Bible Notes - The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:15 The eighth commandment
This commandment concerns material possessions and we shall state a basic assumption and draw out three consequences from it.
Each person has been given possessions of their own. God's goodness extends to everyone. He has given an abundance of gifts to all people even though they may not recognise the source of them.
Some have used them well and prospered. Some have ignored their gifts and lost what they had. Some have misused their gifts and gained little benefit rom them. Some are dissatisfied with their gifts and try to accumulate more. This provision of God shows that he cares for his creation and will not withhold what is needed.
Each person should preserve what they have been given. It is possible to steal from yourself: to manage your resources so badly that you become worse off. We might be:
Miserly. We may amass possessions for their own sake and fail to put them to good use.We may withhold our help while we have the ability to relieve the needs of others.
Wasteful. The opposite extreme is that we can be so careless about our possessions that we fail to consider how they can be put to good use. If we are aware that they come from God, we will use our possessions wisely.
Lazy. The provision of God should not make us lazy. Work is the main means he has ordained through which his provision comes to us. The lazy person deprives himself of the greater provision God would make for him.
Each person should respect what others have been given. Some people are unaware they are stealing and some think it is only wrong if you get caught.
Stealing within the family takes place when the rights to which each person in a relationship is entitled are not given. A husband can steal the love due to his wife by not loving her. In the same way, a wife can steal submission from her husband, parents steal care from their children and children steal honour from their parents.
Stealing from our employer takes place when we do not give a full day's work for a full day's pay or when we do not respect him or when we treat his resources as our own.
Stealing from society takes place when we avoid paying taxes, bus fares or entrance fees, or when we do not pay bills or return library books.
Stealing from our neighbours takes place when we are impolite or do not help them,or when we are inconsiderate about noise, pets, parking or boundaries.
Each person should give back to God. We are all guilty of stealing from God: not giving back what is due to him. Have we committed our life to the service of God? Do we devote our time, talents and energy to him? Have we dedicated our children to God? Are we faithful in giving our tithes and offerings? Do we put our house and car at the disposal of God's people when needed? God's gifts were not only given for our good, but for his glory. Is that how we use them? Having received the gifts we tend to regard them as ours, forgetting they were God's gifts. We are but stewards of his bounty.