“You shall not steal.” According to the Bible, this is the 8th commandment out of 10. Most of us have stolen before. Whether it was a piece of candy or a car, many people have stolen something at least once in their lives. That is not to say everybody has – but many have. Theft is a sin. No matter how big or small, theft is theft.
There could be many reasons why a person chooses to steal. They could be in financial hardship, could be getting paid or peer pressured to do it, or could just be doing it for fun or an addiction. If it is an addiction, those people are called kleptomaniacs. Kleptomania is a mental health disorder. If you think that only poor people steal, you’re wrong. Middle-class and the rich steal too – and in more ways than you think. This blog isn’t to talk about the different classes of people who steal but to give insight into the specific sin.
Other wrongs fall into the same category of theft, such as scammers, robbers, people of greed, people who prey on the less fortunate, and even people who steal spouses, or people in general (kidnapping). I know that may be a bit extreme, but in my opinion, those people are still thieves.
Bible VERSES ABOUT THEFT
Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about theft.
- Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:10)
Thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God (Heaven).
- People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house. (Proverbs 6:30-31)
Thieves will pay back all they have stolen sevenfold. Unfortunately, the thief won’t know how exactly they are to pay back sevenfold until it happens. Only God knows.
- For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (Matthew 15:19)
A thief’s heart isn’t right. There is no good in stealing. Imagine someone stealing from you. Did it make you feel a certain way? That’s how the victim feels.
- You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)
For this verse, what’s understood doesn’t need to be explained…
- 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)
A thief should stop stealing and work for their wants and needs. Doing so will also open up the selfless act of helping others in need.
- And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
The Lord shall supply all your needs. There is no need to continue being a thief when God has given you a promise.
- The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Satan came to steal, kill, and destroy. In the same way, if you are stealing, robbing, or scamming to name a few, you have the same qualities as Satan… evil. But there’s hope, Jesus!!!
Conclusion
I understand that life gets hard, resources may not be available, and finances might have plummeted, but Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to continue being a slave to sin/Satan. There is freedom that awaits you. Ask God to forgive you of your sins, repent for your wrongdoing, and never do it again. God will give you grace and mercy. Jesus died on the cross for your sins which means he took every sin there is on our behalf.
Once you receive Jesus into your heart, and believe he rose again, you’ll be forgiven; and saved. There will no longer be a reason to steal, because according to Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”