Stealin' 8th

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Exodus 20:15 (NIV) You shall not steal.

What it is speaking to me:

Stealing is fun...right? From the medieval legend of Robin Hood to the Ocean's Eleven trilogy of movies, stealing has been glorified for hundreds of years now. As long as it's someone else doing the stealing, and they are stealing from "bad" people, we are okay with it. But we would never do it...right?

Of course we wouldn't.

• We wouldn't steal time from our employers because we deserve a raise and haven't gotten one, so watching a show on our phone while we are supposed to be working is really just justice...right?

• We wouldn't take credit for an idea, work, or even joke that was someone else's, thus stealing the praise that was not ours...right?

• We wouldn't rob our team of our contribution to the effort because "they'll be fine without me"...right?

• We wouldn't borrow someone's tool and break it or let it rust outside, thus robbing their property of its value...right?

Let's take the positive route: the opposite of stealing is protecting someone's property. That means stewarding what you have borrowed, crediting someone's work properly to others, being a faithful employee worthy of your wages, and being an excellent team member focused on the highest success of the whole group.

We steal because we love ourselves. When we love our neighbor, we don't.

THAT is right.

What is it saying to you?

Have you committed theft? How?

At the time, did you feel it was justified? Why?

What are we going to do about it?

If you have stolen recently, repent and make restitution.

If you are presented with an opportunity to protect the investment or property of another today, do it and see what the Lord will do with it.