What does the Bible say about a
family member who compulsively steals?

What does the Bible say about a
Christian family member who compulsively steals?

Q. I have a Christian family member who is stealing from the family. She does not steal to pay for drugs or for any other addiction. She seems to steal for the sake of stealing. What does the Bible say about this?

A. The Apostle Paul has this to say about stealing:

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit he kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1Corinthians 6:9-10, NKJV throughout).

"Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." (Ephesians 4:28)

The ultimate authoritative voice, God Himself, through the hand of His servant Moses, wrote the words, "You shall not steal". (Exodus 20:15, Deuteronomy 5:19).

All of these scriptures emphasize and re-emphasize the truth that stealing is a sin. It is clearly something that Christians are not supposed to do.

Only God knows what is in the heart of your family member who steals. Hopefully, she has truly repented, been baptized and has received the holy spirit and hopefully she is reading, studying the Bible, praying and meditating on God's word daily. If she indeed has accepted Jesus as her personal Savior and has made a personal, sincere covenant with Him to obey Him and God the Father, then she is morally obligated to stop sinning.

However, conversion is a process and takes time. The fruits of the spirit take a while to become manifest in a Christian's life. It may be that the person you mention has a chemical imbalance that motivates her to steal and she does so without intent. If this is true, she needs to be persuaded to see a doctor or psychologist.

I had an uncle who was a kleptomaniac (a person with an obsessive urge to steal regardless of their economic need) who sadly died in prison because he was never physically able to stop stealing. Of course, to my knowledge, he never admitted to being a practicing Christian.

The overriding advantage that your family member has is the holy spirit. There is nothing that she can't conquer if she takes the problem to Jesus and the throne of God. A close family member, someone who knows her intimately, should try to encourage her to seek help -- both spiritual and physical. The entire family should also encourage her to seek help and even pray for her so that she can start to overcome this weakness.