Is Stealing Still a Sin?

Dear friend,

Do not steal, says the 8th Biblical commandment. (Exodus 20:15)

Yet, with no moral models to follow, we have now entered an ethical void.

With the disappearance of moral role models, it doesn't matter what perverse means we engage in, just to get satisfaction or revenge.

People in power steal, and they do so as their opportunities allow. Poor people sometimes steal, and they do so within their limited means.

While justice seems to have fallen asleep, citizens and leaders do what they can.

Consequently, our moral virtue has become a game of sheer will. And so, stealing has evolved into a habit, meticulously fed by opportunity and the erosion of ethical boundaries.

I'm not speaking here of the crude violence of robbery; rather, it is "passive stealing" that calls my attention.

Passive stealing: shoplifting, smuggling goods, money laundering, abusive interest charged for services, overpricing of merchandise, tax evasion, etc. Of course, I excluded kleptomania from this list. But I'm not talking here only about tangible valuables like money, jewels, art, and property. No. I'm also talking about stealing time and peace of mind, taking credit for others' work, and, oh, the list can grow as the imagination allows.

In years past, people feared God. The 8th commandment is the best example. In the time of Christ, the apostles condemned the rich, as if they were somehow guilty. And so we are told: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" (Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25). Yet the paradox is that we all want to be rich, no matter how. Undoubtedly, a broken legal system has replaced our moral compass. True. A moral recession has taken over people and institutions.

Besides, society may even applaud you for your theft if you do it with art, grace, a touch of mystery, and a false sense of justice. History and literature are full of heroic outlaws. Two examples will suffice:

·      Robin Hood's time may be over, but his "raison d’être" still has his followers.

·      Ali Baba and his 40 Thieves are more alive than ever

However, does the poor person who steals from the rich become a "just" citizen? Might be not, but at least he or she might find a kind of balance in his or her actions, perhaps a bittersweet flavour of overdue revenge.

Does the rich stealing from the poor make him or her a criminal? Yes, but only if the rich person gets caught; yet a high-priced lawyer can get them out of prison, which a poor thief could never afford.

It seems that enforcing morality is an impossible task, but if so, how are we going to end this vicious circle?

But hold on, dear friend, for not everything is lost. Not yet. Not all the pieces of this puzzle we call "human society" are loose. There is still some glue holding the pieces together. And the glue is trust. If trust disappears, then the human society will collapse.

And that's why it's urgent to answer the old fable question: who will bell the cat?