Men rob God by simply withholding what God requested. This robbing takes on two forms: not giving what God has required or giving less than one’s best.
Sin has consequences and brings responsibility. A man who gets right with the Lord should naturally look for ways to restore that which he has stolen.
Many people think that guilt is only the burden of those who personally commit sin. The reality is that consenting to wickedness is equally as bad.
The thief does not care for the well-being of those he victimizes. He cares for himself and only himself. He hurts and has no trouble hurting others.
Sin develops, plots, schemes, and finalizes its dastardly deeds within the heart of the guilty long before the sin manifests itself to the eyes of others.
To steal is to wrongfully and selfishly take something that belongs to someone else and place it amongst one’s own possessions.
In a day when the world uses the word love rather flippantly, the people of God need to revisit the concept of biblical love. The Bible says, “A friend loveth at all times.” This infers that the concept of falling in and out of love is unscriptural. Biblically defined love is not a fleeting emotion controlled by one’s feelings. It remains a choice based on the truths of scripture and falls outside the whims of one's emotional passions. The world declares its love for something and in the same breath declares its love lost for the latest passing fad. Just as God’s love for us remains permanent, so ought our love for others. Unfortunately, this fickleness has crept into the lives of the believers. We could learn much by considering the example of the Lord’s love for His enemies even after they had so cruelly nailed Him to the tree (Luke 23:34). Biblical love forgives and continues to unconditionally forgive regardless of any objectionable response to one’s love (Proverbs 10:12).
Worldly misconceptions have caused many believers to struggle with the biblical concept of love. Love can originate from what is generally considered a negative expression. Our passage shows that the Lord corrects those whom He loves. Love does not express itself for the satisfaction of the one who loves, but for the benefit of the one that is the object of one’s love. When we think of how to express our love for someone, a hug or kind words generally come to mind. These expressions are often used to send a message of love; however, the Bible presents additional insights often not directly associated to loving someone. This is why the Bible points out that chastening can be used to express love toward the recipient. Furthermore, Proverbs 13:24 shows that a father who loves his son chastens that son because of his love for that child. We are led to believe that expressing love for others is best expressed by bailing them out every time they are in trouble. Yet, the Lord declares that love does what is best for the recipients of that love, even if that includes correction.
