Not every theft is a crime, but…

Proverbs 12:12-13 Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit. The wicked are trapped by their own words, but the godly                                                                   escape such trouble.

I remember a lesson I learned about how each of us, because we are sinners, can be so relative in our approach to truth.

This is when I was working in a Depressed area of the Philippines. Everyone that lived here had taken over a piece of land that did not belong to them and built a shack to live in. The "rough" term used in the Philippines is "Squatter." Much of the land here was owned by families that were here when the Philippines was a colony. Even though the colony was overthrown these land owners manipulated things to keep the land. A lot of those lands have been left undeveloped and as the poor moved into the cities from the province, they took over those propeties. The government allowed it and the landowners ignored it because they still hold the title to the land, but had no use for it at that time. One of the Bible studies I had was at the home of a woman that had "squatted" on a piece of land and she had not only built a small home but had a really nice garden. At one point she went to the province for a month to visit family, so we moved our Bible study for that month. When she got back we began again at her place. When I arrived she seemed agitated and distracted. After the study I told her that I felt she was upset. She looked at me with great anger and said she was.

She then pulled her curtain back away from the window and said "While I was gone to the province some rotten squatter built a house where my garden was!" I did not say anything, but inside I chuckled - here you are squatting on someone else's property, but when someone does it to you - that is different.

This Proverb speaks directly to this issue. Notice:

"Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot...The wicked are trapped by their own words"

Two very important truths are communicated here:

Someone who has stolen things from another will not be satisfied by only what they have, instead, they will still crave more, even to the point of being jealous of the “loot” that their fellow thieves have taken. This has been a common reality since stealing began. How many stories of “gangs” that go in on a heist with each other, only to see when the time came to divvy up the booty, they turn on each other to the point of killing to get all the loot!

This reminds me of an old story:

Mr. Lion, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Hyena were pillaging through the jungle, collecting their dinner. They made a big pile of their game, and sat back to rest for a moment.

Then Mr. Lion said to "Mr. Hyena, why don't you go over and divide our food into three equal piles." Mr. Hyena, who was starving was delighted. He quickly made three equal piles. When he was finished, he turned to Mr. Lion for approval.  Without a word, Mr. Lion pounced on Mr. Hyena, killed him, made one big pile once again, and tossed dead Mr. Hyena on top. Then Mr. Lion turned to Mr. Fox and said, 

"Mr. Fox, why don't you divide the pile into two equal parts." Mr. Fox eyed Mr. Lion warily, and then went to the pile of dead animals and quickly divided it into two parts. In his own pile, Mr. Fox put only one measly crow. Mr. Lion got all the rest in his pile. Respectfully, Mr. Lion observed, "Mr. Fox, how did you ever learn to divide so equally?" Mr. Fox replied, "Mr. Hyena taught me."

Mr. Fox learned from what he saw, sadly most thieves do not. Let’s take a step back now and not allow this Proverb only to challenge our thoughts in the realm of what we consider obvious thieves, what about when we steal? Every theft may not be a crime in human law, but it still qualifies as that in God’s law…it is called sin. Is not this same flaw seen in Jacob? Instead of being content with being the second son of Isaac, he had to have more, so he stole his brother’s birthright. 

Genesis 25:29–33 When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Yes, Esau participated by selling so cheap, but Jacob was a thief nonetheless! How about us? When we take more credit for the success of something than we know we deserve? How many of you preachers or teachers out there, when you speak and people are amazed, yet you forget to let them know that your message was actually based on the message of another preacher that you heard? 

Isn’t that a form of stealing? I don’t think I have ever had an original thought of my own. Everything I speak on has its foundation in one or more sermons or lessons I have heard. Sure, I digest it then regurgitate it ala Nathan Leigh, but I must share the credit for that thought and ALL the glory goes to God because He alone is the one that can plant what I preach in the inner heart of an individual. “Stealing” comes in many forms!

The second truth is just as important:

“The wicked are trapped by their own words"

I won’t be long here because I have covered this in the Devos I did on Esther in 2011. The scenario of being “trapped by your own words” is part of what I call the “Haman principle.” To summarize, the gallows that Haman planned to hang Mordecai on, became his gallows! When your thoughts and words are evil, they will become a snare to your soul.

For practical application I want to apply two of the greatest traps I have witnessed among believers; bitterness and an unforgiving heart. Children of God can become so in bondage to these, before they realize it, their gossip, and disdain of others, translate into ungodly actions, which surface for all to see, then they are trapped by the flesh, and shamed before all.

Meditation: When you read a Proverb like this do you easily pass it by, because you do not steal money, therefore there is no application for you? Are you willing to spend time with the Spirit of God seeking His illumination, not for an interpretation, it says what is says, however, He will help you apply this truth to a specific area of your life if you need that? BUT…it requires you to invest some time in reflection and meditation. Are you willing to allow God to grow you?