There is no greater, more fulfilling, more purposeful, more joyful life than the life that can be found in Jesus Christ. This morning I hope to show you this as we look at theeighthcommandment. And let me just tell you, you won’t want to miss the last two commandments.
By now I hope you have discovered that the idea of a law or commandment is virtually synonymous with joy and happiness. The people who are most fulfilled love the law and they love God’s commandments. The people who are most miserable hate God’s laws and break themselves against God’s commandments.
•It’s the atheist who denies God’s existence.
•The hedonist who would rather bow down and worship an idol, or even pursue pleasure, rather than please God.
•It’s the proud who would rather bolsterhis own name, reputation, or glory than to make God’s name famous.
•It’s the majority of people, and far too many Christians, who will not set aside a single day nor even a few hours on a single day, as a holy day to worship God.
Friends, we were created to love God. We were created for God’s pleasure and for his glory. Substitute anything else for God and it will ruin your soul. Sadly, there are those who are slaves to the mighty dollar, to recognition, to promotions,to trophies,to their work, or to their sexual desires and appetites.
The Ten Commandments were given because God had just delivered the Israelite nation from captivity and slavery in Egypt. "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt!" Why would they ever want to be held captive or become slaves ever again? In Christ Jesus, God has delivered us from sin. Why would we ever want to be taken captive by our sinful desires again?
Exodus 20:12 (NIV) says, "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land theLORD your God is giving you." Exodus 20:13 (NIV) tells us, "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:14 (NIV) says,"You shall not commit adultery."
You shall not steal.
I have thought long and hard this week about the eighth commandment in Exodus 20:15 (NIV), "You shall not steal." If you don’t mind, I would like to take a quick poll. Every week we have several members of our local law enforcement present in worship. How many of you have stolen something in the past six months?
The last time I remember blatantly stealing something was last week at....... No,it was when I was in grade school. I stole a pack of gum from a mom and pop grocery store. They went out of business a few years later, probably because of me! I didn't even get out of the store and I felt so much guilt. The gum might as well been infested with maggots because that’s what it tasted like when I tried to enjoy it. I resolved never to steal again.
But actually that has not happened. We are guilty of stealing far more than we care to realize. How many of you haven't paid for the software installed on your computer? You are a thief. How many of you have burned CDs for a friend or copied mp3 music files over to a friend’s I-pod? You are a thief. How many of you have violated a publisher’s copyright? Lied on a timesheet about how much time you worked? Overbilled a client? Taken something home from work that belonged to your employer? How many of you have borrowed money or rung up charges on credit cards with no intention to pay the money back?
So what if you haven’t stolen a car, ransacked a house, plundered a jewelry store, or robbed a bank. So what if you think your interpretation of theft is "insignificant" and "harmless." The eighth commandment is addressing an attitude and a mindset that is as highly destructiveto society as it is to the individual.
What am I talking about? Let’s explore how the New Testament enlarges and applies the commandment, "You shall not steal." There are more passages than we could possibly cover.
The New Testament admonishes us not to steal.
Ephesians 4:28 (NIV) says, "He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need."
Study this verse long and hard. I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. I am a follower of Christ. We are electing leaders who are crafting a society of entitlement. Where do we get this notion that we deserve or are entitled to anything?
Substitute "other people" for government. The landlord should pay my mortgage or rent. The hospital, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies should pay for my health care. The oil companies should fill my tank of gas. Mom and Dad should pay my credit cards andfoot the bill for my lifestyle. The banks ought to pay for my reckless spending when I declare bankruptcy. My rich grandpa or grandma or distant relative ought to share their wealth. People who make more than me ought to pay my share of taxes. Other people should pay for my child’s education.
Are webecoming an entitlement society?
What is changing about America is that we are putting a moral obligation on others to meet our wants and desires. And we want leaders who will legislate accordingly. Yet God puts the moral obligation on us. God says that we should do something useful with our hands in order to have something to share with people in need. What’s immoral is to sit back and glean the fruits of other’s hard labor. What’s immoral is to be a sluggard, instead of a producer.
Are there injustices in our world? Yes. Is there corporate greed? Yes. Are there poor people being exploited by the rich? Absolutely! The same was true in Ephesus. The same was true in Thessalonica. The same was true amongst the Israelites and in Egypt.
Let’s launch a counter-revolution to the greed and evil. Let’s unleash our creativity, our productivity, our independence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of generosity. Let’s not ask what others can do for us—our government, our employers, and our relatives. Let’s ask what we can do for others. How can we serve, and give, and build wealth for God’s kingdom?
Victims tend to remain victims. The poor grow poorer,but only if they remain takers. God has set us free from victimhood and from this spirit of entitlement.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-14 (NIV) says,"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you,nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.' "
"We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother."
The Pilgrims learned a valuable lesson about entitlements.
An interesting thing happened when the Pilgrims first sailed to America. Their colony was first organized on a communal basis. Land was owned in common. Farmland was farmed communally. People were asked to labor according to their abilities. But the entire harvest was distributed according to people’s needs.
The results were disastrous. The colony at Plymouth faced starvation and illness. Many died. The communal system rewarded wastefulness, laziness, and inefficiency. It destroyed individual initiative and personal responsibility.
William Bradford, the governor of the original Pilgrim Colony, instituted a biblical principle. Each family was given private property, their own farm land, and equal opportunity. If you didn’t plant and store up your own corn, you wouldn’t eat. A remarkable thing happened. The new policy was a great success. In his diary Bradford wrote, "It made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better contentment.The women now went willingly into the field and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability or tyranny or oppression. Young men, that were most able and fit for labour and service, did repline that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense."
Are you listening? How many times do we hear, "There isn’t enough corn to go around. I am just a mother. I am only a poor little child.I don’t have the ability to work.I am a victim of corporate tyranny. Iam oppressed."
Jesus spoke to the fact that we all have been given abilities and opportunities.
Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25 reminds us that we have all been given abilities and opportunities by God. Some have been given five talents, some three talents, and some just one talent. But make no mistake about it. God has ordained that every one of have the ability to contribute to the needs of others. The one talent person was condemned,not for lack of opportunity, but for wickedness and laziness—for not putting his ability to use.
Here is a thought. You won’t hear this from the mouth of a politician or from the mouth of a public school teacher or from the mouth of a college history professor. You want to know what your grandparents and great grandparents and great-great grandparents did? In the name of Christ they built hospitals because there was no healthcare. They built one-room school houses, colleges, and universities like Harvard and Yale because they wanted their children to have education. When horses and buggies didn’t get them far enough, they invented automobiles and airplanes. They cut down trees, built saw mills, and built log cabins. They labored in the hot sun setting corn and building barns to provide for their needs and the needs of others.
Old men and young men, mothers and children, found joy and self-fulfillment serving God and serving others. Instead of waiting on getting a bigger slice of the ever-diminishing slice of pie,instead of waiting on getting their nugget out of the ever-diminishing pile of gold,they baked bigger pies and they generated piles of gold and we have become one of the greatest nations on earth. Our nation’s generosity touches the ends of the earth. Don’t tell me that God’s commandments are irrelevant, outdated, and impractical. "Thou shall not steal."
Still not convinced? Here's what Proverbs 31:9-31 (NIV) says about a woman of noble character. She doesn't steal from anyone. "Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character. A wife of noble character who can find?She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in herand lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm,all the days of her life.She selects wool and flaxand works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships,bringing her food from afar."
"She gets up while it is still dark;she provides food for her familyand portions for her servant girls.She considers a field and buys it;out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously;her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable,and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaffand grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poorand extends her hands to the needy."
"When it snows, she has no fear for her household;for all of them are clothed in scarlet.She makes coverings for her bed;she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate,where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.She makes linen garments and sells them,and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity;she can laugh at the days to come."
"She speaks with wisdom,and faithful instruction is on her tongue.She watches over the affairs of her householdand does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things,but you surpass them all.'"
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned,and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."