A thief in New Jersey stole $7,000 in jewelry, old coins, and cash from a widow. The items taken were all she had left from her husband's estate.

In sorting through his loot, the thief came across several church offering envelopes containing money the woman intended to give to the Lord. Leaving their contents inside, he put them in another envelope, addressed it to the woman's church, and then dropped it in the mail.

When the pastor found out what had happened, he commented, "It is a characteristic of the moral confusion of our times that someone would consider stealing from a widow and her children, yet think it reprehensible to steal from the church."

That thief overlooked an important truth: A sin against our neighbor is a sin against God (Leviticus 6:2). All of us, I'm afraid, are prone to think that God's property line ends somewhere near the back of the church. But it doesn't. Everything and everyone belongs to God. To reverence Him is to respect the property that He has entrusted to His children.

Wise is the person who fears God and recognizes that to sin against others is to sin against Him.  — Mart De Haan