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“And you shall not steal.” Deuteronomy 5.19
At all times the people of Israel were to remember that God alone, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (Jms. 1.17), is able to define the right use of private property. This same understanding carried over into the Christian era. The Christian understands that he is not his own; he has been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ and all that he is and has, having come from the Lord, belongs ultimately to the Lord and is to be used in such a way as to reflect the interests of divine justice and love (1 Cor. 3.21-23; 4.7; 6.19, 20).
All our property – every good and perfect gift entrusted to us by God – is to be used, therefore, in a manner that will redound to the glory of God (Matt. 25.14-30). Our approach to private property, therefore, must not be, in the first instance, as something with which to enrich ourselves, but as something to invest for the love of God and neighbors. Of course, we must use our property in a responsible manner to meet our needs and those entrusted to our care. But beyond this, God requires that we use all our property to demonstrate love for Him and for our neighbors. We must hold our property as though it were not, in fact, our own (Acts 4:32). Instead, we must see ourselves as stewards of God’s property and be ready to use His gifts for furthering His Kingdom, building His Church, and the meeting our neighbor’s material needs.
In the divine economy, material prosperity is a resource for loving God and neighbor, not for indulging one’s fleshly passions. And we need not fear, as we use our private property in such ways, that we shall ever be in want; God is able to supply all our needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4.19).
T. M. Moore
Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.