You shall not steal. [Exodus 20:15 (ESV)]
Jesus once said that Satan was a thief. Satan does not steal money, for he knows that money has no eternal value. He steals only what has eternal value—primarily the souls of men. [Zac Poonen]
The patient Cormorant had been diving and resurfacing empty-beaked for several minutes before finally emerging victorious with a large fish crosswise in its beak. The fish thrashed in the cormorant’s beak while the bird tried to re-position its meal so it could be swallowed head first. A Brown Pelican suddenly crashed into the water and, after a great deal of wing flapping and water splashing, it was clear the Cormorant was no match for the larger bird. While the Pelican threw back its head and swallowed the unlucky fish, the unfortunate cormorant swam away still hungry.
Apparently, food theft (kleptoparasitism) is common among birds and it’s not limited to stealing one another’s fish dinner. Some species harass other birds until they spit up swallowed food and several species conduct high-speed chases in the sky and grab food from other birds in midair. Bird theft isn’t even limited to food. Blue Jays and Black Crows frequently pilfer the nests of other birds for shiny things with which to adorn their own nests while Magpies and Eagles will steal building material as well. At first, it seems like the birds are exploiting the hard work of others but they’re just doing what birds do naturally. Living in a competitive world with limited resources, they’ve developed remarkable skills needed for survival.
Fortunately, we don’t have to steal fish or mice from another person’s mouth or snatch bits of foil, moss, or twigs from someone’s home to survive. Unlike the birds and other animals, God created us in His image. As such, He gave us a different set of rules for living. Nevertheless, the Pelican’s behavior caused me to consider the simple commandment not to steal—a prohibition important enough to be mentioned numerous times throughout the Bible. Is this commandment limited to things like not cheating on taxes, shop lifting, snatching purses, embezzling, and robbing banks or is there something more?
Essentially, most of us are honest; nevertheless, we steal—by using worktime to check social media or personal email, padding an expense account, getting paid under the table, taking more than our share, or cutting in line. We’re stealing when we do a slip-shod job and call it “good enough,” fail to return something borrowed or found, pay unfair wages, or take advantage of someone else’s hardship, kindness, or ignorance. We steal the truth whenever we tell a lie and steal God’s glory when we take credit for His blessings. We rationalize our little cheats and don’t think of them as stealing, but they are.
Worse, we can steal someone’s reputation when we gossip, we can steal their hope when we deny them an opportunity or encouragement, we can steal their joy with a few poorly chosen words, and we can steal their dignity when we treat them in a demeaning manner. When we snub, humiliate, abuse, deny, and ignore or when we’re over-bearing, selfish, rude, negative, and unforgiving, we’re stealing something far more valuable than money. We’re stealing things like self-respect, innocence, courage, delight, confidence, dreams, and opportunities. This sort of stealing is neither a misdemeanor nor a felony; nevertheless, it is a sin.
The Israelites had been away from Israel for less than two months when they arrived at Rephidim. With no water to drink, the people complained, questioned whether the Lord was with them, criticized Moses, and then threatened him. Fearing for his life, Moses asked God what to do. Instructing him to strike a rock with his staff, God promised that water would come gushing out and, as promised, it did. The miracle was memorialized by the name given to this location, Massah (meaning testing) and Meribah (meaning quarreling.) Unfortunately, that was not the last time the Israelites tested the Lord and quarreled with Moses.
At first, it seems that the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” should be called the “Parable of the Forgiven Servant.” After all, the king forgave his servant’s debt of 10,000 talents—the equivalent of billions of dollars. While the first part of the parable illustrates the value and extravagance of God’s forgiveness, it takes a dark turn in the second part when illustrating the reciprocal nature of His forgiveness—something the servant learned the hard way!
Without a globe, I allowed a random number to decide the nation for which I’d pray this week. Number 19 was Benin and I’m embarrassed to admit knowing nothing about this narrow strip of land in West Africa between Nigeria and Togo. These three nations once were part of the kingdom of Dahomey and it was in Dahomey that the ancient practice of voudon/vodun/vodou (commonly called voodoo) began. Now a republic, Benin is a severely underdeveloped nation, rife with corruption, where the life expectancy for men is just 60! A little over 40% of the population are Christian, nearly 30% Muslim, about 17% practice voodoo, and another 10% follow other indigenous/animistic religions. As a side note, ARDA (The Association for Religion Data Archives) stated that many of those identifying as Christian also practice voodoo.
Last month we took a driving trip through Virginia and North Carolina to enjoy the fall colors in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. While taking a train ride along the Nantahala River Gorge, we commented on the beautiful vines covering the hillside. Our seat-mate told us this lovely looking plant is a destructive weed called kudzu. Native to Asia, this semi-woody vine was introduced to the U.S. back in 1876 during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Originally advertised as an ornamental plant, kudzu’s ability to grow up to a foot day (and up to 60-feet a year), overtake, grow over, and smother just about anything in its path, has given it a new name: “the vine that ate the South.”
Last year, our family rented a lake home in Idaho. Although we never saw our next-door neighbors, we saw their landscaper nearly every day. A robotic lawnmower, it was meticulous about not missing even a small patch of grass on their expansive lawn. About twice the size of our robotic vacuum, this mower puts our little vac to shame. Rather than going in seemingly random circles, it efficiently cut in back-and-forth straight lines. The gizmo never strayed onto the beach, got lost in the shrubbery, banged into lawn furniture, or wandered into our yard! From lakeside to house, it went up and down the slope without slowing down and returned to its charging station when its power ran low. An obedient and hard-working servant, it was on call 24/7 and would have mowed all night if so directed. The mower’s schedule, boundaries, and grass height requirement were controlled by its master’s smartphone! Because that technology came with a hefty price tag, it also came with a built-in-alarm system, GPS theft-tracking, and a pin code.
Devotions of the Heart 