What’s in a Commandment? #8 Stealing

I was just a kid…I didn’t know better.  I liked what I saw, I knew it would taste good, so I snatched a mint from the candy bin.  I wanted to be sure it was good before deciding to buy it, right?  Of course, I had no money.  Here’s part of the problem…I knew it would taste good, but somehow I wanted to be sure it tasted good?  Come on!  I stole a piece of candy.

How about that pen from work?  Legal pad of paper?  Box of paperclips or even that handful of rubber bands?  How about that “free” cup of coffee that you deserve because you are the one who changes out the filter?  I like the commercial about filling your gas station cup of soda up, drinking some, then adding more soda to the cup.  Stealing!  We don’t seem to understand the concept.

A thief is someone who takes something that doesn’t belong to him or her. Did you catch that?  It doesn’t say in there that a thief is someone who takes something that another person deems valuable enough to consider it stolen.

Think of it this way.  Would you asked your boss if it was okay to take home from work pens, rubber bands, paper or paperclips for your own personal use?  If you think your boss would say no, then you wouldn’t ask.  However, the good news is that IF you ask and they say yes…it’s no longer stealing!

It’s a good litmus test.  If you won’t ask for it, then you shouldn’t take it until you ask for it!  And…if you ask for it, then you must respect the answer.

8. You shall not steal

Irrespective of its value, you are a thief if you take something that doesn’t belong to you.  Once a thief, always a thief, just like a murderer or an alcoholic will always be a murderer and an alcoholic.

Just another of ten reasons we need a Savior.