A Note from Michael Gossett | January 9, 2026
A Better Treasure
Exodus 20:15
“You shall not steal.” Three words. Eight letters in Hebrew. It might be the most straightforward commandment God ever gave. If we are honest, it is also probably the one we dismiss most quickly. We hear it and think, “Well, I am not a thief.” We breathe a sigh of relief and move on to weightier matters.
The Barna Group once reported that eighty-six percent of adults claimed they completely satisfied God’s requirement here. Eighty-six percent! We picture masked burglars and shoplifters with merchandise stuffed in their coats. We picture the Hamburglar from the old McDonald’s commercials. That is what a thief looks like and that is certainly not us.
But Martin Luther saw things differently. That great Reformer who knew the depths of human depravity and the heights of divine grace wrote something that should unsettle us: “If we look at mankind in all its conditions, it is nothing but a vast, wide stable full of great thieves.” That is strong language. Maybe too strong for our modern ears. Yet Luther grasped something we often miss. The eighth commandment, like all of God’s law, functions as a mirror. It shows us the true condition of our hearts. And when we look closely, we may not like everything we see.
The Heart Behind the Hand
In its simplest form, stealing is taking what does not belong to you. But Scripture never lets us stay at the surface. God is always after the heart. So when we dig into what drives a person to steal, whether that theft is obvious or subtle, we find two poisonous roots growing in the soil of our souls. We will find entitlement and jealousy.
Entitlement whispers that we deserve more than we have been given. It is the quiet voice in your head that says, “I have a right to this.” You have felt its pull. Maybe you were scrolling through social media and discovered you were not invited to a party or gathering. Suddenly you felt wronged, left out, or mistreated. That small sting? That is entitlement in seed form. If that seed is left alone, it begins to grow into something monstrous, a consuming sense that the world owes you something. Even more so, we begin to feel like God owes us something.
James 4:6 cuts right through this delusion: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Think about that. When we stand before God with clenched fists, demanding what we think we deserve, we find ourselves fighting against the Almighty. We cannot win that fight. But when we open our hands in humble dependence, we discover His grace is more than enough. It always has been.
Now if entitlement says, “I deserve this,” then jealousy adds a darker note: “You do not deserve what you have.” See the difference? Jealousy looks at your neighbor’s blessings and fumes. Scripture warns us plainly in James 3:16 that “where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.” Every evil practice. The road of jealousy only goes one direction, and it is always downward.
Think about the first brothers in human history. Abel brought his offering, and the Lord had regard for it. Cain watched this happen and the text says, “was furious, and he looked despondent” (Genesis 4:5). Jealousy took root. It festered. And before long, Cain stole from Abel the most precious thing any person possesses: his very life.
Think about Rebekah and Jacob scheming together to steal Esau’s blessing. When Isaac discovered the deception, his words were devastating: “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing” (Genesis 27:35). Jealousy led to theft, and the consequences echoed through generations. These stories are in Scripture for a reason. They show us what our hearts are capable of when envy goes unchecked.
Against Who?
When we steal, we sin against our neighbor. Leviticus 19:13 makes this plain: “Do not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages due a hired worker must not remain with you until morning.” Every act of theft, whether we take someone’s possessions or their time or their reputation or their fair wages, is an act of disrespect toward a person made in God’s image. When we take advantage of someone in a business deal, when we gain the upper hand unfairly, when we withhold what is rightfully owed, we fail to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is that plain and simple.
But there is also a deeper layer represented here. Every act of stealing is ultimately an act of distrust toward God. Think about Israel wandering in the wilderness, freshly delivered from Egyptian bondage, grumbling against Moses and Aaron because they feared starvation. How did the Lord respond? Not with judgment but with provision: “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). Manna fell every single morning. It was a daily reminder that God could be trusted to provide.
When we steal, whatever form that stealing takes, we declare with our actions that God cannot be trusted. We take matters into our own hands because we doubt His hands are sufficient. We grasp what does not belong to us because we fear He will not give us what we truly need. At its core, theft is a faith problem.
Charles Spurgeon understood this link between integrity and trust: “Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience.” When we walk honestly, even when it costs us, we bear witness to a God who can handle the outcome. Our integrity preaches a sermon about His faithfulness.
Jesus taught His disciples not to worry about food or clothing. “Look at the birds of the air,” He said. “Consider the lilies of the field.” And then came this stunning promise: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matthew 6:33). When we steal, when we cut corners, when we take what is not ours, we reveal that we have not really believed this promise or at least not deep down where it counts.
From Stealing to Stewarding
The gospel never merely tells us to stop sinning. It transforms us into new creatures who live by the rhythms of a different kingdom. So instead of stealing, we are called to steward. Instead of grasping, we are called to give. The eighth commandment, when we understand it rightly, opens up a beautiful vision of the generous life into which God invites us.
First, there must be an absence of greed. Greed is a curious sin. We spot it so easily in others while staying utterly blind to it in ourselves. But Jesus warns us plainly: “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Here is something worth remembering: the measure of greed is not how much you receive but how much you keep. The greatest thieves in the church are not those who take from others. They are those who refuse to give.
Paul includes greedy people right alongside thieves and swindlers among those who will not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:10). That should sober us. The person who hoards while his brother goes without stands under divine judgment just as surely as the one who picks a pocket on the street.
Second, there must be a presence of generosity. Ephesians 4:28 gives us a stunning contrast: “Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.” Catch that? The purpose of honest labor is not simply to provide for ourselves. It is to have something left over to give away. God blesses us with work and health and income, not so we can pile them up, but so we can pass them on.
This is precisely how the early church operated. Acts 2:44-45 paints a remarkable picture: “Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Generosity means putting yourself second so someone else can benefit. Stealing always serves the self. Kingdom living always serves the other. That is the difference.
Third, there must be an awareness of eternity. Jesus finishes His teaching on treasures with this: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). There is an investment that outlasts this world. No stock market crash can touch it. No thief can reach it. No rust can corrode it. When we give to God’s kingdom work, when we invest in the spread of the gospel and the care of human souls, we are storing up treasure that will greet us on the other side of the grave.
Your house is a good gift from God. Your career is a blessing. Your possessions can be enjoyed with gratitude. None of these things are evil in themselves. But when your entire life is filled only with things that will not outlast your funeral, you have lost sight of eternity. You have traded what lasts forever for what is passing away.
The Better Treasure
Jesus ends His teaching on treasures with a searching statement: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Your treasure is an indicator. It shows who really has your heart.
Let me speak plainly here. God does not need your money. The Lord who owns the cattle on a thousand hills is not pacing heaven’s throne room wondering whether we will meet budget this month or fund the next mission trip. He is not desperate for your checkbook. But He is jealous for your heart. He wants all of you. Not the scraps left over after the world has taken its portion.
When we refuse to give generously, when we grip our resources with white-knuckled fear, we show that we have not truly treasured Christ above everything else. We might sing about His worth on Sunday morning, but our bank statements tell a different story. We might say He is our portion and prize, but our spending habits suggest our hearts are somewhere else entirely.
So the eighth commandment turns out to be far more than a rule against theft. It is an invitation to discover something better. A treasure that moths cannot eat and rust cannot touch and thieves cannot carry off. A treasure that death itself cannot steal from you. That treasure is Christ Himself.
If you can trust Him with your eternal salvation, if you can place your never-dying soul into His nail-scarred hands, then surely you can trust Him with your wallet. Surely you can believe He will provide when you give with open hands. Surely you can rest in the promise that the One who did not spare His own Son will graciously provide you with everything you need.
There is a lost and dying world all around us. People who desperately need to hear about Jesus. If we do not go to them, who will? If we do not fund the work, who will write the check? This is what it looks like when eternity breaks into our everyday decisions. It calls us to live as citizens of another kingdom, even while our feet walk the streets of this one.
So let me ask you: Where is your treasure? Take an honest look at your life. Not for the church’s sake. Not for the budget’s sake. For the sake of your own soul. Either the world has your heart, or the Lord does. There is no fence to sit on here.
May God give us eyes to see Jesus as our better treasure. And may that vision change us from the inside out. From thieves into stewards. From hoarders into givers. From people who clutch and grasp, into people who gladly release everything for the glory of His name.
A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father,
We confess that we have not always honored You with what You have given us. We have grasped when we should have given. We have hoarded when we should have shared. We have trusted our own efforts more than Your faithful provision. Forgive us, Lord. Open our eyes to see the entitlement and jealousy that lurk in our hearts. Root out the greed we have been blind to. Replace our fear with faith, our selfishness with generosity, and our love of earthly things with a burning desire for eternal treasure.
Thank You that in Christ we have a treasure no thief can steal and no moth can destroy. Help us to live like we actually believe that. Make us generous because You have been generous to us. Make us faithful stewards of every gift You have placed in our hands.
We pray for those in our community who are in genuine need. Show us how to be Your hands and feet to them. And we pray for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Use our resources, our time, and our very lives to make Your name known among the nations.
In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
James 5:16 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” There is something sweet about gathering with your church family to pray. When we come together and bring our burdens, our joys, our concerns, and our hopes before the Lord, we are reminded that we do not walk this life alone. God hears us and delights to answer the prayers of His people.
We would love for you to join us this Wednesday evening from 6-7pm for our weekly Prayer Gathering. We will spend time seeking the Lord together, lifting up one another, praying for our community, and asking God to move in and through our church for His glory.
If you have never come to a Prayer Gathering before, this is a wonderful time to start. There is no pressure to pray out loud if it feels uncomfortable. You are welcome to simply come, listen, and agree in your heart with the prayers being offered. What matters is that we are together, united before the throne of grace.
Come as you are. Bring your tired heart, your anxious thoughts, your grateful spirit, or all of the above. We will meet you there, and more importantly, the Lord will meet us there.
This Sunday we continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke with a message called “Dying to Live” from Luke 9:23-27. In this passage, Jesus lays out what it really means to follow Him. It is not a call to add a little religion to an already full life. It is a call to complete surrender. And while that might sound heavy, here is the beautiful paradox of the gospel: when we lose our lives for the sake of Christ, we actually find them. What He asks us to give up is nothing compared to what He gives in return.
Whether you have been walking with Jesus for decades or you are just beginning to explore what faith looks like, this passage has something for you. Come and hear what it means to follow the One who gave everything for us.
We would love to see you Sunday. Bring a friend, bring your family, bring your questions. Come and sit under the Word with us as we learn together what it looks like to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett