Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”
Among the two million Israelites travelers you would think that this would not be a hard command to follow. They had little baggage, were living in tents, and were doing so in close proximity. It would have been hard to steal and hide anything.
Principle: Stealing to any degree – don’t do it!
Stealing does not need to be defined. It is plain and simple and everybody’s doing it in business, large and small. Micro and macro. Micro – using for personal use assets that belong to the company like pens, telephones, and software; stealing time from an employer; personal use of office equipment (unless specifically allowed) such as copiers, or computers; personalized errands and personal time. In a recent survey of workers wasting time on the Internet, employees of IBM, Apple and AT&T together visited Penthouse Magazine site 12,823 times in a single month. That came to more than 347 working days. Who knows – who can count the work time spent on personal email?
My friend, Mac MacAdam, talks about the moment that he realized that his making copies and doing personal phone calls on the client’s tab was wrong. He decided to label it stealing and to cease and desist. What is amazing is that when he tells the story, it often raises a silent protest from his audience. Apparently, they think it is too trivial a matter to mention. It is in the same category as taking pens, postage stamps and paper from a company for personal use. “Don’t make such a big deal about it,” people are inclined to say.
International business is full of theft. I read about the case of a distributor of an exercise machine copying the machine and selling it under his own label. “We did it because they didn’t deliver fast enough,” said the copycat. Everyone has a justifiable reason for stealing, including the fact that stealing is so common. Everybody’s doing it.
Macro stealing fills the court system. The U.S. Justice Department recently charged three men with conspiracy to steal checks from American International Group, Inc. They were accountants. They stole about a half-million dollars and funneled the money into phony checking accounts in New York. They face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, plus fines. I suppose the fines will equal the amount stolen. Their careers are over, their families devastated, they will come out of prison unemployable, all for less than what they were earning during the miserable years they spent stealing from their employer.
Discussion:
1. What forms of stealing you have noticed in your business?
2. Are they taken seriously by anybody? Who?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any stealing you may be doing from your company. Repent and begin again.
