Don't Rob Your Boss! - Eph. 4:28
"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 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. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
"I deserve that!" It is a mentality that permeates our culture and sets the trajectory of the next generation. Getting something for little or no effort is what folks strive for because of this mentality. Years ago I was taking some young people on a missions trip and we stopped at a service area along the PA Turnpike for a pit stop. When we got back on the road I saw that one young man was passing out gumballs to all the other students. I asked him why he bought that many gumballs and he told me he didn't. He explained to me, as if he just struck gold, that while he put his quarter in for a gumball, the machine just kept turning and giving him gumballs. So what did he do? He kept turning it until he emptied the entire machine. All the students were were like, "Sweet (this was before Napoleon Dynamite)." I asked all of them if they thought what he did was wrong, and the tenor of the van demonstrated that it wasn't. I asked, "how is that not stealing?" The answered, "well, he did technically pay for them." He received something at someone else's expense... that is stealing! At the core of this issue... and any other type of thievery is self! The Scriptures tell us that as a result of a changed heart, we should be people who work hard to receive... we should "do something useful with our hands," as opposed to "stealing."
There are many types of ways to be a thief, and they are not all so obvious! The obvious way is to take something that doesn't belong to you. Have you ever had something stolen from you? I have many times! A couple of years ago, my brand new set of Taylor Made golf clubs and bag were snatched right out of my garage by someone during the early evening hours when it was still light outside. I left the garage door open as I was doing some yard work, and pooff they were gone. NO FUN! Someone got away with something at my expense!
There are other ways as well... Take for instance our job! It is so easy to become lazy and goof off... there is work to be done but we are just "taking it easy." Though we are being paid to do a job, we are wasting time. Lets admit it... most of us are guilty of this at times. There are days that I go into work and I think to myself, "I don't feel like working today!" What pushes me to work? It's the thought that I am being paid to do my job! It's not my money, it is coming out of another's pocket! If I don't do my job because I chose to be lazy, then I am stealing from my employer. This goes for "milking" a job as well. As believers, we should be the hardest working people because we understand that "robbing" our employer is dishonoring to God and does not reflect the inward change of the heart.
Here are a few other ways to steal:
1. Cheating on your taxes
2. Pocketing money that you know doesn't belong to you
3. Cheating the Welfare System or any government system for that matter
4. Realizing the cashier forgot to ring something up and knowingly walk out with something that you did not buy
5. Downloading music for free at the expense of the artist
You could add to the list. The point is stealing has no place in the life of a believer because it does not match the inward change of the heart.
Notice that Paul tells us to work hard with our hands so that we can give to others. A believer's view of what he has and what he makes is "others centered!" It's not about what we get, but about what we can share... the very opposite of stealing!
We all have a tendency to "steal", so my challenge to us is to "steal no longer", but work hard so that you can give to others.
Eph. 4:22-32
"I deserve that!" It is a mentality that permeates our culture and sets the trajectory of the next generation. Getting something for little or no effort is what folks strive for because of this mentality. Years ago I was taking some young people on a missions trip and we stopped at a service area along the PA Turnpike for a pit stop. When we got back on the road I saw that one young man was passing out gumballs to all the other students. I asked him why he bought that many gumballs and he told me he didn't. He explained to me, as if he just struck gold, that while he put his quarter in for a gumball, the machine just kept turning and giving him gumballs. So what did he do? He kept turning it until he emptied the entire machine. All the students were were like, "Sweet (this was before Napoleon Dynamite)." I asked all of them if they thought what he did was wrong, and the tenor of the van demonstrated that it wasn't. I asked, "how is that not stealing?" The answered, "well, he did technically pay for them." He received something at someone else's expense... that is stealing! At the core of this issue... and any other type of thievery is self! The Scriptures tell us that as a result of a changed heart, we should be people who work hard to receive... we should "do something useful with our hands," as opposed to "stealing."
There are many types of ways to be a thief, and they are not all so obvious! The obvious way is to take something that doesn't belong to you. Have you ever had something stolen from you? I have many times! A couple of years ago, my brand new set of Taylor Made golf clubs and bag were snatched right out of my garage by someone during the early evening hours when it was still light outside. I left the garage door open as I was doing some yard work, and pooff they were gone. NO FUN! Someone got away with something at my expense!
There are other ways as well... Take for instance our job! It is so easy to become lazy and goof off... there is work to be done but we are just "taking it easy." Though we are being paid to do a job, we are wasting time. Lets admit it... most of us are guilty of this at times. There are days that I go into work and I think to myself, "I don't feel like working today!" What pushes me to work? It's the thought that I am being paid to do my job! It's not my money, it is coming out of another's pocket! If I don't do my job because I chose to be lazy, then I am stealing from my employer. This goes for "milking" a job as well. As believers, we should be the hardest working people because we understand that "robbing" our employer is dishonoring to God and does not reflect the inward change of the heart.
Here are a few other ways to steal:
1. Cheating on your taxes
2. Pocketing money that you know doesn't belong to you
3. Cheating the Welfare System or any government system for that matter
4. Realizing the cashier forgot to ring something up and knowingly walk out with something that you did not buy
5. Downloading music for free at the expense of the artist
You could add to the list. The point is stealing has no place in the life of a believer because it does not match the inward change of the heart.
Notice that Paul tells us to work hard with our hands so that we can give to others. A believer's view of what he has and what he makes is "others centered!" It's not about what we get, but about what we can share... the very opposite of stealing!
We all have a tendency to "steal", so my challenge to us is to "steal no longer", but work hard so that you can give to others.
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