The Tools of the Thief

If ever there was something that people generally despise it is a thief. We especially get upset when someone steals from us. In fact, thanks to the proliferation of personal camera’s and social media, people are posting pictures of thieves as they steal packages off of front porches, out of vehicles, and of course in stores. We want these people captured, off the streets, and making restitution.

Yet, as much as we say we hate thieves there is that segment of society that romanticizes them. Our culture is filled with the tales of famous thieves such as Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Sadly, we sometimes fail to see the victims because we idolize the despicable.
The Bible, like contemporary American history, tells the stories of many thieves:
Adam and Eve took what belonged to God and we still suffer for their sin (Genesis 3:6, 7).
David unscrupulously robbed Uriah of his wife and his life (2 Samuel 11).
Absalom stole the hearts of the people (2 Samuel 15:6).
Judas, the disciple of our Lord, robbed the treasury of Jesus (John 12:6).
Each one of these stories demonstrates the unsavory nature of thieves. Not only that, we truly see through their lives that crime doesn’t pay.
The greatest thief of all time is the devil. Jesus called him a thief and said that as a thief he had three main goals: to steal, to kill and to destroy. Jesus also said that if the master of the house knew what hour the thief would come in that he would be on guard. Paul tells us that we are not ignorant (nor are we to be ignorant) of the devil’s devices.
Satan is a thief. He steals and is stealing every day. Not only does he steal, but he also kills and destroys. The lost are being robbed every day of their very souls. Believers also find that all too often the enemy comes in and steals their joy, their peace, their finances, and a myriad of other things.
Over the next few weeks, I will be preaching a series entitled THE THIEF.