Theft is forbidden by the 7th commandment, natural law, and civil law. The 7th commandment forbids all unjust taking or keeping what belongs to another. Maybe, some will think. But, I am not a thief!

 

Well, there are so many ways to offend God by not following this commandment. Notice that " Taking, '' either with your own hands or from the hands of another, for the one who willingly and knowingly receives from a thief the whole or part of anything stolen, becomes as bad as the thief. Even if you only help another to steal, and receive non of the stolen goods, you are still guilty. There are several ways of sharing in the sin of another, namely, by ordering or advising him to do wrong, by praising him for doing wrong and thus encouraging him, by consenting to wrong when you should oppose it.

It remains another way by which we offend God and this one is common. This 7th commandment forbids all kinds of damage to our brothers, it forbids deceit, deception, trickery, as any artifice by which the right or interest of another is injured. It is a stratagem intended to obtain some undue advantage over another by imposition or unjust means, particularly deception in contrast or bargains in selling or buying, either by stating falsehoods or suppressing the truth. Fraud affects contrast and their validity, and the provision of the civil law in this matter may be regarded as theological and morally correct. For example, to sell an article defective either in substance, quantity, or quality as entire and complete, or to buy a sound article as defective is not lawful, but dishonest, and obliges one to restitution. A seller is strictly bound to make known any defect in a thing that will render it either useless or injurious to the buyer and this whether he is asked or not.

And what about extortion? We usually applied to that abuse of public justice, which consists in the unlawful taking by a public officer, who takes by the power of his office any money or valuable thing where none is due, or not so much more due, or before it is due. In conscience extortion, it is a sin against justice, and the man guilty of it is bound to restitution

A Christian does not fulfill his obligation in regard to it by not injuring his neighbor in temporal goods, but it is necessary also to give alms. Alms deeds are necessary to fulfill his obligation. The obligation of giving alms is founded on the natural law, which is to do others as we would wish them to be helped in our needs, so we should render assistance to the needy, on the law of God, according to the words of Ecclesiastics: " Afflict not the heart of the needy and defer not to give to him that is in distress. Reject not the petition of the afflicted, and turn not away from your face from the needy. Turn not away from your eyes from the poor, for fear of anger, and leave not to them that ask of you to curse you behind your back!" Eccl.4, 3

 

You remember what says Saint Paul: " Now Know you that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God. Do not err: neither fornicator, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liars with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God." 1cor.6,9. So let us work to be worthy of the kingdom.