Good morning. A burglar broke into a house and began to steal all of the valuables. At that moment he heard a voice that said “Jesus is watching you.” He was so scared that he completely froze up. After a bit, he regained his composure and started stealing again, when the voice came even louder, “Jesus is watching you.” He just about lost it right there. But later after regaining his composure he began to steal again, but this time he was watching very closely around him. When he heard the voice again this time he recognized a shape in the corner as he approached he realized that it was a bird cage. He removed the cover to find a parrot. Immediately he was amused. “What is your name?” he asked.
The parrot replied “Moses.” The thief then said, “What kind of person would name a parrot Moses?” The parrot replied, “The same kind of person that named a Rottweiler Jesus.”
Or how about this one, guys you will appreciate this reality. A Sunday school teacher was teaching her class about the difference between right and wrong. “All right children, let’s look at another example,” she said. “If I were to get into a man’s pocket and take his billfold with all his money, what would I be?” Little Johnny raises his hand, and with a confident smile, he blurts out, “You’d be his wife!”
Well guys, while we probably would consider that as stealing, today we will be addressing the issue of the 8th commandment. So ladies listen up. All joking aside, Before we begin, let’s open with a word of prayer.
Our text for this series has been Exodus 20:1-17. We have read this text each week as a way to help us all to know the 10 Commandments better. So at this time I want to go ahead and take a look at that text. Here in Exodus 20:1-17 it says, (Ribbon)
Here’s what this commandment is all about: Everybody has stuff. Everybody needs stuff. Therefore, everybody has to find a way to get that stuff. In this commandment, God is saying, “Don’t get your stuff any way but God’s way.” Wouldn’t you agree with me that people today are continually trying to get stuff any way but God’s way? Look in the news, there is all sorts of crime these days based on someone wanting something in a way that God says is wrong.
People steal cars, they steal money from a bank or a store, they mug and rob people in dark allies, they steal babies, they steal someone’s virginity, and the list can go on. People these days are trying to get what they want by stealing it. But you know what, things today are no different than when God delivered these commands. You see, He addressed this because they were dealing with it now, and He knew we would deal with it over 2,000 years later as well.
But you know what; maybe you have not stolen anything lately. But we all have something lurking inside of us that is fascinated with the concept of getting something for nothing. Something that lives deep inside of us that says “Boy, if I could get that for nothing that would be great.” Which explains why so many shoplifters who are caught don’t need to shoplift in the first place. They aren’t doing it out of necessity they are doing it for the thrill. And so God is saying here, “Don’t let that desire to get something for nothing win out.”
The Bible and God do not have a problem with us having “Stuff”. Probably the most graphic of all of Jesus parables or stories is the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man is traveling between 2 cities and he is mugged. The robbers beat him up, take everything he has, and then leave him on the side of the road for dead. That of course is the most blatant form of breaking the 8th commandment. And probably none of us here would ever do what was described in that story, or at least I hope none of you would ever do that type of thing.
In this commandment we see that God is telling us that we are not to take the property of another person. Dr. Laura in her book on the Ten Commandments states the following: she says, “The commandments thus far have dealt with issues such as divine authority, life and death, sacred time, etc. Suddenly the gears are shifted from holy spirits and holy relationships to the issue of things.”
You see, this commandment tells us we are to respect the ownership of possessions. We are told we are not to take what does not belong to us. In the Old Testament, if you stole something from another person, you were required to pay double restitution. If you stole 2 sheep from someone, you had to give that person 4 sheep back as restitution.
I wonder how things would be today if a person knew that if they got caught stealing stuff, they would have to pay back double what they stole. Stealing is taking something that is not yours!
Now I know that some of you are sitting here this morning trying to think of all the things that other people have stolen from you over the years. But that isn’t the right thing to be thinking about right now. What we need to be doing is asking ourselves a question.
What we all need to ask ourselves is, “Am I a thief?”
Now I don’t think too many of us are planning on robbing someone or breaking into someone’s home and steal their stuff. But, stealing can manifest itself in a multitude of ways. Let’s look at a few ways people steal today and don’t think of it as stealing.
We can steal software by sharing it with other people. Software is copyrighted. When you purchase software for your computer, and then share it with your friends, you are stealing it. When people go to their jobs and take office supplies home they are stealing from their employer.
Maybe you are stealing cable TV. There are many people who steal cable TV. People cheat on their taxes by miss reporting their income or by not reporting cash they have received. Maybe you are an employer. When employers do not pay a fair wage, they are cheating employees. They are stealing from their employees. When a person collects money that does not belong to them or if they refuse to work and then take money for the work they should have done, they are stealing also.
Maybe it is as simple as you borrowed something from someone and never have returned it. That may be stealing as well. Especially if you know you still have it.
So why do people steal stuff instead of getting it God’s way? Well here are some rationalizations for breaking the 8th commandment. It is so easy for us to rationalize stealing things. If it is our taxes, we say, “They are taking too much and they waste what they have, so I can cheat on my taxes just a little bit.”
Sometimes we will steal from a large business or our employer because we think that the company owes it to us. But let me tell you something, if it is not yours, then they do not owe it to you and if you take it that means that you are stealing it. People say, oh I’m only taking a little. Well what would happen if all of us take just a little?
Or how about this one? I bet most all of us fall into this category of stealing. Have you ever been given too much change at the store or have you ever been given something at what you knew was the wrong price? It is not stealing when they made a mistake is it? YES it is!
GO back and let them know the mistake. Wouldn’t you want them to do the same for you?
Someone’s ignorance or mistake is not meant to be our gain. If they don’t give you enough change, they will probably hear about it, so why not let then know they have given you too much change as well. Small things really do count. And when you go on your way knowing that you have extra change or paid the wrong price, you are robbing the story owner.
God will not bless us if we cannot handle what He has already blessed us with. In Luke 16:10 it says, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
Now I think that this commandment can really boil down to 2 simple questions that we need to ask ourselves. First, “Am I content?” If you want to avoid gaining things in a way that God does not like, then be content with what you have been given by God. In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul writes, “2”
Also we need to ask ourselves, “Do I trust God?” Do you really trust God to supply your needs? In Philippians 4:19 Paul writes, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
And in Matthew 6:26 it says, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
You see, if you are doing life God’s way, then you can depend on Him – not to make you rich, but to meet your needs. He will give you the strength to work, and make up the difference EVERY time in some way.
But if you don’t have the guts to trust God and you want to take it into your own hands by stealing from your employer, or Wal-Mart, or the government, or others. . . then you are definitely going to have a lot of stress! And here’s why: when you break a command from God, YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN! God is not going to bless those who do and gain things in a way that He has already established as the wrong way.
Now let’s step back for a moment. Perhaps I still haven’t talked to some of you today. Maybe there are some of you here today that are as honest as honest can be, and you really don’t cheat or steal in any way. Well let me go one step further before we close.
Let’s look at the ultimate act of defrauding, the ultimate act of withholding what rightfully belongs to someone else, the ultimate act of stealing. Do you know what I’m talking about here? I’m talking about defrauding God, about us keeping what rightfully belongs to Him. The life giver, the salvation giver, the grace giver, the heaven giver. And some of us defraud God of what is rightfully His.
Turn with me to the Old Testament book of Malachi. We will be looking at Malachi 3:8-10. Here in Malachi 3:8-10 it says, “3”
When we’ve been adopted into God’s family we realize that life will never be the same. And God makes no bones about it. In fact, He says “when you come to me for salvation you bring everything you have to the table, because if I’m not Lord of all then I’m not Lord at all.”
And when we accept the salvation that God offers, and as we grow in Christ and learn His word we discover that God tells us that all of our resources belong to Him, everything we have everything we are. And God in His graciousness says it all belongs to me, but I’m going to let you use 90% of it. All I’m asking for is the first 10% to run my church.
But throughout the history of the Christian Church countless numbers of Christians have done something unthinkable, they have violated and frustrated God’s entire economic plan, when they have taken that first tenth that God has asked for and they have defrauded God of that amount by taking what is the Lords, and spending it on themselves. They’ve taken what was supposed to be spent on God’s work, and they bought toys and trinkets, and bought houses and clothes, and gone on vacation and bought computers with it and God says “I’ve been robbed!”
When a person has been robbed, they feel violated. And that’s when a stranger did it, someone you didn’t know. How would you feel if it was someone you knew, someone you trusted someone you loved, and someone you thought loved you. How much more would it hurt then. Can you imagine how God feels when His own children steal from Him?
And God says that isn’t the way it’s supposed to be, you do what you’re supposed to do and I’ll bless you. Maybe you’ve made some poor financial choices and you can’t give 10%, well then maybe you need to start at 2% or 6% or 8%, but work your way up to giving God what belongs to Him.
Maybe it isn’t the money, maybe it is a talent that God has blessed you with and you are not using it for Him. You are stealing from God. You have this gift, so use it for Him. Many people take their gifts and they use them for themselves only. Again, God is saying, “I’ve been robbed!”
Yes He gave you that talent, but it was to use for Him. No He doesn’t mind that you use it for yourself from time to time, but He wants it to be used for the reason He gave it to you. The primary reason God gives anyone a gift is to honor Him, or to reach out to others in His name and worship to worship Him in the use of your talent of ability. So quit robbing God.
Now as we close this morning, if you ever do decide to turn to crime, I hope you’re better at it than these guys: In Missouri, a guy trying to pawn a stolen bracelet was apprehended by police when the pawn shop owner recognized the jewelry--it was his wife’s.
In West Virginia, a knife-wielding mugger accepted a $300 check from his victim. The thief was arrested the next day trying to cash that check.
In Tennessee, a burglar realized he’d left his Nikes at the home he’d just robbed. So he returned and asked the lady of the house if she’d seen his shoes. She called the cops, and the guy was arrested.
In Seattle, a guy trying to siphon gas from a motor home accidentally put the hose in the sewage tank instead. The owner did not press charges against the youngster saying, “The surprise of sucking up raw sewage instead of gas was punishment enough.”
Or how about the guy that robbed a convenient store. He ordered the owner to put all the money in a bag. Then he asked for a bottle of alcohol that was behind the counter. The owner refused saying that the thief was not over 21. At that point the robber showed the owner his drivers license to prove that he was indeed 21. The owner of the store called police and gave name and address of the guy and he was arrested 1 hour later.
Not too many of us will ever rob a bank, or mug someone, but we are all guilty of breaking God’s commandment in other ways? Maybe we are even robbing God Himself in the way that we live our lives and in the way that we refuse to give back to God.
But when we belong to Christ, we are to live by a higher ethical standard. I have a tax guy who will do everything he possibly can to LEGALLY save me money come tax time. But if something is questionable; he will advise that I don’t take the deduction. We must be people who can be trusted. We should do everything we can to obey God’s command. You never know when someone might make one of those too much change mistakes on purpose just to see what you will do.
We need to set an example for all of those around us and make sure that this 8th commandment is not being broken. We need to be honest and trustworthy both to those around us and to God.
Let’s Pray |
