Redeeming Wealth (Part 2)

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV)

Thou Shalt Not

Throughout the years, many have accused the church of always being against things—always saying NO. The Ten Commandments are the foundation for many of these accusations. It’s a long list of “Thou shalt nots”. It’s impossible to read through the Ten Commandments without the feeling that there are certain things we should not do.

Thou Shall

Yet, throughout Christian history it has also been understood that in the connection with these NOs there is also a YES. It is not good enough for us to simply NOT do things. We have to DO something.

So, when the first commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3, ESV), we are also commanded “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37–38, ESV). With every NO there is also a YES. 

No Stealing

When we get to the eighth command, “You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15, ESV), we should think about what the contrasting YES is. We find that contrasting YES in the book of Ephesians. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV).

If we simply refrain from stealing, we are not fulfilling the eighth commandment. We are only fulfilling the NO but ignoring the YES. We must say NO to stealing in order to say YES to something greater. 

Hard Working Generosity

The greater YES is hard work and generosity. That’s the fulfillment of the eighth commandment; working with sweat on your brow in order to use that work to bless someone else. The fulfillment of the eight commandment is using the gifts God has given you in order to generously give to someone else in need. 

Redeeming Wealth Through Generosity

Like I’ve been saying throughout this series of posts, sin takes hold of this and brings about death and destruction. Sin grabs hold of our work and our wealth and makes it solely about ourself. We want something and we want it now, so we steal it. We work hard, but only that we can line our own pockets, refusing to give any to those in need. Not only is that selfish, but it’s also theft. You are robbing people of your generosity. 

If we are going to redeem God’s good gift of wealth, we must receive that wealth with an open hand and keep the hand open. We must not close our fist around our wealth, refusing to let go. We must have the mindset that “The more I earn, the more I can give away.” So, we must work hard in the world to earn wealth, but we must work harder to be generous with the wealth God has given us, using it to provide for those in need.