80. To the Extent That We Turn Our Backs on All Kinds of Theft Because They Are Sins, We Love Honesty

IN earthly terms, "theft" means not only theft and robbery but also cheating and taking other people's assets by some pretext. Spiritually understood, though, "theft" means depriving others of the truths of their faith and good actions motivated by their caring, while in the highest sense it means taking from the Lord what is properly his and claiming it for ourselves - that is, claiming righteousness and worth for ourselves. These are "all kinds of theft, " and like "all kinds of adultery" and "all kinds of killing, " as just described [74-79 and 67-73], they too are united. They are united because one is within the other.