Ten Words · Stop 4
How do these commandments protect people and what belongs to them?
Some things are so valuable they need protecting: your body, the promises people make, and the things people work for. Today you'll look at two commandments that put a fence around them.
Start this stopRespect
The sixth commandment says not to commit adultery, which means breaking the promise of marriage. Luther said it asks all of us, married or not, to lead a chaste life. Chaste is an old word for using self-control and treating sexuality as a good gift that belongs with trust, care, and faithful promises.
Your body is a good gift from God. So is everyone else's. That means treating people as people, not objects, in person and online. It means keeping promises and not using people. And no one has the right to touch you in a way that feels unsafe, or to pressure you for pictures online. If that happens, it is never your fault, even if they said to keep it secret. Tell a trusted adult.
The seventh commandment says not to steal. Luther said that includes cheating and tricking people. Today that could mean copying someone's work and calling it yours. Then he turned it around: help your neighbor keep and grow what they have.
Paul told people who used to steal to work honestly so they would have something to share. The opposite of stealing is giving.
Read it in your Bible
- 1 Corinthians 6:19–20. Paul reminds the church that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. You belong to God, who paid a great price for you. So honor God with your body.
- Ephesians 4:28. Paul says anyone who used to steal should stop, and work honestly with their own hands, so they have something to share with people in need.
The Sixth and Seventh Commandments, from Luther's Small Catechism
You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may lead a chaste and decent life in words and deeds, and each love and honor his spouse.
You shall not steal.
What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.
Words to know
- Promise. What the sixth commandment protects, especially the promise of marriage. People trust each other because promises get kept.
- Respect. How we should treat every body, our own and other people's. Every person carries God's image. No one is an object.
- Temple. What Paul says your body is, a home for the Holy Spirit. Your body isn't something to be ashamed of. God lives there.
- Credit. Taking this for someone else's work is a kind of stealing. Luther said tricks and cheating count as stealing too.
- Share. What Paul says honest work lets you do for people in need. The opposite of stealing is giving.