Ten Commandments: Stolen property

When I was a kid, our family was a victim of house theft. 

I don’t recall anything of major value being taken from our house.  Someone came through one of our windows, snuck in while we were away, and took some of our possessions. 

I don’t believe the police ever did catch the thief.

In Japan, thieves will sometimes call senior citizens and claim to be their children.  These thieves then say they’re in some kind of trouble, and ask their victims to transfer money into their accounts.

Nowadays, not only do we face theft of property, but we also face identity theft. 

People take our credit card numbers and use them for their own purchases. I had to change my debit card once, because apparently someone had gotten hold of the number and had tried to use it without my permission. 

Thankfully, the bank caught the attempt as it happened, and I didn’t lose anything.

We also see people downloading movies, music, or software illegally, and companies are trying desperately to save their businesses from such theft. 

Some people don’t even give it a second thought.  “Everyone does it,” seems to be the usual excuse. 

And often times in these cases, it seems as though people feel like they have a right to these things. 

They say, “Why should I have to pay for this?  The company doesn’t need the money.  Why shouldn’t I just download it for free?”

But in God’s eyes, it’s theft.  And it’s wrong.

But there’s an even greater kind of theft. 

How often have you heard people say, “It’s my life,” or “It’s my body?” 

It’s not true.  When people say this, they fail to recognize that we are stolen property.  What do I mean?

God created all of us.  And because he created all of us, we rightfully belong to him. 

When an author writes a book, it’s his to do with as he pleases. 

He can publish it and try to earn money from it.  He might throw it away.  Or he might just share it with people in his family.  It’s his.

When an artist creates a painting, it’s his to do with as he pleases.  He can put it up in his art gallery.  He can sell it.  He can just keep it in his home.

When someone creates something, it belongs to him. 

And for someone to take possession of it and say “It’s mine” without their permission is theft.

So when we tell God, “It’s my life.  I will do with it as I please,” that’s theft. 

We are taking what belongs to him, and making it our own.

This is even more true for the Christian.  Not only do we belong to him because he created us, but we belong to him because we are bought with the blood of Jesus.

It’s like a person who has his property stolen, and he finds it on the black market.  He then pays to get it back.

That’s what God did with us. 

We were stolen away by the great thief, Satan, and we were his slaves. 

But God bought us back through Christ’s death on the cross.  And now we belong to him once again.

Now Paul writes,

You are not your own; you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies.  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20.)

So no Christian has the right to say, “It’s my life.  It’s my body.” 

Or even “It’s my money.  It’s my time.” 

Everything we have, everything we are, belongs to God.

And so the question we need to ask ourselves is not “What do I want to do with my life?  What do I want to do with my money?  What do I want to do with my time?”

The question we need to ask is, “God, how do you want to use the things you have given me?  Lord, I’m yours.  All that I have is yours.  What do you want me to do?”

I wish I had asked that question a lot earlier in my life. 

Looking back, for a long time, while I asked God what I should do with my life, I ignored what he wanted me to do:  come to Japan. 

In fact, I basically told him “No.  It’s my life.  I don’t want to go to Japan.” 

When I went to university, I could’ve focused on studying Japanese, or teaching English as a second language, things that would be very useful here. 

Instead I focused on what I wanted to do.  I studied computers and business.  I don’t really use either of them right now.

Looking back, I can see other ways I have wasted time in my life, doing my own thing instead of doing what God would have me do, focusing on temporary things rather than things that are eternal. 

I was stealing from God, using for my own purposes what really belonged to him.  Namely, my life, my time, my money.  

I don’t want to do that anymore.

How about you?  Are you stolen property?  Are you taking from God what rightfully belongs to him? 

Your time?  Your money?  Your life? 

These things are not really yours.  You were bought with a price. 

Therefore, honor God with all of these things.