What I find fascinating about the commandment not to steal is what it says about God's providence and our stewardship.  If we truly believe in God's providence:  that is, God's love and care for us -- and that God will provide and care for us more than he does for the birds of the air, which neither plant nor harvest, and which he feeds daily, then what motivation do we have to steal?   

And if we look not only at the proscription involved here, but also the positive aspect of the eighth commandment, we must consider our responsibilty in the realm of stewardship.  If we truly believe that all we possess is a manifestation of God's providential care for us, how ought we to care for and use our resources?  

It seems lately that instances of stealing in its myriad forms make the headlines almost daily.  Can you spot them?  People try to dress it up a bit, put a disguise on it, so that others don't see the scarlet letters written across their actions, S ... T ... E ... A ... L ... I ... N ... G!  Do the words Madoff, Stanford, Enron, Ponzi, credit card interest rates, the mortgage debacle, etc. ring a bell with you?  When does the interest charged cross the line from being fair and reasonable and become stealing?  When is profit earned tantamount to theft?  When is a hard bargain no longer a hard bargain but "highway robbery?"  When is enough, enough? 

I like the old fashioned Popeye's take on a situation when he saw the underdog being exploited or in harm's way.  He'd eat a can of spinach (his source of extraordinary strength) and say, "I've had all I canst take, I can't takst no more!"  Then, he'd go into action and right the wrong, and twart the impending injustice.

I don't like spinach, but I love God and I know the Holy Spirit lives within me, giving me extraordinary power ... Resurrection Sunday Power!  We don't have to tolerate this lack of ethic that seems to plague our society.  I'm tired of reading about all the lying and stealing and ....  How about you?

What can we do as individuals and collaboratively as a church about it?  Honesty begins at home, with us.  "Thou shall not steal."  Have a great discussion this week.

Blessings,

Michael