Don’t Steal – Ownership Matters:10 Rules for Life Part 8

1 . Assess The

You shall not steal. —Exodus 20:15

Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys. —Proverbs 18:9

Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. —James 5:4–5

Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor. —Proverbs 28:8

The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives. —Psalm 37:21

“Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts. —Proverbs 20:14

Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord. —Proverbs 20:10

Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. —Malachi 3:8

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. —Matthew 23:23

You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. —Malachi 3:9–10

Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. —Matthew 22:21

While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? —Acts 5:4

Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ —Matthew 20:13–15

Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death. —Exodus 21:16

2 . Analyze The

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. —Matthew 6:33

Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors. —Proverbs 1:19

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. —1 Timothy 6:6–10

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. —1 Timothy 6:17–19

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. —Matthew 6:19–21, 24

3 . Assume

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” —Luke 19:8–10

If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. —Exodus 22:1

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. —Ephesians 4:28

And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. —1 Thessalonians 4:11–12

4 . Accept

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” —Luke 23:39–43

He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. —Hebrews 9:12