We are taught by the Doctrine of the New Church, that by this Commandment, in the natural or literal sense, is meant, "not to steal, or rob, or act the pirate; and in general, not to take away from any one his goods secretly or under any pretext. It also extends to all kinds of imposition, unlawful gains, usuries, and unjust exactions; also to fraudulent practices in paying duties and taxes, and in discharging debts. Workmen transgress this Commandment who do their work unfaithfully and deceitfully; merchants, who deceive in merchandise, or in weight, measure, or accounts: judges, who judge for bribes, friendship, relationship, or similar causes, perverting the laws or the cases before them, and thus unjustly deprive others of their goods."[1]
Let us now examine some of these particulars in the signification of the literal sense of this Commandment; and at the same time, let us each examine our consciences, and see whether this Divine precept is in any way broken by ourselves.
In regard to the primary signification of the Commandment, that which refers to direct theft or robbery, a sense of respectability would, with most persons, prevent the commission of such a crime. In regard to this point, then, it needs only to be observed, that we are to examine ourselves, to see from what motive we abstain from the commission of it; whether, because such an act would be sin against God, or whether only from fear of disgrace amongst men. If only the latter be our motive, then we are continually stealing in spirit, if not in act; and after death, when externals are stripped off, and the man is seen unmasked, we shall appear actually, what we are now in spirit, thieves and robbers. We need, then, to examine our motives, as well as our actions.
On this point, the New Church Doctrine speaks strongly, as follows: "He who abstains from thefts, nay, who even shuns them, from any other motive than from religion, and on account of life eternal, is not purified from them, for no other motive opens heaven, and it is by means of heaven that the Lord removes evils with men. For example, administrators of goods, merchants, judges, officers of all kinds, and laborers, who abstain from thefts on account of reputation and thence honor and gain, or on account of civil and moral laws, in a word, from any merely natural love or any merely natural fear, thus from external bonds alone, and not from religion, have still their interiors full of thefts and rapine, which also break out when the external bonds are taken off, as is the case with every one after death: the apparent sincerity and rectitude of such persons is nothing more than a mask, disguise, and craft."[2] These are considerations which need to be earnestly reflected upon.
Let us now turn to the less direct, but far more common, forms of breaking this Commandment:—"Impositions, unlawful gains, usuries and exactions." To practice imposition or deception of any kind, in daily business, is stealing. A merchant, for instance, who "deceives in weight, measure, or accounts," who, in order to sell his goods, represents them to be different from what they are, or by his silence permits them to pass for what they are not, sins against this Commandment. It is painful to think what a sweep the precept, viewed in this light, would make through the community, if it fell upon all (as it one day will fall) who properly come under its condemnation. How many are there who make a daily practice of deceiving in their business, either as to weight or measure, or, especially, as to quality,—stating to those who come to buy of them, that an article is of this or that quality, when they know it to be otherwise, thus receiving value from the purchaser, without giving an equivalent! Does not the Lord, who is looking down upon that man, and sees into his heart, mark this act as theft, as much as if he put his hand into his neighbor's purse? And it is more than theft: it is falsehood also. Yet, day after day, is this fraud practised and this Divine Commandment broken by men holding a respectable position in society; and they go home at night to their families, and lay their heads upon their pillows, as if they were innocent beings. But the Lord knows them, and when they awake in the other world, they will know themselves. Let no one call himself a Newchurchman who thus lives and acts. He may be constant in attendance on the services of public worship, he may read the Works of the Church and have his memory stored with their truths, so as to be able to talk eloquently of the beauties and glories of the New Dispensation: but it will all avail him nothing. He has "laid up his treasures on earth, not in heaven;" his truths are in his memory only, not in his heart; and "thieves will break through and steal them, and moth and rust corrupt them:" after death he will lose them all.
This Commandment extends also to "unlawful gains," gains which are made by acting against the laws either of God or man. If, for instance, a person engages in any business which is contrary to the law of the land, and still more if it be such as is calculated to injure his fellow-men, and is thus contrary to the laws of God,—he breaks this Commandment. The selling of lottery tickets, for instance, would come under this rule; as also the keeping of gaming-tables, and gaming itself. No true Newchurchman,—no one who understands the laws of Divine Providence would engage in such occupations and practices. The order of Divine Providence is, that every man should perform some use to society, and, in return, society recompense him, and thus he gain a livelihood. Consequently, to seek to gain money through a lottery, or by means of gaming, thus without performing any uses to the world, is contrary to Divine order. Hence, to encourage others in so doing, by selling lottery tickets or keeping a gaming-table, is a sin. Look at the wickedness and wretchedness gathered round the gaming-establishments (the "hells," as they are justly termed), of Homburg and Baden-Baden in Germany, and indeed of many other places nearer home. Is there not direct communication of such places with infernal societies? Are not infernal spirits themselves gathered about such places, firing the hearts and glaring through the eyes of the gamesters? are they not all thieves at heart—desiring to get away the property of others, without returning any equivalent?
The making of gains by fortune-telling falls under the same prohibition. Says the New Church Doctrine, "The desire of foreknowing the future is innate with most persons; but this desire has its origin in the love of evil. Wherefore it is taken away from those who believe in the Divine Providence, and there is given to them a trust that the Lord disposes their lot; and hence they do not wish to foreknow it, lest they should in any manner interfere with the Divine Providence." Since, then, the desire to foreknow the future originates in evil, no man of principle will cherish that desire either in himself or others, by countenancing the practice of fortune-telling. Young people sometimes go to have their fortunes told, considering it as done only for sport, not knowing that the wish originates in the deep-seated evil above mentioned; and though they may go away laughing at what they have heard, an impression is often made upon their minds which is hurtful, and tends to interfere with the course of Divine Providence in regard to them.
The selling of any article of merchandise, whether forbidden by law or not, which tends to injure men instead of benefiting them, may be regarded as stealing, both in a natural sense and in a spiritual; for thereby not only is the neighbor's money taken from him without a fair equivalent, but he is also robbed of his spiritual and moral wealth; and to make gains by such means is a sin against God.
"Usuries and exactions, also." To lend money at an exorbitant rate of interest is stealing, because it is taking from another, without rendering a just equivalent. It is the same to take advantage of a neighbor's necessities, to exact from him all you can. Selling at very high prices, in times of scarcity, and thereby making immense profits, I must class under the same head. This is, indeed, the common way of the world; but I cannot look upon it as a Christian way. No man who truly loves his neighbor, can thus take advantage of the needs of individuals or of society at large. His profits should be moderate and reasonable, and no more at any time.
To exact from workmen more than a fair amount of labor is also to be regarded as stealing. Their wealth lies in their strength and skill; and to exact the exercise of these to excess, or without a fair equivalent, is to steal. On the other hand, workmen who perform their work unfaithfully and without thoroughness, break this Commandment; for they receive the money of their employer, without making him a just return. Those who are guilty of any of these practices commit sin against God.
Again, to defraud the Government in the payment of duties and taxes is a violation of this Commandment. The writings of the Church teach that our country is our neighbor, in a high degree, even more so than an individual; for it is composed of millions of individuals. To take, therefore, from the Government, by withholding its dues, is robbing or stealing, as truly as it would be to take from an individual. Says the New Church Doctrine, "In regard to the payment of duties and taxes—those who are spiritual pay them with one disposition of heart, and those who are merely natural, with another. The spiritual pay them with good-will, because they are collected for the preservation of their country, and for the protection of it and the Church, and for the services performed by officers and rulers, to whom salaries and stipends are to be paid out of the public treasury. Wherefore those who regard their country and also the Church as their neighbor, pay them willingly and cheerfully, and consider it iniquitous to deceive or defraud. But those who do not regard their country and the Church as the neighbor, pay them unwillingly and reluctantly, and whenever opportunity is given, they withhold them or use deception; for with such, only their own house and their own flesh is their neighbor."[3]
Unfaithfulness or negligence in discharging debts (a very common evil) is also stealing. Not to pay one's debts at all is manifest stealing; for it is depriving another of his rightful property. It implies, also, the sin of falsehood; for a person, in contracting a debt, promises to make payment at a certain time. But this is not all: a want of strict punctuality in the payment of debts is also in a manner stealing; for every hour that payment is withheld after it becomes due, the person from whom it is withheld is deprived of the benefits which he might have had by the use of his property during that time. It should be looked upon as a sin, a sin against God, thus to deprive the neighbor of what rightfully belongs to him. There may be occasions, indeed—times of extreme and unexpected pressure, when it is absolutely impossible to keep one's engagements. But with a man who is prudent, as well as honest and upright in all his dealings, from religious principle, such occasions will be rare. And as to the payment of small domestic and family debts, I consider that there is no exception. No man of common honesty or right feeling, much less of religious principle, will suffer such debts to remain unpaid a day after they are due. If they cannot be paid otherwise, he will contrive to do it by making sacrifices of conveniences, and even of comforts, by contracting his family expenses within the smallest possible limits, and by denying himself every costly pleasure, till the debt is paid. Who can tell the amount of suffering caused among tradespeople, needle-women, washerwomen, and others of the class to whom family debts are commonly due, by negligence in the payment of such debts. No just man, no one who truly loves his neighbor, will be guilty of such negligence. Indeed, the better way is to have no such debts, or as few as possible: "Pay as you go," is a good rule for the religious as for the moral man.
We thus perceive how extensive is the signification of this Commandment even in the literal or natural sense. But let us now turn to the consideration of its spiritual sense.
To steal, in the Spiritual sense, is to deprive another of his spiritual wealth, which is goodness and truth, the wealth of the soul. Any one, therefore, who deprives another of truth or goodness, either by teaching him what is false, or by leading him into an evil course of life, is guilty of spiritual theft; and such theft is as much greater an injury than natural theft, as spiritual riches are more valuable than natural riches.
A preacher, for instance, who, for selfish or worldly ends, teaches what he knows, or may know from the Word, to be not true, is guilty of spiritual theft; for he takes away from those whom he teaches, the truths which they already possess, or by introducing falsities shuts their minds against the light of truth flowing in from heaven. A public teacher, therefore, is bound to be very careful as to what he says, lest he infuse into the minds of his hearers some falsity or phantasy, some unwarrantable idea, derived from his own mind, and not from the Word of the Lord. He needs to make himself sure that all he utters is pure and genuine truth, supported by the Divine Word, or by the Doctrines of the Church thence derived: so shall he feed his flock with wheat and not with chaff, with bread and not with poison.
A parent who instils into the mind of his child bad principles, as, for instance, that it is right to be angry and to take revenge—to fight and return blow for blow—such a parent is eminently guilty of spiritual theft; for he steals out of his child's heart the spirit of love and innocence, and so removes him from heaven, and introduces him into the company of infernal spirits. In like manner, the parent who talks scandal before his children, and thus insinuates into their youthful minds hard and uncharitable thoughts, and excites feelings of bitterness and hate towards others, is in the spiritual sense a robber; and the same, if he sets them a bad example in other ways, and thus leads them into evil practices. So, one who neglects to teach his children right and true principles, but leaves them to grow up just as they may,—is guilty of spiritual theft; for he neglects to discharge a debt which he owes his offspring, and which at their birth he impliedly contracted to pay. Are not many parents guilty of this wrong? Are they sufficiently careful to instruct their children in religious truths, to instil into them right principles, to lead their minds to the contemplation of heavenly things, and to teach them faithfully the truths of the Word and the Divine Commandments? The Sabbath-day, a day of rest from worldly work, is specially given in order to afford leisure for such duties; and the father who spends the day in amusing himself with a newspaper, when he ought to be instructing his children in Divine things, is not fit to be a parent,—is neglecting the first duties of that sacred relation. The commandment is to "teach these things diligently unto their children,"[4] and the parent who neglects to do so, is guilty of depriving his children of those spiritual treasures which rightfully belong to them as sons of God and heirs of immortality. In a word, whoever, by word or deed, directly or indirectly, deprives another of truth or goodness, is chargeable with the sin of spiritual theft.
And now, in the last place, let us consider this Commandment in its highest or celestial sense. To steal, in this sense, is to take from the Lord; that is, to claim as our own what belongs to Him. Now, the truth is, that all our powers, mental and physical—all truth and goodness—nay, life itself,—are from the Lord and are every instant given by him. They are not our own, but are his in us. If he should, for a single instant, cease to give them to us anew, we should be altogether without them. If he for one moment withheld his flow of rationality into the mind, we should be idiots; if he for a moment ceased to pour the stream of love and kindness into the heart, we should be seized upon and carried away by all manner of evil passions; nay, if the influx of life itself ceased for an instant to come in from him afresh, we should fall dead to the ground. Such is the teaching of the New Church Doctrine, as derived from the Holy Word: "A man can receive nothing," says the Scripture, "except it be given him from heaven."
This being the case, if a man claim to himself his mental abilities, (his talents, as they are called,) and is proud of them,—if he does not with mind and heart acknowledge them as belonging to the Lord alone—in a word, if he is a self-conceited man,—he is guilty of violating the Commandment in this its celestial sense. He receives or wishes to receive praise and honor which does not belong to him, and withholds it from Him to whom it is due. All irreligious men, therefore, are breakers of this Commandment. They are every moment receiving from the Lord what they do not acknowledge to be derived from Him, but which they virtually claim for their own. If men of this description, who often make pretensions to honor, would but consider that they are every moment of their lives acting a most dishonorable part, by laying claim to that which is not theirs,—they would perhaps, lose something of that high self-estimation which is characteristic of this class. If such men were to conduct themselves towards other men with the ingratitude which they are continually showing towards the Lord, their greatest benefactor, they would be branded as dishonorable throughout society. Let us examine ourselves, and see if we are not, in a greater or less degree, guilty of breaking this Commandment in its highest sense, by not looking to the Lord, and acknowledging Him in all our ways.
Says the Lord Himself, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." "I am the door of the sheep." He, then, who does not acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as God, nor look to Him in His Divine Humanity, but passing by Him, seeks to climb up some other way into heaven, is guilty of spiritual theft and robbery. For he who does not acknowledge a visible God, by worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ, but looks only to an invisible abstract Being whom he terms "God," but of whom he can form no idea, and therefore to whom he can offer no true worship,—does in reality fall back on himself, and in his heart attributes merit and righteousness to himself, and so steals from the Lord. Let us, then, look to the Lord alone, and ascribe ail merit to Him: so shall we be truly honest and sincere and humble in heart.
- ↑ True Christian Religion, n. 317.
- ↑ Apocalypse Explained, n. 972.
- ↑ T. C. R., n. 430.
- ↑ Deut. vi. 7.