Воровство

A thief, a robber and a predator are at one with the devil, for the devil always steals for himself the glory of God and human salvation. We hear that those people who steal someone else’s property in any way, that is, either openly, or secretly, or flatteringly, are called the dishonest name “predators, thieves and thieves” - those who commit a lawless deed against the commandment of God: Thou shalt not steal. Also, predators, thieves and thieves are those people who somehow admire and appropriate glory and praise and other things due to God alone. God, the Heavenly King, in His goodness and love for mankind, gives His blessings to all people, and puts His blessings into their hands, so that everyone is content with His blessings, and so they know and thank Him as their Benefactor, but fearless people steal the gifts of God from others and, as it were, tear them out of their hands and do this lawless deed before the all-seeing eyes of God. God gives His good to His servants as a gift into their hands, and they steal God’s given good; and whomever God honors, they make, as it were, unworthy; and whom God supplies, they deprive; and whom God richeth, they rob. Anyone who in some way unjustly appropriates someone else’s property, steals all the good things of God, given from God into the hands of men, and, as it were, snatches them out of their hands before God. Human! God gives His goods to your neighbor into his possession, as if into his hands, and you steal that good from his hands; and God sees this lawless deed of yours, sees it and writes it down in His book and will present it before your face at His judgment: then you will see how badly you have acted! But repent, and return what was stolen, and squander with good what was collected by evil. You want to know from me what this word means: do not steal (Ex. 20:15), and you demand an explanation for it. Answer . This word is short, but it spreads widely, and many sin in it: some - from inattention and ignorance, others - from dishonesty and lawless will, which is worse than the first. So, how theft or theft spreads, take heed: 1. Theft is known to everyone: either people secretly rob shops, granaries, etc., or they forcibly take away someone else’s property, as robbers or strong, but fearless and unscrupulous people do. Everyone knows about such theft: the rudest people, those who do not know the scriptures, and the youngest and smallest children. 2. Theft and embezzlement is when judges and officials judge based on bribes, and not on Christian duty. 3. Theft and embezzlement is when landowners burden their peasants with either excessive taxes or work, because they deprive them of what they need to feed and support the lives of them and their households. And this theft is fierce and inhuman, although people do not notice. The poor peasant works and sweats all summer, but he and his household have nothing to feed and clothe. One gentleman devours everything. Woe to such gentlemen! They shed so many tears and impose so many unnecessary burdens on the peasants. God, the Righteous Judge, sees these tears and those who shed them. 4. Theft and embezzlement - when payment is not given in full or not at all to mercenaries. And this is a cruel and inhuman theft, since the poor are offended. 5. Theft and theft - when mercenaries, having taken a decent price, either do not work or work lazily. 6. Theft and theft - when servants receive wages or food from their masters, but either work lazily or do not work at all. 7. Theft and theft - when a ruler withholds or does not give a subordinate's salary in full without any reason and appropriates it for himself. And this is a cruel theft, since the poor are offended. 8. Theft and embezzlement is when a merchant sells a bad thing for a good one and a cheap one for an expensive one, or mixes water into wine and sells it as pure wine. 9 . Theft and embezzlement is when a person deliberately feeds horses or other weak and thin cattle in order to sell them for a good price and thus deceive buyers. 10. Theft and theft are a card game for money, for whoever wins sins against the commandment: do not steal. And whoever does not win, although he loses all his property and himself, also steals by his own will, for he desires the good of others and sins against the commandment of God: you shall not covet (Ex. 20:17). Likewise, anyone who wants to steal and appropriate someone else’s property, although in fact he does not steal it, is a thief, for a person sins by will or does not sin. And such a person who desires someone else’s good already steals by will, even if in fact he did not steal, for sin consists of the will and will of man. When a person wants to steal someone else’s property, he already steals it by his own will... 11. Theft is when a master covets and asks for something from a slave or peasant, or a ruler from a subject. For the subject cannot argue with the ruler and therefore reluctantly gives what he asks; forced and reluctantly gives, and not by free will. Scientists say correctly: when the higher ones ask the lower ones, they command. 12. Theft and theft - when someone takes money or some other thing from someone for safekeeping or as a mortgage and does not give it back and either says that he gave it or did not take it. 13. Theft is when someone borrows something and does not give it or anything else to the lender. 14. Theft is when someone takes money or something else from someone for alms and keeps it for themselves or uses it for something else. 15. Theft is when someone finds a lost item and does not report it, but keeps it. 16. Theft includes usury, or interest, and the most severe theft is when it is taken from the poor, for in this way the naked is exposed and the powerless is reduced to greater powerlessness, and such, out of Christian love, must be helped without return. 17. Theft refers to when people pretend to be poor, having something to eat, or pretend to be weak, being healthy, and ask for alms, so that they, as weak people, and not those who are meager and without food, can be helped by alms. 18. Theft is when carts are taken cunningly and without a specified price. 19. Theft is when a servant does not allow a visiting person without money to see the ruler and tries to take money from him for a report. 20. Theft is when someone, not wanting to work, being healthy, goes around the house and eats someone else’s bread. 21. Theft is even when a rich man either keeps the wealth given to him by God locked up, or squanders it on indecent expenses, but does not give it to the poor, as a Christian should. For God gives wealth to people not only for their own sake, but also for the sake of the poor and meager people. “If anyone,” says St. Basil the Great, - tears off the dress from its owner, is called an impudent and swindler. He who does not clothe the naked, although he is able to do so, is he not more impudent and a swindler? The bread of the hungry is the bread that you have; the clothes of the naked are those that you keep in your cage; barefoot shoes are the ones that rot; the poor thing is the silver that you keep by burying it in the ground. That’s how many people you offend when, being able, you don’t help” (A Word on Alms). Let the stingy and the rich people who live in luxury reason and listen to what is written (see Matt. 25:41-46). 22. You see how many types of theft there are. From them you learn other types of theft, which I have not touched upon here. 23. From this you can see how many thieves and kidnappers there are in the world! 24. If anyone wants to save himself from theft and not be condemned as a predator at the Last Judgment, he must correct himself and heed the universal rule: what you don’t want for yourself, don’t do to your neighbor; and whatever you want for yourself, do for your neighbor (see Acts 15, 20, 29). This is what the law of God, and the holy prophets, and our blessed Fathers, and church teachers teach.