The Thief

Are We Stealing from God? 

An agreement between two parties occurs when both sides want something from the other and are willing to give up something in exchange for it. Hashem willing, the sides are sincere and honest, and the deal passes with two satisfied parties.  

Sometimes, it doesn’t work out so smoothly. One side will dangle the illusion of what the other side wants in hopes of squeezing the other for all they can get. Then, the excuses come.  

“Give me a little more, and you will have it.” “There was a problem with the supplier. Pay a small fee, and everything will be fine.” “We are busy working right now. Wait until tomorrow, and you will see.” The stories never end.  

Why does the first party keep paying?  

Because they need what the other side is offering, they hold out hope that the other party will deliver. The other side will feed this false hope like a slot machine that cashes out once every 10 spins—not enough to deliver, but just enough to keep their hopes up.  

The charade goes on until the victims finally realize it was all a scam.  

Are We the Thieves? 

Are we stealing from God? 

At Sinai, and again at our bar mitzvah, we made a deal with Hashem. He would provide for us, protect us, and bless us in everything. In return, we would follow His Torah.  

All our lives, He gives us. With every breath, He keeps His end of the deal. We strive to maintain our end of the bargain, but often we ask for more.  

“Hashem, may it be Your Will that I can have a good job.” 

“Father, may it be Your Will that I can have a good home.” 

He always delivers.  

The question is, do we? 

It’s good to ask God for everything. Rabbi Natan teaches that we even need to ask God for the small button on our shirt. It’s an amazing kindness of God to us that even in our asking for another payment, as long as we are asking Him – it’s considered as if we are performing the mitzvah of emunah and keeping our end of the agreement.  

But do we promise to “do better” tomorrow in return for an answered prayer today? Do we then wind up forgetting about our promises and, like the thief, dangle hope in front of our Father, only to leave Him empty-handed? 

When Tomorrow Comes 

I have a laundry list of things I want to do tomorrow: 

• Learn Torah as my primary occupation 
• Get out of bed the moment I wake up 
• Concentrate on my prayers – especially on the meaning of each word 
• Eradicate profanity and evil speech from my mouth 

Hashem gives me health, parnasah (income), a home, and satisfies all my family’s physical and material needs. He is paying me in advance, but I am not keeping up with His generosity.  

I turn 51 this month. The path before me is less than what I’ve already traveled. Do I have the time or the ability to come through on what I’ve promised God and received abundant compensation for? 

It’s a horrible feeling to be stolen from. You offer your decency and trust to a fellow human, and they laugh in your face.  

Am I doing this to God? 

Are any of us? 

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David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, our local camel. David‘s Israeli startup, 300 Marketing Solutions, is a lean marketing agency for startups and small businesses that creates and promotes SEO-optimized ROI-driven to the right audience on LinkedIn to make your business the star of the show.