The Seventh Commandment
What is the seventh commandment?
You shall not steal.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.
Thus far in the second table of the Law we have received the gift of parents, life, and marriage, and have learned about the obedience and respect, help and support, and chastity and decency that we owe to our neighbors accordingly. With the seventh commandment we receive yet another good and gracious gift from God, namely, possessions. Far from scorning worldly possessions and goods, God provides these blessings, protects these blessings, and orders our use of these blessings.
A good biblical entry point for a discussion of the seventh commandment is Luke 19:1-10, the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Jesus is on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, from the Mount of Transfiguration to the Mount of Crucifixion, and on the way he passes through Jericho. Jericho in the Old Testament was home to Rahab the prostitute (a branch on the family tree of Jesus, no less!) who hid the Israelite spies before their conquest of Jericho. In the New Testament, Jericho is known for being the home of Zacchaeus, a wealthy man and a tax collector, who is seeking Jesus.
While we might be tempted to think that these initial details are a bit sparse, they speak volumes in the context of first century Israel. The modern hatred that we in the United States have toward the IRS pales in comparison to the ancient hatred Israelites had toward tax collectors. These tax collectors were jewish nationals who collected taxes on behalf of Rome who made their fortunes by charging more than the Empire’s required tax. Thus, on the one hand, they were seen as traitors to their country, but on the other hand, they were seen as cheats and thieves. Thus, when we hear that Zacchaeus is both a “tax collector” and “rich,” we know that he fits the bill of a sinner.
But perhaps the more significant detail of his life is that he is seeking Jesus. On account of the crowd and his short stature, Zacchaeus is not able to see Jesus, so he climbs up into a sycamore tree. As Jesus passes, he calls to Zacchaeus and promises to dine with him. Unlike the story of Nichodemus and his visit with Jesus, we have no details of how Jesus’ dinner with Zacchaeus went. There’s no record of what they spoke about, but we do have an important record of the impact of Jesus’ visit. Zacchaeus promises to give half of all his wealth to the poor and all those that he’s defrauded he promises to restore their money four times over. On account of Christ’s visitation Zacchaeus is transformed from a thief, a cheat, and a fraud into a philanthropist. His entirely self-centered orientation is flipped inside out by Christ so that he is oriented toward others with his money and possessions.
In his Large Catechism, Luther complains that the commandment against stealing is the most broken and the least kept of all the commandments. He jokes that if the magistrates of his day were to hang every thief, there would be a shortage of both gallows and hangmen. Luther’s explanation in the Small and Large Catechisms are much broader and encompass more than we might initially consider when thinking about simple and rank thievery. Stealing, in Luther’s biblical imagination, includes taking money and possessions openly, secretly, and even in ways that seem right. As an example Luther cites taking advantage of someone in the marketplace or those who sell defective goods and who use false measurements. Luther’s most severe censure, however, falls on those “armchair robbers” who collect interest on loans. The practice of usury, though legal both then and now, is forbidden in the Old Testament as a violation of the seventh commandment because it places the neighbor in even greater financial need and makes money from money, which is to say, without labor. For Luther, the opposite of thievery is honest labor in one’s station in life. This directive to work, we’ll remember, is part of the original order of creation. Adam is intended to “work” the garden and be “fruitful.” It is only with the Fall that “work” becomes “labor,” no longer a joy, but a burden.
While we today don’t encounter stealing in the same way as Luther, stealing is still one of the most commonly broken commandments. However, the goods and possessions that people steal and the manner in which they are stolen are markedly different. While the theft of tangible goods is still quite prominent, e.g. breaking and entering, pickpocketing, car-jacking, etc. the theft of intangible goods or intellectual property is often far more common and far more dangerous. We can think here of stealing someone’s identity or banking information, as well as copyright violations, patent infringement, plagiarism, and online piracy. A final example of stealing that might be somewhat counter-intuitive is that of laziness. This would also be a modern example of stealing because through laziness a person receives wages for work not done and likewise robs his employer of goods and services. All of these would be included under Luther’s explanation of taking our neighbor’s possessions or money, rather than improving and protecting them. These also divorce possessions and income from honest labor or work.
To summarize the prohibition and command of the seventh commandment Luther writes, “First we are forbidden to do our neighbors any injury or wrong in any way imaginable, whether damaging, withholding, or interfering with their possessions and property. We are not to consent to or permit such a thing but are rather to avert and prevent it. In addition, we are commanded to promote and further our neighbors’ interests and when they suffer any want, we are to help, share, and lend to both friends and foe.” This last line is especially striking. The word that Luther consistently chooses, “neighbor,” he explicitly clarifies as including both friend and foe. Our neighbors are not just those whom we like or who also support our own financial good. Likewise, when Luther imagines lending, he conceives of lending biblically, which is to say, as lending without expecting to receive anything back; lending with the good of the neighbor fully in view so that the “I” of the believer is completely out of sight and forgotten.
This kind of self-forgetfulness is precisely what Zacchaeus demonstrates and one that is only possible in faith and in view of the bounty that God daily provides for us. As we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, God is our heavenly Father who graciously gives us all things including parents, family, friends, jobs, careers, shelter, food, education, health, and the like. In faith we are free to hold all our worldly goods with what Luther identifies as a “dead hand of faith” that just as easily accepts gifts from God as it does lets them fall into the hands of the neighbor. World goods are good, but they are not our ultimate good. Here we can think of Paul’s oft misquoted dictum in Philippians 4 that he has learned the secret of contentedness in plenty and want, riches and poverty, well fed and hungry, good times and bad because it is Christ who supports him in all and through all.
Prayer: Lord God, giver of every good and perfect gift, teach us to rejoice in the bounty of your gifts given to our neighbors and curb our appetite to claim for ourselves by theft or dishonesty the money or possessions you have bestowed on them. Instead, give us cheerful hearts and willing hands to help our neighbors improve and protect their livelihood; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
