Commandment #8: Don't Pull a Winona
Or in other words, don't steal. DUH.
I guess this Substack (and commandment) is one I should read myself. as I often find my hands reaching toward my husband’s fries when we go out to eat.
They look yummy, so I take them.
Then, generally, I tell him that the place we ordered the fries from must have skimped on his order. He get’s sad. I repeat this cycle. Oops.
Moving on.
Let’s get riiiiiiiiight into it today:
“You shall not steal.”
Exodus 20:15
It’s not a hefty commandment, but at the same time…
It kinda is.
The idea of stealing is very general, but on the other hand, you should generally not steal anything. Doesn’t matter if it’s a car or a book or a loaf of bread to feed your family (sorry Jean Valjean)…
Stealin’ ain’t okay.
Here’s the deal though: the Hebrew word for steal is a bit more complex.
Steal, or gānab, is a verb that means to steal away. It’s not just to take what isn’t yours, but to take what isn’t yours and run. Far away. Run so far away.
(and I raaaaan…I ran so far awaaaaaaaaaay)
Any 80’s music fans here? No? I tried.
God’s number one rule with us has always been to remember who we are.
Not just in the Mufasa giving Simba a pep talk thing, but for us to reaaaaally know who we are.
In other words, all of His commandments throughout the Bible always point back to us understanding who we are to God.
Yes, this commandment is very much talking about theft, but it’s also talking about the safety of your identity. When it says “don’t steal,” it also means don’t let yourself be taken away. Don’t let yourself be stolen by anything or anyone.
One of the first things that is attacked as a faith-based person is being made in the image of God. Whether it be because some mean kid told you that you were fat in the third grade, or you telling yourself that Joe Schmo down the road couldn’t have possibly been made in the image of God because he seems to be more closely related to Satan….it’s still something that immediately comes into play with our faith. It lends itself to doubt.
Think of it this way: In Genesis 1, God repeats the sentiment that man is created in the image of God three separate times. Why?
TO DRILL IT INTO YOUR BRAIN.
That’s how serious it is to God!!
Take specific mental illnesses at their source, like anxiety or depression for instance. The first thing those illnesses rip apart is who we are as people.
“Oh, you’re happy? Not no’ mo’.”
“Oh, you think you’re as pretty as Julia Roberts? Not no’ mo’.”
“Oh, you think that ugly thing you call a body was made in the image of God? Think again, pal.”
This commandment is here to remind the Hebrew people, after years and years AND YEARS of slavery, about table manners like not stealing off of each other’s plate, yes…
But it was also to remind the Hebrew people of their roots.
It was to remind them that anything the Egyptians told them was false.
That anything the Egyptians told them was a blatant lie.
That despite what the Egyptians may have said, the Hebrew people were still made in the image of God.
Just.
Like.
You.
