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.
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.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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