Christ was no thief, but He allowed Himself to be crucified with and for thieves. Why did He allow this? Love compelled Him to bear the sins of many.
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.
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.
People in the world are generally quite self-centered. Even saved people are often lovers of their own selves instead of preferring one another.
If there is anything in this world worthy of man’s respect, it is the Bible. God’s word is far superior to any other book to which man may wish to compare it.
Everything in the Christian life is dependent upon prayer. Thankfully, we serve a God who hears, answers, and has respect unto prayer.
Men seek pleasures for various reasons, but sometimes they simply desire to escape sorrows and grief. In the days of Amos, the people were at ease in their “beds of ivory,” feasting upon “the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall,” listening with anticipation to their new “instruments of musick,” and indulging themselves by drinking “wine in bowls.” In other words, they pampered their flesh “with the chief ointments.” In the midst of all these pleasures, the people of God had no heart to grieve for others who were suffering. Similar to Israel, the church spends so much of its time seeking pleasure that it devotes no time to grieve for their fellow brethren in suffering.
According to the apostle Paul, the last days would be marked by an ever greater love for pleasure than a love for the Lord. This lack of love for the Lord might manifest itself in various ways but ultimately results from a heart problem. For instance, an individual might forsake Bible reading or prayer in order to enjoy some form of amusement. He might choose not to take part in his church’s outreach because he is instead consumed with pleasure-seeking. He might forsake the assembling together with the saints of God in a worship service because he is consumed by seeking out worldly entertainment. Though men justify these things, this is an open manifestation that men choose pleasures over the God who sent His Son to die for their sins.
We are promised that the word of God works effectually in those that believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Yet, the Devil works hard to choke out the fruitfulness of the word. In order to achieve his ultimate objective, the Devil uses any means within his arsenal. Pleasure-seeking serves as one of his choicest weapons. In order to convince people that they do not need the Lord or His word, the Devil convinces people that they have everything they could possibly ever want or need without Him. The Devil convinces them that they are happy or satisfied and there is nothing better than their lot in life. He keeps them preoccupied so that they do not take time to reflect and recognize that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17) apart from the Lord.
