Even Atheists believe that it should go unsaid that shopliftingā¦ bank robberiesā¦ embezzlementā¦ and carjacking are included in this commandment. We donāt think we need to mention that breaking and entering into someoneās home is just NOT what Christians do. Though sometimes we like to speak to and judge others by reminding them that taking that extra pen at work is stealing from their employer.
Consider Psalm 104 ā A poetic expression of biblical creation theology.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. 5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. 6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. 10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. 11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. 14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivateā bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. 16 The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers. 18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax. 19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. 20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. 21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. 22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. 23 Then people go out to their work, to their labor until evening. 24 How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond numberā living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his worksā 32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. 35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord.
Godās creation shows His generosity. š We live in a world of abundance. There is enough food and resources for everyone ā man and animal. There is even a time-management system; darkness begins and the lions work the night shift and when the sun rises, humans work.
When it doesnāt feel like thereās enough, God asks us to trust Him. The Israelites received water from rocks and manna, six days a week. Yet that didnāt stop them from, unsuccessfully, trying to hoard a little extra. š (Hint: it didnāt work out for them.) Jesus asks us to consider the ravens who donāt worry where their next meal is coming from. And consider too, the flowers, which are dressed in more splendor than Solomon. He is reminding us to ask for and to trust in Godās loving provision.
But, not many of us do. God is generous and he gives. Instead of receiving with gratitude, we often respond with distrust or pride. We either distrust His ability to provide enough, so we give in to desire and greedā¦ we take. I.e. we steal. Or we respond in pride, by exalting ourselves, we are convinced that we deserve what He graciously gives us. We think, in fact, that we deserve more! So again, we take ā we steal.
There is a difference between receiving with gratitude and taking or holding onto what was never meant for you. And just because everyone else is doing it, shouldnāt inspire us to join in. (Really, did you ever think you would live in a time where toilet-paper hoarding was a thing? Are you now uncomfortable unless you have that extra 20-lb. ājust-in-caseā rice and bean supply?)
We respond with, āIām only being responsible.ā
When we forget that God is good, that He loves us, that He created all things, and can feed thousands with a small supply of bread and fish, then we distort His generosity. We doubt His love. We doubt His ability and desire to provide.Ā It is a familiar theme in the history of the human condition ā we donāt trust God, we see His abundance and think, It may not be enough for everyone, I better take it while I can.Ā And when you decide to take for ‘you and for yours’, at the expense of others in need, that may not be stealing in the legal sense of the word, but consider God’s viewpoint.
When He blesses us, are we not called to bless others? How do we lead others to God’s saving grace, when we live as if we have to take care of ourselves?