Two hours wasted is two hours gone forever.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Good Old Boys)
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”
–John 10:1 (NKJV)
———————————–
I wrote a while back about the importance of punctuality. That a person who is not punctual is actually stealing. They’re stealing from their employer’s time, and from their responsibilities along with the fact that they are building a negative aspect to their reputation. My ballplayers always knew that if they were not on time the bus would not wait for them.
“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) When we look at the face of the statement, we say sure, that’s easy. “Don’t rob banks, or take something that does not belong to you.” But Begg sheds a brighter light on the commandment. He says that the commandment implies two biblical principles (and progressive socialists take note). First it implies the right to private property. Second, it implies the sovereign ownership of God over all He has made. “God owns all things, and He grants temporary stewardship to us. So to steal something from someone is an offense against God as the ultimate owner and against the person who is stewarding it.” (Alistair Begg) You might scoff, but in reality that is true–you’ve never seen a hearse pulling a u-haul. No matter how hard a man works for wealth and possessions here, he can’t take it with him into eternity.
Are you a thief? Did you ever snitch from the cookie jar? When Annie makes biscuits or cookies, my mercy it’s hard to keep from snatching one up. That can’t be borrowing, ’cause you can’t give it back once it’s down in the gullet past those taste buds. Oh, it’s only stealing if you get caught? Let’s look deeper into what stealing really is.
–blatant theft
–borrowing something we fail to return
–keeping dishonest records
–misusing our employer’s time
–paying unjust wages, withholding wages, or delaying wages
–slandering others, thereby stealing their reputation
–sinning sexually with another, thereby stealing their moral purity
–plagiarizing, thereby stealing someone else’s work
–cheating in the classroom
–failing to give God what we owe Him (Begg)
One of the biggest problems I had in the later years of my teaching was that of plagiarism. Some students were downright blatant, others tried to be sneaky. I don’t know which is worse–the blatant thief, or the sneak-thief.
Why do people steal? Oh, there could be myriad reasons, but the simple reason is that it is caused by sin. Coveting, greed, laziness, slothfulness, addictions, plus all of the excuses that people have. Some want to take a short-cut to wealth believing that the end justifies the means. Years ago I remember the story of a group of longshoremen on the east coast. I don’t remember the city, but there was a revival that broke out and it moved out onto the docks. Men were saved by the droves and within weeks, tools that had “disappeared” were returned to the tool shed. In fact, they ended up with more tools than were actually on the inventory.
Paul writes, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (Ephesians 4:28, NKJV) Don’t shirk in your work. Don’t do less quality work. To not do your best is cheating yourself, your employer, and God. Make the most of the time given you–in other words, don’t steal time. That is one thing you cannot give back in restitution.
I remember a missionary from years ago while we were attending Evangel Bible Church in Colorado Springs spoke about robbing God. In the country where he ministered at the communion service a pastor would place individuals in a certain part of the sanctuary and not allow them to partake of the communion. He said the reason was that they were robbing God by not paying their tithes. He said they were already cursed, and didn’t want to make it worse by taking of the elements unworthily. Hmm, what would happen in churches if that were practiced today? But there is a stern warning in Malachi, “‘Will a man rob God?’ Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.'” (Malachi 3:8-9, NKJV) To take it a step further, many rob God by not using the talents, time, and skills given to them by God for the Kingdom. Be careful of the sin of Ananias and Sapphira.
“All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His service daily live.”
–J.W. VanDeVenter
———————————–
I wrote a while back about the importance of punctuality. That a person who is not punctual is actually stealing. They’re stealing from their employer’s time, and from their responsibilities along with the fact that they are building a negative aspect to their reputation. My ballplayers always knew that if they were not on time the bus would not wait for them.
“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) When we look at the face of the statement, we say sure, that’s easy. “Don’t rob banks, or take something that does not belong to you.” But Begg sheds a brighter light on the commandment. He says that the commandment implies two biblical principles (and progressive socialists take note). First it implies the right to private property. Second, it implies the sovereign ownership of God over all He has made. “God owns all things, and He grants temporary stewardship to us. So to steal something from someone is an offense against God as the ultimate owner and against the person who is stewarding it.” (Alistair Begg) You might scoff, but in reality that is true–you’ve never seen a hearse pulling a u-haul. No matter how hard a man works for wealth and possessions here, he can’t take it with him into eternity.
Are you a thief? Did you ever snitch from the cookie jar? When Annie makes biscuits or cookies, my mercy it’s hard to keep from snatching one up. That can’t be borrowing, ’cause you can’t give it back once it’s down in the gullet past those taste buds. Oh, it’s only stealing if you get caught? Let’s look deeper into what stealing really is.
–blatant theft
–borrowing something we fail to return
–keeping dishonest records
–misusing our employer’s time
–paying unjust wages, withholding wages, or delaying wages
–slandering others, thereby stealing their reputation
–sinning sexually with another, thereby stealing their moral purity
–plagiarizing, thereby stealing someone else’s work
–cheating in the classroom
–failing to give God what we owe Him (Begg)
One of the biggest problems I had in the later years of my teaching was that of plagiarism. Some students were downright blatant, others tried to be sneaky. I don’t know which is worse–the blatant thief, or the sneak-thief.
Why do people steal? Oh, there could be myriad reasons, but the simple reason is that it is caused by sin. Coveting, greed, laziness, slothfulness, addictions, plus all of the excuses that people have. Some want to take a short-cut to wealth believing that the end justifies the means. Years ago I remember the story of a group of longshoremen on the east coast. I don’t remember the city, but there was a revival that broke out and it moved out onto the docks. Men were saved by the droves and within weeks, tools that had “disappeared” were returned to the tool shed. In fact, they ended up with more tools than were actually on the inventory.
Paul writes, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (Ephesians 4:28, NKJV) Don’t shirk in your work. Don’t do less quality work. To not do your best is cheating yourself, your employer, and God. Make the most of the time given you–in other words, don’t steal time. That is one thing you cannot give back in restitution.
I remember a missionary from years ago while we were attending Evangel Bible Church in Colorado Springs spoke about robbing God. In the country where he ministered at the communion service a pastor would place individuals in a certain part of the sanctuary and not allow them to partake of the communion. He said the reason was that they were robbing God by not paying their tithes. He said they were already cursed, and didn’t want to make it worse by taking of the elements unworthily. Hmm, what would happen in churches if that were practiced today? But there is a stern warning in Malachi, “‘Will a man rob God?’ Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.'” (Malachi 3:8-9, NKJV) To take it a step further, many rob God by not using the talents, time, and skills given to them by God for the Kingdom. Be careful of the sin of Ananias and Sapphira.
“All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His service daily live.”
–J.W. VanDeVenter