LAW HOMILY: "God Has Not Given Me Enough"

Exodus 20 and the Eighth Commandment Against Stealing

Today, our law homily is on Exodus 20, verse 15, the 8th commandment, which is, Thou shalt not steal. Now the 8th commandment is simple enough for a child to memorize it, and it's severe enough to unravel a civilization when it is ignored.

And it's not just a commandment against thieves and ski masks. It's for employees who delay wages. It's for employers who delay their wages. It's for employees who pad their time cards. It's for students who plagiarize, taxpayers who cheat, and churchgoers who withhold what belongs to God.

Theft as a Sin of Affection and Distrust in God

It is broken in alleyways and in spreadsheets, in backrooms and in boardrooms, in living rooms, and in legislative halls. And sometimes, especially this week, it's broken in broad daylight. This law doesn't merely prohibit unlawful possession.

It exposes even our worship. Because at its heart, theft is not merely a sin of action. It's a sin of affection. It's not just about taking things. It's about distrusting God. Theft is never merely a transaction.

It is a theological declaration. It says that God cannot be trusted with what He has given me, so therefore I will take matters into my own hands. So therefore every theft is also a violation of the first commandment, shall have no other gods before me.

The Westminster Larger Catechism on Theft and Greed

That's why the Westminster Larger Catechism doesn't stop at condemning robbery. It also condemns unjust gain, fraudulent dealing, overreaching and bargains, extortion, stinginess, waste, envy, idleness, and every greedy attempt to hoard what God gave us to be stewarded.

It even, the Westminster Larger, goes as far as to condemn the distrustful and distracting cares in getting wealth, which means even our anxiety about money can become a gateway drug to theft. In that sense, the root of every theft is a heart that says God has not given me enough.

Grumbling, Ingatitude, and Repentance Before the Cross

And in that way, I think all of us can reflect upon some way, some place, some moment, some decision, some feeling that we have that we have not been provided enough. When we look at our house and we see that it needs to be painted, we think, I wish I had more money to cover that.

When we think about our vehicle and how just recently its window decided not to roll up and it's raining today, just hypothetical situation, we say to ourself, I wish I had the nicer vehicle. I wish I had a vehicle that his window rolled up.

All of us are prone to grumbling over something where we say, I don't have enough, or I am not enough, or this is not enough, or whatever it is. I pray that as we reflect upon that, we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those areas of our heart that we'd repent.

We lay those things to the foot of the cross and we would remember that what we currently have right now is exactly what God intended for us to have. And He loves us and He's good to us in His provision.

So instead of grumbling, let us be people who are grateful. Amen? Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your law. Thank you for how it exposes our hearts. Thank you for how it shows us as a mirror where we are sinners, but as a tutor, how we must have Christ.

Lord, thank you that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That while we were yet grumblers, Christ for the joy set before Him endured the cross. Lord, help us in our discontentedness. Help us in the ways that we daydream and fantasize over having things that are more than what you've provided.

Lord, help us for the quiet lull of ingratitude that often afflicts us in such a wealthy society. Lord, may our hearts be tender and may we be quick to repent. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.