The 8 Commandment

8. You shall not steal.

Kidnapping. In certain New Testament lists of sins which parallel the 10 commandments in some respect we discover ‘kidnapping’ as a violation of the eighth commandment (See 1 Tim.1: 10). A better translation of this reads, "man stealers." We read about this kind of stealing in Exod.21: 16 and Deut.24: 7. This has led some to argue that the eighth commandment is about stealing people, not property. This is incorrect. And yet stealing people is part and parcel of what is forbidden.

But who steals people today? Voetius spoke of children taken by the Roman church and brought to a monastery, for example. But Voetius also condemned slavery under stealing. This robs them of legitimate freedom. Yahweh guaranteed freedom by liberating his people from Egyptian bondage. No Israelite was to rob his brother by degrading him to the status of slave. There were slaves in Israel, with God’s permission, but they were included in the spoils of war. Such slaves were entitled to a respectable life however (see Exod.21: 16 and Deut.23: 15-16). Modern commentaries speak of terrorism as a form of ‘man-stealing.’ In some ways, discrimination and manipulation are forms of slavery — robbing people of their dignity, etc.

Stealing the Heart. Manipulation is known in the Bible as ‘stealing another’s heart.’ Jacob stole Laban’s heart by not telling him he wanted to flee (Gen.31: 20) and then fleeing (v.26). Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel, just like political candidates dupe their audiences. The same can be said of Adolf Hitler. We could consider advertising here. But we must remember that occasionally people let their freedom be taken from them. A society sometimes wants to be fooled — it then is partly to blame.

Social Injustice. Older commentaries often spoke of land thievery. In these commentaries, those in power were reminded of this commandment. Those stealing private property are criminals; those who steal public property are kings (Bullinger). Both are wrong and both Luther and Calvin lamented it (cf. Isa.5.8; Jer.22: 13-17; Amos 8:4-6). These attitudes conflict with the Bible’s teaching about our obligations to the poor. They were to share in the harvest (Ex.23: 11; Lev.19: 10; 23:22). In a land blessed by Yahweh, where all His commands are carefully observed, there did not need to be nor should there have been any poor (Deut.15: 4-5).

Weights, Measures, Merchandise and Money. The catechism mentions stealing by force, but also secret theft (see Prov.9: 17 NIV). This secrecy often has the appearance of righteousness and includes false weights, measures, merchandizing and money (Lev.19: 35-36; Deut.25: 23-26; Prov.11: 1). You could mix flour with sugar or water with wine, etc. Today such deception is more difficult. Yet we can still make our product to seem better than it is.

What about usury? Initially the church objected to loaning money at interest (see Ex.22: 25 and Lev.25: 35-38 and Deut.23: 19-20). Yet, as Calvin argued, it is incorrect to identify every form of interest with usury. Usury is exorbitant profit taking. But if certain goods are loaned which themselves yield a profit, then interest is not usury. But in any case, interest was forbidden in Scripture because it always envisioned loaning money to a poor brother. Aside from all this we must recognize that Israel was a unique theocracy in which every poor citizen who feared Yahweh would be cared for. By rejecting usury, the catechism means all means used to obtain another’s possessions wrongly. Here we could deal with monopolies and the borrowing and squandering of large sums of money, etc.

The catechism mentions lastly greed and the abuse of our possessions. For the greedy person, money becomes a goal rather than a means. Saving must have a goal, like a collection for the needy (1 Cor.16: 1-2). But laying up treasures on earth, so that money becomes god Mammon (Matt.6: 19-24) is a form of stealing. What about squandering? Doesn’t this rob another person? Yes, because man is a steward before God.

Being a Steward. People cannot be made slaves or they become dependent on us and their freedom is lost. But something else is at stake here. Nobody is an owner in an absolute sense, with absolute sovereignty. Only God is. God is the Creator and the earth and its fullness belong to him (Ex.19: 5; Pss.24: 1; 50:10). This has been given to men (Ps.115: 16). The Lord gives and takes away (Job 1:21). The land Israel took as an inheritance was the Lord’s (Hos.9: 3) — they were but pilgrims and sojourners.

In Israel, a impoverished man could have to surrender his land to his creditor. But in reality, he was surrendering not his land, but the harvests off his land — until the Year of Jubilee, when his land was returned (Lev.25: 11-16). One could never amass huge areas of land under Yahweh. Moreover, because of the right of redemption, a next of kin could buy back what someone was forced to sell (Lev.25: 25). When Ahab wanted to buy Naboth’s vineyard, he was not permitted because the land was the property of Yahweh and was loaned to a particular family and to nobody else (1 Kings 21:3).

Some have argued that the penalty for stealing, as opposed to adultery, was lenient in Israel. Yes, but adequate restitution had to made and the Israelites’ right to property was relative. He did not have absolute right to his property.

In terms of his relationship to God, man does not own property, but simply has things in his possession. Ownership involves legal right. Having something in one’s possession gives a person actual control, as if it belonged to him. Man is a steward. He manages goods that belong to Another. Every person will have to give an account of what we have done with the possession entrusted to us (see Luke 16; Matt.12: 36; Rom.14: 12). This is underscored in the catechism, which states that we may not be wasteful. We are not free to use our things as we please. As a steward, I manage my possessions as God’s property.

Private Property. We are stewards before God and yet in some sense we do own property. Abraham bought a burial plot (Gen.23: 3-18), Naboth refused to sell his land to Ahab, etc. There was private property in the New Testament as well. There are many indications that Christians owned their own homes, including Mary, mother of John, Lydia, the seller of purple and Philip the evangelist (Acts 12:12; 16:24-15; 21:8). The communal sharing in Acts 2 and 4 describes the style in which church members managed their possessions. This management (by individuals) kept in view the benefit of neighbor in such a way that togetherness and the well being of the group governed their attitudes.

Private property need not be condemned as long as it is managed within the parameters of Christian stewardship. Nor is it proper to consider poverty to be better than wealth (Prov.30: 8). It is also true that we need not become ‘inwardly detached’ from our possessions (Mk.10: 29-30). But we must be ready to lose our property for the sake of Christ’s kingdom (Matt.19: 16-29). We must also not be preoccupied with storing up treasures on earth (Matt.6: 19-20). We have brought nothing into the world; we shall take nothing out (1 Tim.6: 7).

Work. The Scripture connects laziness and stealing. The sluggard comes to poverty (Prov.6: 6-11) and poverty tempts a person to steal (Prov.30: 9; cf. Eph.4: 28). The one who refuses to work shall not eat (2 Thess.3:10). From another perspective Scripture views work as hard and troublesome, the result of our fall into sin (Gen.3:17-19; Ps.90:10). But we must not forget that work was first mandated in Paradise, before the fall into sin (Gen.1:28; 2:15). Even the wealthy, who don’t need to work, must work. They too are stewards and should not leave their talents buried in the ground (Matt.25:24-30). The Hebrew word for ‘work’ means ‘to serve.’ We are not slaves to work, but servants both to God and to neighbour.

Stewardship and Generosity. Older commentaries spoke of sacrilegium (sacrilege) — church robbery or church thievery. Here we could consider Achan, who stole devoted things and those who withheld the tithe. Money or possessions intended for God or the poor of the church may not be stolen. The church should never become wealthy while the poor remain poor. When church buildings were golden, charity became wooden. A German confession in 1562 listed among the sins of church robbery, those preachers who failed to preach rightly and piously and walked off with a salary they did not deserve.

It is difficult to determine whether the tithe is still in place. It was tied, on the one hand, to the Levitical priesthood, which has passed away. It came, secondly, in a completely different context — where there were no other taxes. Thirdly, Jesus and the apostles nowhere indicate what percentage we should be giving. Yet we must give generously, not only to those in the household of faith, but to all (Gal.6:10).

Enjoying Without an Aftertaste. Is it possible to be too generous with our money so that we always refuse a glass of wine or a nice vacation. Yes, we may enjoy God’s wealth without a bitter aftertaste. Israel was commanded to feast with the tithes that were brought before the Lord (Deut.12:6-7, 17-19; 14:22-23). Job was very generous, but took no offense at his children enjoying feasts (Job 1). Jesus knew of the poor, but enjoyed a wedding feast (John 2). He did not scold a woman for pouring expensive perfume on his feet (Mk.14:7). There is a time to be shocked by pictures of starving children and to re-examine the budget. But there is also a time to go on vacation. But there is also an economic argument. If everyone stopped purchasing luxuries and stopped going on vacation, thousands would lose their jobs here! Therefore a portion of prosperity must be for us to enjoy.

Forced to Steal. Is there ever a time, when we are forced to steal? When Israel left Egypt, the Israelite women took things from the Egyptians, but they had asked for these things (Ex.3:22; 12:35-36). We can be sympathetic to one who steals while hungry (Prov.6:30-31), but that does not remove culpability. Yet, where life is at stake, the scales of justice were tipped in favor of communal use of vital necessities. But if someone steals from you, you may not steal from them — the Lord is the avenger. If taxes are too high, we may not withhold. The blessing of the Lord makes one rich and toil adds nothing to it (Prov.10:22 RSV note). Can a Christian be a businessman? The profit motive is not the same as greed. Evil does not lie in our occupations, but in our hearts. Being as businessman is an honest calling, as long as the merchant ship has a "spiritual" rudder.

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