Seventh Commandment

1. What is the seventh commandment of God?
2. What did Jesus say about the seventh commandment?
3. What does the seventh commandment require of us?
4. What does the seventh commandment forbid?
5. Are we bound to return stolen goods?
6. Could taking others' property ever be justified?
7. What are some more subtle forms of stealing?
8. What virtues serve this commandment?
9. Do people have a right to private ownership?
10. Does the right of private ownership justify the over-abundance of some and the extreme poverty of others?
11. What is a bribe?
12. What value does work have?
13. What duties do employees have toward their employers?
14. What duties do employers have toward their workers?
15. When are workers permitted to strike?
16. How might workers be exploited?
17. What is commutative justice?
18. What is legal justice?
19. What is distributive justice?
20. Is one obliged to make up for damage done?
21. Why does the Church speak about economics?
22. What is gambling?
23. Is it wrong to gamble?
24. How should we treat the rest of creation?

1. What is the seventh commandment of God?
The seventh commandment of God is:

You shall not steal (Ex 20:15).

2. What did Jesus say about the seventh commandment?
Jesus warned us to guard against the temptation to steal:

For from the heart come wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and blasphemy (Mt 15:19).

3. What does the seventh commandment require of us?
This commandment requires us to be just, charitable and honest with respect to this world's goods-our own and those of others, and those common to the human family. (2401)

4. What does the seventh commandment forbid?
The seventh commandment forbids stealing and robbery, the unjust acquisition of goods, reckless destruction of what belongs to others, and disregard for the goods of the earth.

Stealing can be mortally sinful if the thing stolen is of considerable value (otherwise it is a venial sin). Stealing something of small value can be mortally sinful if the owner is poor, and thus suffers great injury.

If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments…. "You shall not steal…" (Mt 19:17-18).

5. Are we bound to return stolen goods?
We are bound to return stolen goods or their value in money to the owner or, if the owner is dead, to his or her family. If neither the owner nor the family can be discovered, the goods or their value are to be given to the poor or to charitable causes. (2412)

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I am giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything I am paying back fourfold" (Lk 19:8).

6. Could taking others' property ever be justified?
Taking others' property could be justified only if one is in urgent need of basic necessities, such as food and clothing, and there is no other means of obtaining them. (2408)

7. What are some more subtle forms of stealing?
Some more subtle forms of stealing are cheating or deceiving the consumer about something being sold, such as hiding a defect in that object; doing poor work or negligent repairs; performing unnecessary repairs; charging a price that deserves a better job; in politics, acquiring money or positions by dishonest means; making false insurance claims; borrowing without returning; tax evasion; forgery; property damage or defacement; waste, etc. (2409)

8. What virtues serve this commandment?
This commandment will be easier to live if we practice:

•  temperance-moderation in acquiring goods,
•  justice-respect for the things belonging to another,
•  solidarity-taking the part of the poor, underprivileged or marginalized. (2407)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; although he was rich he became poor for your sake so that you might become rich through his poverty (2 Cor 8:9).

9. Do people have a right to private ownership?
Yes, people have a right to private ownership. This right, bestowed by the Creator, provides people with the means for their livelihood, growth and progress. (2402)

10. Does the right of private ownership justify the over-abundance of some and the extreme poverty of others?
The principle of private ownership does not justify such inequity. No one is justified in keeping for one's exclusive use what is not needed when others lack necessities. The earth belongs to the whole human race. Its division among nations and individuals insures that the rights of everyone will be cared for and protected. (2403-2406)

11. What is a bribe?
A bribe is offering money or other valuable objects with the intention to corrupt or buy a favor.

12. What value does work have?
Work is a part of human dignity. It gives us a share in God's creative plan, allows us to participate in Christ's redemptive work, and helps us reach holiness by elevating whatever we do to a work of praise. (2426-2428)

13. What duties do employees have toward their employers?
Workers are to produce good work, use their working hours productively, serve their employers faithfully and honestly and guard against injury to the property and good name of their employer.

14. What duties do employers have toward their workers?
Employers must treat their workers fairly and justly, pay them just wages, and provide proper and dignified working conditions with reasonable safety on the job.

15. When are workers permitted to strike?
Workers are permitted to strike when their rights are violated, lawful contracts ignored or other serious difficulties arise. The strike, however, can be used only after all other means to solve the difficulties have been exhausted. Moreover, a strike must be conducted in a fair and peaceful manner, avoiding all forms of violence. (2435)

16. How might workers be exploited?
Persons or their work can be exploited by enslavement, in which individuals are treated like merchandise. This enslavement can be more subtle, as when people are forced to work long hours in poor conditions for meager wages and no benefits because they are illegal aliens, mentally incompetent, or socially marginalized. This is a sin against the dignity of the person and against basic justice. (2414)

Perhaps the reason he was taken from you for a time was so you could have him back forever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave-as a beloved brother… (Philem 16).

17. What is commutative justice?
Commutative or strict justice is the honor and respect
with which we deal with one another. It regulates our contracts, sales, debts and exchanges. If justice is not strictly practiced
on this level, it will not succeed on any other level. (2411)

You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and just weight you shall have, a full and just measure you shall have (Dt 25:14).

18. What is legal justice?
Legal justice refers to the conduct of each individual toward society: caring for public property, paying a fair share in taxes, doing community service, carrying out civic responsibilities, defending one's country, etc.

For the Lord's sake be subject to every human institution.... Live as free men, but without using your freedom as an excuse for evil; instead, conduct yourselves as servants of God. Respect everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the emperor (1 Pt 2:13, 16-17).

19. What is distributive justice?
Distributive justice concerns the way a society deals equitably with its individual members.

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end... (Amos 8:4, 7).

20. Is one obliged to make up for damage done?
One is obliged to make up for damage unjustly done to the property of others, as far as one is able.

21. Why does the Church speak about economics?
The Church has the duty to speak about economic and social affairs when the dignity of human persons, their rights and salvation are at stake. The Church does not side with any government nor prefer any system of governing. Its concern is that we work for a just society and not be impeded in our pursuit of the sovereign Good. (2419-2425)

22. What is gambling?
Gambling is the staking of money or valuables on a future event or on a game of chance, the result of which is unknown to the participants.

23. Is it wrong to gamble?
Gambling in itself can be an amusement, and it is not against Catholic moral standards if played fairly, honestly and with moderation. However, gambling can become a sin, even a mortal sin, if it leads one to excesses such as dishonesty and great loss of money, risking the needs of the family and even of society. (2413)

24. How should we treat the rest of creation?
All of creation-the animals, plants, minerals-must be respected as part of God's handiwork. We can use them according to need, but must never treat them recklessly or cruelly. We are stewards over creation, to cultivate and sustain it as an inheritance for future generations. (2415-2417)

And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth" (Gn 1:28).