We always feel aggrieved and hurt, if not downright angry when something of ours has been stolen. I remember the feeling of disbelief when I looked at our yard one morning and thought it looked strangely empty. Then it dawned on me…our runabout boat wasn’t there! We had only owned it for ten days, and now it was gone!

   Then came all the fuss of notifying the police and insurance company, and the trauma of wondering where it might have been taken to. How dare someone come into our yard while we slept and take our boat!!

    But do we ever stop to think how much we take what is not ours without even giving it a thought? Being late for work is one example, and leaving early another….this is taking the boss’ time that we are being paid for. How many times a day do we look at our smart phones and check our emails while we are at work?

    I remember another time, when we owned a farm and needed to have a dragline to come in and clean the drains out. The driver was a chain smoker who rolled his own cigarettes. It really hurt to see that machine stop so many times a day while he was rolling the next smoke!! We were paying him by the hour for rolling his cigarettes!!

     But even worse is what we rob God of. Rob God? How can this be? What does it matter anyway, we might ask.

    Because when we disobey God, He is being robbed of our service, worship, obedience and glory. Taking what is not ours is not honouring to God! At the same time we are being robbed of a clear conscience, peace, inner joy and fellowship with God.

   But Jesus Christ paid the price of these things to God, and has restored what had been stolen. Now it is up to us to find out more about these things and to respond positively to Him!