The Bread Which You Hold Back Belongs To The Hungry

You Shall Not Steal.

Four simple words.

Uncomplicated in their declaration.  Straightforward in their application.

Or so they seem.

Of course, we well understand the basic prohibition: don’t appropriate for yourself anything that belongs to someone else.

But the Seventh Commandment has a far greater reach, a far richer insight into the complex nature of human relations and man’s relationship with the Divine.

Consider this:

In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits. The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 2402.

The Church – as does the Seventh Commandment itself – recognizes an individual’s right to acquire and hold private property. This recognition is tempered, somewhat, by the underlying ideal that

In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself. The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family. CCC 2404.

So yes, go and acquire.

In that way, you not only responsibly provide for your family, but you – through the wise use and investment of your private resources – are better positioned to come to the aid of those in need.

But acquisition itself requires temperance:

In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world’s goods; the practice of the virtue of justice, to preserve our neighbor’s rights and render him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who “though he was rich, yet for your sake . . . became poor so that by his poverty, you might become rich.” CCC 2407.

Temperance so as to moderate our acquisitiveness. Justice to be fair in all of our dealings with our neighbor. And solidarity so that we will treat him in the same manner as we ourselves would seek to be treated.

Interestingly, the CCC observes that there can be, in some circumstances, a presumption of consent (that is, no “theft”) for the use or taking of someone else’s goods, and that presumption holds even where

refusal is contrary to reason and urgent necessity when the only way to provide for immediate essential needs (food, shelter, clothing . . . ) is to put at one’s disposal and use the property of others. [Emphasis added] CCC 2408.

The CCC delineates additional, specific behaviors which violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the Seventh Commandment. Among them, summarized from CCC 2409 – 2411:

1.  the deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost;

2.  business fraud;

3.  the paying of unjust wages;

4.  forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another;

5.  speculation through the artificial manipulation of the price of goods;

6.  corruption (bribery);

7.  appropriation of common goods for private purposes;

8.  work poorly done;

9.  tax evasion;

10. the forgery of checks and invoices;

11. excessive expenses and waste;

12. the failure to pay just debts;

13. the failure to keep promises or to strictly observe contracts, assuming that the obligations undertaken are morally just.

In connection with contracts, the CCC makes clear that “a significant part of economic and social life depends on the honoring of contracts” and that all contracts “must be agreed to and executed in good faith.”

With that, the Church clearly recognizes how vitally important commercial activity – conducted morally and faithfully – is to our civil society.

Observe further that games of chance are not themselves contrary to the Seventh Commandment, but that they can become “morally unacceptable” when they “deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others.” CCC 2413.

Moreover, the enslavement of humans, whether for reasons selfish, ideological, commercial, or totalitarian, is obviously condemned here, as is any use of man’s God-given resources – including the animal kingdom – “divorced from respect for moral imperatives.” CCC 2414 – 2415.

And while man owes kindness to God’s creatures, and should not let them suffer or die needlessly, we should not unnecessarily spend resources that may be better prioritized to the relief of human misery. CCC 2418.

So what does this all mean for you and me?

Well, at first blush, we might console ourselves that these four words – you shall not steal – have little or no meaning for most of us since few are likely to shoplift or to rob a bank at gun point.

But it’s clear that the impact of these words are far greater than we might have ever imagined.

They can and do affect just about every activity we undertake on a daily basis.

And they can and should guide us in all of our human interactions.

But there’s a lot more.

Let me just leave you with some final thoughts, some very hard words from St. Basil.

No, they aren’t meant as a condemnation.

But perhaps they can serve as an opportunity to begin a serious and deep discussion about how we must begin to truly conform our lives if we are in a serious and sincere pursuit of the things of God:

Who is a cheater? Someone who takes away what belongs to others. And are you not a man of greed? are you not a cheater? taking those things which you received for the sake of stewardship, and making them your very own? Now, someone who takes a man who is clothed and renders him naked would be termed a robber; but when someone fails to clothe the naked, while he is able to do this, is such a man deserving of any other appellation? The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear mouldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes. The silver that you keep hidden in a safe place belongs to the one in need. Thus, however many are those whom you could have provided for, so many are those whom you wrong.

I’m certainly not there yet, not by a long shot.

How about you?

St. Basil, pray for us.

Peace

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain