We all condemn theft and robbery. It is obvious ! When someone takes other people's things stealthily, without his knowledge, then we say, that he steals. We call him a thief.
When, on the other hand, he deprives him of his property against his will by force, we say, that robbery is perpetrated. Everyone understands, that this must not be done. We all abhor such actions. Tell someone, that he is a thief, is to touch him to the living, offend deadly. Pass for a thief, it's demeaning.
Who is actually the thief ? Clever - or thief ?
Hidden theft
The store manager accepts the goods. Checks the number of articles. Signs the list. It turns out, that the goods are missing. He has to contribute with his hard-earned money. Someone said : ,,But they got her cleverly ". And what do you think about it ? What is it according to you : cleverness - or theft ? You hear, that your colleagues ride trams without tickets or use the same ticket multiple times. They brag, that they always succeed. What do you think about their behavior ? What would you call them ? Cunning or thieves ?
When a talkative seller is able to unnotice the weight or give the buyer inferior goods, many believe, that it is a man, who just knows how to deal with life. Who is in fact ? Or just a trickster in life ? A factory worker takes work tools or machine parts to his home… There are fewer materials in the workplace, although the warehouse keeper has the key at his place… The supplier cannot deliver the office supplies. There are no thieves - and things keep getting lost. Why ? Flair ? The health professional appropriates some of this, what the sick person should get.
Staff at an orphanage or kindergarten earn through various combinations, thus harming the charges entrusted to him.
Taking advantage of the passenger's naivety, the taxi driver turns on the second tariff instead of the first one.
In shops, in public transport vehicles, the customer or passenger does not receive the change due to him.
Should we talk about resourcefulness and cleverness in these and similar cases? ? Or maybe it should be called differently ? We have to say, that it is breaking the seventh commandment of God : ,,Do not steal".
How do you think, why do people often do that ? Isn't that why, that they forget about others, and they only think about themselves ? In this way, they violate the principles of social life. They just want to make themselves comfortable and secure themselves in life. This attitude stems from selfishness.
Good destroyed
Transportation of building materials. Only half of the materials are usable on site. Why ? Employees know perfectly well, that glass, brick, hollow bricks, tile is not steel. Does it always have to be this way ?
There are agricultural machines in the field. It's raining. The sun is burning. Snow has fallen. It's frosty. And no one cares about rusting machines. ,,They will be new " ! We all suffer.
Broken mirrors on street corners. Broken lamps in parks and streets. Fallen benches, dilapidated litter bins. Road signs bent. Cut up seats in cinemas, buses, trains. Dilapidated school desks, broken door handles. No locks in public places. Scratched and inscribed monuments. Battered monuments.
This list could be endless. This is definitely not an invasion by the Vandals or the Huns in the 20th century. So could it be a sport of destruction ? Or just recklessness ? Or just stupidity ? No ! This is a violation of the seventh commandment of God : ,,Do not steal".
And if you destroy your own things unnecessarily, do you only harm yourself ? Can you say : ,,Nobody cares, because it is mine " ? Are the consequences for society as well? ? Consider, do we in all these cases also violate the seventh commandment of God.
Brokerage
A newly built house collapsed. A new bridge has collapsed, although there was no flood. Found, that he was not given the appropriate building material.
The construction of a cooperative house has been going on for many years. According to the plan, it was to be ready within a year. However, work is not done reliably on the construction site. The breaks for cigarettes and beer are delayed, for personal matters during working hours.
You are buying first-class items with the seal of technical inspection. Then you find, that it is a defective product. How it's possible ?
Could it be so, if all would keep God's commandments : "Do not steal" ?
God judges actions and intentions
If caught theft, the court imposes a penalty. What about these, which were not caught and which were abused, even great, remain unknown to anyone ?
God knows her. He sees not only the revealed deeds, ale i te, which was made in secret. God looks at man's heart and judges his intentions as well. In God's eyes, even the intention to take someone else's thing is a theft. Even the planned ones are accountable to God, although the thefts were not made and the desire to harm his neighbor. Christ teaches us : “For evil thoughts come from the heart, homicides, adultery, prostitution, thefts, false certificate, curses " (Mt 15, 19).
In the commandment "You shall not steal", God defends the private and common good. It tells us to use things properly, which we own.
In the event of breaking this commandment, the condition for reconciliation with God and receiving His forgiveness is to compensate for the wrongs caused to people, that is, the return of stolen items, even then, when nobody knows about it.
A Christian related to Christ through the baptism of St.. it has a duty to contribute effectively to this, that the commandment was actually respected in his environment : ,,Do not steal". Christ is calling you, to demolish beliefs, that : hidden theft, destroying the public good, marriage, it is only proof of resourcefulness and smart life.
How will I answer God ?
You condemn theft. Maybe you understand better now, how many such situations can be in human life, in which the commandment of God is transgressed : "Do not steal".
Look at your life in the light of this commandment.
Ask God with words of prayer :
"God, Creator of all things ! You have imposed on mankind the duty of work. Help us, that we work honestly and persistently and thus contribute to building a community based on justice and trust ".
■ Think :
1. What accidents can we call stealth and why ?
2. Why we call the destruction of common things theft ?
3. What else can you call a shortage ?
4. What, apart from deeds, is about the seventh commandment of God ?
5. When a person is obliged to compensate for the harm done ?
6. What significance does God's commandment have for social life? ,,Do not steal" ?
■ Remember:
41. What a Christian is required to do in God's commandment : ,,Do not steal" ? In God's commandment "You shall not steal", a Christian is obliged to respect private and social property and to form a proper opinion in his environment about acts that violate this commandment.
42. What is a man obliged to do, who broke the seventh commandment ? Man, who violated the seventh commandment of God, he is obligated to make good the wrong done even then, when it was not disclosed.
■ Task :
Consider, if and what false opinions about property exist among young people and how they can be corrected ?
We all condemn theft and robbery. It is obvious ! When someone takes other people's things stealthily, without his knowledge, then we say, that he steals. We call him a thief.
One should not steal and not take away unnecessarily, throw away or frame up because a man is not a thief after all.
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