“I shall repay it four times over.”
The Gospel Reading is about the conversion of Zacchaeus. He makes reparations for the money he had had stolen from people. Stealing seems like a no-brainer on the surface. However, when we go a little deeper we can all struggle with this sin from time to time in our lives.
What is stealing? Why is stealing wrong? Stealing is taking one’s property, goods, or ideas unjustly. This is the breaking of the seventh commandment “thou shall not steal”. “The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one’s neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men’s labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this world’s goods to God and to fraternal charity.”[1]
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Do we have a right to personal private property? Yes, we have a right from God to have private property. However, this does not mean we should hoard it or be greedy with our goods. We must practice moderation. “Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them, with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick and the poor.”[ii]
God entrusted the earth, to the whole human race to have dominion over[iii], but at the same time we realize we cannot control the whole planet. We need the help of each other to care for the planet. Each person must work toward ills in our society such as violence, poverty, crime, and any other attack against peace. “The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in charge.”[iv]
Search: Fully Human: No Less... (Part I)
The Fully Human lesson describes the basic needs or desires of humanity, which include: shelter, safety, food, reproduction, self-esteem, and belonging. It is important to note that safety and security are a basic natural desire of man. The disordered desire for safety and security leads to greed. Greed is a lack of trust in God’s providence in which the person turns toward self to provide and even hoards or takes from others in order to provide. To show mercy is the opposite of greed. Mercy desires to give to another what they need even if it means taking from our self.
“The right to private property, acquired or received in a just way, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.”[v]
How should we see our goods? Justice is to give to others what they are due. We are to do what is good, because God is good and God gives us good things. Therefore, if we properly and fully understand the meaning of goods, we will want to be just with everyone. In other words, we will want what is good for everyone This is what Zacchaeus failed to do. He deliberately stole money from people’s taxes, thus depriving them of the good they were due. His conversation with Christ, sparked a conversion in his heart which helped him realize what he was doing was wrong. Moreover, Zacchaeus realized the external goods he owned legitimately would be better given to the poor: “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor”. He realized he had more than he needed, and the way to counter act the temptation of greed (taking things that were not his) was to be merciful (generously giving from what he had). “In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself.’ The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.”[vi]
Is theft ever okay? No, “There is no theft if consent can be presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of goods. This is the case in obvious and urgent necessity when the only way to provide for immediate, essential needs (food, shelter, clothing…) is to put at one’s disposal and use the property of others.”[vii] What does this mean? There are cases when the refusal to give “goods” is contrary to reason. For examples when the Nazis entered the Jewish neighborhoods making them into ghettos and refusing or controlling basic needs such as food and clothing to the Jews. This refusal of goods is contrary to reason and it is not theft or stealing to take a “good” that is withheld unjustly. Another example comes from the life of the Servant of God Fr. Emil Kaupaun. Fr. Emil was a military chaplain serving the United States in the Korean War. He was captured along with his fellow soldiers and imprisoned in a P.O.W. camp. While in the camp, the communist withheld food from the prisoners. The captors refused the basic need of food, which is contrary to reason. Fr. Emil would sneak out each night into the garden to “steal” food in order to keep his friends alive. Each time he went out, he risked his life, for if he were caught he would be severely punished or put to death. These are examples of when the refusal of goods is contrary to reason. What are examples of when “consent can be presumed”? Anytime we have a good reason to believe that the person that owns the “good” would consent to us having or using the good, we are permitted to take the good. If my friend and I were at the gym and we forgot our basketball, but we saw a basketball on the court and on the basketball it said, “Robert’s ball”. We could reasonably presume that Robert would give us consent to using the ball. Another example might be at the workplace. There may be three jugs of ice tea. Everything in the fridge is labeled with a person’s initials or name, but the three jugs are not labeled. It can be reasonably presumed that the person who purchased the tea gives consent to anyone drinking from the tea and since it is unlabeled it is common property. It is tempting to say or think, “this person wouldn’t mind”. This presumption has to be reasonable. Our reason cannot be based on whether we would consent if we were than person we have to reasonably presume that the person would consent. When in doubt, just ask because the worse thing that could happen is they say no.
What other types of stealing are there? Fr. Hardon writes, “It is a popular fallacy that only a few people steal, or that ordinary people are not even tempted to take something belonging to another person against his presumed and reasonable wish…But there are more subtle forms of stealing that may seduce the unwary and gradually dull their conscience to the wrongness of what they are doing. Lost and found articles are familiar ground. Some people imagine that just because they found some money, jewelry, or personal belongings, the items belong to them, and the common saying, ‘Finders keepers,’ reflects this strange notion of dishonesty. No one but the true owner has a right to undisputed possession and the moral phrase that an ‘object seeks its owner’ illustrates this principle of Christian ethics.”[viii]
Other forms of theft can be summed as “…any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another.”[ix]
Other forms of theft that are not specifically mentioned above, but would fit under the sin of stealing are breaking promises or contracts, “promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent that the commitments made in them are morally just. A significant part of economic and social life depends on the honoring of contracts between physical or moral persons-commercial contracts of purchase or sale, rental or labor contracts. All contracts must be agreed to and executed in good faith.”[x] The stealing of ideas, and Internet piracy (illegally download music, movies, software, etc.). Lastly, identity theft is a big problem in today’s world.
Is gambling considered a sin? Some may see casinos, the lottery, poker tournaments, bingos, and other forms of gambling as stealing. However, the Church does not deem these as stealing or immoral. The person who engages in these types of games knows the risk they take that they could lose their money. However, when a person becomes addicted to gambling, and cannot provide for him/herself or their families, then it is a sin. “Games of chance or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.”[xi]
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 2401
[ii] CCC 2405
[iii] Genesis 1
[iv] CCC 2402
[v] CCC 2403
[vi] CCC 2405
[vii] CCC 2408
[viii] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary, pg. 389-390
[ix] CCC 2409
[x] CCC 2410
[xi] CCC 2413