In yesterday’s passage, we saw that love for our neighbors involves defending their property, even from damage that we might cause either accidentally or by what we consider to be necessity. But who’s responsible if we entrust our neighbor with our things or our animals and they go missing? And what if it’s not really clear what happened to them?

Remember, we’ve already seen that while the Law upholds everyone’s right to his property in the Eighth Commandment, it also maintains our responsibility to care for human life in the Sixth. That means that we shouldn’t just assume that the one we trusted with our property has stolen or lost our things. No, because people are more important than property, we must always make sure someone is guilty of theft or carelessness before assessing blame or levying fines. Our love for others should restrain us from wild accusations or snap judgments, even if we’ve suffered a great loss.

For let’s face it – some things are beyond anyone’s control. Packs of coyotes attack sheep. Buffalo gnats suffocate chickens. It’s wrong to think that your neighbor could do a better job of protecting your animals than you could (v. 13). Moreover, shouldn’t we accept some of the responsibility for our things being damaged when our neighbors rent them? I mean, we wanted to make a profit, right (v. 15)?

But notice how important the ninth commandment is where it comes to protecting both our things and our relationships. Only if both parties tell the truth can impartial judges hope to sort out who is really at fault (vv. 8-9, 11). On the contrary, a society that has lost its commitment to objective truth soon finds it impossible to provide justice to anyone. Respect for life, property and truth thus stand or fall together.

So today, let’s seek to be faithful with whatever is entrusted to us. Let’s make love our top priority, even when disagreements come our way. And above all, let’s strive to speak only the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Exodus 22:7-15 (NASB)

7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him, and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double.
8 “If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor’s property.
9 “For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
10 “If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away while no one is looking,
11 an oath before the LORD shall be made by the two of them, that he has not laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.
12 “But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.
13 “If it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.
14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.
15 “If its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired, it came for its hire.