To catch a thief (who me?)

A thief tried to steal paintings from the Louvre in Paris. He was caught two blocks away when he ran out of gas. He said, “I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh. But I tried because I had nothing Toulouse.”

The thief had a sense of humor, but stealing is no joke. Ask the mother whose son’s pumpkin was stolen. She put out three pumpkins. The smallest one, for her son, was stolen, so she left this sign for the thief and the community.

To the person who stole my son’s pumpkin: Thank you for the life lesson. This will teach him that sometimes people are mean for no reason and you have to just brush it off. Because my son is 2-yrs-old and cannot read this sign, I will add:You are an a‐‐‐‐‐‐‐.

You get the picture. Stealing is nothing to laugh about. Ask the 15 million people who have their identity stolen each year to the tune of $50 billion dollars in financial losses. Cheating—the kissing cousin of theft—is nothing to laugh about either. It’s everywhere.

At a fishing tournament in Ohio recently, one of the winners stuffed his catch with lead weights to win the $29,000 grand prize. On the world chess scene, a 19-year-old phenom has been alleged to have cheated more than 100 times. Theft and cheating are bad for family, sport and community.

That’s why God texted “NS” to humanity—the 8th of the ten commandments of Commandgram. When Moses ran down Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments, it was already too late. An identity theft had taken place. Israel had committed identity theft. They misrepresented God’s people as thieves.

What is the significance of stealing in the eyes of God? The 8th Commandment is found in Exodus 20:15. We see how serious stealing is in two thefts in Joshua 7 and Genesis 40.

We will see that stealing, whether it is property stolen or a person, is far more than taking what is not yours. When you steal, you are committing identity theft of the community and destiny theft of a person. In both cases, you are stealing from yourself. Text “NS” a friend you know who has a problem with ten-finger discounting. “NS” is God’s way of saying “AYOR”—at your own risk.

When you steal property, you steal more than stuff. You commit community identity theft. Exodus 20:15 is a prohibition of stealing because its destruction is wide sweeping like a storm. In fact, the key Hebrew word for theft—ganab—is associated with the image of a storm. Its wind and water affect the entire community like recent Hurricane Ian.

It’s stealing not just from someone else but self. Achan stole what God had declared as “devoted things”—the spoils of Israel’s victories. Achan would pay for it in the end. So would the community. We see his theft in Joshua 6 and 7. In Joshua 6, when the Israelites were fresh from a victory over Jericho, God said to take the Canaanites gold, silver and bronze and place it into His treasury. “Keep none of it for yourself.” But in chapter 7, Achan got a case of “happy hands”. God was none too happy.

Joshua 7:1 But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan … took some of them. So the LORD's anger burned against Israel.

Notice God said Israel acted unfaithfully even though it was one person—Achan—who stole. He represented the community and Israel paid for it at the next battle at Ai, an enemy who was small in number. They should not have had a problem defeating them, but they did.

4 So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai,

Not only was Israel soundly defeated, Achan received punished with the ultimate punishment.

25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.

Is there anybody here guilty of stealing from God, taking the things that should be devoted to Him? You can expect nothing but trouble for you and for the community. A Tyler pastor can attest to that. He was recently accused of allegedly stealing $30,000-150,000 from an elderly couple of his church. He moved to another church, but the harm done to the Christian community remained—identity theft. As a Christian, when you steal:

• The identity of the Church as a victorious community is stolen just like it was for Israel. The identity of Israel as victorious people was stolen. Verse 5 says: “At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water. Israel hung their head in defeat, their confidence hijacked.

• The identity of the Church as a faithful community is stolen like Israel’s. Joshua started to doubt his faith in God. In verse 7:7 Joshua asked God “…why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan.” You may have asked yourself, God why did you bring me here to get my stuff stolen.

• The identity of the Church as a virtuous community is stolen. The identity of Israel’s name was in jeopardy. Joshua feared that his defeat will give confidence to their enemies to defeat them according to verse 9: “…they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth.”

The author of theft is Satan who comes to kill, steal and destroy. It’s not like he needs more confidence. When it comes to stealing, he doesn’t care where, when or by whom. Wherever money is involved, the opportunity for theft is there like Covid pandemic relief. The Department of Labor estimates that as much as $163 billion may have been paid improperly to thieves. The government gave unemployment benefits to the incarcerated, the imaginary and even the dead. It sent money to “farms” that turned out to be front yards. It gave loans to 342 people who said their name was “N/A.” In one instance, 29 states paid unemployment benefits to the same person. In another case, a Postal Service employee got an $82,900 loan for a business called “U.S. Postal Services.”

And, when it comes to welfare fraud, we think of the lazy at the bottom rung of life as perpetrators, but not NFL legends. But Brett Farve gives a whole new twist to the meaning of the quarterback sneak. The Hall of Fame quarterback is in hot water for his connection in a Mississippi welfare scandal involving the misappropriation of roughly $77 million. It is alleged that Farve solicited welfare money to fund a volleyball facility and an indoor football facility for his college alma mater. Can you say “flag on the play”’. If found guilty, there will be consequences far beyond a loss of down and distance.

A “Hall of Fame” identity will be stolen like the identity of Achan. His family was burned and so was the community of Ai. Joshua burned it and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day.

Text “NS”—no stealing—to someone you know who is a little light with the fingers. Tell them “NS” is God’s way of saying AYOR— “at your own risk.” The price is too high to pay for community and personal identity theft.

Second, when you steal people—by kidnap or coercion—you are committing destiny theft. Joseph’s brothers kidnapped him to destroy the dreamer and his dream. But they were unsuccessful. His story is told in Genesis 37-50. In his own words, Joseph said he was stolen:

Gen 40:15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

The reader’s digest summary of his kidnapping is this: His brothers hated him because of his ambitious dreams. They threw him in a pit to kill him, but had a change of heart and decided to sell him into slavery in Egypt. There, he was falsely accused of rape by his master’s wife, Mrs. Potiphar. He was thrown into prison. From the pit, to Potiphar’s house to the prison, Joseph and his dream were hijacked. His destiny was kidnapped.

Is anybody here in Joseph’s shoes: you feel like your dream and destiny have been kidnapped? When a person is taken off the path of their dream —their purpose—it’s as if their destiny has been stolen. That theft of destiny robs not only you but robs the community of your contribution.

• When you throw someone in the pit, a purpose is thrown in that pit, too. It may never get out. That pit may be pot, pills, pornography, procrastination and sheer laziness. You may have led them to that pit, helped them dig it and gave them a gentle push. Whatever role you played; you are an accomplice to destiny theft. Their destiny denied may be a missed opportunity to dig yourself out of your own pit someday.

• When you throw someone into a Potiphar place, a talent is placed in the path of overwhelming temptation. That person may not be strong enough to ‘just say no”. If you have led a person to such a place, you are an accomplice to destiny theft. Their talent denied may be a missed opportunity to enrich your life.

• When you wrongly throw someone into prison, a destiny is locked away. That person’s purpose denied may be a missed opportunity to contribute to society. We lose their time, talent and treasure. You may have unwittingly detoured the next Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, or Jay-z—their giftedness wasted away behind bars.

But thank God, a “God-destiny” is theft-proof. His plans for salvation through others are secure like Joseph’s destiny. Out of Joseph’s faithfulness and God’s favor, he survived the pit, Potiphar’s place and prison. He rose to the vice presidency of Egypt over the food distribution during a famine. In doing so, his brothers survived starvation. Out of Joseph’s family came David. Out of David’s destiny came Christ. Out of Christ’s destiny came our salvation from sin. God’s favor superseded destiny theft. Joseph put it best:

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

The list is long and illustrious of those whose jail time did not rob us of their dream: Martin Luther King, Gordon Hirabayashi, Rosa Parks, Benjamin Spock, Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela.

Text “NS” to someone you know who has been a dream stealer. “NS” is God’s way of saying “AYOR”—at your own risk. A destiny theft is stealing from yourself. If they have been victimized by destiny theft, encourage them. “NS” is also God’s way of saying “GYB”— He’s “Got your back”.

Conclusion

The 8th commandment says don’t steal because all theft is identity theft. When you steal property, you steal from yourself. You and the community will pay like Achan who stole the devoted things of God for the people of God. When you steal a person, you steal their destiny. A dream denied may be your own deliverance denied. Don’t be a dream stealer. Be a dream weaver. Don’t let the devil who comes to kill and steal, steal your stuff. We need each other’s dreams.