At least that is the theory. But what happens if we, as voters, want to use the company credit to enrich ourselves with stock options, and increased dividends, and we reward our representatives for voting us these benefits? We re-elect those representatives who will give us what we want even if the company isn't turning a profit, or can pay for the benefits we are receiving. In other words, we are depreciating our capital and assets, at the expense of the future.

So, to keep us happy, and to secure their own future, our representatives vote for preferential grants, excessive subsidies, expensive medical care, pensions, and other entitlements. Is this not a form of stealing? Has this not happened in other nations such as Greece? Where are the statesmen who are willing to act responsibly, say no to favors, and put the national fiscal welfare, and the future above pork barrel politics?

Jesus said that "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Nowhere is the power to steal seen more dramatically than in the story of a small farmer in Israel, Naboth. King Ahab wanted to buy Naboth's vineyard but the farmer would not sell his birthright. Ahab's wife, Jezebel, arranged for Naboth's execution on trumped up charges. King Ahab took possession of Naboth's vineyard. Elijah was commissioned to confront King Ahab with his crime (1 Kings 21).

When those who have the power and opportunity to steal from others what is not theirs, we have injustice. Political theorists have proposed all sorts of solutions to the challenge of poverty and income inequality. French anarchist Proudhon declared that property is theft. Marx and other communists proposed nationalizing property and outlawing private ownership. Winston Churchill once famously said, "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." Taxation can be used as a state-sponsored form of stealing.

Alexis de Tocqueville in his Democracy in America wrote that in democratic republics of antiquity the public treasury was exhausted in order to relieve indigent citizens, or to supply the games and theatrical amusements of the populace.

The Scriptures teach us that our possessions are on loan to us from God. We are not owners but stewards of all that we have. We are accountable for how we use them. God is the rightful owner. We only have use of what we have been provided for our lifetime. He has entrusted them to us so that we may in turn pass them on. We are the property of God by virtue of our creation and our redemption. We owe God our whole life. We owe God our gratitude and our service.

Jesus said that "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matthew 6:24).

You cannot be both a thief and a servant of God. You are either out for yourself or out for God. You are either a taker or a giver. You are either a robber or a disciple.

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse -- the whole nation of you -- because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in the house."(Malachi 3:8-10)

We steal when we take what should be devoted to the Lord and to the benefit of his people, and use it for ourselves. There is an incident in the history of Israel, as they were entering the Promised Land. Their army was routed by the men of Ai. The Lord condemned the taking of the plunder from the battle of Jericho for personal use. "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions." (Joshua 7:11) Achan confessed that he took a beautiful robe, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels and hid them in the ground in his tent. He was executed for being a thief.

Stealing is not just taking away what belongs to someone else, but also not giving to him what is really his rightful possession. That applies not only to material possessions but also spiritual inheritance. We can rob God of that which he has given us for the benefit of others. We can rob God of our time and talents when we don't use them for his glory in his service. We can rob others of the Gospel when we don't share our faith in Christ with others.

Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector in Jericho. Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus's house. As a result of encountering Jesus, Zacchaeus is converted. He becomes transformed by the presence of the Savior. The result is that his attitude to his possessions changes. "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." (Luke 19:8)

Zacchaeus is changed, his life is turned around, he repents of his former life as a thief and a robber, licensed by the state to fleece the flock, and instead becomes a steward of all that God has given him. Jesus described what happened to him. "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost."

What is needed today is our conversion from stealing the inheritance of others. Zacchaeus represents all of us. We need Jesus to come to our house and save us. We need conversion in management, conversion in board rooms, conversion in Congress, conversion in the White House, conversion in the heart of every citizen. We need to be converted from putting self-interest and short term gain ahead of responsible stewardship to God and others.

When we welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes he brings salvation. We are saved from guilt, from judgment, from hell, and instead given forgiveness, acceptance, and heaven. Such a work of saving grace changes a person from being self-centered and grasping, to being unselfish and giving. We see that we don't possess anything, but are provided by God with what we need. That is what is supposed to happen when a person becomes a Christian. Such an attitude can not only change us individually, but also as a society and a nation.

The Rev. Ted Schroder is the pastor of Amelia Chapel on Amelia Island, Florida