We Have Sinned!

What is wrong with taking something if you need it? Perhaps the answer to this question could be better understood if the perspective were reversed. How would you feel if you had just made the last payment on your car, it was all yours after a couple of years of working to pay for it, and someone stole it out of your driveway? Why would you feel angry? Helpless? Frustrated? What is the cause of the indignation that prompts such emotions? Your basic instincts tell you that it is not right for someone to have the use of something that they did not earn, did not pay for with money they had earned, and did not deserve to have because they had not earned the privilege to have it. Did you notice the recurring appearance of the word “earn”?

Paul, the Apostle, was very opinionated when it came to working for what you get. His advice to practicing thieves was to stop stealing and work for what they needed: (Ephesians 4:28) Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Not only to provide for themselves, but to have enough left over to give to others needier than themselves. He took a swipe at food stamps, too. Physical disability and age aside, if a person can work and refuses to do so, he should not be fed at the expense of others. (2 Thessalonians 3:10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Those of you who were blessed with exposure to Virginia history might remember that this was the policy of Captain John Smith at Jamestown, too. Paul pointed out that when someone is not engaged in gainful employment, they have a tendency to bustle about (busybodies) meddling in other peoples’ business. (Verse 11) For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Having the necessities of life provided by others, making it unnecessary for one to work provides a lot of spare time for getting into trouble. Earning what you get has a double benefit; you have the satisfaction of accomplishment and being busy doesn’t give you that spare time on your hands wherein you might be tempted to steal. Taking something of someone else’s is mean. The way you feel when someone steals from you is universal, a sense of loss and being violated. Everyone is filled with this set of emotions when they suffer loss, and the gift of it is wrong. That’s why stealing is a sin, because it hurts, diminishes, and angers your neighbor. It diminishes the thief, too. When he steals, he is admitting to himself and to all who know of his act, he just doesn’t have what it takes to earn it!

(Exodus 22:2-3) If a thief be found breaking up (breaking into), and be smitten that he die (killed in the act), there shall no blood be shed for him (His death is not a crime.). If the sun be risen upon him (He has left the scene of the crime.), there shall be blood shed for him (His death would be a crime.); for he should make full restitution (He must restore the stolen goods according to the law.); if he have nothing, then he shall be sold (today: imprisoned) for his theft. Are you surprised at the fact that God does not consider killing a thief caught in the act a crime? Our present-day governments won’t allow this today. High value is placed on the life of the thief. No one gets away with anything. All sin will be punished. The real value of a thief’s life is established by the thief himself: it is worth exactly what he is willing to risk it for. How much value does God put on the life of a thief? Without repentance and a change of his ways, about the value of a pile of ashes at the bottom of the lake of fire.