Thou shalt not steal.
Ok, that’s it. That’s my blog, the 8th commandment. LOL, only kidding, although, what more can I say about this one? It is rather self explanatory and universally accepted. Don’t take something that doesn’t belong to you.
Somehow though, people don’t seem to get that. Even though stealing is the law of the land as well as a law of God, people still do it. It costs us billions of dollars each year, stealing does. From the lowly shoplifter like the old lady who got busted 61 times for shoplifting, to the big boys like Bernie Madoff, and those politicians in Washington who steal billions of dollars of other peoples money.
25% of the markup at all retailers are there to cover for the loss of theft. Insurance premiums go up to cover the losses incurred from stealing. Court systems and jailhouses are packed with people who got caught stealing. How many extra policemen have to be paid to cover the cost of the crime of stealing? How many times does theft turn to murder when it is stumbled across? I have a childhood friend doing life because he planned to rob a house, was discovered, and hit the man with a golf club, killing him. The untold cost in pain and suffering to the lives of both the victims and families of the perpetrators cannot be calculated.
Some stealing is much more subtle, the extra 5 minutes at break time that your supposed to be working? Isn’t that stealing time from your employer? Putting that football betting board together on the job? Yeah, you’re not getting paid to play bookie. Did you keep that pen from the bank? Yep. Stealing.
You know, if everyone all of a sudden stopped taking things that were not theirs, it would turn this country around. People would be happier. Lives would be less stressed. Products would fall in price. Insurance would be way cheaper. Well, locksmiths might go out of business and policemen might get laid off, but you get the picture.
2 comments:
I have a friend who claims to be a Christian and will lecture people all day about having sex before marriage or engaging in other sorts of behavior. But every time we'd go to the coffee shop or a fast food restaurant, she'd steal Splenda packets. Not two or three either -- HANDFULS of the stuff. She'd stuff it into her purse, sometimes as many as 100 or more. I'd ask, isn't that stealing? She'd say no because it's free. She just didn't get it.
yeah, you can justify things, but it doesn't make it right. In my younger days, that is how the bachelor pad got it's condiments though, LOL. The thing to remember for christians is that we are not perfect either.
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