6, speaks of one who has found that which was lost, and, when asked whether he has found it, lies and swears that he knows nothing about it.
Another type of stealing is described in Lev. 19:13:"Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him; the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning." Here, Scripture says that it is robbery to withhold a worker’s wages beyond the mutually agreed upon pay schedule. In a similar vein James graphically admonishes employers who have robbed and defrauded their employees by not paying what is due to them:"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth:and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (Jas. 5:1-4).
It is not only the employers who have a propensity to steal. There is a word for employees as well:"Servants [or, nowadays, employees] obey in all things your masters [or employers] according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:22-24). Those employees who only work diligently when the boss is around, but waste their time when the boss is not around, are the ones spoken of in this scripture as obeying "with eyeservice, as menpleasers." Such are actually guilty of stealing time from their employers. Well-intentioned, evangelistic Christians need to be careful in this regard that they do not spend more company time than is permissible and appropriate to witness to other employees. If we are employed, our first responsibility to our employers, to our fellow-workers, and to God Himself is to fulfill the provisions of our work agreement. Let us not put Christ and Christianity in a bad light, and possibly get ourselves fired at the same time, by witnessing for Christ when we ought to be working. Unless it can be done without distracting yourself and your co-worker from your work, such should be reserved for the coffee and lunch breaks and for evening and weekend get-togethers.
Yet another type of stealing is mentioned by the prophet Malachi:"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Mal. 3:8-10). As Christians, who are under grace and not under law, we are not under any commandment, as was Israel, to give to God a tenth of all of our material and financial gain. The attitude of one under grace would be, "The Lord has been so loving and good to me, and Christ has given His all to save me, how can I withhold from God any amount that He wants me to give back to Him? We Christians rob God by being selfish and stingy when it comes to returning to Him what He has so graciously given to us.
A New Testament counterpart to the eighth commandment is found in Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians:"Let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (428). There is no great commendation for Christians who succeed in avoiding stealing. A truer test of how well we are following Christ and being controlled by the Holy Spirit relates to how well we are able, by working hard to earn an adequate income and by being careful in spending our income, to help others who are less well off than we are. The apostle Paul also said to the Ephesians on another occasion, "I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
Under the law, the punishment for stealing was restitution of the amount stolen plus an additional amount. "If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep…. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive … he shall restore double. If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field, of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard shall he make restitution" (Exod. 22:1-6). King David was familiar with this principle of restitution when he pronounced judgment upon the rich man who killed a poor man’s lamb to feed a visitor:"He shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity" (2 Sam. 12:1-6). Zacchaeus, in the New Testament, was also familiar with this principle:"If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" (Luke 19:8).
While the law required restitution as a punishment for stealing, there was no specific provision under law for helping the one who suffered loss if the thief was not apprehended. However, under grace, we have quite a different picture. In the parable of the Good Samaritan we read of one, not the thief himself, and even hated by the one who had fallen among thieves, who restored that which he took not away (Luke 10:33-35). In how much greater measure did our Lord restore that which He took not away (Psa. 69:4) when He, the holy, sinless One, offered Himself a sacrifice for the sins of others!
Finally, let us pose the provocative question:Are there ever any circumstances where stealing is justifiable in God’s eyes? I have asked this question on several occasions at Bible classes with inmates of the local jail. Each time there have been at least one or two men, if not more, who believe that stealing is justifiable under extreme circumstances, such as being without food. However, there is no indication in Scripture that God ever condones stealing. Under the law, if one was so poor that he could no longer provide for himself and his family, provision was made for him to become an indentured servant:"If thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant, but as a hired servant and… he shall be with thee and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee" (Lev. 25:39,40). Today, the Christian has those wonderful promises, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12:9) and "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19). Let us learn to count upon Him to provide for us according to what He knows is best for us. We must not take matters out of His hand, and thus bring disgrace upon both God and ourselves, by stealing. On the other hand, we have every encouragement in Scripture to use every avenue possible to try to find paid employment through which our need might be met. As a final point, if we were to find ourselves facing a choice between death by starvation and life by stealing, far greater blessing for eternity will accrue to us by choosing the former than the latter.
FRAGMENT
There are very few people who truly believe,
It is much "more blessed to give than receive";
But since I’ve endeavored to follow the plan,
I surely am feeling a happier man.
FRAGMENT To what purpose is this waste? (Matt. 26:8). “If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned" (Cant. 8:7).
O Love is weak which counts the answers and the gains,
Weighs all the losses and the pains,
And eagerly each fond word drains
A joy to seek.
When Love is strong it never tarries to take heed
Or knows if its returns exceed
Its gifts; in its sweet haste no greed,
No strifes belong.
FRAGMENT "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not… tomorrow I will give" (Prov. 3:27,28).
Is there something you would like to do today? Now then, do it. Is there some debt you ought to pay? Now then, do it. Is there a quarrel you ought to make up? Now then, do it. Is there a letter you ought to write? Now then, do it. Is there a sinner you ought to warn? Now then, do it.
FRAGMENT "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Cor. 6:12). Many of us get the very best our bank accounts can afford, in food and furnishings. If we follow the apostle we will study how to spend little, and live simply. Even our eating will not be for gratification but to God’s glory.