The Ten Commandments: Seven

Martin Luther recommended daily meditation on the Ten Commandments, using each Command to Instruct, to provide inspiration for Thanksgiving, to reflect upon in Repentance, and to conclude with Praise to God.

- ~ *.*~ -

Seventh Commandment

You shall not steal.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possession’s, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. 

The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.  When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.  The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.   Proverbs 11: 1 – 3

Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of his making.  Proverbs 16: 11

Differing weights and differing measures—the Lord detests them both.  Proverbs 20: 10

A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.  Proverbs 21: 6

He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.  Proverbs 22: 16

He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another who will be kind to the poor.  Proverbs 28: 8

Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the rich man who gains riches by unjust means.  When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool.  Jeremiah 17: 11

Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor….But your eyes and heart are only set on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.  Jeremiah 22: 13, 17

This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  You have gone far enough, O princes of Israel!  Give up your violence and oppression and do what is just and right.  Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign Lord.  You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah, and an accurate bath.  Ezekiel 45: 9, 10

Listen!  The Lord is calling to the city—and to fear your name is wisdom—“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.”  Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah, which is accursed? Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?  Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.  Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, because of your sins.  Micah 6: 9 – 13

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.  Ephesians 4: 28

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make our teaching about God our Savior attractive.  Titus 2: 9, 10

If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 1 Peter 4: 15

- ~ *.*~ -

When the Lord God commands us not to steal, it may be tempting to read this Word with a very narrow interpretation—that if we do not actually take without permission that which does not belong to us, we have somehow kept this command.  But reading those passages which refer to business dealings and property, we see that God means more than simply not stealing.  The command not to steal is correctly read by Luther to prohibit any false dealings, any deceit to obtain what is not ours – false weights and false measures displease God and are contrary to how we should deal with our neighbors.  There is also implied charity, kindness and generosity behind these verses as well; we should infer that good, honest business dealings include service to others, going that extra mile to serve and care for others, and to use our success to care for those in need.  This command is more than about theft, it is about good stewardship, wisdom and discretion; it seeks to balance a blind desire for success with the good of the neighbor, deliberate decision making, and consideration of consequences.  The integrity represented by this command then becomes foundational to our Christian witness, as described in the New Testament verses from Ephesians and 1 Peter; Christians are to behave with integrity, to be trustworthy and generous, and thereby give God glory and give glory to His name in the eyes of those who see these values lived out.  

Lord God, You are good and You have blessed and called Your people to serve others.  We thank You for the diverse vocations and gifts given, and for the means by which those gifts are shared: through buying and selling, through trading and commerce, through exchange of money or services.  We thank You for the integrity and uprightness which is intrinsic to Your nature, and which You demonstrate in all of Your dealings with us. Thank You for being trustworthy, consistent, compassionate and generous; thank You for always keeping Your word and for not deceiving Your children.  Honest weights and honest measures, these give You glory because they are consistent with Your character and Your love for truth. 

Heavenly Father, we confess to You that we have stolen from others.  We have deceived in our business dealings; we have prioritized our own prosperity and made decisions accordingly; we have selfishly withheld information; we have refrained from generosity; we have placed our benefit over the integrity of the exchange at hand; we have chosen dishonesty over transparency; we have used dishonest weights and dishonest measures and thereby dishonored Your Name.  In these ways, we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves; and in these ways we have shown that we do not trust You to meet our every need.  We know that we deserve punishment and condemnation.  For the sake of Jesus Christ Your Son, forgive us our sins.  Do not punish us as our theft deserves, but cover us with His blood and remember our sins no more.  Like the thief on the cross, crucified next to Christ our Lord, we ask that You remember us in Your kingdom and that we not be separated from You into eternity.  Forgive the thefts committed by both heart and hands, and give us a renewed and right spirit of integrity, honesty, wise stewardship and compassion for others.  

Lord God, Heavenly Father, You created “things” to be enjoyed by Your creatures and to meet our daily needs.  We praise You for commerce and industry, for crops and crafts and creativity.  We praise You for the diverse gifts You have given Your people for the service of others, for the ways that our gifts complement each other and together meet the needs of all, and for the privilege of serving others through our business dealings and industry.  We praise You for Your integrity, that You are a God who is pleased by honest weights and honest measures; we praise You for your dependability, Your consistency and Your joy in preserving Your creation.  Bless us in continued service to You and to our neighbors.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN