This is part of an ongoing series on the Ten Commandments. God’s word reveals to us the laws he requires for living in the world as he has ordered it, and only by living according to this law are we able to flourish and enjoy our creational purpose: to glorify God and enjoy him. This series explores how Christians, whose identity is in Christ and whose inheritance is stored in eternity, should live under and live out the Ten Commandments.
You shall not steal.— Exodus 20:15
Do you remember the first time you picked up a Rubik’s cube? Perhaps the colorful squares caught your eye and piqued your curiosity. Someone explained how the puzzle works and you thought, “that’s simple, all I have to do is match up the colors!” It probably wasn’t long before you realized that solving a Rubik’s cube is more involved than you initially supposed. The puzzle was deceptively simple. I think that the Eighth Commandment is also deceptively simple. We read four short words, “You shall not steal,” and think that we understand all that God expects of us. God doesn’t want us to take anything that isn’t ours—got it! Moving on to the Ninth Commandment! While this brief analysis isn’t wrong, it falls far short of understanding the depths of the Eighth Commandment. There are profound reasons we should not steal and profound applications for how we treat other people, things, and ourselves.
Why Not?
For some, the idea that we shouldn’t steal may seem self-evident. Others may think that things aren’t so clear-cut. Some argue it might be alright, some of the time at least, to take things that don’t belong to us. In either case, we must answer the question: why is stealing bad? There is a fundamental truth behind this command. In a total and absolute sense, we don’t own anything. God is the creator of everyone and everything and so he, ultimately, owns it all. As God said just a few verses before the Ten Commandments are listed: “all the earth is mine” (Ex. 19:5; see also Ps. 24:1–2). This means that everything we have and consider to be ours is really a gift, loaned to us by God. Theologian J. Douma explains, “strictly speaking, in terms of his relationship to God, man does not own property, but simply has things in his possession.”
How does this relate to the Eighth Commandment? When we take from someone else, we are not merely wronging another person, we are taking from God. Moreover, when we steal, we also tell God that we are dissatisfied with what he has provided for us and that we think we know better than him when it comes to the distribution of his gifts. Stealing doesn’t just hurt another person, it doubts God’s goodness and wisdom. Stealing is a direct challenge to God’s authority. This means that the Eighth Commandment forbids far more than shoplifting (though it of course forbids all theft and robbery).
What is Forbidden?
The Heidelberg Catechism explains that the prohibition against stealing is not only about crimes, but “all wicked tricks and devices, whereby we design to appropriate to ourselves the goods which belong to our neighbor.” In other words, there are many ways to steal without breaking any laws. Any method we use to get something for ourselves that really belongs to another, breaks the Eighth Commandment. This is wrong whether it is done forcibly or by trickery and fraud. As we begin to understand this commandment, we see that it applies to our interactions and behaviors in all areas of life. We break the command, as the Westminster Catechism highlights, through, “injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts… in matters of trust, oppression, extortion, usury, bribery, vexatious lawsuits, unjust enclosures and depredation, engrossing commodities to enhance the price… taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him… inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods… envying at the prosperity of others.”
It would take more space than we have to go through this list in detail, but notice that the commandment applies to all personal relationships, all business, and professional commitments and agreements, as well as all the thoughts and desires of our hearts. Nothing is truly ours, and nothing is truly ours for the taking. All people and things belong to God and that reality ought to govern every interaction and thought.
What is Expected?
In addition to forbidding things, the eighth commandment places requirements on us. Because nothing is truly owned, we must treat all things as possessions which God has entrusted us with. In a word, we are to be stewards. A steward is someone who “manages the goods belonging to Another.” If we do not use the things God has given us for his kingdom and glory then we are stealing from him. We should not take for granted, abuse, neglect, or waste the things, gifts, talents, and time that God has entrusted to us.
Jesus once told a story about a man who entrusted three of his servants with his money while he went away on a trip. Two servants used their money to make more money for the master and were commended. The third servant hid the money and gave it back to the master when he returned. The master was not pleased and called him “wicked and slothful” (Matt. 25:26). The servant was wicked because he should have known the expectations of a good steward. He was slothful because, despite knowing his master expected him to make good use of the money with which he was entrusted, he did nothing. As a result, the third servant is called “worthless” and cast into “outer darkness” (Matt. 25:30). This story reminds us that one day God will hold us all accountable for our stewardship of his gifts. We must not steal from God by neglecting, abusing, or hoarding his gifts.
The Perfect Steward
Jesus Christ is an example of the perfect steward. But better than that, he obeys the Eighth Commandment perfectly on our behalf. Jesus never took anything that wasn’t his. More than that, he gave everything he had in service to God the Father. Jesus told the Father, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus obeyed the Father and gave everything the Father required for the redemption of his people. This was not only his time, energy, obedience, and worship, but his very life (Phil. 2:8).
On the cross, Jesus gave his life for ours. The justice of God required that our sin be punished. God’s plan of salvation required that the Son become human and die in our place, taking that punishment upon himself. Even the life which Christ had in the incarnation was a gift of God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, after all. And though Christ looked to the cross with sorrow and distress, he prayed to the Father, “not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). Christ freely gave his life, that we who break the Eighth Commandment, might have life eternal!
