You shall not steal.
Briefly stated, this means that we should fear and love God that we may not take
our neighbor's money or goods nor get them by deception or misrepresentation,
but help him to improve and protect his property and business.
By giving this commandment God wishes to protect your property. Having protected your life and spouse, God commands that no one
take from, or decrease, the property of his neighbor. For, getting
possession of another's property wrongfully is stealing, and it involves every
attempt to take advantage of someone. This sin is so widespread, so easy for
sinful men to rationalize, and so often unpunished that if everyone guilty were
hanged the world would soon be depopulated. Yet most of the people who
are guilty do not think of themselves as thieves at all. Everyone should
understand that stealing is not just a matter of taking money from our
neighbor's house or pockets, but also dishonest trading, misrepresenting
merchandise, and shoddy workmanship. In trade our aim should be to give equal
value for value received.
When an employee does not try to do a good job, takes small items,
damages his employer's property, or allows someone else to do so when it could
be prevented, he is stealing. The same could be said of anyone who abuses,
treats in a careless manner, or ruins property that has been entrusted to his
care. I am not talking about damage which happens against one's will or because
it was overlooked, but of damage which is caused by laziness, malice, or spite.
Many who would be angry if called a thief take enough over a few years time to
be convicted of a felony were it all taken at once.
This applies to mechanics, repairmen, and workmen who overcharge, use
poor materials, or do a slipshod job. It also applies to professional people
such as lawyers who make liability claims where none should exist, doctors who
overcharge the insurance company, or businessmen who
seek legislation that would give them an advantage over their competitors. Such
people are worse than thieves, for we can use locks to protect ourselves
against thieves. If a thief is caught he is punished, but these people cannot
even be accused of theft. On top of that, they are neighbors and friends from
whom we should be able to expect honest and faithful service.
Employers fire workers who are in a higher wage bracket so they can hire
someone else at less pay. Unions use extortion to get the raises they want. The
used car salesman lies to make a sale. The butcher puts his thumb on the scale.
The grocer hides bad fruit at the bottom of the package, or takes a bad apple
out of a bag and then sells the bag as if it were complete. Companies take
advantage of high unemployment to offer a wage that is barely livable. People
are overcharged, or deception is used to trap them in financial agreements they
cannot afford. In short theft is all too common, and the world is a great den
of thieves.
Therefore, most thieves are not safe crackers, bank robbers, or burglars, instead they are workers, businessmen, and
professionals. These arm chair robbers are often looked up to and respected by
the community. Even though they sometimes use the law to rob people legally,
they are thieves none the less.
As bad as such theft is, it seems petty in
comparison to the gross dishonesty of the power wielding arch-thieves who use
government to fleece the entire population. We also have the false prophets who
use threats of God's wrath to extort money from people. These deceivers use false
promises of God's blessing to gain the wealth and property of millions. And the
arch-heretic who sits in the Holy Chair at
In short, theft is the way of the world. Those who are able to steal
legally go unpunished; they are safe, secure, and unmolested by anyone. Such
people even demand to be honored. Meanwhile the petty sneak-thieves, when
caught, not only bear shame and punishment, but are required to treat the
greater thieves as godly and honorable. However, let all thieves know that when
they stand before God, He will give them the punishment they deserve.
Because this commandment deals with so many aspects of life it must be
explained carefully. You should not let people go on in their sin without
warning them of God's wrath. Christians should be taught this commandment so
that they might avoid sin. If some knaves and scoundrels refuse to hear the
Word of God, then let it be preached to them by judges, jailers, and
executioners. Let everyone know that they should never harm their neighbor,
cause him loss, or cheat him in any way. Those who are guilty of vandalism,
those who betray their trust, and those who abuse or destroy the property of
others do so at the risk of God's displeasure. We should never cause our
neighbor injury, deprive him of gain, or commit any act of dishonesty or malice
against him, but should instead faithfully seek to preserve his property and
secure and promote his advantage, especially when one accepts money, wages, and
one's livelihood for such service.
The unrepentant soul who despises and ignores this commandment may escape
the hangman, but he shall not escape the wrath and punishment of God. Those who
live their life in arrogance and defiance of this commandment will, in the long
run, lose everything. Those of you who have decided that you will do what you
please, who steal from your employer and then accept your wages as if you had
done nothing wrong, know that without God's blessing you can expect only
plagues and misfortune. And if you do seem to get away with it for awhile do
not think you are safe, for God will pour out a greater measure of His wrath in
the end. (1 Samuel 2:25)
What do you think you will gain by theft? What good will the things you
have stolen do you if you lose your job or wind up in prison? Can't you see how
foolish it is to scorn God's counsel?
Such shall be the lot of those mechanics and laborers who fuss, complain,
and demand their own way as if every one were obliged to give them what they
demand. If they go on strike, they think nothing of destroying property or even
killing in order to gain a small increase in pay. Just let them keep it up, but
God will not forget His commandment and will reward them according as they have
served. If we had godly rulers such wantonness might soon be punished in a way
that would make others take warning.
Woe unto you who would turn the free market into a den of theft and a
cesspit of extortion. Go ahead, skimp, grasp, and hoard, but you will not
prosper. If you overcharge, you will be overcharged. If you seek laws that will
give you an advantage over your competitors, they will seek laws that put you
at a disadvantage. If you take advantage of people, others will take advantage
of you. Many of you are so hardened that you even brag about the things you get
away with, and how you get the better of others. However, you will find that no
matter how much you accumulate, if you defy God's commandment you will never
enjoy it. Without God's blessing all of your ill-gotten gains will be consumed
by moth, rust, rot, and decay.
And indeed, we see and experience the maxim that no stolen or dishonestly
acquired possession thrives being fulfilled daily before our eyes,. How many there are who rake and
scrape day and night, and yet grow not a penny richer! And though they gather
much, they suffer so much illness and misfortune that they never can enjoy it.
There is also the loss that comes when one tax is imposed after another, or
when soldiers loot, burn, rape, and kill. You would do
far better if you would endeavor to provide a quality product or service at a
popular price.
In short, if you steal much, expect as much and more to be stolen from
you. If you acquire a fortune through theft and violence, expect to lose it to
those who deal with you in the same way. God is the master of retribution, and
He punishes one thief by means of another. If it were not so, we could not
build enough prisons.
Let those who are willing to be instructed know that the commandment of
God must not be taken lightly or treated as a joke. For
although you despise us, defraud, steal, and rob from us, we will manage to
endure your evil behavior, and, according to the Lord's Prayer, forgive and
show pity. For we know that God will provide for those who trust in Him,
and you injure yourself more than us.
However, take warning from God's Word. If a man who is barely making ends
meet comes to you, someone who is living from paycheck to paycheck, show him
kindness and deal with him mercifully. For, if you are hateful to him, cheat
him, and show him no mercy when you ought to help him out, so that he goes away
miserable with no one to help him but God; when he cries unto God beseeching
heaven for help and deliverance, God will avenge his wrong. The prayers of such
a man are no joke, but carry great weight with the King of heaven. He who takes care of the poor and lowly, will not allow that
man to go unavenged. If you despise this counsel, and
disregard it you will not prosper. God has promised to help such people and He
cannot lie.
I have exhorted, warned, and protested enough. He who will not heed what
I say will learn by experience that it is true. However, I want to impress it
upon the young so they do not follow the bad example of others, but keep their
eye fixed on God's commandment lest His wrath and punishment come upon them
too. I can only instruct and reprove with God's Word, but the government exists
to put teeth in God's commandments. We need rulers who have the courage and
honesty to pursue and punish all of the theft that goes on, lest the poor be
oppressed, overburdened, and led into sin.
One of my reasons for explaining theft is to make it clear that it
involves far more than just burglary or armed robbery. This commandment
encompasses all of our dealings with other people. To put it briefly, we are
forbidden to do our neighbor any injury or wrong. We should never try to get
his property by trickery or games of chance, nor should we withhold wages or
payments. Our dealings with others should always be honest and above board. We
should promptly return what we have borrowed, pay our bills, and owe no man
anything. Our aim should be to help those in need, not to exploit them and take
advantage of them.
Those who seek good works will find that this commandment provides an
abundance of them, all of which are acceptable to God. We also have God's
promise of blessing for the kindness and mercy that we extend to our neighbor.
As it is written, "He that hath pity upon the poor lends unto the Lord;
and that which he hath given will He pay him again." (Proverbs 19:17) Know
that our God is rich, and He will not allow you to come short in anything or to
be in need. Thus when you do the will of God out of a kind heart, and not in
some vain attempt to make yourself righteous, you can with a joyful conscience
enjoy a hundred times more than you could scrape together with trickery and
deception. Those who do not desire this blessing of God will find wrath and
misfortune enough.
[The above is based upon, and
closely follows, Martin Luther's explanation of the Seventh Commandment]