Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Restitution, plus

Leviticus 6:1-5 says:
The LORD said to Moses: "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-- when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

The guilty person must not only return what was stolen, they must pay an additional 20%. That is restitution plus 20%. America's penal system does not have a sense of restitution, yet alone a 20% penalty.

(I wonder if our growth of government, government entitlements, and growth in taxes are a result of this lack of concern for personal property.)

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