Hal Chaffee Ministries

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. – Ephesians 4:28

Theft is extremely common in our country. The National Retail Federation reported an annual loss of $112.1 billion in 2021¹. This is just retail theft. It doesn’t include scams and theft of personal property. The true amount of money that is lost through theft is astounding, I’m sure. Those who participate in thievery have no respect for the commandment engraved in stone by the finger of God that states: “Thou shalt not steal.” It should be clearly known that theft is a serious crime in the eyes of God and that those who steal will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

When I am evangelizing at the university, I often ask students if they are guilty of breaking the eighth commandment. Most quickly admit they have, but some declare their innocence. To the latter, I ask, “Is that right? Have you ever downloaded something illegally from the internet or watched a bootleg movie?” Almost 100% admit to doing these things, which are theft.

I have realized that most people are willing to steal if they, number one, don’t think they will be caught and, number two, don’t perceive any harm in their theft. (But then again, many don’t care about number two). The reason I say this is because there was a time before streaming music subscriptions when almost everyone I knew was listening to stolen music, even Christians. It was so easy to use services like Napster and Limewire to download any song one wanted. We all knew it was illegal, but it was so easy, and there was virtually no chance of being caught. Since we didn’t see the harm in it, we justified our theft and dishonored the commandment of God.

Some people respond to my inquiry about theft by stating that they have only stolen something of insignificant value. This may not affect the victim much or at all, but it is indicative of a deep disrespect for God’s law. If it is of small value, and if it ‘doesn’t matter that much,’ then why not err on the side of honoring the law of God? Why dishonor the law of God over something small? We, as Christians, should live with the utmost fear and respect for God. Why would we dishonor Him over something large or small? If we are pressed or poked by friends or acquaintances, we should answer with this: “I fear God. Why would I dishonor His law over something small?”

Another question I’d like to consider is if a Christian should break this law in extreme circumstances. If you and your family have no food to eat, if you have no prospect of getting food due to some extreme circumstance, would you steal to satisfy your hunger and the hunger of your children? I hope you wouldn’t. I hope that you would have enough faith in your Heavenly Father to know that He never fails to feed the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field and would neither ever fail to provide for His own. The Bible says that those who do not provide for their own are worse than infidels (1 Timothy 5:8). Certainly, God is not worse than an infidel!

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? – Jesus (Matthew 6:26)

The Lord tested His people with hunger in the wilderness. He let them suffer for a bit to prove them. Would they believe Him? Or would they be faithless? Unfortunately, they were faithless complainers. They should have believed that the God who parted the sea could also provide food and water in the wilderness (see Exodus 16). Let us learn from them and never doubt that God can and will get us the things that we need, even in the most extreme circumstances.

Our Part – Work

God’s promise of provision for His people does not take away the responsibility for us to work. In our text, Paul continues from his condemnation of theft to admonish the people to ‘work with their hands that which is good’ (Eph 4:28). It is tempting God to think that God will provide for us while we do nothing. There are certainly times that we cannot work, as in sickness or other circumstances, and God understands. And there are certainly people who have difficulty finding normal employment due to a disability or something similar. But, in general, we must all seek to work to provide for ourselves and our own. Do not allow yourself to be idle, for an idle person will indeed suffer hunger, and God will not help Him until he repents of his idleness.

Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger – Proverbs 19:15

Work is an honorable thing that God ordained for us to do since the very beginning, before the fall. And work will continue throughout all eternity. The Kingdom of God will not be a place of loafing and laziness but joy in work, whatever that might be. It will not be a cursed, hard labor, but it will be enjoyable, fulfilling work for all eternity.

Our work upon the earth must be ‘good,’ as the text states. We are to work with our hands that which is good. This means that not all work is created equal. There are many people who employ themselves in work that no Christian should ever do. Our world is full of vice and useless pleasures that do men harm. For example, I hope that no Christian would ever work for a tobacco company. We all know that they sell a poison that benefits no one. How can a Christian be a part of such a racket? There are many such businesses like this. We must be careful to consult our consciences, the Holy Spirit, and common sense before accepting employment doing anything that could not be described as good in the eyes of God. And when we do work that which is good, we should understand that we are doing the work of God. Don’t ever think of your employment as ‘secular.’ If you are producing something or providing a service that benefits mankind, you are doing the work of God–and you should do that work unto the Lord and not unto man.

Christians should be hard workers. I remember my mom often talking about the ‘protestant work ethic.’ She was referring to the pilgrims who came to New England to establish one of the first American settlements. They were extremely hardworking people who felt like their work was a part of their service to God. As a result, their community thrived and didn’t face the devastation their peers in Jamestown faced. In Jamestown, the settlers were seeking fortune. They were motivated by greed; many were from upper-class families that were not used to hard work. As a result, they suffered terribly. In the first few years, 80% of the community died, in part for the reason mentioned above. John Smith famously enacted a strict rule to combat the problem with those who did not want to work: “he that will not work shall not eat.” (See 2 Thessalonians 3:10)

The Purpose of Work

Finally, this passage gives us an uncommon reason for the work that we do. It does not say that it is for the enriching of ourselves, nor for the providing of our families, as important as that is (1 Timothy 5:8). The reason given is so we may ‘have something to give him who has need.’

This passage should be a challenge for all of us. I don’t think I’ve ever done a day’s work with the thought that I was doing it to provide for someone in need. I say this to my shame. I’ve thought about providing for my family. I’ve thought about enriching myself. I’ve thought about working for a living, but not about working for a giving. This is what this text asks us to do.

I don’t want to take away from the importance of providing for one’s own family. The Bible commands this. But I want to suggest that God wants us to work in such a way that we can provide for our own with plenty left over to provide for another. This is a very biblical concept. There are times when some are doing very well and have an abundance, and there are times when some are doing their best but still lack. The biblical approach is that those who can should help provide for those in need, and all of us should strive with that in mind. We also should not be ashamed if we find ourselves as the ones in need. Life and circumstances happen, and we all need help from time to time. God has ordained that the body provide for one another.

For I do not mean that other should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack–that there may be equality. As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” – 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

The Israelites gathered mana each day. Some were able to gather much, some little. The scripture says that those who gathered much had nothing left over, and those who gathered little had no lack. This means that those who had an abundance shared with those who did not. Each had enough for their families.

The Bible tells us that we should be people content with the things that we have (Hebrews 13:5). Our home is not in this world. We are awaiting a homeland from heaven and a heavenly Prince. We are not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy or thieves break in and steal. Our treasure should be in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). We should seek to prosper for the sake of the kingdom of God, that provision of soul and body may go out into all the world. Providing needs is much more than providing what is needful for the body. Our souls need the Savior; we should use our wealth to send the gospel into the world. As we do that, we also must seek to meet urgent needs. This was the way of the Savior.

1. [^ National Retail Federation. “Shrink Accounted for Over $112 Billion in Industry Losses in 2022, According to NRF.” National Retail Federation, https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/shrink-accounted-over-112-billion-industry-losses-2022-according-nrf. Accessed 11/8/24] ↩︎