I read the most interesting perspective on stealing. It started with the declaration that whatever we have is not ours anyway, so that makes stealing doubly wrong. I believe it's accurate to say that when we think of stealing, and the fact that it's considered wrong, we naturally think of tangible objects. We can't steal stuff from our neighbors, we can't rob banks, we can't "sample" fruit from the produce section. Zilch. Zero. Nada.
As I began to travel down the dusty road of my thoughts, I began to think to myself, but what about the intangible things people own: our thoughts, our feelings, our identity. What about that? How do those things fit into the equation of stealing and God and all that stuff. Here's my thought:
If everything we have and everything we own is indeed not necessarily ours but on loan, as in it was given to us (a big prim and proper religious term is bestowed upon us) then our identity also is a gift...and given. The ability to be a free thinker is given to us. The desire to love and be loved is a gift given to us. Stealing is not allowed. Who are are, what we stand for, how we see ourselves...it's all a gift given to us. We are not allowed to steal another person's identity. Let me be clear here, I'm not talking about their online identity (although clearly that's wrong too) I'm talking about their gender identity, sexual identity, how they see themselves in this world and how they expect to be seen.
There are lots of hate groups who have decided that to "be LGBTQ" is wrong and those of us who identify under that acronym need to be"corrected". (For those who are unfamiliar LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer). Folks who align with L-G-B are talking about their sexuality (very different and not related to gender); those who align with T are referring to their gender (male, female, both, neither); those who align with Q could be referring to either their sexual or gender identity. Further information can be found at PFLAG.org or HRC.org because this is not the blog post to go into this in depth.
Back to the stealing thing. When God (however you align with God or what represents a divine authority in your world) says stealing is wrong it is an abomination (another big scary religious word) and God cries. ALL of everything in what we call this world is made from the abundance of a divine authority who far exceeds any human capacity or authority.
When an organization or a person steals the hopes and dreams, the hard personal effort or blood-sweat-and-tears personal commitment from another person, a crime [against humanity] has been committed. We are what we are and have what we have as a gift. None of us owns any of this. We leave this "world" with the same as we came into it with - nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nada.
When a person decides someone else is wrong for living into their full authenticity (i.e. sexual or gender identity) and advances are made toward taking it away, i.e. stealing it, we are no longer living as we are instructed. When someone robs another of a life worth living, a dream and a hope of a better life, a gesture of giving and receiving love...God cries. We are not allowed to steal.
Thou Shalt Not Steal. Not property. Not grapes. Not a person's identity. Not a person's joy.
Mind your business. Mind your manners. Mind yourself.
