Q: What does God forbid in the eighth commandment?
A: He forbids not only outright theft and robbery,
punishable by law.1
But in God's sight theft also includes
cheating and swindling our neighbor
by schemes made to appear legitimate,2
such as:
inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume;
fraudulent merchandising;
counterfeit money;
excessive interest;
or any other means forbidden by God.3
In addition he forbids all greed4
and pointless squandering of his gifts.5
1 Ex. 22:1; 1 Cor. 5:9-10; 6:9-10
2 Mic. 6:9-11; Luke 3:14; James 5:1-6
3 Deut. 25:13-16; Ps. 15:5; Prov. 11:1; 12:22; Ezek. 45:9-12;
Luke 6:35
4 Luke 12:15; Eph. 5:5
5 Prov. 21:20; 23:20-21; Luke 16:10-13
Q: What does God require of you in this commandment?
A: That I do whatever I can
for my neighbor's good,
that I treat others
as I would like them to treat me,
and that I work faithfully
so that I may share with those in need.1
1 Isa. 58:5-10; Matt. 7:12; Gal. 6:9-10; Eph. 4:28