Theft

Do not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

Most people, at some point in their lives, experience theft of some type, be it loss of a car, a bicycle, a wallet or purse, or all of one's household possessions. There is often a feeling of anger and insecurity that follows this experience.

If the eighth commandment were actually observed, the world we live in would be a radically different place. Not only would the hurt that the sin of theft inflicts be gone, but we would notice how much of our lives is spent trying to prevent it. In Zambia one sees that the houses of the wealthy have large walls with broken glass and barbed wire on the top to keep people from breaking in. Were our police as ineffective as theirs, Americans would do the same very quickly.

In the Old Testament, a recurring promise of what God's blessing will be like is that the crops will be eaten by the people who planted them, not by robbers or foreign armies (Psalm 144). We look forward to the day when Jesus will establish a kingdom where theft and the fear and anxiety it produces are no more.

Starter Prayer:

Father, everything we have really belongs to you. Help us not to be possessive of our possessions, to hold loosely the things you give us. We also ask that you would foil the plans of those who enrich themselves by stealing from others, that you would help them to do something useful with their labor so that they might have something to share with those in need.