New Attitude, New Self, Created to be like God, Pt. 2

Ephesians 4:25-32

After encouraging the Ephesians to be honest and to deal with anger, Paul then says that they must not steal. Instead, they must do something useful with their hands. In other words, they need to work to support themselves. The first implication is to not steal from your workplace. Both the Old and New Testaments are replete with instructions on not taking what is not yours. This includes the types of embezzlement that ends up on the news. But it also means don't steal office supplies, those little things that no one will miss. It also means time, either by misreporting your work time or by using work time for non-work tasks. Paul is saying don't steal, and I think it's important to consider all the "little" ways that we can steal at work, in addition to the "big" ones.

Second, this is a reinforcement of the importance of work. Paul doesn't just say don't steal. He tells the Ephesian Christians to replace stealing with work. Working is to occupy their time and provide for their needs so that they don't need to steal.