Honesty in All Things

MEMORY VERSE: “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” —Ephesians 4:28

EXODUS 20:15; AMOS 8:4,5; MARK 12:38-40; TITUS 2:7-10

THE Eighth Commandment is simply stated and direct—“Thou shalt not steal.” Christians who are following in the footsteps of Jesus and thus laying down their lives for others should not need to be told not to steal. However, in our memory verse we find the Apostle Paul admonishing the brethren at Ephesus not to steal—“Let him that stole steal no more,” he wrote. In the case of the Ephesian brethren, however, Paul saw a need for this admonition.

This was at a time when Gentile converts were coming into the Early Church, and many of these had had no religious training comparable to Christian standards. Stealing, with some of these, may well have been a way of life, so Paul instructed them not to continue this practice, but rather to work for a living, thus providing for themselves and also to be in a position to give to those in need.

Stealing takes many forms. The Prophet Amos warned the Israelites against the result of cheating in their business dealings. He accuses some of them of making the “ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit.” Perhaps those guilty of these unfair business methods did not realize that it was a violation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” It would seem that the basic cause for most of Israel’s sins was lack of faith in God.

There was a small minority who did maintain their faith in the true God. Paul mentions many of these in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. But the majority, it would seem, did not have a great deal of faith, and therefore the requirements of the Law were of little consequence to them. We have a similar situation throughout the world today. Because more and more of the people are losing faith in God, their moral standards are breaking down. This is evidenced in the increasing crime rate, and in the petty thievery in the form of shoplifting that is so prevalent almost everywhere.

The attitude and practices of the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day are other examples of breaking the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” Jesus said that these religious rulers devoured widows’ houses, and at the same time made a pretense of their holiness by long prayers on the streets to be seen of men. These religious rulers may have had some jurisdictional care over the property of widows, as administrators of their estates. In any event they took advantage of those they were expected to help and thus betrayed their trust.

Slavery was quite the accepted thing in the days of the Early Church, and among the believers were both masters and slaves. Slaves at that time, and always, might easily conceive that they were being unjustly held and exploited by their masters and thus feel they would be justified in getting from them as much as possible, even resorting to stealing.

But Paul made it clear that Christian slaves were to be obedient to their masters and endeavor to please them well in all things. They were not to indulge in “purloining,” but to show good fidelity. Thus, as Paul explained to Titus, these Christian slaves would “adorn the doctrine of God in all things.”

It is interesting to note that Paul did not attempt to change the status quo of the social arrangements as they then existed. He knew that God’s time for giving justice to all would be during the thousand-year reign of Christ, and that the chief aim of the Christian meanwhile was to prove worthy of living and reigning with Christ in that kingdom.

However, in addition to exhorting the Christian slaves of his day to be obedient to their masters, Paul likewise admonished Christian masters to treat their slaves kindly and with consideration. Thus they also would exemplify that the Spirit of God in their hearts had changed their lives, and this would be to the glory of God. Now we are in a transition period leading into the new day of freedom for all, and we rejoice to see the world being aroused against the evils of slavery and inequality.

QUESTIONS

Do followers of the Master need to be exhorted not to steal?

How did some in Israel steal from their fellows?

How did the scribes and Pharisees break the Eighth Commandment?

Explain Paul’s reference to slaves.

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