Pastors: The Biggest Violators of the Eighth Commandment

The eighth commandment (Exodus 20:15) given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai states, “You shall not steal.” When we think about this command our minds generally go towards acts of such as shoplifting, robbery, identity theft, and other types of stealing. It seems fairly simple. Donʼt steal. Our people know what this means and what it looks like, so case closed. Right?

Few of us pastors wrestle through the eighth commandment the way we should, though. In our profession, we are always interacting with ideas. We read books, blogs, tweets, hear sermons, lectures, and conference messages. Then we have the task of standing up each week to preach to our church. If we are not careful, our sermons can be an act of sin. How so? When we communicate ideas that are not our own, but present them as if they are, we are stealing. As pastors, we are often the biggest violators of the eighth commandment. Keep reading