Exodus 20:15 (Commandment Eight) Meditation

Text (Ex 20:15, NIV):

"You shall not steal."

Amplified Rendering:

"Take (steal) nothing that belongs to another(1): His (or her) life; soul; dignity; sense of self; time; personal space; freedom; glory, which I've shared with him freely; memories; future; trust or faith in Me, himself, or others; correct perspective on or assessment of the truth; right to worship Me, read My Word, or commune with My people; physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health; sexual purity; reputation; spouse or significant other; children (including unborn children); parents; extended family; friends; personal belongings; intellectual property; hopes and dreams; or anything else that belongs to him (or Me in him). To you, he is to be utterly inviolable. Nothing of his shall you take or infringe upon. In no aspect of his life, shall you misuse him or take unjust advantage of him. Even if he says you can, or that it's no big deal, or that it doesn't matter, it's a big deal to Me, and it does matter. With these things as an everlasting given, you are prohibited from perpetrating anything of the sort.

"Likewise, don't attempt to steal from Me: My glory(2); My resources, which includes your tithe to Me(3); My Lordship(4); My processes of sanctification(5); the worship and adoration due Me(6), which is My everlasting inheritance from you and every other creature in all creation; My people (My Bride, the Church); the positions or roles I've created and set apart for others; or the blessings I've bestowed upon others. Your are not to profane My Name(7) or My Bride. Be careful in your critiques and criticisms of My Bride. Much of your criticisms are nothing but misguided, self-created, autobiographical complaints that arise out of your own unjust judgments of yourself. I and My Bride are due your love and uncompromising fidelity. Anything less, is a pilfering of that which is Mine and My Bride's.

"Similarly, don't steal from yourself what you're not to steal from another. Treat yourself as you would someone who belongs to Me, because you do. Your life, who you are, and all that makes up you and your life are so very important to Me. You are far more important to Me than you are to your own self. Don't judge yourself(8). The judgments you pronounce over your life are thievery, for they are unjust and far from the truth, and they rob you of who you are in Me. Even though you're redeemed, you've not yet been perfected and, as such, lack the fullness of My loving-kindness and Divine perspective to pass just judgments upon yourself. Your self-criticisms and judgments are lies that, at best, contain a very small hint of a partial, infinitesimal truth. Pay no attention to them, for they are lies, through and through, and they infect with disgust and self-hatred you and the people around you. Don't let them rob you of who you are in Me, the person I've told you you are in Me, the person I've recreated you to be in Me, with Me, and for Me for all eternity.

"And, finally, don't steal from My Word, either by discounting parts of it, watering down parts of it, twisting parts of it, dogmatically misinterpreting parts of it, or adding to it(9). My Word is Everlasting Truth(10), and it cannot be broken(11). Trying to break it is thievery, and, in the end, it will lead only to your destruction. Know this: I will do what's necessary to send forth and preserve for all time My holy Word.

"As I've said, 'Thou shalt not steal. Anything. Ever.'"

Consecrating Prayer:

Holy Father…

All that I am and have is Yours. All that everyone else is and has is Yours. I will not steel from me, from others, or from You. May I live a life completely void of thievery.

In the Name of Jesus, I ask these things…

Amen.

Notes

1. This can apply, too, to a family, group, community, or organization.

2. See Is 42:8.

3. See Ml 3:8.

4. See Ro 14:11.

5. See Ga 5:22-23.

6. See Ac 12:18-24.

7. See Ex 20:7, Le 18:21, and Dt 5:11.

8. See Mt 7:1-3 and 1Co 4:1-5.

9. See Dt 4:2, Ro 16:17-20, 2Ti 4:3-4, 2Pe 3:16, and Re 22:18-19.

10. See Jn 17:17 and 1Pe 1:25.

11. See Jn 10:35.

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