Ten Commandments (1972)_b.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong

The Eighth Commandment 115
more laws on the statute books protecting property than
there are to protect human life, the home, and the true
worship of God.
It is true that it is not given to human beings or
courts of men to legislate upon the true worship of the
Living God. Yet it is an appalling FACT of our modern
society that the lack of any respect or worship of
Almighty God is hardly counted as sin at all in public
opinion.
And this sin of REBELLION is the root from which all
others grow!
And so - in spite of the multitude of laws protecting
property - men CUT OFF from the true God are stealing in
many devious ways more than ever before in human
history!
The Eighth Commandment Stated
After the God of Heaven thundered from the top of
Mt. Sinai the commandments ordaining the true worship
of Him, and laws protecting the most sacred human relationships
- the home, the family, and human life itself ­
God gave the eighth commandment. This is God's Law
protecting all private property and possessions: "THOU
SHALT NOT STEAL" (Ex. 20:15).
Because men do not think the God who gave this
commandment is REAL - and do not fear to disobey His
Law - we have more literal theft than ever before. But we
also violate the eighth command in hundreds of ways
through a "watered down" system of morality.
After discussing some debased scheme by which to
cheat a business competitor or customer, executives
shrug their shoulders and say: "Well, that's just
business."
Or, after a reception involving false measurement,
poor quality or misleading advertising, a businessman will
say: "What's the difference? If I don't do it, somebody else
will."
When cheating the government or falsifying an
income tax return, the common American phrase to salve
one's conscience is: "Let Uncle Sam sweat this time. The