God is holy and man is sinful. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is for the people to know who God is and how they are to obey Him and shine for Him. The 8^th Commandment is: “Thou shalt not steal” (Exod 20:15). Why would one steal? Possible reasons are laziness, dissatisfaction with one’s own possessions, envy, covetousness, etc. Through this commandment, the children of Israel know that they are to be contented with what God has provided for them.

Stealing may be from man and from God as well. We must first learn not to steal from God. The people stole from God their tithes and offerings (Mal 3:7-12), possibly because of their lack of trust and faith in God. All that we possess rightly belong to God. Why do we not return that which belongs to God? The people also stole from God when they profaned the Sabbath Day (Neh 3:15).

One example of stealing is in Exodus 21:16. The punishment for stealing another man (i.e. kidnapping) is death. For stealing an animal, one has to compensate the rightful owner. Thus, “Thou shalt not steal” is a very serious commandment. Yet it is commandment that is not easy for us to keep. Very often we steal other people’s time by our lack of punctuality, we use possessions that do not belong to us without permission, etc.

We must flee from this sin of stealing. Stealing is a manifestation of covetousness. People steal because of their lack of contentment, and they desire to have what they cannot have. Let us be content with what we have, and not compare ourselves with others. God makes no mistake when He blesses us and we have what we have.

When we break this 8^th Commandment, let us repent and do not be a thief again (Eph 4:28). Work hard, do not be lazy. Do a proper job with no shortcuts and do it to the best of our abilities. When we keep the 8 ^th Commandment, others will be blessed. Through our testimony of working hard and honestly, we will shine for Jesus, and those around us will be attracted to Him.