Hey All,
How many people today have Integrity? You know that’s doing what is right even when no one is looking? Not the kind of Integrity where someone will tell you about their Integrity, because if they have to tell you, then they don’t really have it. The Seventh (7) Commandment on the surface is pretty simple do take things which don’t belong to you but let’s look a little deeper at what God had in mind when He gave this law to Moses.
The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not steal
What Does this mean: We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor’s money or goods, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.
What does God Want or NOT want us to do?
Paul breaks this commandment down pretty well in Ephesians by saying if you are stealing STOP! but use your skill to do something good to benefit others. See Ephesians 4:28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Stealing is more than just taking something from another. Have you ever not given a full days work to your employer and still got paid? Yes I am talking about a long lunch, spending time on social media at work, let’s not forget those games Microsoft installed on the computer or just simply surfing the web. All of these time wasters are taking you away from being productive for your employer. Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat either. Now that is a strong command but God does not want us to cheat or be dishonest with others in any of our dealings. My rule of thumb is if it is not Illegal, Unethical, or Immoral, I will consider the business deal. Jesus was angered once in His ministry when He saw merchants cheating, over charging and generally being deceptive with others inside the temple by selling sacrifices that were required by Jewish law. Grabbing a cord He ran them out of the temple as we see in Luke 19:46 (Jesus) saying to them, “It is written, and my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a robbers den.” We are called to help our neighbors in any way we can to make them more prosperous on this earth. Proverbs 19:17 The one who is gracious to a poor man tends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed. The old adage is you cannot out give God which is generally used in reference to our tithing but here we see it also pertains to how we help and support others who have less than us or are just in need. As we strengthen our relationship with God these things come naturally with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging for bread. You see God reminds us in this Psalm that if we will follow His commands we will be taken care of and even our descendants will be taken care of too!
So to wrap up
Father I ask that you help each of us to find opportunities to lift our neighbors up. Not just the ones we live next to but anyone we come in contact with at work, school, the store, or in public. Lord help us to be a blessing to them whether it is an act of kindness, physical support or a prayer so that we can show your love in the world. Amen? AMEN!
image sourced from google images
