A warm greeting Dear friends and brothers
Welcome to my blog
God bless you!
You will not steal.
Exodus 20:15
He who stole, do not steal any more, but work, doing with his hands what is good, so that he has something to share with those who have need.
Ephesians 4:28
There are many ways to steal; for example, cheating someone or even delaying paying someone what is owed to them: "You shall not steal, and you shall not deceive nor lie to each other. You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. You shall not withhold the wages of the laborer in your house until morning "(Leviticus 19:11, 13).
The apostle James strongly warned the rich who oppressed their workers and the poor: "Your riches are rotten, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted; and its mold will testify against you, and it will devour your flesh like fire. You have accumulated treasures for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who have harvested your lands cry out, which by deceit has not been paid for you; and the cries of those who had reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived in delights on earth, and been dissolute; you have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter "(James 5: 2-5).
Companies try to steal from people through deceptive advertising and poor quality products and services. Employees can steal from their employers by wasting time or doing personal things during their work time.
Lazy people may try to take advantage of the goodness of others; This motivated the apostle Paul to write: "For also when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat. Because we hear that some of you walk around disorderly, not working on anything, but meddling in what is foreign. To such we command and exhort for our Lord Jesus Christ, that working at leisure, eat your own bread "(2 Thessalonians 3: 10-12).
The prohibition to steal is generally accepted. But in everyday life, we often have the impression that the really serious thing is "letting oneself get caught". However, stealing is not respecting another person, it is sin against God.
For us Christians, this commandment of the law has a much broader moral scope. We can steal in various ways. We rob God with our ingratitude and the waste of the gifts he gives us, starting with our existence, our health, our physical and intellectual capacities, that time of life on earth in which each one can produce benefits with what God gives him. it gave.
We rob our spouse and our children if we waste our resources and waste our time on useless shopping and futile activities, instead of devoting them to them.
We rob our employer if we do not respect the agreed schedules or if we use hidden services of our company for personal uses. We rob our employees if their work is not paid fairly or does not guarantee a decent standard of living.
We steal when we squander our material goods while other people lack what is necessary for daily life.
STEAL GOD?
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The eternal God is the Creator of all that exists. Therefore He is actually the owner of the entire universe:
"From the Eternal is the earth and its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it "(Psalm 24: 1).
"Who has given me first, so that I can return? All that is under heaven is mine "(Job 41:11).
"Mine is silver, and mine is gold, says the Lord of hosts" (Hag. 2: 8).
It is good that we remember that God is the source of every perfect gift we have (James 1:17). So God allows us to enjoy His blessings, and He only asks us to recognize Him with a tenth (a tithe) of what He provides.
The Bible warns against stealing from God the tithes and offerings that are owed, but promises blessings to those who do give Him:
"Will man rob God? Well, you have stolen me. And you said: What have we stolen from you? In your tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, because you, the whole nation, have stolen me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse and have food in my house; and prove me now in this, says the Eternal of hosts, otherwise I will open the windows of heaven for you, and I will pour out a blessing for you until there is too much "(Malachi 3: 8-10).