Q. 22. What is meant by the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal”?

We should honestly obtain and generously share our wealth as good stewards of God’s resources. God forbids whatever unjustly hinders our neighbor’s estate or tends towards it, such as greed, stinginess, theft, swindling, usury, fraud, and tax evasion.

Leviticus 19:11, 13; Deuteronomy 23:19–20; Proverbs 3:9–10; 20:23; 28:19–27; Ecclesiastes 5:10–14; Jeremiah 9:23–24; Mark 10:21–23; 12:17; Luke 12:19–21; Romans 13:6–7; 2 Corinthians 9:6–7; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:8; 6:17–18; James 5:1–4; 1 John 3:17.

  • WSC 74–75
  • Heidelberg Catechism 110–111

Honestly obtain. We are to acquire wealth by honest work, not by exploiting others, compromising our integrity, taking reckless shortcuts, or risking our reputation.

Generously share. Work is not only a means to provide for oneself, but also a ministry to provide for one’s family, the Church, and the poor (Ephesians 4:28). Whatever we give in Christ’s name, from a heart of love, will be rewarded by our heavenly Father (Matthew 10:42). God gave the inexpressible gift of his Son, knowing that many would reject him. It is better to give sacrificially, and be taken advantage of by others, than to become cynical and hold back from helping those in need.

Stewards. All of our wealth belongs to God. Selfish use of money amounts to stealing from God and from the poor (Malachi 3:8). “Not giving part of one’s possessions to others is already a kind of robbery” (John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Rich Man and Lazarus 12.4; cf. Malachi 3:12). “Wealth is not a possession; it is not property but a loan for use. … Only the virtues of the soul are properly our own, as almsgiving and charity. … We cannot take our wealth with us when we depart from here, but we can take our charities. Let us rather send them before us so that they may prepare for us an abode in the eternal mansions (Luke 16:9)” (John Chrysostom, Homilies on the First Letter to Timothy 11.2). The Wesleyan tradition has much to say about financial stewardship, especially towards the poor (see John Wesley, Sermons 50, 87, 112, 51, 108, and 126).

Stinginess. Stinginess or miserliness is the vice of grasping at one’s money and being slow to share it with others. Both “sinful spending” and “sinful sparing” are forbidden by God: “This command forbids us to rob ourselves of what we have, by sinful spending, or of the use and comfort of it by sinful sparing” (Wesley).

Usury. Usury is lending money at an excessive interest rate.

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