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You shall not steal. (Exodus 20: 15 NIV)
My notes on Snell’s presentation on the eighth commandment says this: Not just taking…also waste, negligence, violence, indifference. Plundering the earth. We are responsible for looking after God’s created world. If we honor others, we honor their possession. Remember poor. Give. Do not steal. Give like Jesus.
Well…. I have to say at first consideration, I thought he might be reading a bit much into this commandment. I couldn’t really see how you could derive a “green” or a “help the poor” agenda from this commandment. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t be concerned about these things, but at first glance all I can see in this commandment is simply “don’t take other peoples’ stuff.”
But, when I step back from my reading of the ten commandments, I’m beginning to see a pattern here: all of the commandments seem to be intertwined and wrapped around the concept of if you love God you are going to take care of the things He has created: His world, other people, the things that belong to other people. We are not to hate others. We are to respect others — even down to things they possess.
It’s a bit of a stretch and I have to consider this some more — but I think I see what Snell is getting at.
LJG (c) 2009
This is a continuing examination of notes I took from Adrian Snell’s 10 commandment video series several years ago.
August 30, 2009...2:21 pm
Other peoples’ stuff
You shall not steal. (Exodus 20: 15 NIV)
My notes on Snell’s presentation on the eighth commandment says this: Not just taking…also waste, negligence, violence, indifference. Plundering the earth. We are responsible for looking after God’s created world. If we honor others, we honor their possession. Remember poor. Give. Do not steal. Give like Jesus.
Well…. I have to say at first consideration, I thought he might be reading a bit much into this commandment. I couldn’t really see how you could derive a “green” or a “help the poor” agenda from this commandment. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t be concerned about these things, but at first glance all I can see in this commandment is simply “don’t take other peoples’ stuff.”
But, when I step back from my reading of the ten commandments, I’m beginning to see a pattern here: all of the commandments seem to be intertwined and wrapped around the concept of if you love God you are going to take care of the things He has created: His world, other people, the things that belong to other people. We are not to hate others. We are to respect others — even down to things they possess.
It’s a bit of a stretch and I have to consider this some more — but I think I see what Snell is getting at.
LJG (c) 2009
This is a continuing examination of notes I took from Adrian Snell’s 10 commandment video series several years ago.
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Filed under 2009 Week of August 24, eighth commandment
Tags: bible journaling, biblical commentary, christianity, eighth commandment, Exodus, Exodus 20:15, religion, Ten Commandments