Breaking The Seventh Commandment

God gave each person a gift at their birth, the gift of grace and freedom, so that we are willfully in control of our actions. Sinning against him in fact damages our freedom, instead of exercising it as people might think. The Seventh Commandment is “thou shall not steal.” This includes circumstances beyond the act of thievery as well. It is a Christian duty to follow the Commandment, and if the commandment is broken, then our freedom in God is damaged. Following the Seventh Commandment, as defined by the Baltimore Catechism, is respecting what belongs to others, living out our business agreements, and paying our just debts. Taking money for yourself that belongs to others is stealing, no matter how it is done. Cheating others out of their money is violating the commandment. Accepting bribes is also a way of breaking the commandment because taking that money is unjust and really does not belong to you. However, with our nature, it is impossible for us to never sin. We are born with a sinful
The workers were slaves, whose lives had been stolen from them. The northern neighbors were not benefitting from their prosperity. This is an example of people not following the Seventh Commandment. A biblical example is King Ahab, a crooked king of Israel. He desperately wanted his neighbor’s vineyard that he stole it from him after trying to first cheat him out of it, and then he killed him. In the end, God in his justice punished him. It is essential for us to follow the commandments so that we might not punish ourselves by breaking our freedom with God. The Seventh Commandment, “Thou shall not steal,” is important to follow, but all the commandments are interconnected. By breaking one commandment, another is broken. The commandments should be followed to reach total freedom with