Tuesday Reflection – June 09, 2020
A Little Respect Goes a Long Way<\/p>\n\n\n
The eighth commandment is simply four words. You shall not steal. Ex 20: 15. This is today\u2019s watchword. It is short and to the point, leaving no room for argument as to what is covered or what is included. According to the Oxford Dictionary, stealing is to \u2018take without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.\u2019 Simply put, to not steal is to leave other people\u2019s things alone. There is much more to this commandment, however.
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I have always broken down the commandments into two sections. The first three deal with our relationship with God, while the other seven deal with our relationship with each other. The command to not steal is related to the other six in this group. To not honor one\u2019s parents, to take someone\u2019s life, wife or husband, to disrupt someone\u2019s life by lying on them, or to covet something that is not yours are all ways in which we can steal, that is, take from someone what was never ours to take. To take someone else\u2019s idea and use it like it\u2019s yours, to take someone\u2019s reputation, trust, dignity, to take someone\u2019s time and intellect, are all ways in which we can steal. The command to not steal is therefore a call to show respect to others.\u00a0
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Note that in its earliest understanding among the Jews, this commandment was interpreted as a command against stealing other human beings. It therefore prohibited kidnapping and thus stood against a system in which people were kidnapped from their homeland and sold into slavery. It also speaks against the human trafficking which continues to plague the world today. In fact, in Ex 21: 16 the penalty for such action was death.\u00a0\u201cHe who kidnaps a man and\u00a0sells him, or if he is\u00a0found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.\u2019 If we respected each other as we ought to, then a lot of the things that plague our society today would not be happening. If we respected each other as we are commanded to, then George Floyd would not have died under the knee of a police officer. If we respected each other then Noel Chambers would have been treated with human dignity and would not have died after spending forty years in a Jamaican prison at the Governor General\u2019s pleasure, without a trial and without dignified human and medical treatment. If we respected each other Maurice Gordon would not have been killed by a police officer even after it was clear that he was unarmed and not in violation of any laws. Clyde Kilough was so correct when he said \u2018the most irreplaceable things are rarely physical\u2019. If we respected each other this would truly be a wonderful world for a little respect goes a long way.\u00a0\u00a0
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There is hope however. Hope in this very commandment \u2018thou shall not steal\u2019. Paul in Ephesians 4: 28, speaking of living as Godly people, reflecting the new life we find in Christ Jesus, commands us:\u00a0Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather\u00a0let him labor, working with\u00a0his\u00a0hands what is good, that he may have something\u00a0to give him who has need. The opposite of stealing is working to give. Those who know Christ should be transformed from being takers to being givers. We give by sharing, by caring and generally by respecting each other. When Jesus met Zacchaeus in the gospels and went to his house, Zacchaeus was confronted by who he had been up to that point, and immediately vowed to change.\u00a0\u201cLook, Lord, I give half of my goods to the\u00a0poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by\u00a0false accusation,\u00a0I restore fourfold.\u201d\u00a09\u00a0And Jesus said to him,\u00a0\u201cToday salvation has come to this house.\u201d\u00a0Luke 19: 8 \u2013 9. I want to believe that the respect with which Jesus treated Zacchaeus even while so many were disrespecting him, contributed to his conversion. Rather than also steal what little reputation and respect he had left, Jesus gave to him by calling him by name, by calling him closer and by fellowshipping with him in his house. What a difference it would make in this world if we who are called by Jesus\u2019 name begin to treat everyone with such dignity and respect. It would change the entire outlook of humanity. Indeed, a little respect goes a long way.\u00a0\u00a0Amen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
Bevon White<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tuesday Reflection – June 09, 2020 A Little Respect Goes a Long Way The eighth commandment is simply four words. You shall not steal. Ex 20: 15. This is today\u2019s watchword. It is short and to the point, leaving no room for\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","watchword_topic":[12],"class_list":["post-225","watchword","type-watchword","status-publish","hentry","watchword_topic-hope"],"yoast_head":"\n