No stealing

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO STEALING

Ex 20:15

15 "You shall not steal.

NIV

Well, here’s a no brainer. What believer would ever steal anything? It is just completely inconceivable any of us would walk into a gas station with a gun and rob the place. But is there any other ways we might actually steal? Things done in any clandestine way might be considered stealing. What if we sold something for more than it is worth? Again that is unlikely any believer would do that. What about saying something injurious to a person’s character? Would we be guilty of stealing their reputation? What about stealing from the government in the misrepresenting of some facts on our tax returns? There is another level of this word used for stealing. The Hebrew word also carries the implied meaning of being deceptive, to buy or sell something with stealth. But this being deceptive could be seen all sorts of ways. But in the sense this command was given it still can only apply to the taking of something wrongly. That could apply to our accepting the praise of men for our actions, when it is God who should be given the praise. Do we steal the praise from God? When others preach a good sermon, who do we give the praise to? When a choir sings a great song, who do we give the applause to?  Do they accept our praise? Do we accept praise for a job well done? Do we think more highly of ourselves then we ought to? Is that a form of theft? Although this seems to apply to the interactions between people, it would be wise for us to consider not stealing from God what is due him. Whenever we do anything that others would give us credit, we should be quick to inform them, it is because of the Spirit of God who lives within us that we are able to do such things. Any of our “Good deeds” are not ours, but his who lives within us. If we think we can do “Good deeds” then we are in fact robbing God. Speaking of robbing God, we have to run to Malachi.

Mal 3:8-12

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

NIV

Here is where there seems to be a bit of confusion. Do we tithe or give a tenth of our gross or our net? Does that really matter? Is it in the spirit of our offering to God a tenth of our income that counts? This tenth does not matter on whether we think we can afford it or not, as in all reality we cannot afford to rob, or steal from God. Certainly he will give us more then what we are giving to him. At least that is what he says and we have to believe him, for who else can we actually trust to be always truthful? So let us simply not steal.