the 8 th

Thou shalt not steal

Εἶ ὅσιος ἀβαρής κλέπτω

written by Ogunsola Emmanuel

“Thou shalt not steal” is a widely known commandment
among Christians, though many do not know what number it is
among the 'Ten'. It can be found in Exodus 20:15 and
Deuteronomy 5:19. Many Christians know this clearly that
they must not steal, but are we actually keeping this
commandment because “…sin is not imputed when there is no
law” (Rom 5:13). The Devil is very wise and day-in day-out, he
plans his schemes so he can outsmart us, but then, we should
not be oblivion of what the scripture says in 2Cor. 2:11. Satan is
always looking for loopholes in our lives so he can take
advantage of us. It is, therefore, left for us as children of God to
equip ourselves properly so we can escape the wiles of the
enemy.

Stealing goes beyond the conventional pilfering of small

amount of money and the plundering of whooping sums by
government workers and others…it goes beyond taking what
does not belong to you without the owner's knowledge…it goes
beyond the use of force (as in weapons like Guns, Machetes,
etc.). It also involves the use of mental arms and ammunition.
To this end, I will like to talk about the mental ammunition.

We all know of the evil in our society, how government

resources are being plundered, embezzlement in different
sectors of the economy, and all the rest. But something seems
different in this sophisticated technology-driven age that call
the attention of all and sundry. It is no more news that the

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world operates on a cutting edge technology to which the
computer is very central and with this comes the operation of a
cashless economy and then the advent of Internet Fraud.

The issue of internet fraud has a direct bearing on intellectual

property which also is the power of thought Mental
Ammunition. The story dates back to the United States itself,
but now Africa is at the fore front of Internet Fraud. It is
known as 'Yahoo-Yahoo' in Nigeria and the issue has drawn
the attention of various law enforcement agencies because
something that readily comes with this new fraud style is the
tarnishing of the country's image and the attendant eyes-on
the country from outside.

What do they do?

Previously, we had 'carders' people who steal credit cards
belonging to people abroad and use such to make online
purchase. Credit cards are linked to banks with unique PIN
(Personal Identification Number) and owner information.
They contain a certain amount of money and help the
owner/holder to withdraw money from bank without going to
the bank. In fact, the owner simply supplies the information
that relates to the card to make online purchases and the
vendor does the deduction from the account with the
knowledge of the Bank. These carders have friends abroad
who steal people's credit card information and send it by email
to their friends in Nigeria who promptly use the money in the

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account to purchase items for themselves thereby putting the
account owner in debt. In what way does this differ from
dispossessing a person of his belongings at gun point? The
only difference is that the use of gun is not involved. But then,
advancement suddenly came in as the 'Yahoo' stuff came into
being. People '419' people abroad to extort money from them.
They deceive them into abstract businesses and get them to
pay money into their accounts…the whole thing is so fuzzy, but
the point is they deceive people to get money. They, however,
do not believe that this is stealing…some of them believe that
they were able to extort money from the whites because they
are also thieves.

What does the word of God has to say?

There is no twisting of the word of God. Psalm 119:89 says “For
ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven”. This means
nothing can change what God has said. There is no
modification to the Ten Commandments yet. As such stealing
is stealing whether you embezzle, take what does not belong to
you, 'card' or 'Yahoo'

Christians
Christians who engage in this practice should know that it is a
flagrant disobedience of God's law…you may continue if only
you are not a true (or born again) Christian. But be sure that
you will die one day and face the consequence of your action in
heaven eternal damnation. The love of money, the desire to

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get rich quickly and the fact that they do virtually no work to
get whooping amount of money is what makes many to engage
in this nefarious act. How would you feel if you are robbed
with a toy-gun? So bad I guess. God cannot be mocked…He's
up there looking at us all as we go about our daily businesses.
He cares about every aspect of our lives even the words we say.
A write up says 'He silently listens to every conversation'. He is
coming for a church without spot, blemish or wrinkle don't
you think 'Yahoo' can prevent you from getting to heaven? If
you don't readily know, I want you to know that it will debar
you from getting to heaven.

So, if you are making up your mind now to stop this evil, then
pray after me:
Lord Jesus, I recognise that I am a sinner. I
have allowed the Devil to deceive me but now I
realise my folly and come back to the foot of
the Cross where you died for me. Please
cleanse me again and help me to cling to you
and listen to the Voice of your Spirit as it
directs me. Let not my sin follow me unto
judgement and wash me clean of all guilt.
Thank you my Lord.

Non-Christians
Hello my friend, you are not part of God's family and you do
these things…perhaps because you don't know it is wrong for

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you to do them. I am using this opportunity to tell you that it is
wrong and against God's whims. Stop this evil act and turn
your life over to our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the thief on
the Right hand of Jesus while he was on the Cross of Calvary
where He died for YOUR sins He confessed his sins at the
point of death and was the first person to enter heaven under
the New Testament. It is not too late for you to surrender your
life to Him because He is the only one that can remedy your
filthy life. He can change you and give you a new heart.

If you are making a decision for Him now, pray after me:
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for kicking you in the
face with my attitudes. I ask you to forgive me
all my sins (mention them one by one) and
cleanse me of my filth. Write my name in the
book of life and help me to draw near to you
day by day. I promise you that I will not go
back into my old life. Take me as I am and
may I reign with you in your father's
Kingdom. Thank you my Lord as you come
into my heart. Amen.
Join a bible believing church and continue fellowshipping
with the brethren. May God help you.

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 The Author, Emmanuel, is a graduate of
Accounting who loves writing, especially on
Spiritual Matters. As at date, he has written two
books that are yet to be published (Let’s talk about
sex the Christian way and Placement Error) and
another book which is an e-version just like this one
(Satan’s Business Partner).

The Author

This book has been written by the Inspiration of God

to shed light on another way by which Satan
deceives Christians, just like he did in the Garden of
Eden - Subtlety. So many of God’s
commandments are still flagrantly disobeyed
today but then we do not know it.

The inside pages contains details.

The Book