you shall not steal

Today we get into our third message on the Ten Commandments. If you have been with us the past two weeks, then you know that we are taking them in reverse order. The series began with the tenth commandment—you shall not covet. Last week we looked at the ninth commandment—you shall not lie. Today we move on in the countdown and take a look at the eighth commandment—you shall not steal.

Before we get into it, let’s note one of the features of theses commandments we have seen in each one so far. That while the commandments so far have each been phrased as a negative prohibition—something we should not do—these commandments all imply a positive reinforcement—something we should do. The commandment we see today is no different. The negative prohibition is that we should not steal. But there is a positive a reinforcement to this commandment as well. We will see that more clearly as we work along through this message.

There are just two verses of scripture I want to highlight as we get into the meaning of this commandment about stealing which will set the tone for our discussion here. It comes from the opening stanza of Psalm 24.

Psalm 24:1–2 NIV

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.

examples of stealing

intellectual property, copyright, identity theft, insider trading

Let me start by laying out something of the obvious. If I asked you do define ‘stealing’ I think we would all come up with something pretty close to the same answer. Stealing is when you take something that does not belong to you. The dictionary defines stealing as taking without permission. If we keep digging we might begin to think of several categories. Stealing does not always apply to possessions such as physical objects. It can also apply to ideas—something we refer to as intellectual property. It is also the reason why books and music and movies have copyright protection. In today’s internet-connected digital world we deal with something known as identity theft. In the world of finance there are backdoor deals that result in insider trading on the stock market; the unfair advantage allows traders to steal wall street profits away from others.

sharing Netflix password, Native American land, items made by cheap/unfair labor

Keep going and we find ourselves getting into a confusing grey area in which people do not all agree about what might be considered stealing. I imagine many of us might know people who share a Netflix login password outside of one family. Is that stealing? It depends on who you ask. I own a home which is legally titled to me here in the state of Michigan. But before it was Michigan, this area was occupied by the Ottawa tribe of native Americans. Is the land mine or is it stolen? It depends on who you ask. The shirt I am wearing today is something I paid for from a store. Yet it is also likely that this shirt came from a factory somewhere in the Asian Pacific region where it was put together by people who work under poor conditions earning less than $2 a day. Sure, I paid for the shirt, but is it okay that I do so in a global economic system in which 80% of the world’s wealth is held by 1% of the world’s population? Am I taking more than what belongs to me simply by being the American consumer that I am?

environmental ‘creation care’

And what about the creation itself? Every time I take a single-use plastic or styrofoam cup, use it once, and then toss it in the trash for the landfill instead of recycle, is that in effect stealing from the creation? Knowing as we do today that materials such as plastic and styrofoam and metal and glass do not decompose, is it a sin of stealing whenever I intentionally ignore an opportunity to recycle these things? Is there even such a thing as robbing from the earth itself? It depends on who you ask.

opportunities to share, but I don’t

Here’s one more. What about opportunities when I can clearly share the excess of my possessions to fill the needs of someone else? When I find myself with a clear and obvious opportunity to be generous for the need of another, but I don’t share, is that stealing? It might count as being greedy, but does a hoarding kind of greed also count as stealing? People would not agree about that.

new question: instead of asking what is stealing, ask who do we steal from?

Maybe this whole area of the eighth commandment might not be so simple to understand after all. Some further perspective from the Bible is just what we need to get a better understanding of what the eighth commandment is about. Let’s backtrack to those few verses from Psalm 24. And let me do so by framing the question just a little bit differently. Instead of beginning by getting bogged down in all these different ways to think about what stealing is, let’s begin by asking the question of who we steal from.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.”

Psalm 24 is written by King David. The king of Israel was the absolute monarch. Anything the king wanted, the king had the right to take for himself. And yet David declares in Psalm 24 that none of this actually belongs to him. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.” Everything. All of creation belongs to God. If any Israelite ever had the right to claim ownership of anything at all, it would’ve been the king. But even at the top ruling level of all Hebrew authority, the king still does not supersede the LORD in claiming that anything at all is owned by the king. Because God made all that exists, God is the rightful owner of all that exists.

our response: from ownership to stewardship

We refer to this is different ways within our theology, as people of God’s church. We talk about it in terms of ‘stewardship.’ Usually when we mention stewardship, we refer to giving or tithing or generosity. Other times we talk about stewardship in reference to wise and careful use of resources and possessions. But really, stewardship comes down to an acknowledgement that we are not the owners. Rather, we are the stewards—the caretakers.

Let me pull in just a few other pieces of scripture at this point. When God created Adam and Eve in Genesis 1, he creates them with a job to do. God gives Adam and Eve a mandate. Sometimes we refer to this as the creation mandate. It is found in Genesis 1:26

Genesis 1:26–30 NIV

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

creation mandate — Genesis 1:26ff

Hebrew kabash (subdue) = cultivate, develop

Alright, let’s take a minute and pick this apart. The creation mandate in Genesis 1 has words like ‘rule over it’ and ‘subdue it’ and ‘I give it to you.’ The Hebrew words from which we translate this passage are rather elastic—meaning, they can carry nuance in different directions depending on the context. For example, the Hebrew word kabash which translates as “subdue” can mean many things depending on context. In other passages of the Old Testament this word is translated as ‘violate’ or ‘rape.’ In still other passages it is translated as ‘walk upon’ or ‘make a path.’ In other places it is used in the sense of ‘cultivate’ or ‘develop.’ That seems to best fit the context of Genesis 1. God gives a creation mandate for his created human beings to cultivate and develop the creation, to explore and unpack all the potential that God has placed within his created world.

God hands over the keys for Adam and Eve to drive, but God does not sign over the title and walk away

Maybe it is helpful to think of to this way. God hands over the keys for Adam and Eve to drive the world, but God does not sign over the title and walk away. God still holds the title; God maintains the deed of ownership. He has simply appointed us as stewards, caretakers, the ones who are given the task of looking after God’s world. To accept our place as stewards of God’s created world is to acknowledge that all in this world belongs to God.

if ‘steward’ was a verb

any time I begin to mistakenly behave as though this world is mine to own, I am stealing from God

I am not sure that ‘steward’ is a verb, but maybe it ought to be. So, instead of saying that I own a house, I should say that I steward a house. Instead of saying that I own a car, I should say that I steward a car. Instead of saying that I own a retirement account, I should say that I steward a retirement account. That changes things. That changes the way I see and think about my role and my task in using things like my house and my car and my retirement account. I am not sure it is correct English grammar, but it is correct theology. Because a perspective like that reminds me that the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. It reminds me that any time I begin to mistakenly behave as though this world is mine to own, I am stealing from God.

This is the point I really want us to see today. Whenever we steal, whenever we take something that does not belong to us, we are actually stealing from God. The Old Testament prophet reminds us in Malachi 3.

Malachi 3:8–10a (NIV)

8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.

9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

return to ‘creation care’ example

Once we lose sight of our role as stewards, as caretakers of this earth, we steal from God. This reframes the issue and gives some perspective. Think back to some of those questionable examples I started with today. Let me take just one of those examples. There may be differences of opinion on issues of environmentalism. The Christian Reformed Church does not use the term environmentalism, instead preferring the term creation care. And when it comes to creation care, our church says this in the contemporary testimony Our World Belongs to God:

"We lament that our abuse of creation has brought lasting damage to the world we have been given: polluting streams and soil, poisoning the air, altering the climate, and damaging the earth. We commit ourselves to honor all God’s creatures and to protect them from abuse and extinction, for our world belongs to God"

As part of the eighth commandment, we care for the world in which God has made us stewards because when we destroy the natural world, we steal from God. It helps to remember that the earth is the LORD’s, and that we are the stewards.

two observations for practical application

Let me steer this home by giving two practical observations that can help us not only better understand the eighth commandment, but help us put into practice some better habits to live in alignment with the eighth commandment.

avoid entitlement

Achan | Ananias & Sapphira

entitlement is what gets in the way of living as a steward of God’s world

The first is this: avoid entitlement. Entitlement is one of those attitudes that creeps into our lives and disguises itself as a good thing. So many television commercials try to market and sell us products by somehow convincing us that we are worth it, that we deserve it, that we are entitled to it. In Joshua 7 after the city of Jericho was destroyed, one Israelite man—Achan—brought calamity upon the entire camp by taking some of the valuables from Jericho for himself. He thought he was entitled to it. He thought that he deserved it. In Acts 5 we see two people in the church—Ananias and Sapphira—who deceptively hold back for themselves some of what they had committed to give to Peter for the church. Entitlement is what does that. Entitlement is what gets in the way of living as a steward of God’s world. Entitlement leaves us with the perspective that we can take whatever we want as long as we convince ourselves that we deserve it, that we ought to have it.

example: paycheck

If I were to sit down and start making a list of all the things in my life to which I think I am entitled, I admit that my list would be very long. There are a lot of things in my life I have picked up because somehow I have convinced myself that I deserve it, I earned it, I am entitled to it. Like many of you, I may look at the paycheck that comes and think that’s my money. I put in the hours, I did the work, I went to school to achieve my level of education, or apprenticed on the job, or got certification in the trade. I have done all the things to get this job and work for this income. We may all think that in some form about the jobs we have and the income we receive; we think we’re entitled to it.

I have to remind myself that there are billions of other people in other countries around the world who are every bit as smart as I am and smarter, who work every bit as hard at their jobs as I do and harder, and who receive only a tiny fraction of the compensation and income that we get in our paychecks. I may try to convince myself that I work hard for my paycheck and that I have earned and deserve that money, but let’s be honest, it is an entitlement. If we are entitled to that paycheck because we have worked for it and deserve it and so it should be mine, then why don’t those other billions of people who work just as hard as us get the same thing?

entitlement is a lie that leads us into breaking the eighth commandment—to stealing from God’s world for ourselves—all-the-while convincing us that we have done nothing wrong

Entitlement is a lie that leads us into breaking the eighth commandment—to stealing from God’s world for ourselves—all-the-while convincing us that we have done nothing wrong. That’s the first observation: avoid entitlement.

practice generosity

if stealing is the act of taking for ourselves something to which we are not entitled, then generosity is the act of giving away to someone else something to which they are not entitled

Now the second observation: practice generosity. Generosity is the natural remedy for entitlement. Generosity is the active undoing of stealing. If stealing is the act of taking for ourselves something to which we are not entitled, then generosity is the act of giving away to someone else something to which they are not entitled.

true generosity is the complete undoing of entitlement

Generosity, then, is giving with no strings attached. It is giving without a contract of terms and conditions. Generosity is giving simply because the gift can be given. The recipient does not do anything in order to merit the gift. And the giver does not impose a set of controlling criteria in order for the gift to be received. You see, in true generosity all sense of entitlement is wiped away. Generosity is the complete undoing of entitlement.

The practice of generosity embraces the positive reinforcement of the eighth commandment. Look again at what our catechism says. “That I do whatever I can for my neighbor’s good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may share with those in need.” (HC 111)

example: tipping

I have said this before, so maybe you have heard this example. One of the ways I tried to correct my habit of generosity is in the way I tip servers when I eat out at a restaurant. Like many people, I used to consider if I should tip less or more based on the service. Never mind that servers make less-than-minimum wage and depend on tips as part of their income. Something in me still held onto the notion that tips are something to be earned rather than an opportunity for me to be generous. I had to make a change. It was a change to avoid entitlement—that the server needed to earn the tip—and embrace generosity—that I get to bless someone simply because I have an opportunity to give. I choose to tip at least 20% no matter what. It doesn’t matter if the service is lousy, if the order gets mixed up, if the food is cold, if the coffee never gets refilled. I choose to give a tip simply because I have been blessed with the means to do so. No strings or conditions attached. If any entitlements get in the way, then it is no longer an act of generosity.

And let me tell you, that choice to make restaurant tipping an act of generosity rather than an entitlement to be earned has further impacts. It is a choice that also bends my attention towards the fact that this server is a human being created by God in God’s image and holds immeasurable value as a person simply based upon that and that alone. A person’s worth and value should not be measured in what it is I think they owe me, or ought to do for me, or in—notice this now—what I think I am entitled to have from them. Avoiding entitlement and embracing generosity changes the way we see other people; it changes the way we interact with others and treat others; it changes the way we see our neighbors and community around us.

avoiding entitlement and embracing generosity gives us a giant leap into grace

gospel of our salvation hangs upon accepting that God—in his grace—chooses generosity instead of entitlement

Most of all, avoiding entitlement and embracing generosity gives us a giant leap into grace. We talk about grace a lot in the church. We read scripture and sing songs about all the ways that God has lavished his grace upon us. The centerpiece of grace is that God chooses to be extravagantly generous with his love even though you and I are not in any way entitled to receive it. Did you catch that? God chooses that his love for us will not be contingent upon any kind of entitlement. Because as soon as you or I do anything to earn or deserve God’s favor, as soon as we are in any way entitled to receive it from God, then it is no longer an act of grace. The entire gospel of our salvation hangs upon accepting that God—in his grace—chooses generosity instead of entitlement.

eighth commandment opens a pathway for us to live in such a way that we echo the grace of God in how we live with one another

The eighth commandment is so much more than a rule to protect property or advance moral behavior. It opens a pathway for us to live in such a way that we echo the grace of God in how we live with one another. This week, try to find at least one thing you can do, one habit you can change, that will take a step away from entitlement and step towards generosity. We are generous because God has been so very generous to us; we love because he has first loved us.