Elul 14
Theft
“Let him who stole steal no more …” (Eph 4:28 ISR)
We all recognize the
prohibition against theft as one of the Ten Words (Ten Commandments), and we
have no problem adhering to that. I
doubt that there would be many of us that would rob a bank, or steal a car, for
not only is that in violation of Torah, but against the laws of our land as
well. However, there are many subtle ways
of ‘stealing’, many that most of us would never recognize unless it was first
pointed out to us.
For example, how many
of you ladies will break off and taste one of the grapes before you commit yourselves to buying the entire bunch? Have you honestly paid for that one grape
that you popped in your mouth? I used to
do the same thing until it was pointed out to me that until that bunch of
grapes passed through the check-out stand, every one of those grapes belonged
to the grocery store that I was buying them from. I was stealing.
What about when you
are driving down the highway – in the middle of nowhere – and spy an object
lying in the middle of the road? Now, this is something that did happen to me,
more than 35 years ago. My first husband
and I were returning from a visit to a town about 100 miles from our home, late
in the evening, when we came upon a down filled sleeping bag laying on the pavement. No one was around – there weren’t even any
other cars on the highway – so we loaded it up and took it home. I was convicted of how wrong this action was
not too long after it happened; however, my husband did not feel any remorse,
and was not inclined to make an attempt to find the original owner. I repented of my part in this situation,
which in reality was theft, for we wrongfully obtained something that we had
not rightfully purchased.
Another example I
have for you involves in ‘stealing’ time from your employer. How often do you find someplace to hide, and
then do so, waiting on the time clock to run itself past your allotted time to
work? If we are not engaged in the activity
that we are being paid to do, but are finding places and excuses to not work, we are, in essence, ‘stealing’
our employer’s time. It makes no difference if our employer is a
good one, or a bad one. We are expected
to work our job as unto our Elohim.
As my last example, I
would like to touch on copyright laws, something that I deal with. These laws not only pertain to written work, which
I am involved in, but also other areas as well, including many of the
photos we find scattered across the web.
There are those of us who enjoy making meme’s; we use photos as the backgrounds
to words and Scripture verses. This is
all well and good; however, many of the pictures that are being used are those
that do have copyrights attached to
them, and the people that are using them without permission can be subject to
severe penalties.
Brethren, as we
continue onward through this ‘season of teshuvah’,
let us all be diligent in dealing with those areas of our lives
that may not be pleasing to our Elohim.
If this area of subtle ‘sticky fingers’ applies to you in any way,
please, folks, take it to our Father.
Restitution is a strong principle throughout the pages of Torah, and if
it is something that our Creator is requiring you to do, He will also help you
as you walk through it.
“Speak to the
children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in
trespass against יהוה, and
that being is guilty, then they shall confess their sin which they have done.
And HE SHALL RESTORE his guilt in its principal, plus one-fifth of it, and give
it to whom he has been guilty.” (Num 5:6-7 ISR)
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