Who, me?#2. “Steal no longer.”

Humourist, Jay Leno, tells the story about a house he sold. A single mum and her son came to the door saying she loved the house and the area and asked if they were interested in selling. Jay and his wife really liked the lady, and because she was a single mum, reduced the price by $50,000. His wife even insisted that he get the blinds dry-cleaned as a special gift to them. After the Leno’s had moved into their new home, Jay decided to drive past his old house. He said that he was just in time to see a bulldozer drive through the front wall and the blade ripping the dry-cleaned blinds down as it went. He learned later that the lady “flicked” houses onto a development company for a living, and she took her son and her sales technique door to door with her.

There are a lot of wealthy people on earth who have robbed others on their roads to riches. But scripture does assure us that such gains will come to nothing:
Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But the one who gathers by labour increases it (Proverbs 13:11).

However, remember that our Bible writers did not have in mind rich thieves sailing the French Riviera with your hard-earned money. A scene like that would hardly conjure up images of “a fraud’s wealth dwindling.”

Instead, the dishonest have built-in competition. Just as one official eye another, one thief eyes another—“Honour among thieves is a myth!” Justice comes to all, this side or the next.

The Bible’s commands to cease stealing address all dishonest dealings. Takers can just as easily justify their taking after they become Christians as before.

Paul offers the only alternative life-style worth taking:
“He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labour, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need” (Ephesians 4:28).

John Staiger