Esteem Property

Seventh Commandment

The Seventh Commandment not only prohibits stealing but also exhorts us to protect our neighbor’s livelihood.

This commandment seems quite straightforward. It’s fundamental to stability in any society. But Luther’s explanation once again draws out the deeper implications: “We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income” (Luther’s Small Catechism, p. 15).

How can we carry this out in a capitalistic society? How can we commit ourselves to helping a competitor “improve and protect his possessions and income”? A business-owner’s goal would seem to be the elimination of the competition. Then he can charge anything he wants and rake in the profit. Does this commandment mean that we can’t try to put our competitor out of business, even through fair competition?

Recently I read a proverb that is from India. It says, “You must never hit anyone in the stomach.” It means that we must never take away another person’s livelihood. Once upon a time there was a director of a Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute in India. After three years of service, he wrote that it was time to turn over the directorship to a native Indian. In an effort to clear up as many problems as possible before the new director took over, he FIRED the watchman. He wasn’t doing his job, no matter how patient and directive he was with him.

When the old director returned from furlough, he wrote that he was surprised to see the watchman back on the job. Why? He had a family to feed, and you never “hit anyone in the stomach.” He may be a liability to your institution, but you just bear with him. You can’t take away his livelihood. You have to protect his income. It’s a different value system from ours but is more in line with Luther’s explanation. Do not use your position or power to destroy another’s livelihood. We’ve seen God’s concern to protect the weak and vulnerable in the society time and again in the Commandments—Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and now Seventh.

The Law throws our greed into sharp relief.

Greed is the heart of this commandment. The great thirteenth-century theologian Thomas Aquinas said, “If a man steals in order to provide food for his starving family, it is no sin.” The issue is not stealing itself. The issue is taking advantage of another for one’s advancement. The issue is making someone else’s loss your gain. The issue is false dealing, oppressive dealing, greedy dealing. The issue is one’s soul.

Jesus warned, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mk 8:36).

St. Paul warned, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim 6:10).

James warned, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. . . . Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you” (James 5:1, 4).

Have I taken advantage of others in their desperate need for my own advantage? When someone had to sell possessions because of need, did I buy them for an unfair price? Have I hired young people for a job and paid them a paltry wage because they were willing to do it? Have I withheld a decent tip from a waitress just because I thought she, or the diner, were lower class?

If so, I have stolen. I have oppressed the weak. I have take advantage of their weakness for my own good. I have been greedy. That is the issue in this commandment. God is a God who revels in generosity. In Jesus’ parables, God rejoices to be generous with his servants.

The Gospel Reveals God’s is abundant Generosity

God gives the worker who came in at the last hour the full wage (Mt 20:1–16). He cancels the huge debt of his servant, because he pleaded for mercy (Mt 18:21–35). He generously entrusts ten and five and one talents to his servants and then doubles them for his faithful ones on his return (Lk 19:11–27). Thank God he is generous. He does not reward us according to our iniquities and failings. He blesses us according to his unfailing generosity.

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps 103:10–12). Our Lord wills only our good. He died, rose, and now reigns so that he can “graciously give [you] all things” (Rom 8:32) in time and—most important—for all eternity.

God Generously Gives Every Good Blessing to Us, Including Our Very Salvation.

And then he sends us out saying, “Go, and do likewise” (Lk 10:37). Help and protect your neighbor. Be honest with your boss—on your time sheet, on your expense account, and on your phone calls. Be honest with your classmates—don’t cheat on tests and papers. Be honest with authors and composers—don’t duplicate their articles and their tapes.

Be honest with your God—do not rob him of his tithe. Be honest with the next generation—do not take their money and their natural resources. Be honest with your fellow citizens—pay your fair share of taxes. This commandment calls us to live a life of integrity and generosity.

God Generously Gives Every Good Blessing to Us, Including Our Very Salvation.

“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. . . . Be rich in good works, . . . be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure . . . as a good foundation for the future, . . . [and] take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim 6:6–7, 18–19).