The high cost of poor
integrity - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/the-high-cost-of-poor-integrity/
and www.harvest.org
Pastor Greg Laurie confronts rampant stealing in America
If you have stayed in a hotel room lately, then you have probably noticed that everything seems to be nailed to the floor. The hangers have hooks that only fit the rods in that hotel closet, and the pictures are permanently attached to the wall. This is because some people go into hotels and rob them blind. Maybe they figure that because they paid $95 for the room, the lamps are theirs.
We have alarm systems on our cars with blinking red lights to indicate the alarm is on, as though that would actually stop someone from stealing it. (Does anyone even care anymore when they hear a car alarm going off?)
We have little signs on our front lawns to announce that our houses are protected by such-and-such security company.
All around us are reminders that we live in a culture that is absolutely dishonest and is constantly stealing. Stealing is rampant in our society today. According to a 2011 survey conducted by the University of Florida, retailers in the U.S. lost more than $37 billion to theft during the previous year.
Here are some actual excuses that have been used by people who were caught stealing: "I was going to come and pay for it eventually"; "I got cheated at the store last week, and I am only evening the score"; "It was just a prank"; and "This isn't stealing; it is pacifistic looting. I get the stuff, and you suffer no broken windows."
How can we be so dishonest as to take something that doesn't belong to us? Maybe it is because we don't know why it is wrong to steal. When some average Americans were polled on the topic of theft, the No. 1 reason given for not stealing was the fear of getting caught. The second most frequent reason cited was the fear of the victim trying to get even. The third most common reason for not stealing was that the item may not be needed. But what about right and wrong? What about refusing to steal because it is immoral?
It can be shocking when someone actually returns something that was lost. A number of years ago, a couple contacted our church and said they had lost their wallet containing $1,700 cash at one of our services. They were shocked when a young man knocked on their door at about 11 p.m. and returned the wallet with all of the cash in it. He identified himself as a Christian and said he had found it at the service. He left without asking for a reward.
We may think, I would never steal anything from anyone, but there are many forms of theft. Accepting too much change and pocketing it is theft. Taking office supplies home for personal use is stealing, and so is taking help from the government that we don't really need.
In addition to forbidding it in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:15), here is what God says about stealing: "Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need" (Ephesians 4:28 NIV).
From this we see three important principles.
1) If you have been stealing, don't do it anymore. Don't take something that belongs to someone else. It is not yours to take. If you have taken something, then if at all possible, return it. It is called making restitution.
The Bible tells the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector. He basically made his living off the misery of others. He collected taxes for Rome, the occupying force in Israel. The way the system worked back then was the tax collector was required to bring in the specified amount that Rome required, and whatever he could collect above and beyond that was his to keep. So Zacchaeus, like most tax collectors of that time, would ask a lot more from people, and the people were required by Roman law to pay it. Zacchaeus was, in effect, stealing from people.
One day Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, and after spending time with him, the tax collector decided to change his ways. Zacchaeus said, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" (Luke 19:8 NIV).
Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (verses 9-10 NIV).
That was real conversion. Not only was Zacchaeus sorry for what he had done, but he wanted to make it right.
2) Do something useful. Notice that Ephesians 4:28 says that "[we] must work, doing something useful with [our] own hands." The Bible tells us that we are to earn our money by the sweat of our brow, even saying that if a person will not work, he should not eat (see 2 Thessalonians 3:10). The government doesn't owe you a living. Parents can't support their children for the rest of their lives. They need to be responsible. They need to work. And whether it is sweeping floors, flipping burgers or programming computers, whatever it is, the Bible says to "work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23).
3) Share what you have. Sharing is the opposite of stealing. This reminds us that we have a responsibility to give and to help out others who are in need. We might say, "I don't have anything to give; it is so expensive to live these days." I know that is true. Yet we think nothing of dropping $8 to go to a movie - and more for popcorn. If you have not yet learned the blessing of giving, then you are missing out on so much that God wants to do in your life.
Have you done things you are ashamed of? God stands ready to forgive you. Only God can change you on the inside. Only God can make you a different person than you were before.
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