"You Shall Not Steal"
One of my family’s favorite songs to listen to in the car is Johnny Cash’s One Piece at a Time. He tells the story of a man who goes to Detroit to work on the assembly line for Cadillac and decides to steal the individual pieces (that allegedly GM wouldn’t miss) over a series of years in order to assemble his own. What he ends up with is a monstrosity of a car and not at all what he intended! It is a humorous song, yet, it occurs to me that in all the years we live, theft is (and will be) an enduring, continual problem.
The industries and services and technology that we enjoy have spent billions of dollars trying to keep people from getting something for nothing…or as my friend used to say, “getting the 5-finger discount.” Theft will be a problem for as long as the earth stands and as we advance technologically, theft also advances. Thirty years ago, people didn’t really think much about or worry about “identity theft.” Twenty years ago, people didn’t have to worry about credit card skimmers. Only in the last ten years have stories multiplied about data-breaches and entire databases being stolen. Where riches abound, thieves are ever near.
We do want to be wise about security in our lives and homes and businesses. However, in looking at the enduring nature of thieves and the changing advances of the world we live in, doesn’t it underscore the desire we all have to be secure? Doesn’t it make more precious the words of Jesus when He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21)?
When people try to make their lives and fortunes secure in this life, the truth is, that they will be brought to failure. The chief reason is this: you can’t take it with you. As Jesus counsels and warns people to make their investments in the heavenly city, He does so knowing that the only real security in this life is to put your valuables where others can’t get to them. Lay them up in heaven. Thus, when theft occurs in this life, and when we are victims of it, it becomes an opportunity to grow our faith, not something that will cripple our existence. After all, our treasures are stored in a place where there is no lock and no bolt and no security chip, but they are far more secure than they would ever be in this life (see Revelation 21:24-27).
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