You Shall Not Steal

Happy New Year!!  Since I last wrote, we have moved from Advent, through the Christmas season, celebrated the Day of Epiphany, and entered a new calendar year, too!

It’s been a while since we’ve connected to our catechisms.  Our students are currently studying the 7th commandment regarding stealing.  It’s obvious that God is against stealing.  Things like shoplifting and burglary are obvious ways of violating this commandment.

But as I shared with our 7-9th graders and their families, Luther’s explanation of “You Shall Not Steal” demands a bigger definition of stealing.  Our fear and love of God compels us to not only refrain from taking our neighbor’s money or property, but should also restrain us from getting them “in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his property and means of making a living.”

There are lots of ways to steal.  Pirating movies and music.  Overcharging for services.  Insider trading.  Cheating on a test.  Even littering and polluting are ways of stealing if think carefully about what those actions do to God’s creation, robbing it of it’s fullest potential.

In his book, “Roots of our Faith,” Jim Nestingen says it well: “[I]n sin, we always think our neighbors get the better end of the bargain.  If (God) doesn’t watch us, we’ll try to set matters right according to our own reckoning and help ourselves to what they have” (p. 21).

How might we respect what belongs to our neighbors?  How might we help them improve and protect what belongs to them?  How might we demand that others, including those in power, do the same?


Annual Meeting January 27 at 6:30pm
Because of the realities of COVID-19, we will be hosting our annual meeting virtually. You can join us on Zoom, or in the church parking lot, where you can listen to the meeting via FM radio broadcast and vote via paper ballot. All confirmed members of Immanuel are voting members and encouraged to take part. The annual meeting is a time to receive reports from the various ministries of the congregation, to approve the 2021 budget, and to elect new council members and other congregational leadership. Questions can be asked ahead of time, via the Zoom call or chat, or by calling the church building during the meeting.  Zoom information, will be available on our website the week of January 24.

Check out our news page to learn more and for other important announcements: https://www.wadenaimmanuel.org/announcements

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