Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Ephesians 4:28

For most of us, the idea of being considered a thief is a little out of the ordinary. Few of us would attempt armed robbery, but what if the definition is expanded just a little? Alistair Begg provided the following list in one of his devotionals some time ago:

• borrowing something we fail to return
• keeping dishonest records
• misusing our employer’s time
• paying unjust wages, withholding wages, or delaying wages
• slandering others, thereby stealing their reputation
• sinning sexually with another, thereby stealing their moral purity
• plagiarizing, thereby stealing someone else’s work
• cheating in the classroom
• failing to give God what we owe Him (Malachi 3:8)

How many of us feel convicted now? I can think of some of my own failures at one time or another.

In the verse above, Paul doesn’t dwell on what was, but on what is now. The thief no longer steals, he earns an honest living and then we notice one more aspect of the Christian life. The person who used to take from others is now a giver as he shares with others.