You’ve heard the code of the schoolyard: “Finders-Keepers, Losers-Weepers.” Is that the law? Can you simply keep things you find, telling yourself they must have been abandoned?
No. That is not the law. Britain actually retains a criminal charge known as “THEFT BY FINDING.” It is possible to find something and be accused of theft because you made no attempt to locate the owner. The state of Texas has a similar law, requiring (in simplified terms) finders attempt to locate owners.
The Bible is incredibly practical, filled with detailed laws involving everyday events like losing and finding, and what to do about it. And Moses did not derive these practical laws from some abstract principle He learned from God, such as the Golden Rule. Instead, these practical laws were dictated directly from God to Moses:
“THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES: ‘When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, … or FINDS SOMETHING LOST AND LIES ABOUT IT … he must return what he stole, … or the lost item he found…. He must make full restitution and add a fifth of its value to it’” Leviticus 6:1-5.
God cares about practical details like what to do about lost and found items. I find that fascinating. Too many people think God is so “High and Lifted Up” that He does not care about little things. Many people don’t pray about “little things” for that very reason. But God does care. He sees. He notices. He understands the details of life on earth—the mundane, ordinary, little details. Jesus even told parables about a lost coin and a lost sheep. When you lose something God DOES care about it. Consequently, He gave Israel laws to ensure that lost things would be returned to their owners.
Never think that God is so “High and Lifted Up” that He does not care about the nitty-gritty, ever-practical details of life. Talk to Him about your details!
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Household Words: 