Two years
ago, when I first began this blog, I posted a number of segments of a series of
lessons that my wife and I had taught an adult class in our church some 3 years
earlier. A certain amount of effort went into preparing those writings and
other lessons that were taught to this class. In the interests of promoting
discussion of the Christian faith and perhaps providing further education with
respect to it, I want to continue posting some of those writings. I would
remind you too that these students were ESL (English as a Second Language), or
as it is now beginning to me more acceptable to say, EAL (English As an
Additional Language which takes away the Anglo-Centric view that English is the
first language) students, so the level of discourse may be somewhat simple for
some of your readers.
The area that
I had first begun to post was on the so-called 10 Commandments allegedly given
to the prophet Moses and the Children of Israel by God after their apparently
miraculous escape from Egypt, and in preparation for a new phase of the life of
this people in the land of their forefathers to which they were being led back
to.
The Eighth
Commandment is Exodus 20:15, "You shall not steal."
Most
societies frown on stealing. There are specific omissions though. Our First
Nations sometimes apparently considered it an honourable act of bravery if you
could break into an enemy encampment and steal a horse, or horses, without
getting caught, of course. However, one could argue that, if such as thing is
considered acceptable on both sides, it may be more like a game or a skill
contest than a crime.
Most would
agree that taking from your family member, your relative, your friend, or your
neighbour without permission, without asking them, is stealing, is theft,
robbery. However, some people seem to think it's alright if they take from
someone they don't know, or someone who is a lot richer than they are, or from
their employer, especially if it is a big impersonal business. They say,
"They won't miss it." Others think it is alright to steal from the government.
They might argue that we all pay our taxes so we are entitled, the government
owes it to us, it's ours. However, there are also many who are really stealing
from the government by not paying dues and taxes that it is legal to pay. They
may not declare their income on a tax form or write down what they have
purchased when they cross the border. This is all wrong. We all expect the
government to do things for us, like provide health care, pensions, good
streets and roads and utility services. Without this money, they cannot do as
much as they would like for us. Somebody will suffer. Someday it could be us.
Stealing is
taking what does not belong to us, according to our customs or our laws. One
day the Jewish leaders asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes to the Roman
Emperor Caesar. They may have been thinking that this is a foreign power who
does not respect us and our God, who persecutes us and oppresses us, so why
should we pay taxes. It just lets him keep on doing these bad things to us.
Jesus reply was simple, "Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to
God the things that are God's".
When Jesus
talks of what belongs to God, he was likely thinking of our offerings, our
tithes to God. Are we then stealing from God by not giving Him what is His?
Of course, we
must always remember that one can steal not only money and things. One can
steal time and other intangible or immaterial things as well. Let us, as
Believers, not take what is not ours, nor keep what is not ours.
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