Steal A Little

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. Proverbs 6:30-31 KJV

You hear people say they are only stealing because they are hungry. Stealing is one of the Ten Commandments, but the Lord gives us wisdom that there is an exception when one is hungry. Did the Lord give us sort of an exception? The Lord Jesus also says in Matthew 6:25-26:   

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" 

Jesus Christ says rely on him for all things, you don't have to steal food and liquid to live. George Muller lived a life of prayer through an orphanage, where they would pray daily for food, clothing, and coal to heat the place. I highly recommend you read " The Autobiography of George Muller." It will change your life and how you live for Christ. 

For those that do steal, you are to give back Seven Times what the food/drink you consumed. The logic in me says if they have to steal bread (food) they most likely fall into one of a few categories and here are the two main ones. One, economic reasons as they are poor and dont have the means to pay. Many may have children to feed. Two, addictions or compulsive reasons, they like to steal things just to steal. When you grocery shop, you see empty or half eaten/drunk wrappers and containers on store shelves all the time. 

There is a reality: society has significant issues when it comes to food, and many people may have economic hardships. In America, there are so many homeless people living on the street through drug addiction and mental health and those who lost their jobs and have no means to pay for things. As a society, we need to help these individuals. I normally do not quote songwriters or mention books to read but I felt they were important to mention. Bob Dylan wrote a song called "Sweetheart Like You" as he sings: 

"Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king"

That verse has stuck with me since I first heard it. It is so accurate a person stealing a loaf of bread could serve more jail time than a person stealing millions of dollars. We will end hear, think about this more deeply. Trust the Lord for all things and dont steal even food. Trust the Lord to provide.