The fifth of the Seven Noahide Laws commands: Do not steal
As we evolved into a self-described civil society, we would like to think that something like “Do not steal” is entrenched in our minds. However, if we try to define what it means to steal something, we will struggle to get to a clear and simple answer. This is happening due to our differences in understanding the terminology and the extent of the action.
We can all agree that this is a prohibition on taking someone else’s property. The question is to what degree and how it applies in our everyday lives. Exploring the property definition is becoming very important in this context. It is more than just money or physical objects, which we can describe as robbery or theft (both of each are obvious). This includes withholding wages, taking an unfair advantage of others (both personal and business life), frauds and much more.
Maybe a little less obvious and harder to define is our intellectual property. We learn to use copyright laws to protect our intellectual property. In some cases, it’s easy to and obvious, whereas in cases of say, collective project things can get much more complicated. We have to be careful to ensure that individual contributions are acknowledged while following the guidelines and company policies.
This law of not stealing covers much more. One of the more debated topics would be our freedoms. Science all of our freedoms are given to us by our Creator, and they all come with responsibilities. Reading the Bible, it is clear that we are given freedom of choice. This allows us to choose good and life or the opposite. Remembering that there is no other power outside of our Creator, it is important to classify and attribute in the appropriate manner. Freedoms and responsibilities as the cornerstone of our justice system, which extends far beyond stealing. Are we allowed to say jail people, if this is effectively stealing their freedom of movement.
Each and every topic brought up here deserves a number of separate discussions. We will try to explore as many as we can, however, it is extremely important to realise that the obvious and current need to adhere to this law in the need to create a harmonious society by respecting each other’s property is one of the many aspects of it.