The Seventh Commandment

"You shall not steal."  (Exodus 20:15)

After a thorough study of the scriptures, the Reformers summarized what the seventh commandment means in this way:  

"We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income."

The key to this commandment (and most of the commandments) is "looking out for the other guy."  "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4)

Consider the following example: You own a house and a yard and live next door to a neighbor who owns the same. You are mowing the yard and you find a bunch of rocks. (And that's no fun. When a mower finds a rock, it can be dangerous for anyone near the part of the mower that shoots out the clippings... And even if you have one of those self-mulching mowers, the blade can be nicked and dulled.) Well, what do you do with the rocks after you find them? Do you pitch them over in your neighbors yard? No. You are not looking out for your neighbors property when you do this. Not only are you visually disturbing his yard, you are exposing him/her and his/her family to potential danger when the rock is "found" by their mower and you are probably damaging her/his mower in the process.