Protecting Property | Exodus 20:15

This week we will be exploring the eighth commandment in Exodus 20:15, Protecting Property.
Well, here we go again. Another two word command in Hebrew.
Lo tignob (Hebrew)
Never steal.
It seems like a simple enough command. Don't shoplift. Don't break into someone's house. Don't take things that are not yours.
But there are so many more implications to this command.
Like the other commandments, the 8th commandment echoes back to God's creative design. We were created to rule, to have dominion, to make use of the resources that God has blessed us with, to steward over and care for the earth.
We were made not only to worship but to work. We were designed to make an impact in this world, to steward well the corner of the earth where God has placed us. 
And so really this command is all about taking responsibility for what God has called me to do and not infringing on others or taking what God has given them. It is about faithful stewardship of what God has placed in my sphere of responsibility and a respectful honoring of the boundaries that God has placed between you and me. 
When I steal, I not only evade my own responsibility but I also invade your territory...and try to make it my own. 
This simple command thus speaks volumes about knowing who I am, knowing what God has called me to do, being responsible, respecting your space, honoring limitations and boundaries, and being faithful and content with the stewardship that God has given me.
It also speaks volumes about the limitations and boundaries of government. It is not a coincidence that a society that devalues life, sex, and marriage also devalues personal responsibility and starts moving more and more toward socialism and a victim mentality.
The Ten Commandments are, oh, so relevant today.
May God ground our faith, renew our minds, and give us wisdom to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age!