This Sunday I preached on Exodus 20:15:”You Shall Not Steal.” These are my notes on the 8th Commandment. Enjoy!
Faith In God’s Provision
Near the end of my junior year in high school, my church youth group got together with a handful of other youth ministries in the Dallas area and we all took a trip down to Disney World together. It was, without a doubt, one of the greatest trips I have ever taken. I loved hanging out with my friends and making brand new ones. Every night we had a devotional together at different places around the park. One night they closed the theatre and we met in the Hall of Presidents for our evening worship time. It was great!
On our last night there, my youth minister took the juniors and seniors out to dinner at Planet Hollywood to discuss our leadership and his expectations for us. It was a great night and we had some much fun together. We were laughing and carrying all the way back to the hotel. All of that changed the second we stepped off the bus.One of the other youth ministers was waiting for Brad, my youth minister.
Now, this other minister was just a bear of a man. He had a huge barrel chest and a deep voice that sounded like a snorting bull. Rumor had it that this minister had permission to spank the kids in his youth group. Scary!!! We’ll call this guy John.
John immediately jumps in Brad’s face and says, “Well, what are you going to do about it? I’ve taken care of my kids. What are you going to do with yours?”
We are completely taken aback. Brad has no idea what he’s talking about and yet John continues asking him what he plans to do about his students. I do not want to get spanked so I am riveted by what is going on here. John finally explains the situation and the color leaves Brad’s face.
Two freshman boys from John’s church and one from our church were caught shoplifting from the Parks. They had been spending the entire week stealing pencils, pins, snow globes, note pads, you name it. They were caught when one of the boys stole a stuffed animal and gave it to a girl. She found out how they got it and turned them into one of the adults. John ends by telling Brad that he has already told his boys to pack for home and wants to know what Brad is going to do.
Brad decides that he needs to talk to the kid from our group and asks John to come along. Brad says, “Well, I guess we need to play good cop/bad cop.” John immediate response is, “I’ll play the BAD COP!”
Brad calls the kid down to his room as John rearranges the furniture so that a lone chair sits beneath the lamp interrogation style.
The kid from our church was named Jason and was one of those quiet kids. He shuffled down to Brad’s room and took his seat under the lamp. Brad tried to make a little small talk with him by asking him about he his week had gone.
“Well,” Jason said, “I enjoyed MGM more than the Magic Kin…”
John yells, “Cut the crap kid! Tell us why you were stealing!!!”
Oh my! Lt. Sipowitz was gentler bad cop.
Meanwhile, my friends and I have retired back to our hotel room in complete disbelief at what had happened. Everybody is talking about it and everyone is anxious to know what is going on. Then we get a bright idea.
Let’s prank call Brad as someone from Disney wanting to take care of the situation. I volunteer for the job and I dial the front desk. I told the operator that I wanted to leave a voice message but I didn’t want the phone to ring. They said no problem.
After the beep I left this message:
(In my best Mickey Mouse voice)“Uh, ha ha. Hey Brad, this is Mickey. I hope you had a great week at he park but I heard that a few of your kids were caught stealing… (completely enraged Mickey Mouse) I DON’T LIKE IT! YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT I’M GONNA COME DOWN THERE WITH MY DOG PLUTO AND WE’RE GONNA TEAR THEM APART!! ARRRGGHH!”
Now, we thought that it was hilarious! We were, in our minds, comedic geniuses. Needless to say, Brad’s wife, who got the message first, did not think that it was funny. After Brad had finished “interrogating the witness” and informing him and his parents that he would be going home, he came directly to our room. He knew exactly who had made the call!
The next morning the kids were on a plane home and Brad took about 4 bags full of stole merchandise back to Disney. He explained what had happened and the Disney officials wanted to arrest those kids right then and there. They were a little miffed that they had been sent home. It was a huge deal.
When faced with this problem of stealing everyone involved approached the situation completely different.
The boys saw something they wanted and just took it.
Jason and Disney wanted to swing the hammer down.
Brad wanted to work though the situation.
I wanted to make light of the situation.
Others there that week completely distanced themselves from those guys.
Everyone chose a different course of action when dealing with this problem.
I have no doubt that each and everyone of us has had to deal head with the problem of theft or cheating in some form or another. Maybe your child has walked out of the store with some candy or a small toy. Maybe you were that child at one point in your life. Maybe your brother or sister shoplifted and received punishment for it. Maybe your wallet was stolen, your home burglarized. You have felt the vulnerability that came from someone violating your private property. Maybe even this week something came up at work. Maybe there was an opportunity for you to change a decimal point in your favor or there was a chance for you get a head quickly by some grey area. Our society is dogged by theft and dishonesty and often those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ fall victim to these choices.
Unfortunately, this is nothing new. The children of God have always seemed to struggle with this commandment. Probably the most significant section of scripture that deals with stealing Joshua chapter 6 and 7.
The people of Israel are about to take down the city of Jericho in the most unorthodox fashion ever recorded on military history. They are to march around the city and blow on some trumpets. God tells them that they are to dedicate everything to him. Destroy everything- man, woman, animal, building, bridge, tent- and dedicate every treasure found to the LORD.
The people agree. They march. The walls fall. And the city is theirs.
However, one guy, Achen, decides to five finger discount some things that catch his eye. He takes some treasure and hides it. It’s some small insignificant treasure. God won’t miss it. It isn’t hurting anybody. Or so he thinks.
After Jericho, the people of Israel head to Ai. Some spies go up and say, “this is going to be easy. Just give us a few thousand men to fight. It isn’t worth everyone’s trouble. These men head into battle and get defeated. Joshua rips his clothes falls on his face and weeps to God.
“You were going to be with us! You are supposed to defeat our enemies. What’s the deal?!?!?!”
Joshua 7:10-12
The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
So Joshua tells the people to get together for a “Come to Yahweh Meeting.” The Lord whittles all the tribes down to clans. The clans down to families. And then finally the families down to Achen.
Joshua 7:19-22
Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.
Then just like the kids at Disney World, Achen and his family were sent home!
Seriously, there was a huge punishment. Achen and his family were stoned, their animals and belongings were burned. It was a bad deal.
Over the last few weeks we have been studying through Exodus 20 looking at the commandments that God gave his people. We have looked at murder, taking the Lord’s name in vein, and maintaining a Sabbath attitude.
Now today as we look at stealing and cheating I realize that God is reminding us that we ought not to trade the important for the immediate.
When it comes to our anger it is immediately easy to cut someone down, physically or emotional, than it is to walk away.
When it comes to those who have affairs it is immediately easy to crawl into bed with someone else than it is to do the important thing and work diligently on their marriage.
We all know how easy it is to blurt or whatever comes to mind when we hit our hand with a hammer.
We have become slaves to the immediate. God wants us to live in the freedom of the important.
Now we come to Exodus 20 verse 15:
You shall not steal.
It seems that stealing is everywhere in our society.
In business, look at Enron. To be the best they had to cheat. They stole millions from their employees and hard working men and women. They weren’t the only company to do it either. Enron has become the Kleenex, Q-tip or Coke of corporate fraud. The brand name of corporate thievery if you will. Healthsouth, Tyco, and dozens of other companies have done the exact same thing. The experts call it “cooking the books” or “fraud.” I call it stealing.
Students, I would be willing to bet that every student in here has cheated or copied someone else’s work. I didn’t do a lot of cheating but one time I drew an entire map of Europe on my desk for a geography quiz. That’s huge!!! Maybe you’ve just glanced over for a second or it was just one fill in the blank. It doesn’t matter if its one answer or a whole essay from the Internet. It’s stealing.
I know that this is a sensitive subject but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention stealing movies, music, and computer programs over the Internet. If you don’t pay for it, it isn’t yours. It is a big deal.
Couples, when you value your job or career or hobby over the one you promised to cherish over everything else. Isn’t that cheating your spouse.
All of these things place the immediate in front of the important. It is always easier to serve our selves than it is to serve someone else completely.
Everyone, believer or unbeliever, knows that stealing is wrong. Taking something that isn’t yours is a basic belief that everyone knows.
However, there is another problem that occurs when we, believers, steal. It is a fundamental problem that lies at the very heart of our faith.
Let me just boil this whole problem with stealing and cheating down to it’s essence:
When we choose to steal or cheat our way forward we are telling God, “You cannot provide for me. I guess I have to do something for myself.”
That’s the bottom line. It all comes down to your faith in God. Not what you say about you faith but how you truly live your faith out. It doesn’t matter if we steal time or TVs, answers on a test or music on the internet. It is a huge issue for those of us who serve the Lord. Do your actions betray your words. It’s that simple.
When we choose to steal or cheat our way forward we are telling God, “You cannot provide for me. I guess I have to do something for myself.”
So, What now?
We need to be reminded that God has provided for us in the past and he will continue to provided for us well into the future as long as we are dedicating everything to him.
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Many of us have forgotten what peace looks like. We have become so engrossed in our own lives and the immediacy of our wants that the word “peace” holds no meaning for us. Contentment seems like something more for the Beav’ than for you and me.
We live in a world of over abundance. We continue consuming without a thought much less a thanks for what we have.
We need to spend a little time with our Father.
As I looked through scripture, I couldn’t find an instance where Jesus directly spoke about stealing. If it’s in there, I couldn’t find it.
However, Luke 19 tells us about a man who came in contact with Jesus who apparently was a thief.
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore–fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Zacchaeus spent an afternoon with Jesus and was reminded of the joy of being a child of God. Maybe we need to spent a little quality time in order to remind us of our own blessings.
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
If you are a believer, you will inherit a kingdom that far outweighs every paper clip, flat screen, dollar bill, party song, everything. Don’t be an Achen!!!
God has promised you that you will be taken care of. He is with you. Why jeopardize that to add to you already vast assortment of toys?
Our world is full of cheaters, thieves, and people who are looking to serve only themselves. Too often we as Christians point and shake our fingers at the world with one hand while we reach and grab with our other.
Imagine what would happen if we were know as a people of great thankfulness and joy. Imagine what our community would look like if we became this type of body. Giving not taking. Selfless not selfish.
Maybe today, you want to dedicate your life to God. You are tired of consuming the things of this world and you want to be consumed by the Father that provides for us all.
Or maybe you just need to be reminded of the blessings you already have.
Stealing isn’t just wrong. It strips God of his role as Father and provider for your life. Never, never trade the immediate for the important.