Digging in Deeper: Exodus 20:15

“Do not steal.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When you observe babies as they grow and develop, you will notice there are two beliefs about how the world should work that appear at about the same time. The first is the idea that if you have something that belongs to you, no one should be able to take it from you. Related to that is the idea that whatever you happen to have played with…or touched…or had a stray thought cross your mind about in the last year or so…belongs to you. The second idea is that if you see something that belongs to someone else, you should be able to take it because you want it more than they do. These two beliefs about how the world should work don’t go away as we get older, we simply learn that they aren’t perhaps quite so true…or at least quite so convenient to live by…as we would like them to be. As God was laying a foundation for Israel to live in a relationship with HIm, He gave them some help managing this. Let’s talk about what’s going on in commandment number eight.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:28

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

God’s love moves outward.  That’s its nature.  It exists for the benefit of the other, whoever the other happens to be.  If we think we have love for someone else, but that love is not primarily oriented toward seeing them advanced in the direction of who God made them to be regardless of any benefits such a commitment might have for us, what we have is something other than love.  It might be strong, positive feelings, but it isn’t love. Read the rest…