Gain is not bad. Gaining to the point of being wealthy is not bad either. Like everything in this world, I can gain properly and improperly. The ill-gotten gain eventually takes away the lives of those who gain it (15).
Verses 10 thru 14 contain a story. The story is a warning to not accept the enticement of others to join with them and steal from others. Just because no one approaches me to join their thieving band does not mean this has never happened to me. I hear of and am tempted to not act properly with money and possessions all the time.
Shoplifting is giving away my soul. Eat-n-dash leaves a sliver of my heart at the restaurant’s table. Forcing an employee to work and not compensating them is why the kingdom of Satan will end in terror. Taking delivered packages from door-steps is giving away an eternal dwelling.
Thieving is self-destruction (18). Subliminal ones exist. Not encouraging and complimenting a child is as much stealing from them as not teaching them that there are rules that when broken will result in punishment. Not disciplining a child brings pain and sorrow to both the child and the parent in the future. A good parent will instruct a child with true compliments and loving punishment. Of all the ill-gotten gains listen here, the worst is to steal a son’s or daughter’s future by holding back a blunt education in respecting authority and rules (8,9).
