  Foundations of the Faith
By Robert P. Mills The Presbyterian Layman Friday, May 21, 1999 Foundations of the Faith explores and explains the fundamental doctrines of our Christian faith. |
||
Ron Mehl’s observation is insightful. In part because of this variety of synonyms, the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal,” may seem to us less serious than those prohibiting adultery and murder. But in God’s eyes, it is not. For like these other offenses against individuals, stealing is a sin against God. Stealing While the Hebrew verb translated “steal,” occasionally connotes stealing under the cover of darkness (Job 27:20), confusion (II Kings 11:2) or even trust (Gen. 31:19, 32), its basic meaning is to take that which belongs to another without the other’s consent or knowledge. As with the injunctions against murder and adultery, this commandment comprises only two Hebrew words. There is no fine print, no list of extenuating circumstances. Nevertheless, as Bruce Larson observes, the ancient Jews “had 2,748 learned commentaries on just this one commandment [with] 4,801 different interpretations of its meaning.” Stealing was always understood to be a serious sin in ancient Israel, as evidenced by the inclusion of theft in a list of the people’s sins in Hosea 7 and Jeremiah’s question, “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known?” (Jer 7:9). Any act of theft violated the property owner’s dignity and worth, and, therefore violated the holiness of Yahweh, in whose image they were made. That God forbids stealing also has a uniquely modern application, for the commandment implies that people have the right to work, earn, save and own personal property. Its very existence thus contradicts an essential tenet of Marxist philosophy, the insistence that all property be owned by the state, yet without condoning the greed that characterizes so much of modern culture. Three philosophies of wealth In commenting on this commandment, John Maxwell notes that the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) illustrates three possible philosophies of wealth. The first is, “What belongs to my neighbor belongs to me, therefore I will take it.” The thieves who robbed and beat the man traveling to Jericho affords an obvious example of this active form of stealing. But what about robbing someone of his or her good name by conveying, or not countering, intentional misinformation? What about failing to give an employer an honest day’s work? What about intentionally overcharging an undereducated consumer? The eighth commandment makes no distinctions. Taking from someone else that which does not belong to you – money, time or reputation – is forbidden. A second philosophy of wealth is, “What belongs to me is mine, therefore I will keep it.” This is the attitude of the priest and Levite, who pass by the robbers’ victim. Every resource God has given us comes with the corresponding obligation to use it as a good steward (Matt. 25:14-29). Withholding from one in need that which God has freely given is an expression of self-centeredness. Such selfishness, which cannot be reconciled with love of God or love of neighbor, may be described as a passive form of stealing. |
||
|
||
| The third philosophy of wealth is, “What seems to
belong to me in fact belongs to God, therefore I will share it.”
The Good Samaritan understood what the priest and Levite did not: God
teaches us not to overlook another person’s misfortune. “When
you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go
back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so
that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands”
(Deut. 24:19). There are many ways of stealing, many words to describe illicitly taking something from someone. All of them are rooted in ignorance, distrust or disdain of God’s providence, an attitude exemplified by Israel’s query “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19). Wanting things Stealing occurs when individuals lose their sense of right-relatedness to God, when people doubt God’s ability or will to provide for all their needs. After Israel conquered Jericho, the Israelites suffered a humiliating defeat at Ai because Achan, a wealthy man, stole from the “devoted things.” Confronted by Joshua, he offered a succinct psychology of stealing: “Achan replied, ‘It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath’” (Josh 7:20-21). I saw, I desired, I took. These same Hebrew words are found in Genesis 3:6, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good … and desirable … she took some and ate it.” This same psychology was at work in David in II Samuel 11-12. King David went up to the roof of his palace, saw a beautiful woman bathing, sent for her, and slept with her. When he learned that she was pregnant, David arranged to have her husband die in battle. He saw, he desired, he took. Then, rather than confess, he orchestrated a murder as a cover up. When we, like Eve, Achan and David, look at all that God has given and decide that it is not enough, when we hear what God commands and decide his words do not apply to us, we have set the stage for taking the next step – taking things that do not belong to us. The consequences, as they learned, can be severe. Trusting God Consider the contrast between the psychology of stealing and the attitude of Jesus, who, “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (II Cor. 8:9; see also Phil. 2:5-11). Stealing does not simply violate one provision of the law of God, it contradicts the essence of Christian faith by enthroning the self as the center of one’s universe. Stealing is the outward manifestation of an inner rejection of the generosity of God. R. Kent Hughes observes, “God gives, and his children give. It is a family trait.” Christ’s disciples see the needs of others and deny themselves. Those who steal do so because their constant focus on their own desires blinds them to the needs of others, and, ultimately, to the presence of God. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). What on earth could we possibly possess, or even desire, that would surpass uninterrupted communion with the God who “will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). |
||
|
||
|
||
| Home
· News
· PLC
Publications ·
The
Presbyterian Layman Online Reviews · Archives· History of the Lay Committee · Feedback · Links |
||
