"You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15
The Eighth Commandment, which forbids theft, calls our attention to two opposite ways of thinking and living. An approach that emphasizes getting rather than giving wins all contests for popularity. But the giving approach epitomizes God's love for others.
theft is the ultimate assertion of the greedy, lustful way of life, one that emphasizes acquiring material and intangible things with no regard for the rights and feelings of others. It scorns conventions and boundaries established by society and God. It is the epitome of selfishness. The spiritual intent of the Commandment against stealing tells us where the battle against selfishness begins. It originates when we learn to appreciate the rights and needs of others.
There is no such thing as "petty theft" in God's sight - the character of those who steal a little is the same as those who steal much:
Let us consider the music-lover, who downloads songs onto their Ipod, without paying for the right to do so.
And what about the small business, which buys a couple of licenses for a program that several of its employees must use, and then copies the software onto multiple computers?
How many restaurant workers will declare, as part of their income, less than the full amount they received in tips? How many wealthy people will fail to declare complicated sources of income that are hard to trace? How many others will find myriads of methods of cheating on their taxes, in ways that are most unlikely to be detected? And how many of us will think of them as thieves? Aren't taxes basically bad anyway? Wouldn't a person be silly, to pay taxes that he or she could get away without paying? And how many have argued that the tax valuation of their home was too high, only to seek quite a bit more, when the time comes to sell?
All too often, as we seek to get the best financial deal for ourselves, we rationalize that “everyone does it.” We imagine that our crime has no victim, and is therefore no crime at all. Who among us wants to be the “sucker,” paying what the law would truly require, when we presume that few others do so?
And what of the Temple members, with no special hardship, who set their dues on the claim that they make an amount that is, in truth, a fraction of the household income?
Who is the victim? The multi-millionaire rock star? The distant and incredibly successful software company? The evil Internal Revenue Service and the faceless government? The amorphous Temple Board?
When we steal, in whatever form, we place our own temporal needs above what is right. If our highest standard is, “I won't get caught,” we have joined ourselves to the lowest level of humanity. We are no different from the stick-up man. We are thieves. We are part of the crowd that engages in wrongdoing, serving ourselves up as justifications for others to do wrong, as well. Turning ourselves into robbers, we have become the victims of our own actions, for we have made ourselves less than human.
Perhaps worst of all, when we engage in any manner of thievery, we teach our children that our own monetary desires supersede ethics. We show our offspring that honesty and integrity are empty words, since we will so easily abandon them if they cost anything. As the Rabbis taught, aveirah goreret aveirah, “One sin leads to more sin.” Once we are thieves, why not steal? And if we be robbers, how can we expect anything different from our children? They, too, are our victims, whether they are our own offspring or other young people in our community, who follow our lead.
“Thou Shalt Not Steal” does not sound like a controversial commandment. Nor is it, really. Those who transgress these words have generally constructed rationalizations, not much different from the idea that I wasn't really stealing that lighter fluid, since I planned to return it. In truth, if we think twice, we don't really believe those justifications. We know that stealing is wrong. It's what we tell our children, irrespective of what we do. Thievery is against the laws of Torah, and contrary to the will of God.
Let us consider the music-lover, who downloads songs onto their Ipod, without paying for the right to do so.
And what about the small business, which buys a couple of licenses for a program that several of its employees must use, and then copies the software onto multiple computers?
How many restaurant workers will declare, as part of their income, less than the full amount they received in tips? How many wealthy people will fail to declare complicated sources of income that are hard to trace? How many others will find myriads of methods of cheating on their taxes, in ways that are most unlikely to be detected? And how many of us will think of them as thieves? Aren't taxes basically bad anyway? Wouldn't a person be silly, to pay taxes that he or she could get away without paying? And how many have argued that the tax valuation of their home was too high, only to seek quite a bit more, when the time comes to sell?
All too often, as we seek to get the best financial deal for ourselves, we rationalize that “everyone does it.” We imagine that our crime has no victim, and is therefore no crime at all. Who among us wants to be the “sucker,” paying what the law would truly require, when we presume that few others do so?
And what of the Temple members, with no special hardship, who set their dues on the claim that they make an amount that is, in truth, a fraction of the household income?
Who is the victim? The multi-millionaire rock star? The distant and incredibly successful software company? The evil Internal Revenue Service and the faceless government? The amorphous Temple Board?
When we steal, in whatever form, we place our own temporal needs above what is right. If our highest standard is, “I won't get caught,” we have joined ourselves to the lowest level of humanity. We are no different from the stick-up man. We are thieves. We are part of the crowd that engages in wrongdoing, serving ourselves up as justifications for others to do wrong, as well. Turning ourselves into robbers, we have become the victims of our own actions, for we have made ourselves less than human.
Perhaps worst of all, when we engage in any manner of thievery, we teach our children that our own monetary desires supersede ethics. We show our offspring that honesty and integrity are empty words, since we will so easily abandon them if they cost anything. As the Rabbis taught, aveirah goreret aveirah, “One sin leads to more sin.” Once we are thieves, why not steal? And if we be robbers, how can we expect anything different from our children? They, too, are our victims, whether they are our own offspring or other young people in our community, who follow our lead.
“Thou Shalt Not Steal” does not sound like a controversial commandment. Nor is it, really. Those who transgress these words have generally constructed rationalizations, not much different from the idea that I wasn't really stealing that lighter fluid, since I planned to return it. In truth, if we think twice, we don't really believe those justifications. We know that stealing is wrong. It's what we tell our children, irrespective of what we do. Thievery is against the laws of Torah, and contrary to the will of God.
Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (Ephesians 4:28)
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
So if your like many people who think, what's the big deal if I steal, music or video's who am I hurting? Well 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 make it very clear how God feels about it stealing. We as Christians must remember that we are to set the standards.
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