The Seventh Commandment
You shall not steal.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we do not take our neighbor’s money or property, or get it by dishonest dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and means of income.
Whether rich or poor, what you have has been given to you by God because of his love for you. If you are poor, God has given what you have and nothing more, because he loves you. If you are rich, God has given you your wealth because he loves you. As the Psalmist wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it; the world, and those who live in it,” (Psalm 24:1).
If you are poor, and you trust God above all things as the First Commandment tells us to do, then you will not steal to get more. You trust God to give you what you need, and you accept that he has at the present time given you poverty. Poverty can be a gift of God. It is but one of the ways that God may afflict us so that we will find his grace in Christ, and cling to him all the more tightly.
Even if you are not poor and are not tempted to steal to get money, you still must ask yourself if you are using God’s gifts of money and possessions in the way that he intended them to be used. Your money is not your “allowance” from God, to be spent however you may choose. It’s actually a trust, to be used for his purposes. He will call you to account for the way that you have used your money. God wants you to care for the needs of others. He wants you to support the work of preaching the Gospel by giving to the church. He also wants you to care for your own needs and enjoy his good blessings in life–but you will do that naturally, and probably to excess. Be more concerned about how you are using your money to help others and support the church.
It is a serious matter when we use God’s gifts of money and possessions for ourselves rather than for God’s purpose. God has given us our money as a trust, with the intent that we use it as he intended. In government, when politicians are given money for a certain cause, but they spend it on themselves instead, we feel like we have been robbed. When we spend money on ourselves that we should have spent on others or on God, God sees that as stealing from him. Through the prophet Malachi he said, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. ‘How do we rob you?’ ‘In tithes and offerings,'” (Malachi 3:8).
Thank God that the punishment we so greatly deserved was given to Christ. Thank God also that the perfect obedience we so deeply need was accomplished by Christ also, and given to God on our behalf.
Heavenly Father, strike us down with guilt, that you may build us up again with your gracious forgiveness in Christ our Lord, Amen.
One Lutheran Voice 