You Wouldn't Steal a Car...
Last year, someone broke in through my living room window while my husband Tony and I were asleep in bed. They stole both our wallets and laptops, and were arrested a couple of hours later before the sun was even up.
When we think of stealing, this is the kind of scenario we picture. Or, if we’ve ever worked in retail, we might think of school kids who stuff things under their clothes and in their school bags. I think the majority of people in our society acknowledge that stealing is wrong, at least when it happens to them. And it’s not hard to see why. When someone steals your stuff, it’s personal.
We’re all pretty comfortable with the idea that stealing is sin. You really can’t miss it in the Bible. “Thou shall not steal” comes right between “Thou shalt not commit adultery” and “Thou shalt not bear false witness”. Even our friends who aren’t Christians could probably know this. “The thief” or “the robber” is a shadowy figure in so many of Jesus’ parables and teachings, and thieves are right up there with adulterers, drunkards and swindlers, as those who will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6). But what I’ve been wondering lately is how comfortable have we become with stealing? Do we let stealing creep into our lives, like the proverbial thief in the night?
Burnt CDs and pirated DVDs
This is something most of us have thought about. In fact, they are such a big threat to music and film industries that we see advertising campaigns such as “You wouldn’t steal a car” and “What are you really burning?” Burning your own CDs is fine, (eg in case of theft or damage), and it’s even legal for you to lend that burnt CD (instead of the original) to your friend. However, the loan must be temporary, and you must not listen to that CD while your friend still has it. You have not paid for the right to give the music away.
Another challenge for Christians in this area is pirated films and computer programs. A friend of ours is in the process of establishing himself as a wedding photographer. Since the cost of Photoshop was about $800, he decided instead to use a pirated version which he got cheaply. Feeling strongly about this, my husband Tony raised the issue with him, encouraging him to pay for Photoshop properly, which he did.
Centrelink
While my brother and sister (neither of whom are Christians) were at Uni, they lived in residential colleges in Sydney. Both received living away from home payments from Centrelink. Every summer, they would move home for three months, during which time they did not pay any money. If they did not inform Centrelink of the change, they would continue to receive payments, and Centrelink would be none the wiser. Same goes for when people go overseas. Centrelink needs to know when you go overseas or when your circumstances change. While you may not be wearing black, or breaking into cars in the middle of the night, you are stealing if you are receiving money that is not yours.
Your neighbour’s wireless internet connection
It may just happen to reach your place… They haven’t put a password on it… and using it doesn’t seem to hurt anyone. But do you have any idea how much of their download limit you’re taking? Or how much they pay for going over their quota? They may have no problem at all with you using it, but have you asked first? In some cases, it’s not legal to share an internet connection this way, even if your neighbour agrees. Are you willing to pay for your own connection? If not, you don’t need it.
Video and Library Fines
When we owe money, such as bills or fines, some clever organisations make us pay. If we don’t pay our gas bill, our gas is cut off. If we don’t pay our library fine, we don’t get our results, and we can’t graduate. But what about when it’s up to us? If you’re anything like Tony and I, you started at Video Easy. When the fines built up a bit there, Civic was just round the corner, then Blockbuster. Pretty soon you’re doing a crawl of video stores, moving further and further up the coast. But think about it. Don’t you owe that money? Shouldn’t you pay for a DVD that was in your house instead of on the shelf? Thankfully, I’m married to a man whose conscience is much sharper than mine. One day, he got out the eftpos card, and paid the entire $78 dollars to Video Easy in one go. Ouch.
I must admit, as I’ve thought over the issue of stealing there have been things I remember doing that I’d rather forget. As a teenager working full-time in the retail industry, I remember not paying for things. What can we do to live righteously in this murky area? We need to be serious about sin. Flee temptation, and by flee I mean run the other way. We need to admonish, rebuke and encourage one another in love. It may sound terrifying, it may sound self-righteous, but we must help each other to live godly lives. Lastly, we must show ourselves to be different to those around us. My beautiful non-Christian family are some of the most upright citizens in Australia. By the standards of any average Aussie, they are blameless. But we don’t live by the standards of the average Aussie. We are serving the true and living God, who has given us something that can’t be begged, borrowed or stolen. It is a gift we have been given, and we must live accordingly.
Author Unknown
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