What Is The 8th Commandment?

What is the 8^th Commandment?   Was the commandment to not steal given only to Israel or is it given for all people for all time?

The 8^th Commandment

Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”

The commandment, “You shall not steal” was given by God to Israel at Mount Sinai as a direct order but this applies to every person on the face of the earth.  Today, the 8th commandment is one of the most broken of all the commandments that God gave to Israel even though this commandment surely applies to all people everywhere and is a commandment given for all time.

Ways that we are Stealing

Some people believe, and rightly so, that we are not to steal another person’s belongings and this includes any personal or public property but there are more ways to steal than just taking something that doesn’t belong to us.  For example, a former co-worker that I know of used to take longer than 10 minute breaks from work. He would sometimes go to his car and stay there for much longer than 10 minutes.  This “10 minute” break would be extended up to 15 or 20 minutes and sometimes more if the supervisor was gone.  Isn’t this the same thing as stealing because he was taking time from his employer and not doing what he was paid to do…that is work?  That was taking time for which he was paid to work and not doing what he was paid to do.  That is the same thing as stealing from his employer.

Stealing Time

Other workers might leave work a bit early or come in late.  Some had the audacity to have someone else clock in for them and that is the same thing as stealing too because when we steal time from our employers and are clocked in and getting paid to do something we’re not actually doing, we’re stealing from the employer.  Some justify this by saying they’re not really getting paid what they should be getting paid but that cannot justify it because what they are doing is wrong.

Stealing from the Government

The rate of tax fraud has been consistently high since the federal tax laws have been in effect.  Many call it “fudging” on their taxes but to underreport income or claim tax exemptions or benefits that they are not entitled to is the same thing as stealing.  It doesn’t matter who they steal from…stealing is still stealing, no matter who it is taken from.  I’ve heard some say that “Well, the federal government is wasting our tax dollars so why shouldn’t I?”  Yes, the government does waste tax money, I am sure of that, but that cannot justify stealing from them.   Two wrongs don’t make a right.  It doesn’t solve the problem of wasting federal tax dollars.  That’s not the way to “get back at the government.”  Stealing by claiming false tax deductions is stealing, no matter how you look at it.

Nickel and Diming

I went to a friend’s home many years ago and what I saw was nothing short of a cache of stolen goods.   I’m not talking only about paper clips (although stealing is stealing, regardless of the value) but I saw company pens, binders, staplers, and even copy paper that didn’t belong to him.  He boasted that he never had to buy any supplies because he thought that the company was robbing him of what he thought he should be getting paid so he decided that it was only fair that he “got what he deserved.”  This is still breaking the 8th commandment, even if it’s a paper clip.  Stealing is stealing, regardless of the cost.

Thieves Will Not Inherit the Kingdom

Paul classified thieves as those who will not be inheriting the kingdom of heaven and he says as much in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that “thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”  Paul said “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Eph 4:28).  Paul wrote “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph 5:5).  Coveting is only a small step away from stealing.

Stealing by Withholding Good

The Proverbs say that we are not to “withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” Although this might not be stealing, strictly speaking, when we have what others do not have and we have the ability to give, we are not being as generous to others as God has been to us.  The godly woman mentioned in Proverbs 31 “opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy” (Prov 31:20).  Jesus said “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11) and Paul quotes Jesus as saying “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  Even the Apostle Paul declared neither “did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you” (2 Thess 3:8).  Paul writes to Timothy “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (1 Tim 6:`8).

Conclusion

The prohibition from stealing applies to both private and public property.  There are no exceptions.  Whether we steal time or supplies from work or from the government or even from our neighbors or perfect strangers, all unrepentant thieves will not be inheriting the kingdom of God.  Of that you can be sure.   A thief has no room in the kingdom.  All thieves will be judged by God.  We can even steal credit from other people’s ideas or steal their articles or copy their writings on the Internet and put our name on it.  That is still thievery.  It is still sin and God will make no exceptions for those who practice such things (1 Cor 6:10).