Stealing Trust
Looking Deeper at the Eighth Commandment
Exodus 20:15
“You shall not steal.”
It is probably one of the easiest commandments to understand. Do not take something that does not belong to you. Simple enough.
But when we look more closely at where this commandment appears, why God gave it, and what stealing actually does to people and communities, we discover that there is much more beneath those four words. The Eighth Commandment is not simply about protecting possessions.
It is also about protecting trust.
The Commandments Were Meant to Live in Our Hearts
There is an old story about a minister travelling by ship who noticed a sailor with the Ten Commandments tattooed on his back. Someone remarked how wonderful it was. The minister agreed, but added that it would be even better if the commandments were tattooed on the sailor’s heart.
That is perhaps a helpful picture for all of us. The goal is not merely to know the commandments. It is not enough to be able to recite them. God desires that they become part of us, shaping the way we live, the way we relate to others, and the kind of communities we build.
A Commandment for a New Community
To understand “You shall not steal,” we need to remember where Israel was when God gave them the Ten Commandments. They had been liberated from slavery in Egypt and were travelling toward the Promised Land. God was forming them into a new covenant community. Soon they would settle in villages and towns. They would live together, trade with one another, raise families together and depend upon one another.
For such a community to flourish, one thing would be absolutely essential:
Trust.
You need to trust your neighbour.
Your family.
Your friends.
The person you trade with.
The person who lives beside you.
Without trust, communal life begins to fall apart.
What Theft Really Steals
Imagine a small village. Perhaps sixty or seventy people live there. Everyone knows everyone else. One person grows olives. Someone else fishes. Another works with wood. Another keeps livestock.
Everyone contributes something, and everyone depends upon the others.
Then one day, something disappears. Food is stolen from someone’s house. Nobody knows who took it. Immediately, something changes.
People begin wondering:
Was it him?
Was it her?
Can I still trust the people around me?
Doors are locked. Possessions are hidden. Suspicion begins spreading. The stolen object may have been small. But something much larger has disappeared with it. Trust has been stolen.
Many students will recognise this feeling. Someone in a residence or shared house keeps taking food. Nobody admits to it. Suddenly everyone begins watching everyone else. Maybe you start locking your cupboard. Maybe you stop leaving your bedroom door open. The physical loss might be irritating. The damaged relationships are much harder to repair.
When Theft Takes Away Someone’s Livelihood
Sometimes the consequences are even greater. Imagine that the fisherman’s net is stolen. Or the carpenter loses his tools. You have not merely taken an object. You have taken away someone’s ability to work. To earn. To care for their family. To contribute to the community. The Eighth Commandment therefore protects far more than ownership. It protects the wellbeing and livelihood of another person.
“You Shall Not Steal” Leaves the Object Open
There is something interesting about the wording of the commandment.
It does not say:
Do not steal bread.
Do not steal your neighbour’s animal.
It simply says:
Do not steal.
The object is left open.
That forces us to think much more broadly about what can be taken from another person. In the ancient context, that could even include stealing people through kidnapping or forced servitude. Imagine trying to build a covenant community while wondering whether another member of that same community might take you or your child. There could be no meaningful trust under those conditions. The command therefore protects a person’s property, but also their freedom, safety and dignity.
Every “Do Not” Protects Something Good
Throughout the Ten Commandments, the negative wording often points toward a positive value “You shall not murder” reminds us of the value and sanctity of life. “You shall not commit adultery” protects intimacy, trust and committed relationships.
And:
“You shall not steal” protects a person’s freedom, safety, material wellbeing and place within the community.
God is not simply telling Israel what they may not do. He is showing them what kind of society they are meant to create. A society where people can flourish. Where neighbours can trust one another. Where what belongs to another person is respected. Where vulnerability is not exploited.
Restitution Instead of Revenge
Another fascinating element appears when we look at how Israel’s law dealt with theft.
The focus was not merely:
How badly can we punish the thief?
There was also a strong concern for restitution. How can what has been broken be put right? If something has been stolen, what needs to be returned? What needs to be repaid? How can fairness be restored? How can the relationship itself begin to heal? Different situations required different responses, but the underlying concern was not only retribution. It was restoration.
That gives us an important principle.
When theft damages a community, justice should not only ask:
“Who should suffer?”
It should also ask:
“How can we put things right?”
What Happens When Someone Steals Because They Are Desperate?
This is where the conversation becomes more difficult. People steal for many reasons. Sometimes it is greed. Sometimes it is dishonesty. Sometimes there may even be psychological factors involved. But sometimes people steal because they are desperate. Because there is no food. Because they are cold. Because the money has run out. Because they cannot see another option.
That does not simply make the Eighth Commandment disappear. But Scripture also refuses to let the rest of the community wash its hands of the situation. God gave Israel other laws specifically designed to prevent people from being pushed into such desperation.
Leave Something for the Person Who Has Nothing
One example can be found in Israel’s agricultural laws. Farmers were instructed not to squeeze every possible bit of profit from their harvest. If grain fell while harvesting, leave some behind. If grapes were missed, do not obsessively collect every last one.
Why?
Because people with nothing needed a way to survive. This was part of Israel’s social safety net. The person who had land and resources was commanded not to use everything purely for themselves. Some of what they had was to become a means through which God cared for people who had less. That reveals something deeply important about God’s provision.
God Provides, Often Through His People
Throughout Scripture, God reveals Himself as the God who provides. Keeping the Eighth Commandment can therefore become an act of trust. I do not need to take what belongs to somebody else because I trust that God will care for me.
I can say:
“Lord, I trust Your provision.”
But Scripture also shows us that God frequently provides through people. Through community. Through generosity. Through structures that protect the vulnerable. Through people who refuse to keep everything for themselves. God desired Israel to become a society in which His care became visible in the way people cared for one another. And that means we cannot simply point at someone in desperation and say: “Do not steal!” while ignoring every other biblical command calling us to care for them.
When Greed Becomes Normal
There is another side to stealing. Sometimes theft does not come from desperation. It comes from wanting more. God has provided enough, but enough no longer feels like enough. We want the better car. The bigger house. The more expensive lifestyle. The larger bank balance.
And if greed becomes strong enough, we begin finding ways to take what does not belong to us. The sermon highlighted the uncomfortable way modern society can sometimes treat greed almost as a virtue. More is better. Success means accumulation. Your worth is measured by what you own. But the Eighth Commandment pushes in another direction.
It invites us to trust God. To recognise His provision. To practise contentment. And to refuse to let greed control us.
We Have to Think About the Society We Build
The command also asks something larger of us. What kind of community are we helping to create? Do our systems make it possible for people to live with dignity? Are people paid fairly? Can vulnerable people access help? Do the structures around us protect people from exploitation? Or do we contribute to conditions in which some people become so desperate that survival itself feels impossible?
The commandment challenges us not only to ask: “Am I stealing?” but also: “Am I helping to create a society in which people do not need to steal in order to survive?”
That question reaches far beyond the contents of our pockets.
What Does Theft Look Like Today?
Ancient Israel had laws about cattle, crops, tools and boundary stones. We may not spend much time worrying about someone secretly moving the stone that marks the edge of our field. But the principle remains. Every generation has to ask: What does stealing look like in our context?
The answers may be more complicated than we initially realise.
Employers Can Steal
An employer can exploit somebody’s desperation by paying them far less than their labour is worth. If a person has no alternatives, it becomes very easy for someone with power to take advantage of them. Theft is not always someone taking cash from a drawer. Sometimes a person’s livelihood is being unfairly taken from them.
Employees Can Steal Too
The principle also works in the opposite direction. If someone is paid to do a job but deliberately refuses to do that work, their employer is not receiving what they have paid for. The Eighth Commandment asks both sides of the relationship to act honestly.
Scams, Corruption and Dishonest Business
Fraud and dishonest schemes remain obvious expressions of theft. Money or resources are taken through deception. Trust is exploited for personal gain. And once again, the damage extends beyond the financial loss. Trust in people, businesses and institutions is weakened.
What About AI?
Our changing technological world introduces new questions. Artists, musicians and creators are asking how their work is being used to train or generate new content. Students also have to think honestly about what ethical use of AI looks like. If a qualification communicates that you completed the work required to earn it, what happens when technology effectively does that work on your behalf?
This does not simply mean that AI is bad. It recognises that these tools are here to stay and can be useful. The question is: How do we use them ethically without taking credit for work that is not ours?
That is precisely the kind of modern question the Eighth Commandment should make us ask.
When Lending Becomes Exploitation
The same principle applies when somebody profits excessively from another person’s desperation. Predatory lending and impossibly high interest rates can trap vulnerable people in debt from which they may struggle to escape. Again, the deeper concern is the same: Are we protecting our neighbour’s livelihood? Or are we using their vulnerability to enrich ourselves?
Maybe Theft Is Also About What We Refuse to Give
The sermon ends with a challenging question. We normally define stealing as taking something that we should not take. But could there also be moments when we steal by withholding something we ought to give?
If an employer refuses fair pay.
If society refuses justice.
If those with resources refuse to care for the vulnerable.
If we refuse God the obedience that belongs to Him.
Then perhaps the conversation about theft becomes much bigger.
Jesus summarises God's will with two great commands:
Love God.
And:
Love your neighbour.
What if theft begins, at its deepest level, when we refuse to give God and our neighbour the love we owe them? When love disappears, we begin taking. We take dignity. We take security. We take opportunity. We take trust.
More Than “Don’t Take Things”
“You shall not steal.” Four simple words. But beneath them lies an entire vision for community. Trust one another. Protect one another’s freedom. Respect one another’s property. Do not exploit another person’s vulnerability. Work honestly. Pay fairly. Practise contentment. Resist greed. Help create communities in which people can flourish. And when trust has been broken, seek restoration rather than simply revenge.
Perhaps the Eighth Commandment is not merely asking:
“Did I take something that wasn't mine?”
Perhaps it also asks:
“Am I helping build a community in which my neighbour is safe, respected and able to flourish?”
Because when we steal, we rarely steal only a thing. Very often, we steal trust.
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