How to Prosper with a Clear Conscience

The eighth commandment is 'Do not steal’. Now most of us would say we were OK on that one. But far more stealing than we would like to think is carried out by apparently respectable men and women, like you or me.

Everywhere taxes are avoided, insurance claims inflated, mortgage applications manipulated, and business figures adjusted. Mail-order firms who never deliver, investments that divest you of your money, workers who never work, special offers that aren’t special, dream holidays that are nightmares. When selling our car or our house, do we admit that there is a suspicious rattle, or that the floorboards are a bit dodgy under the carpet?

Whether it’s in the real or virtual world, blatant or subtle, theft is theft. And God sees it all.

Stealing is about increasing our possessions. But from the Bible’s perspective, ‘our possessions’ are not in fact ours, and we never actually possess them. When we think longingly about our neighbour’s car or TV we need to remind ourselves that these things are not, in reality, their property. They are God’s.

So when we steal, it’s from God himself. We are accountable to him.

Whatever way we steal, we are denying God’s care and love, and goodness toward us. By our actions, we are effectively saying, 'God, what you have given me is not enough'. We are accusing him of being an inadequate heavenly Father. And we’re telling him that we know better than he does. God is not miserly; he is generous beyond our wildest dreams and he has trusted us with the world he lovingly made. Although we might deny it, stealing is a kind of blasphemy.

One of the most extraordinary encounters Jesus had was with a man called Zacchaeus, chief tax collector for the occupying Romans in Jericho. He was short, wealthy, corrupt, and loathed. As a result of being shown love and acceptance by Jesus, Zacchaeus announced he was going to give half his possessions to the poor and give back four times over to all whom he had cheated. Wholehearted, genuine repentance, showing he was truly and utterly sorry for what he had done, and that he wanted to do all he could to put things right.

The Bible makes it clear that there is more to being a follower of Jesus than simply avoiding sinful actions; again and again, we’re told we are to become more like Christ, reflecting his character of openness, honesty, and justice.

It’s a good general guideline to hold fast to the golden rule that, Jesus said, summed up all the commandments: 'In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you' (Matthew 7:12 NIV).

Generally, we need to love giving. Every act of giving rebels against a life dominated by possessions or wealth, and if we have made a practice of regular giving then it is hard to be tempted to steal. The Old Testament principle of tithing – giving God a tenth of what we have – is, I believe, something we should still adhere to today. The Bible’s clear: if we’re not giving of our time, our energy, our possessions, and our money, we’re actually stealing from God. By tithing, we’re showing our commitment to him – in effect saying, 'I thank you and I trust you. You come first in my life'.

We need to turn back to, and rely again on, the God who gives us all we require, rather than on possessions, investments, or bank balances. He knows what we need and is ready and waiting to give.