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THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT – A BRIEF EXPLANATION
TEXT
You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
WHAT IS STEALING?
The word in Hebrew is ganab, which means to thieve (literally or figuratively). Hence, the 8th Commandment forbids us from thieving, from acting as thieves!
STEAL WHAT?
(1) Steal Things
Stealing, robbery, shoplifting, pick-pockets – these would come to mind immediately. Normally, though not always, these would be committed by the poor in society. But “stealing things” is not a sin exclusive to the poor. The rich and the powerful can “steal things” in their own ways, like swindling the poor, embezzling funds, exploiting the weak and oppressing the poor!
The prophet Jeremiah spoke out against those in his times who “built his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor's service without wages and gives him nothing for his work” while Amos thundered against Israelites who “swallowed up the needy, and make the poor of the land fail.” How did they do it? By “making the ephah small and the shekel large, falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals -- even sell the bad wheat." (See Jeremiah 22:13-17 and Amos 8:4-6). We find the same sins being committed in the New Testament: powerful people devouring the houses of poor widows, exploiting the poor by holding back their wages by fraud. (See Matthews 23:14, James 2:6-7, 5:4)
(2) Steal People
Both Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7 condemn “man-stealing” a.k.a. kidnapping. Stealing a person either for ransom or slavery purpose is wrong. Today, “stealing people” would include acts of hijacking or terrorism.
Whether it is kidnapping or hijacking or terrorism, the act involves depriving the victim freedom and making his/her life miserable. It is in this light that acts of discrimination have been classified as a violation of 8th Commandment. To prevent a person from using a certain facility, going to certain hospital, entering a certain university because of his race or religion – we call this discrimination – is to deprive that person of freedom and making his life miserable.
WHAT ELSE?
I can be guilty of thievery if I am a spendthrift or a stingy miser! Excuse me, how’s that possible? Let me explain.
My house, my money, my car, my possessions, my . . . . . I possess them but I do not own them. God is the Owner while I am the steward! They all belong to God. They really do! (Why not look at your car later and then say, “It belongs to God!”) God has entrusted them into my hands right now but I may not do with them as I please, as if I am the absolute owner! The question I need to ask is, “What does the Owner want me to do with what He has entrusted to me?”
While God does not forbid me from enjoying my possessions, He does also want me to use them for benefit of others. Hence, to squander or to be stingy is to deprive others of the benefit that God intends. View from this perspective, it is a violation of the 8th Commandment. It is also a violation when we treat what God owns as if we own them – that’s stealing from God, isn’t it?
Malachi 3:8 talks about ‘man robbing God’. How? By holding back the tithes and offerings, says the prophet. Here we move beyond the misuse and abuse of possessions to the direct act of not giving to God what is His due. Today, we can rob God when we fail to give financially to His work, when we use the Lord’s Day as we like, when we fail to thank Him for His blessings and when we love things or people more than Him! When we do so, we are guilty of stealing money, stealing time, stealing praise and stealing glory from God!
WHAT ABOUT . . . ?
[A] Is violating the modern copyright laws (download songs, photocopy books, buy pirated DVDs and PC software) breaking the 8th Commandment? Why or why not?
[B] Are there exceptions to the 8th Commandment? Can extreme situations be pleaded as an exception? For example, in a very severe famine where everyone is starving to death, food can only be bought from a rich merchant at an exorbitant price – is it justified to steal food from that merchant? If yes, explain. If no, offer an alternative.
[C] Have I been guilty of exploiting the foreign workers in my office? Am I guilty of oppressing my domestic helper in my home? Yes? No? Don’t know?
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