BEWARE THE GYPSIES! THEY WILL PICKPOCKET YOU!
Thou shalt not steal.
Have you stolen anything?
Committed deceit in gaming, reckoning, buying or selling, in
wares, prices, weights or measures?
Bought of such as could not sell?
Willfully damaged another man’s goods or negligently spoiled
them?
Run into debt carelessly beyond your power of payment?
A number of people in my family are going on a Mediterranean
cruise with Carnival Cruise line later this year in August. I believe the
vessel departs from Spain and stops at various Italian and French ports. As
they begin preparing this trip in honor of my cousin’s graduation and my aunt’s
50th birthday, they’re under a lot of stress about paying the bill.
On top of that, my family is full of control freaks that just can’t help
themselves but teach each other how to pack a suitcase (myself included).
One of the things that people generally don’t think about is
getting what you have brought with you stolen. The fact of the matter is that
it happens, and in areas of high tourism it happens quite often.
Now, almost everyone has broken this commandment, however
not almost everyone is a common thief or pickpocket. For the most part, people
steal things when they cut corners, cheat each other, or break something
inadvertently and have no intention of either fixing or replacing it.
A lot of people, if we are to point this out, would take it
with a grain of salt. They’ll say things like… “It don’t matter anyway,” or “It’s
too small to make a difference” or “No one’s going to miss it” and they’ll just
get rid of something from someone without
permission. I mean after all “what’s the harm in ‘checking’ to see if
Suzy and I got the same answers on the quiz?”
The fact of the matter is that there is harm in that. We are
hurting God, hurting ourselves by ruining our relationship with Him and the
people around us. Now, some of these sins can seem very small, but they are
still sins, and we shouldn’t commit them. Though all sins are forgivable, NONE
are negligible otherwise they wouldn’t be sins! Our sins also have a snowball effect which lead to ... you guessed it! More SIN!
There’s a song called “Two Sets of Jones’” by Big Tent Revival. One couple rooted their relationship in possessions, and another in Jesus Christ. If we root our lives in Christ, and live by his Word (including NOT STEALING and the rest of the commandments in the Decalogue) we will find our happiness. It’s not about the things in life, it’s all about charity, “the greatest” of virtues. 1 Corinthians 13:13
IN CONCLUSION, BE TRUE TO YOURSELF, TO OTHERS, AND TO GOD.
HOLD ONTO YOUR INTEGRITY AND YOUR HONOR AND BE HONEST WHEN IT COMES TO
POSESSIONS. DON’T TAKE OR DESTROY WHATEVER DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU WITHOUT
PERMISSION. FIND BROTHERLY LOVE IN YOUR HEART AND TRY NOT TO CHEAT YOUR WAY
JUST TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONES’S. AND, BEWARE THE GYPSIES. THEY WILL PICKPOCKET YOU FOR SURE!
