Loving Others, Living Generously | Exodus 20:15
Our family was living in HI at the time. And one day, it was mid-day, we were loading our mini-van with everything we needed for a weekend church retreat. Our garage door was open. We were going in and out of our house, packing things in the back of the van. And as one of our sons came out with an arm-load of items, he encounters a stranger walking out of our driveway carrying my bag of golf clubs. This stranger turns and smiles at our son, hops into a waiting vehicle, WITH my golf clubs, and drives away. It was a brazen, broad daylight robbery.
We reported it to the police. Our son went in and looked through a book of photos of suspects. He was able to identify the robber. The man was a member of a family of meth addicts, who would walk right into people’s homes, steal property, and then quickly fence the items in order to get money for drugs. And this kind of thievery on the island of O’ahu was epidemic.
Then the officer proceeded to explain to us that we had two options. We could press charges. Since it was not the first offence, the police knew exactly where the perpetrator lived. The case would be handled by the local judicial system, and, more than likely, the robber would be convicted for the theft. I was also informed that my golf clubs were more than likely already sold to a local pawn shop. He gave me the address, and said, that’s where you’ll find ‘em. But, more significantly, he said, that IF we pressed charges, this thief’s family would return and, more than likely vandalize our home. But what was even more unsettling, “If you press charges against this thief, his family will come and burn your house down.”
The other option, which the police officer strongly recommended, was to simply go to the local pawn shop, buy back my golf clubs, and drop the whole thing. I was incredulous. Seriously? That’s how this goes down? That’s what the criminal justice system recommends? That’s what society accepts as a reasonable response to robbery? We felt violated. We felt frustrated. And even more painful, somebody else beat me to the pawn shop and bought my golf clubs.
The 8th commandment prohibits stealing. The 8th commandment assumes the right to private ownership and the protection of one’s property and possessions. The 8th commandment is a foundational principle for and expression of loving our neighbor as ourselves.
“And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery . . . You shall not steal.”
— Exodus 20:1-2, 15
“Don’t steal.” To steal is to take something that doesn’t belong to you. Plain and simple. But significantly, the prohibition against theft is also an implicit statement to the right to have personal property. That means the focus and scope of the 8th commandment are different from that of any of the other nine commandments. It touches everything. Only two words, but a comprehensive prohibition for a pervasive condition. Everyone knows that stealing is wrong. Yet, we live our daily lives in the psychological conditions – a kind of ethical fog - that make stealing un-shocking. Breaking the 8th commandment has come to fall well within acceptable cultural and community standards. Loved ones, we live in -
A World of Thievery
Stealing is as pervasive as the air we breath. Consider the categories forbidden by the 8th commandment. Most obvious are robbery, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, hi-jacking, racketeering, and kidnapping. Now, perhaps, we can easily congratulate ourselves for NOT making that list. But what about the more common examples of breaking the 8th commandment? Such as Tax theft – falsifying tax returns and underpaying one’s taxes. This is the highest incident type of stealing in America. I read that some believe that if every person simply paid what they truly owed, the national debt would disappear. Welfare theft (which includes making false claims for disability and/or Social Security). Credit theft – buying on credit what we have no intention or even ability to pay back. Employee theft – so common, so rampant – especially since COVID – with more and more people working remotely from their homes, we hardly notice it anymore. It involves failure to put in a full day’s work, or calling in sick when we just want a day off. Using work hours for personal activities – surfing the internet, playing computer games, shopping, or baby-sitting. It’s robbing our employers of our productivity. Phil Ryken writes, the cost of employee theft affects us all. “According to some estimates, as much as 1/3 of a product’s price goes to cover the various forms of stealing that occur on its way to the marketplace. Economic analysts have a word for his. It’s called ‘theft-surcharge.’ And this ‘theft surcharge’ is a drag on our whole economy.” And of course, there’s identity theft. Have you ever needed to replace your credit card, because you were hacked, and discovered purchases you never made?
The 8th commandment also protects a person’s time, talents, and opportunities. So, breaking the 8th commandment includes taking credit for something you didn’t do, or taking intellectual property. That’s plagiarism. It includes cheating on tests, papers, and other schoolwork. Or, perhaps one of the most garden-variety violations of the 8th commandment of all – reputational theft – that is, the taking of another’s good name through slander or gossip. And perhaps, we ought not to move on without mentioning giving theft – when we withhold our tithes and offerings – when God has explicitly said, in Mal. 3:8, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me in your tithes and contributions.”
Stealing is part and parcel of the human condition. Martin Luther wrote,
“If we look at mankind in all its conditions, it is nothing but a vast, wide stable full of great thieves.”
—Martin Luther
We are all thieves, both individually and collectively, living in a world of thievery. Why? Why do we steal? What is at the heart of humankind’s thievery?
The Heart of Thievery
Sometimes people are tempted to steal on account of base, self-serving motives, like greed. We see. We want. And we take. One example that comes to mind is the story of Achan in the book of Joshua. When confronted over his theft, Achan confesses, “When I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them” (Joshua 7:21).
Other times people are tempted to steal on the basis of legitimate need. Proverbs 6:30 says, “People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry.”
There is a kind of stealing that we sympathize with. In the Denzel Washington movie, John Q., a man is told that his son needs a heart transplant in order to live. When the man’s insurance co. refuses to cover the cost of the surgery, this desperate man takes the doctors and patients in the hospital emergency room hostage in order to leverage the care his son needs. There’s a great need. There’s a terrible injustice. And it’s hard to “despise” this man’s act. According to Ex. 21:16, the consequence for kidnapping – namely, stealing another person – is the death penalty. But by the end of John Q., we’re cheering for the kidnapper because the motive for his desperate act seems so right. Robin Hood-like characters, who steal from the rich, or stick it to corrupt governments, or insurance companies that steal from us, we see them, not only justified, but heroic.
How do we respond to lack of resources? Lack of time or money or things? And sometimes, lack of what we feel that we legitimately need? How are you tempted to steal? Doesn’t the impulse to take what isn’t ours rise when we feel sorry for ourselves, and tell ourselves how unfair everything is? “Our souls grow accustomed,” as one commentator writes, “to thoughts that make stealing plausible.”
Someone told me that if you download the app for a certain fast-food chain, you get a free meal. He also told me that he knew people who downloaded the app, got their free meal. Canceled the app. And then downloaded the app again to get another free meal. And these friends were apparently racking up a lot of un-paid for food through this doing this “download/cancel/download/cancel” thing over and over again. It’s so easy and so common, it’s no big thing.
But ultimately, stealing says, God is NOT looking out for us. God is NOT committed to our well-being. God is NOT coming through THIS time. And since we can’t count on God to provide what we need, when we need it, we must take things into our own hands. “I know what I need. I know what is fair and right. It's clear I am on my own. I had best watch out for myself.” Stealing denies that God is God.
And stealing only compounds the situation. Stealing adds to the disruption of the social order. Stealing undermines trust. Stealing causes others to become wary. Stealing causes other to be anxious. Stealing weakens the fabric of a society.
And ultimately, stealing profanes the name of the Lord our God. Proverbs 30:8-9 says,
“Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me . . . lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”
— Proverbs 30:8-9
One commentator writes,
“Stealing may convince others that the LORD is of no help or that his laws are impossible to keep.”
— Bruce Waltke
Stealing does violence to God’s reputation of love, and mercy, and sovereign care. Stealing denies God’s ability to look after His people. Stealing is a statement of unbelief. Unbelief in promises such as Phil. 4:19,
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:19
Stealing is an expression of dissatisfaction with all that God promises to be for us. Psalm 73:26 says,
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
— Psalm 73:26
And therefore, the purpose of the 8th commandment is not only about protecting and preserving private ownership. The purpose of 8th commandment is to magnify the glory of God. In other words, the 8th commandment isn’t just about stealing, it’s also about stewarding – faithful stewardship of all that God has so generously given to us. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul, writes,
“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”
— Ephesians 4:28
The opposite of stealing is sharing. The opposite of dispossessing others is loving others – loving others as much as we love ourselves. And where does this impulse to do love others, and meet the needs of others come from? It rises from the sovereign and saving grace of God toward us in Christ Jesus. In the same chapter, Paul writes,
“Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
—Ephesians 4:22-24
Loved ones, the impulse to work honestly, and to live generously is a supernatural virtue produced by the transforming grace of God. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes,
“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy, and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord.”
— 2 Corinthians 8:1-3
Really, this remarkable generosity is an exhibit, not only of the glorious grace of God, but also obedience to the 8th commandment. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor . . . so he may have something to share.”
One of the many and remarkable ways the glorious gospel of Christ is displayed, and the 8th commandment is fulfilled in and through the people of Emmaus Road Church, is your work ethic. You are a hard-working people. Many of you have persevered in difficult and wearisome jobs. And in doing so, you have shown the gospel AND you have fulfilled the 8th commandment.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we ALL had jobs, and had jobs we loved, where we could faithfully steward our God-given talents/skills? I’m sure you understand, that is more or less, a fantasy. But working hard, anyway, cheerfully accepting responsibility, persevering in difficult circumstances, showing respect for difficult co-workers, is a picture of Christ.
Students showing up, working hard, learning, doing homework without complaining, mastering subject matter, while refusing to cheat, is a manifestation of God’s grace, and a fulfillment of the 8th commandment.
Many of you are marketplace workers, who have the distinct advantage of specialization. But in this church, there are a remarkable number of mothers – young mothers – whose labor involves engaging in massive, multi-dimensional, complex and overwhelming tasks. Day in and day out you are essentially employed as medical emergency first responders, cooks/chefs, interior decorators, home-maintenance professionals, teachers, educators, counselors. You function as police, attorneys, and judges. You are responsible for driving and transportation coordination, logistics, financial planning and management. You are clothiers, and entertainment coordinators, accountants, as well as responsible for spiritual and pastoral care. Motherhood is the definition of hard labor. Oh, how we admire and respect you. And we honor you for how you keep Eph. 4:28, AND Ex. 20:15.
And what is it all for? It’s so that we might live and give generously. The purpose of the 8th commandment is NOT only to preserve an orderly society by protecting the property belonging to others. Loved ones listen. The ultimate purpose of the 8th commandment is to magnify the glory of God’s lavish grace to produce a generous-hearted people.
God’s Grace Produces Generous-Hearted People
Through our brief ten-year history, we have always had everything we’ve needed to do everything we have believed God has called us to do. Steady, proportional, faithful financial giving.
I was recently asked about our benevolent fund – what’s it for? How often are we asked to utilize it? I said, the people in our missional communities are so generous in sharing what they have with anyone in need, the majority of situations are responded to and resolved before our leadership team even hears about them.
At pivotal moments, God has inclined the hearts of some, who have been give much, to give above and beyond. In our early years, we received a financial gift of $40k. At the time, that gift felt like we’d won the lottery. $40k would have been at least 1/3rd of our annual budget. But that gift positioned us to take a significant step forward in our developmental process as a church. It positioned us to hire Ryan Chase as a paid/vocational elder. That generous gift moved us forward in our prayed-for purpose.
Two years ago, we received another financial blessing. A one-time gift of $150k designated for our building fund. Now, it goes without saying, $150k doesn’t position a church to be a player in today’s real estate market. But in a moment, our perspective shifted. Finding/obtaining a stable and useful and permanent meeting place is one of our greatest cares. And that expression of generous stewardship moved the needle on our hope meter.
Most recently, we received another significant financial gift – one that pushes our current building fund to nearly $1.5 million. Next Sunday, we will gather to worship in the SF Christian Middle School gym. But on account of that generosity, the horizon looks different. We’re asking different questions. And it’s because the purpose of God’s glorious grace is to produce a people who live and love and serve others generously.
With regard to the 8th commandment, there are only three options. Steal. Work to have. Or work to have to share. Working honestly in order to give is a reflection of the glorious giver who rules and reigns and supplies generously to all.
Before we tasted of the effect of God’s grace, we were selfish and greedy – spenders and splurging on ourselves. But gospel-transformation shows up as generosity. The Bible takes a single two-word command, “don’t steal,” and makes it unfold so that the needs of others can be met. John Stott writes,
“None but Christ can turn burglars into benefactors.”
— John Stott
So, maybe you’re a thief, taking what’s not yours. Such was a man named Zacchaeus. People hated him for his legalized tax theft. But when Zacchaeus met Jesus, Luke 19:8 records his regenerated vow,
“Behold Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
— Luke 19:8
The gospel applied and functioning in our hearts can open our self-serving grip like an unfolding flower. How? It’s the good news that Jesus died on the cross in the place of sinners – specifically, in the place of thieves. Mt. 27:38 says,
“Two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.”
— Matthew 27:38
Phil Ryken writes,
“It is well known that Christ was crucified between two thieves. But as far as God’s justice was concerned, there were really three thieves on a cross that day. Two who died for their own crimes, and one who took our sins upon himself.”
— Philip Ryken
Christ Jesus, who knew no sin, was made to be sin – he was made to be robber and a thief – that we, who trust in him for the forgiveness of our countless acts of stealing, might, through our union with him, become the righteousness of God.
“When Christ died on the cross he died for thieves, so that every thief who trusts in him will be saved. The first thief to be saved was the one hanging next to him on the cross, the one who said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus gave him the answer he gives to every lawbreaker who turns to him in repentance and faith – ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’”