Saturday, August 3, 2019, 8:42 am | Randy Thomasson
“It’s mine!” Remember hearing this from a young child or saying it yourself?
Little children know stealing is wrong — as long as they’re the victim of the theft. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to fall into self-deception and “justify” a little stealing here, a little pilfering there, nothing that will be easily noticed or missed. But God sees it all, doesn’t He?
Likewise, a liberal in an immoral city might claim there’s no absolute truth. But steal from him or lie to him and he’ll say that was absolutely wrong to do!
Because theft is rampant in our culture and our government, and because we’ve all stolen something (no matter how small), SaveCalifornia.com urges you to teach your children and grandchildren that stealing is absolutely wrong because:
1. Stealing always disrespects an owner. Instead of caring what the owner’s free will is, the thief will take what he wants, even if the owner has not given his voluntary, non-coerced consent. For this reason, stealing always devalues the person, deeming the thing to be taken more important than the person it’s being taken from.
2. Stealing always harms an owner. Theft always decreases a legal owner’s profit, use, or enjoyment; theft causes a rightful owner to suffer loss, no matter how small. Because stealing always subtracts from what an owner owns. Whether the owner knows or doesn’t know you stole from her, God sees and knows what you did.
3. Stealing always harms the character of the perpetrator. By agreeing to sin, and agreeing to harm an owner, a thief immediately lowers his standards, becomes untrustworthy, and finds it all the easier to steal more often, in greater amounts. This is the hardening of the heart, the scarring of the conscience, and the depravity of the soul.
4. Stealing always grieves Creator God. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God calls stealing a sin and prohibits it. This is why Western Civilization reflects God’s laws when it makes it punishable to steal, beginning with “petty theft” or “larceny,” whenever someone takes or uses property without the owner’s informed consent (the very definition of theft). As the Author of morality, God views any stealing as a crime against Himself, for He cannot fellowship with sin.
5. Stealing always begins with coveting. Security experts know that if a thief can’t see something or doesn’t know it exists, it’s less likely that theft will occur. In the same way, the Bible informs us that all sins start on the inside before they manifest on the outside.
As Christian writer Tim Challies writes, One way of looking at things is to see the tenth commandment as the internalization of the eighth commandment. Just as adultery of the heart is lust, and murder of the heart is hatred, so theft is the heart of covetousness. When Achan stole some of the devoted things from Ai, he first “coveted them” and then “took them” (Josh. 7:21). Likewise, James says, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel” (James 4:3).
Types of stealing
Petty theft Burglary Robbery Embezzlement Knowingly receiving stolen property Cooperating with thieves Identity theft Intellectual property theft Illegal Entry Shoplifting Looting Vandalism Dishonest business practices Cheating on taxes Refusing to pay debts Keeping property you found without making an effort to find the owner Claiming the work or knowledge of others to be your own When politicians defraud voters When union bosses coerce money from workers When stealing anything from your employer When stealing food or drink from a restaurant
The Early Church had a high moral standard against all forms of theft: “…they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so.”
Show your children and grandchildren this and then talk about it, especially what moral standard kept some people from stealing: LA Riot Looters: ‘A Colorblind Orgy Of Wrecking And Taking’ (national news report of 1992 Los Angeles riots)
David Pratte explains what the Bible says about stealing: “When I was about 6 years old, my family visited a neighbor down the street. I saw lying on the floor a toy Mickey Mouse watch — it didn’t really even tell time, but it looked like a wristwatch. I wanted it, so I picked it up, put it in my pocket, and took it home. Of course, I felt terrible, because I knew better. Besides, I couldn’t wear it without my parents asking me where it came from. Next time we visited that neighbor, I took it back and put it where I had found it. I never told anybody, and nobody ever said anything about it, but I learned my lesson. Most people do not want to think of themselves as thieves, because they know stealing is wrong.”
Do you remember that when our U.S. founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they pledged “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor”?
Do you remember that John Adams said that the price of liberty was “a great expense of blood,” and that 25,000 Americans died to purchase the United States of America for you?
Ask yourself, what are you willing to do (which will not require the shedding of blood) to recover the Constitution they gave you, and to publicly represent the moral standards God gave you?
“The object is great which we have in view, and we must expect a great expense of blood to obtain it. But we should always remember, that a free constitution of civil government cannot be purchased at too dear a rate, as there is nothing, on this side [of] the new Jerusalem, of equal importance to mankind.” John Adams, 2nd U.S. President, on July 1, 1776
July 3, 1776 letters from John Adams to his wife, Abigail Adams: “The furnace of affliction produces refinement, in states as well as individuals. And the new governments we are assuming, in every part, will require a purification from our vices and an augmentation of our virtues or they will be no blessings. The people will have unbounded power. And the people are extremely addicted to corruption and venality, as well as the great.” Source
“It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.” Source
The biggest pro-family victories in California so far this month are the successful campaigns to put “In God We Trust” on police vehicles in Kern County, just north of Los Angeles County.
Enjoy these photos from my two-day tour to battle alongside these three pastors who spearheaded their city campaigns and won great victories. I highly commend them for being outstanding examples of “standing your ground and not backing down.”
Godly pastors: Justin Medlock of
Shafter, David Vivas of Delano, Angelo Frazier of Bakersfield, and myself, on
June 4, after we testified to the Shafter City Council.
Bakersfield’s ‘In God We Trust’ leader: Pastor Angelo Frazier, doing a TV interview, on May 22, the day he proposed adding our national motto to police and fire vehicles.
Encouraging Christians to put their light on a stand: Here’s Pastor Angelo Frazier with a Christian man prior to the June 5 Bakersfield City Council meeting. He encouraged this man to speak, which he eventually did in front of the council, audience, and media.
Public perseverance: Both Christians and atheists at the June 5 Bakersfield City Council meeting. You can see Pastor Frazier and me in the first row. After 2 hours of testimony, the council voted 4 to 2 (Republicans for, Democrats against) to place “In God We Trust” on police and fire vehicles. The news quickly spread nationwide.
Even liberal media get to see ‘In God We Trust’: Bakersfield TV news people were waiting to interview Pastor Frazier after our great moral victory inside City Hall.
Basking in victory: Caring enough to show up for this winnable battle, these Bakersfield Christians celebrate with Pastor Frazier, along with me and Pastor Medlock from Shafter.
Glorying God in Shafter, California: On June 4, Pastor Justin Medlock testified, sharing how a Christian cop helped him repent from drug use and clean up his life with the help of Jesus Christ’s Holy Spirit. He knows that “In God We Trust” on police cars will do good!
Christians are coming out of the closet: Here’s Pastor Medlock with two brothers who own a design and print shop, who’ve offered to pay for the “In God We Trust” decals in both Delano and Shafter, overcoming an atheist objection of taxpayer expense.
He started it all: Pastor David Vivas used his influence with his city’s mayor to propose that Delano be the first California city to place “In God We Trust” on police vehicles. Like the spark of the American Revolution, Pastor Vivas’ bold action on April 2 was a “shot heard round the world.” Pastor Vivas says his Christianity compels him to publicly shine his light.
Christian values benefit everybody: On June 5, I had the privilege of meeting with Pastor Vivas and Delano Mayor Joe Aguirre, a very strong advocate of “In God We Trust.”
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they slight a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, in Matthew 5:14-15
RSS 2.0 Feed