One of the ten commandments as mentioned in Exodus 20:15 is “Thou Shall not Steal”. Stealing is defined in the dictionary as “the act of taking something without the permission or knowledge of the owner and keeping it”. This seems like a straightforward commandment “Don’t Steal from others” unless you want to break God’s law. In fact, in most cases stealing from others is considered breaking the law everywhere not just in the bible.

So what is it about stealing that Christians think just does not apply to them? “I don’t steal any material possessions from my fellow human beings”, you might say. But is stealing just taking an actual physical object from someone else? No there are lots of non-physical types of stealing some of which are even mentioned in the bible. One of the instances of stealing is when Jacob stole his brother Esau’s birthright from his father by using deception.

As Christians, we often think that the commandment of stealing does not apply to us but if we examine ourselves closely then we might find out that we are stealing from others in more ways than one. Is it not considered stealing when you take credit for the work done by your coworkers? Is it not considered stealing when you copy and paste stuff from the internet and pass it off as your own writing for a paper? Is it not considered stealing when you steal an idea from someone else and claim it as your own? Is it not considered stealing when you make people work really hard but underpay them for what they have done even when you have the money to do so? Is it not considered stealing when you steal a sermon from another pastor and pass it off to your congregation as your own sermon? These types of stealing, one might think go unnoticed by God but that is where you are wrong.

The Bible says that the Lord looks at your heart. Part of 1 Samuel 16:7 says “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” When you steal anything from others with the intention of making it your own then one thing is for sure, you have broken God’s law in Exodus 20:15. Even pastors and prophets stealing words from others is considered stealing in God’s eyes.  Jeremiah 23:30 says “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. God knows when you steal even if you make it seem like you are doing it for God’s ministry.

We as Christians might be stealing from others without even realizing it, so let us ask God for forgiveness and ask him to give us guidance to recognize this and to help us change our ways. Stealing anything from others, not just their material possessions, is something that is not right in God’s eyes no matter how you spin it. Ephesians 4:28 says “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” So let us ask God to show us areas in our lives where we are knowingly or unknowingly stealing from others and help us instead to focus on what God wants us to do on our own.