Thou shall not steal, Part One

In this post, we will continue to examine the Commandments that have to do with external actions toward our neighbor.   The commandment we will begin to look at now is the 7^th,

You shall not steal.

We have already been warned in the 10^th commandment not to covet thy neighbor’s goods.  So, if an inordinate desire for them is bad itself, then taking them unjustly surely is.

The Catechism notes a few important concepts of “goods”.  One is the universal destination of them.  Simply put, everything comes from God, and everything will return to God.  One might think, then, well does this commandment go against that?  After all, if everything belongs to God, then why is it wrong to take something from somebody?    Well, the truth is in order for everyone to get what is due to them, some measure of security, order, and individual dignity is necessary.  This is where the second concept of “goods” comes into play, the private ownership of them.  Despite this tension, both these concepts are necessary to ensure just and tranquil order in society.   Men and women must remember that the private goods they own come from God, and should be used appropriately, and not hoarded.

This commandment forbids theft, which the Catechism (2408) defines as usurping another's property against the reasonable will of the owner.  If the owner is irrational in his refusal (for example, refusing to give a starving person a little food when he himself has plenty), then a form of theft is justified.   The Catechism (2409)  gives some examples of theft:  deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another; speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste; willfully damaging private or public property, violating just contracts and promises, excessive gambling

This Commandment also forbids the “theft of the human person”, or in other words, any act that enslaves a human being, putting it to use for reasons that lead them being bought or sold.   Human trafficking, a big problem only recently being given the attention it deserves, is such a gruesome example of this.

As we stated before, all the gifts of creation belong to God. This includes creation. This commandment forbids usurping and destroying the environment and in effect, “stealing” it from future generations.  We must take care so that all generations can enjoy what is justly theirs.  We have spoken in more detail about this in our series  entitled “ The Church and Science” , especially the last several posts in that series that dealt with Pope Francis’ encyclical,  Laudato Si.  I encourage you to read it if you are interested in more on this topic.

This commandment also enjoins social and economic matters as they pertain to a just distribution of goods and resources among peoples.   Decisions in this field should respect the common good of all.  The dignity, development, and good of the human person must be at the center of economic activity.  Any system that “steals” human dignity in the name of the state or profit is not acting in the spirit of this commandment.  Therefore, systems that reduce the individual and exalt the state, such as communism or socialism, must be rejected. 

On the other hand, when capitalism exists unfettered, and profit becomes the leading principle in any society than, that, too, must be challenged.    We read in the Catechism (2426):  The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community. Economic activity, conducted according to its own proper methods, is to be exercised within the limits of the moral order, in keeping with social justice so as to correspond to God's plan for man.

This commandment must be applied as best it can, not just on an individual level between persons, but on a more macro level between states and nations.  There must exist between individuals, states, and nations, solidarity, which is the idea that we are committed to the common good of all, and of each individual.   Rich nations have an obligation to help poor nations as best they can.   This includes direct material and financial aid, and also intellectual aid, helping these poorer countries reform their structures.   Remember our two principles; universal ownership and private property.   Rich nations are entitled to claim land and other goods for their own, but they must remember everything comes from God, and they are responsible to be good stewards of what they own.  Therefore, if they see have an excess of something, such as food or knowledge of any sort, they have an obligation to share with those who have less, and are in need of it.  The receivers must in turn be good stewards of those gifts.

Finally, speaking of the poor, the Church has always taught a preferential option for the poor.  This usually refers to the materially poor, but it can also refer to the physically and/or spiritually poor.  The Catechism describes it as such in Paragraph 2448, “In its various forms - material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and death - human misery is the obvious sign of the inherited condition of frailty and need for salvation in which man finds himself as a consequence of original sin. This misery elicited the compassion of Christ the Savior, who willingly took it upon himself and identified himself with the least of his brethren. Hence, those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere."   

We are all called to have a special love for the poor because of the special way they show us the face of Christ.   The more we see Christ, the more we see God, and the better we all are.  This is not a matter of stealing from the rich to give to the poor.   No, this is those who have, giving, in justice, to those who have not, not just material gifts, but other less visible, but equally as important, gifts, such as time, companionship, and prayer. 

What are these “works of mercy” mentioned above?  The Catechism lists them in 2447: Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.  The works of mercy are definitely worth a post of their own at some point.

Speaking of posts on its own, there was a section in this part of the Catechism that discusses this Commandment that was devoted to the concept of work, which is a crucial component of economic activity, and a buildup of the common good of the individual man and society as a whole.  Since work is such an important part of our daily existence, and more importantly, our sanctification, I am going to give that topic a post of its own next in part 2 of our discussion of the 7^th commandment.

Joseph most just, pray for us.