It’s Not Really Stealing, Right?

It’s Not Really Stealing, Right?

“You Shall Not Steal.” – Exodus 20:15
 
“What does this mean? 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

Most of us know that stealing is wrong. If we walked into a department store, we wouldn’t take a product off the shelf and just walk out. We wouldn’t walk into someone’s home and steal their wallet. If we did, we would at least recognize it’s wrong, even if we didn’t care it was.

However, there are many other ways to come into possession of someone else’s property that is just as dishonest but may not seem to us like stealing.

 
Just after college, I did several jobs as a temp worker. At one company, I was doing some monotonous work along with several other temp workers. It wasn’t fun but produced a paycheck. I didn’t really follow how much work the other temps were completing each day. I just did the work I was able to get done.
 
One day, one of the other temps came over to me and asked me to slow down. Confused, I asked him what he meant. He said I need to take it easy and take more breaks because that’s what the other temps were doing. By not doing that I was making them look bad. Also, since the work we were doing was a single project that would eventually be completed, by working quicker, the project would be done sooner and we’d be out of our jobs.

That other worker may not have realized it, but he was stealing. He had agreed to do a job for an hourly wage. It was expected that he would do his best, but by intentionally working slower and taking more breaks, he was making the job take longer. This would cost the company more money which would end up in his pocket.

Conversely, the principle behind this Commandment would not only have us working diligently but if we saw a way to make the work more efficient and thus benefit our employer, we should share that. We aren’t to simply not steal, but also to seek to help our neighbor protect and improve their property.

What I love about that last part is it takes our focus away from just following the letter of the Law and puts our focus on loving our neighbor. I don’t want to just not harm them, I want to help them.

This is what God does for us. He provides for us. We can trust that He will take care of us. So, we don’t need to steal and we can help.

Heavenly Father,
 
You provide food for the birds. How much more will You provide for us whom You love?  Thank you. Help me to trust Your provision. Help me love my neighbor as You do.
 
Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt