I am familiar with the eighth commandment. So are you. If there are two commandments that everyone knows, murdering and stealing are it. This is probably because kids begin stealing at such an early age. Just watch two kids toddling around together among some toys and tell me how long it is before one steals a toy from the other. So, children learn - at least in that context - that taking property from others is wrong.
“Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
This commandment seems simple, but don’t sleep on it.
Dennis Prager (2018) says, “the eighth commandment…is unique in that it encompasses all the other commandments on the second tablet…” (p. 264). He also writes that “if everyone observed only one of the Ten Commandments, observing the commandment “Do Not Steal” – with all of its manifold implications – would, by itself, make an ethically decent world” (Prager, 2018, p. 267).
To me, that seemed like too huge a statement to make. But the more I thought about it, the more the statement grew on me. The comments for this verse in The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Bible Commentary (PCHBC) helped to solidify my mind further. The commentary for Exodus 20:15 is broken into three sections: we must not rob ourselves, we must not rob our neighbors, and we must not rob God.
Try and think of what the world would be like if every single person achieved perfection in those three areas. Just one sneakily complex commandment. Don’t steal. Let’s examine these three areas for just a few moments.
DO NOT ROB YOURSELF
We can rob ourselves in a myriad of ways, but two examples can suffice.
First, “the prodigal robbed himself by sinful spending and was reduced to starvation” (PCHBC). Many Americans are in debt beyond their ability to pay. This was true before the recent spike in inflation, so let’s not jump straight to that song and dance routine. Even though it is a depressingly good excuse. The bald truth of it is that we spend more than we should and more frivolously than we should. Crippling debt leaves families struggling mentally, emotionally, and financially. Insofar as we are to blame, we have robbed ourselves of our peace and health, at the very least.
Second, we also rob ourselves by “misusing our privileges…abusing Divine gifts…[and] by letting pride and prejudice prevent us receiving gospel blessings” (PCHBC). Nowadays we use phrases like, “he really wasted his potential,” or, “what a waste of talent,” to say the same thing. We rob ourselves when we do not use our talents. We may be robbing ourselves of ways to be used for God’s glory. We may be robbing ourselves of development or promotional opportunities. Did you ever think that your actions might be robbing you of the very goal you are trying to reach?
DO NOT ROB YOUR NEIGHBOR
This is the most obvious interpretation and application of the eighth commandment. But did you ever stop to think that this commandment forbids kidnapping and slavery?
In his commentary, Adam Clarke (1826) writes, “all kidnapping, crimping, and slave-dealing are prohibited here, whether practiced by individuals or by the state.” Dennis Prager agrees. He writes, “critics of the Bible who argue the Bible allowed such slavery, and defenders of such slavery who used the Bible, were both wrong” (Prager, 2018, p. 265). Our enlightened society has moved beyond slavery, of course. Society has not moved beyond pornography, however, and it creates more worldwide child and human kidnapping and trafficking than anything else.
“That’s right. Porn and sex trafficking are inseparably linked, and much of society denies or is unaware of this fact” (By the Numbers: Is the Porn Industry Connected to Sex Trafficking?, 2022). The article goes on to quote the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) which defines sex trafficking as a “modern-day form of slavery” (TVPA, 2000). Just because porn has become a national pastime does not make it acceptable.
The eighth commandment also speaks to the Marxist view towards the abolishing of private property. The commandment regarding stealing presumes the existence of private property. One cannot steal that which no one owns. As our government steeps itself further into the trenches of socialism, remember the words of the Communist Manifesto: “this cannot be effected except by means of despotic inroads on the rights of property” (Marx et al., 1848).
We can finish up this section with another quote from Adam Clarke. This will serve as a good reminder for those of us who live in societies trending ever-away from godliness, “crimes are not lessened in their demerit by the number, or political importance of those who commit them. A state that enacts bad laws is as criminal before God as the individual who breaks good ones” (Clarke, 1826).
DO NOT ROB GOD
This one is admittedly a doozy. The Bible says that you were created for Him and His pleasure (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16). Simply put, we rob God the instant we fail to bring Him the glory due Him. That, my friend, ends up being quite the rap sheet.
We rob God of thanksgiving and praise on the regular. We often squander His blessings and fail to recognize His work in our lives. Malachi says it is possible to rob God in our finances (Malachi 3:8). This post has already been long, so I don’t want to belabor the point. Suffice it to say, I sure am thankful for Jesus and the fact that I wear His righteousness opposed to my own.
Christians can still rob God, though, and we ought to quit.
Are you a thief? Probably so, in some way. This simple commandment is a lot more complex than it may appear. Maybe today is a good day to ask the Spirit to bring your thieving ways to your knowledge and begin a program of growth in your life.
Since this is posting on Labor Day, let me remind everyone of what Jesus said in Luke 10:7, "the laborer is worthy of his hire...". Don't rob from people who work with and for you!
References:
By the numbers: Is the porn industry connected to sex trafficking? (2022). Fight the New Drug.
https://fightthenewdrug.org/by-the-numbers-porn-sex-trafficking-connected/
Clarke, Adam (1826). Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. Public Domain.
Marx, K., Engels, F. (1848). The communist manifesto. Independently published.
Prager, D. (2018). The rational Bible: Exodus. Regnery Faith.
The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Bible Commentary (PCHBC). (1892). Public Domain.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106–386, Section 102(a), 114 Stat.
1464. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-106hr3244enr/pdf/BILLS-106hr3244enr.pd
No comments:
Post a Comment