If You Struggle with Stealing or Taking What Is Not Yours

A Catholic Path to Justice, Generosity, and Freedom

This Is More Common Than We Admit

Stealing does not always look dramatic. It often appears in quiet, ordinary ways:

•   Taking small items “that won’t be missed”

•   Using time, resources, or money dishonestly

•   Padding expenses or cutting corners

•   Downloading or copying without permission

•   Failing to return what was borrowed

Because these acts seem minor or common, they are easily ignored.

The Church addresses this not to accuse, but to restore justice and freedom.

Why Stealing Matters Spiritually

Stealing is not only about property. It is about respect for persons.

To steal is to take what belongs to another without consent. It violates:

•   Justice

•   Trust

•   The dignity of the other

Even when the loss seems small, the act trains the heart away from honesty and toward entitlement.

Scripture is clear:

“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)

This command protects relationships as much as possessions.

Why People Steal

People steal for many reasons:

•   Convenience

•   Pressure or fear

•   Resentment (“They have plenty”)

•   A sense of being owed

•   Habit formed over time

Stealing often begins when we justify rather than when we desire.

What we excuse repeatedly, we eventually accept as normal.

What Counts as Stealing

Stealing includes:

•   Taking money or property without permission

•   Cheating or fraud

•   Using others’ resources dishonestly

•   Failing to pay just wages or debts

•   Keeping what was mistakenly given

It can also include theft of time or trust, such as:

•   Being paid for work not done

•   Misusing shared responsibilities

•   Deliberate inefficiency

The measure is not the amount taken, but the justice of the act.

What Stealing Is Not

Not every mistake is theft.

It is not stealing to:

•   Make an honest error and correct it when discovered

•   Accept legitimate gifts or assistance

•   Use what is freely given

•   Remain silent about information you do not owe

Sin involves knowledge and consent, not mere accident.

Practicing the Opposite Virtues: Justice and Generosity

Stealing is not healed merely by “not taking.” It is healed by forming the opposite virtues.

Justice

•   Giving each person what is due

•   Respecting property, time, and trust

•   Acting fairly even when no one is watching

Generosity

•   Willingness to give rather than grasp

•   Gratitude for what one has

•   Trust that God provides

A just heart resists taking. A generous heart no longer needs to.

Small Choices Form the Soul

Most theft happens in small decisions:

•   “It’s only a little.”

•   “Everyone does this.”

•   “They won’t notice.”

But virtue grows—or shrinks—through repetition.

Small acts of honesty:

•   Returning extra change

•   Correcting billing errors

•   Respecting time commitments

These acts quietly restore integrity.

Restitution: Making Things Right

When possible, justice requires restitution:

•   Returning what was taken

•   Repaying what is owed

•   Repairing damage caused

Sometimes restitution must be:

•   Indirect

•   Anonymous

•   Proportionate

Prudence matters—but the desire to repair is essential.

One of the great teachers of the Church, St. Augustine, taught that repentance for theft is incomplete without the will to restore what was taken, when possible.

Have a Plan When Temptation Arises

Stealing often happens under pressure.

When tempted, pause and ask:

•   “Is this mine to take?”

•   “Would I do this if someone were watching?”

•   “Am I justifying rather than choosing?”

Delay often restores clarity.

Justice, Mercy, and the Sacraments

If stealing has become habitual:

•   Bring it honestly to confession

•   Name the pattern without excuses

•   Ask for the grace to repair what can be repaired

Confession does not humiliate—it reorders.

Grace strengthens the will to act justly again.

There Is Freedom in Living Justly

Living justly:

•   Frees the conscience

•   Builds trust

•   Restores self-respect

•   Opens the heart to generosity

God desires not only that we avoid wrongdoing, but that we live with uprightness and peace.

A Line Worth Remembering

What we take unjustly costs more than it gives.

Closing Prayer

Lord God, You are just and generous in all Your ways. Heal any dishonesty in my heart. Teach me to respect what belongs to others, to act with integrity, and to trust in Your provision. Make me just in my actions and generous in my love. Amen.