Have you ever wished that you had just a little more money than you already have? That’s exactly how eight-year-old Maddie felt. She wasn’t exactly looking for a way to get more money, but one day the opportunity was right in front of her, and she was tempted.
Maddie’s cousins had come for a visit, and all the children were happily playing in the backyard. Maddie’s parents had a garden full of vegetables ready to harvest, and Richard, one of the cousins, was bent over pulling up a few carrots. Maddie saw that his wallet was sticking out of his back pocket a few inches. She hadn’t really planned to ever steal anything, and she had been taught that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:1515Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)). However, the thought came to her that she could reach out and take Richard’s wallet, and no one would ever know.
Most everyone reading this story has learned that stealing is wrong—it is sin. And many of you have memorized Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23): “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” That is why Jesus had to come down here to earth and die on the cross. He took the punishment for those who will believe that He died for them and that His blood will wash them clean from every sin they’ve ever committed.
Maddie wasn’t thinking that sneaking Richard’s wallet would be a sin. She looked around and saw the other children busy playing, so she just reached over and very carefully slipped Richard’s wallet out of his back pocket. He was still pulling up carrots and didn’t even notice! Maddie tucked the wallet safely into the pocket of her jacket. No one had seen anything, and so she was happy.
A quick peek inside Richard’s wallet showed her that she was going to have lots of money to get some of the things she had really been wanting. While she went on playing with the other children, her little hand would keep slipping inside her jacket pocket to make sure the wallet was still there. She kept thinking about how much fun it was going to be to go to the store. Soon she could have that pretty bracelet she had wished for and the soft, cuddly stuffed dog she had seen in the store.
In fact, her mind was so busy thinking of how she would spend the money in the wallet that Maddie never even thought about the bad results of stealing. And many of us are just the same. We may not have stolen money, but we have done something else we knew was wrong, and we never thought that it was a sin and that God had written it down beside our names in His book.
It wasn’t too long before Richard discovered his wallet was gone. Everyone searched through the garden and yard and wherever else Richard had been, but no wallet was found. Richard went home very sad. He had spent many hours doing chores to earn that money. It was a big loss. He just couldn’t figure out how his wallet could disappear like that.
Maddie’s father was a wise man and knew his children well. Later that evening, he sat them down and asked each child if they had taken Richard’s wallet. One by one the children said “no” and shook their heads, including Mattie. She not only had stolen the wallet, but now she had lied about it. And that is what happens with sin—it grows bigger.
Her father handled the situation well, and before long Maddie confessed in tears that she had taken the wallet. There were several life-long lessons Maddie learned from this unhappy experience, one of which was she had to return the wallet to Richard and tell him she was sorry she had stolen it. She never wanted to do something like that again.
Maybe some of you boys and girls have sadly learned the truth of this verse the hard way, like Maddie did: “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:2323But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)).
ML-11/02/2014