In this blog, we'll focus on the working being done at Sligo Presbyterian Church, Sligo, Pennsylvania. We'll also look at what's happening in Sligo, Rimersburg, Clarion, and all the other communities served by our congregation.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Sunday's Message (The 10 Commandments Through the Eyes of Jesus: Do Not Steal)
Jesus reframes the ten commandments from a list of external rules into matters of the heart. He taught that true righteousness is not merely about avoiding bad actions, but about harboring pure thoughts and actively demonstrating love for God and humanity. During the months of July, August and September, we're considering the Ten Commandments Through the Eyes of Jesus, focusing on the following topics:
Well, we’ve officially entered the month of September, which means there are now one hundred, ten days before Christmas, something I’m sure y’all wanted to hear. And I’ll tell you, this has been a pretty good weekend so far at least in the Rudiger family, not perfect but pretty good. I mean, West Virginia won and Old Dominion won and Penn State won and Pitt won. And even though Duquesne and the University of Indianapolis, Debbie’s alma mater, lost, I think I’m safe in giving yesterday, week one of the college football season, a solid B+.
And since we’ve advanced another week, we’re another Sunday closer to finishing up The Ten Commandments Through the Eyes of Jesus. And based on the seven we’ve already looked at, we all know that we shouldn’t have other gods nor we should worship idols. We shouldn’t take God’s name in vain and should keep the Sabbath holy. We should honor our fathers and mothers which means not murdering them or anyone else. And then last week, we talked about that two-sided commandment, the one that tells us to not commit adultery and to be faithful in marriage. Now that’s what we’ve covered to this point.
And this morning, we’re looking at commandment number eight:
Do not steal. [Exodus 20:15, CEV]
And even though, at first glance, this would seem as obvious and straightforward as “Do not murder,” [Exodus 20:13, CEV] before Jesus had even been born, the Jews had already broadened it’s application. I mean right along with condemning obvious stuff like robbery and burglary, business fraud and false advertising, paying fair wages and evading taxes, they also used this command to promote workplace integrity and to prevent “time theft.” Don’t be lazy. They even applied it to plagiarism and kidnaping. In other words, taking someone else’s property or possessions without their consent, that violated the Eighth Commandment.
And Jesus must have agreed, because he mentioned it in his little conversation with the rich young man. I mean, according to Mark,
As Jesus was walking down a road, a man ran up to him. He knelt down, and asked, “Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. You know the commandments. ‘Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.’” [Mark 10:17-19, CEV]
Now, that’s what he said. And so, for Jesus, it wasn’t rocket science: we shouldn’t steal and we shouldn’t cheat either, not if we want eternal life.
But as we’ve seen with the other commandments, Jesus didn’t just stick to the letter of the law and leave it with a simple “don’t do it.” Instead, he offered some ideas about how we might obey the spirit of the command. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. You see, during the rest of the sermon, we’re going to focus on three things that we might want to do if we’re serious about keeping this particular command.
For example, if we want to take some control over the urge to steal, first, I think it’s important for us to address our own weaknesses. In other words, to stand strong and firm in the face of temptation, it’s really important for us to acknowledge the source of our unhealthy desires. And I believe that’s something Jesus talked about with his disciples. Just listen:
Then Jesus said:
What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God. [Mark 7:20-23, CEV]
In other words, that desire to steal and the willingness to do it, man, that’s an inside issue, something that involves not just our hands, but also our heads and our hearts. You see, it’s right there where we’re weak. I’ll tell you, regardless of what it leads us to do, moral corruption starts with something happening on the inside and not from stuff like food or our physical surroundings. You see, the trouble lies with our thoughts and our feelings, because they motivate bad behavior. I mean, having dirty hands are least of our problems, especially when our minds and hearts are filthy. And for that reason, character matters, an idea we’ve kind of pushed aside in twenty-first century America, and our obedience to a bunch of religious rules and rituals isn’t going to change that. Remember, Jesus Christ himself said, “Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts, but bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart.” [Luke 6:45, CEV] As it is with everything else, stealing represents a genuine heart problem.
And to address it, well, according to Jesus, after acknowledging the source, we need to seek some internal renewal. I mean, without question, intentionally cleaning up our behavior is a good thing, but it’s not worth a hill of beans unless we do a little cleaning up on the inside as well. And to do that, we might have to muster up the courage to do some honest self-examination and when we spot some pride or envy or deceit rearing its ugly head, we might need to bring them to God rather than to sweep them under the carpet. And, of course, turning to the Holy Spirit that flows around and through us all time and looking to that presence for the strength to change and the guidance to move, I’ll tell you, that just might enable us to be the people we were created to be. You see, according to Christ, to obey the Eighth Commandment, first, I think we need to have the courage and openness to address our weaknesses.
And second, for Jesus, I think we must also be willing to set our priorities. And I believe that’s particularly true with the command not to steal. You see, to avoid doing this kind of thing, I believe we need to reevaluate our fundamental values and readjust our basic standards, especially as it relates to how we see all the stuff we assume belongs to us. And you know, I think that’s what Jesus was getting at when he said this:
But love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting to be paid back. Then you will get a great reward, and you will be the true children of God in heaven. He is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel. Have pity on others, just as your Father has pity on you. [Luke 6:35-36, CEV]
You see, for Jesus, it’s really simple: generosity always trumps greed. And being generous means giving freely, loving without limits, and sacrificing our own comfort to care for others, particularly those who are too weak to care for themselves. Of course, this kind of generosity isn’t about size; it’s measured by sacrifice. And it also isn’t just about money. Man, it includes giving our time and giving our attention and giving our compassion to folks who just plain feel left out and unloved. As a matter of fact, it means doing the very thing Jesus commanded all his disciples to do: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. [Matthew 16:24b, CEV] I mean, remember, Jesus told the rich young man to “go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.” [Mark 10:21b, CEV] Now that’s generosity, and for a Christian, generosity must be our priority.
And I’ll tell you, this is a goal that we can approach when we simply and intentionally make the decision to do it. For example, we can surely share some of our time and attention by listening to a friend or by helping a neighbor or by praying for someone. And we can surely give to the poor and needy by sharing some of our food and some of our clothes and yes, some of our money with people who are struggling. Good night nurse, we’ve got our Blessing Box by the park lot and the Share-A-Care cart in the narthex. And even if we don’t have a lot of free time or a bunch of extra money sitting around, we can sure be kind to the people we meet by doing some things as simple yet profound as forgiving folks who’ve hurt us and showing love to men and women we don’t particularly like. And man, we can do all this with joy, because it’s a “want to,” not a “have to.” You see, if we’re serious about obeying the spirit of the Eighth Commandment, second, we can decide to set our priorities.
And third, according to what Jesus said, I think he also wants us to claim our responsibilities, and in particular, our responsibility to use most effectively the time, talent and money we’ve been given. And I don’t think there’s a better example of this than the parable of the talents. You see, in the story, Jesus talked about three servants who were given different amounts of money by their boss right before he went out of the country. Now, when he came back he called all three into his office to see how they’d handled what they’d been given. And even though the first two had doubled his money and received a very nice reward for their “good and faithful” service, the third guy had a different story. Just listen:
The servant who had been given 1,000 coins then came in and said, “Sir, I know that you are hard to work for. You harvest what you don’t plant and gather crops where you haven’t scattered seed. I was frightened and went out and hid your money in the ground. Here is every single coin!”
The master of the servant told him, “You are lazy and good-for-nothing! You know I harvest what I don’t plant and gather crops where I haven’t scattered seed. You could have at least put my money in the bank, so I could have earned interest on it.”
Then the master said, “Now your money will be taken away and given to the servant with 10,000 coins! Everyone who has something will be given more, and they will have more than enough. But everything will be taken from those who don’t have anything. You are a worthless servant, and you will be thrown out into the dark where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain.” [Matthew 25:24-30, CEV]
You see, based on this story, Jesus really, and I mean really wants us to use what we’ve been given. And it really doesn’t matter that we’ve been given different resources and different amounts of free time and different talents and abilities, we’re all responsible for using what we have to express our love for God and for our neighbors. And based on what he said, being afraid isn’t an excuse for doing nothing. Simply put, we have a responsibility to use what we’ve got. And I’ll tell you, we can claim this responsibility by intentionally doing the same kind of things Jesus did. For example, we can prioritize people over our possessions, following the example of Christ when he spent his time healing the sick and feeding the hungry and comforting those who are often ignored or abused. And we can hold our wealth loosely, remembering that Jesus told us to “store up [our] treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them." [Matthew 6:20, CEV] And we can embrace sacrificing, emulating the one who gave his life for our redemption and who said that “the Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.” [Mark 10:45, CEV] You see, when we do this, we’ll be claiming our responsibility to be spiritual stewards, the third sign that we’re taking the Eighth Commandment seriously.
Now, between you and me, I think we can all keep the commandment number eight as written in Exodus. I mean, give me a break, I believe we all have the moral fortitude to resist obvious stuff like robbery and burglary, business fraud and false advertising, paying fair wages and evading taxes. And if we put our minds to it, I’m confident we can also promote workplace integrity and prevent “time theft.” Good night nurse, we might even be able to avoid committing plagiarism and kidnaping. Now we can do this.
But I’ll tell you, applying the interpretation of Christ, well, that just might be a little more challenging. You see, if we’re serious about obeying the command to not steal as seen through the eyes of Jesus, we must address our weaknesses. And we must set our priorities. And we must claim our responsibilities. In my opinion, that’s how we obey the Eighth Commandment.
Which means, next week, we’ll be looking at commandment number nine:
Do not tell lies about others. [Exodus 20:16, CEV]
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