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Ephesians 4:28

以弗所书 4:28

The Passage

Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.

In the other language

从前偷窃的，不要再偷；总要劳力，亲手做正经事，就可有余分给那缺少的人。

Theme

Work that gives

Bring a question to this passage

Many readers arrive here from a real question. These are reflections for how this passage speaks to the questions people bring most often — not an answer about what will happen, but an invitation to sit with it slowly.

How do I face this season of pressure at work?

The movement in this passage is from taking to working honestly, and from earning to sharing. It does not give you a way to manage deadlines, but it offers a purpose for work beyond protecting your own position. Pressure can narrow your attention until colleagues become obstacles and every advantage feels necessary. Here, good work makes room for someone else’s need. You are invited to notice both how you work and what your work makes possible for others. This need not mean giving away energy you do not have; honesty and fairness also matter. Where could concern for another person shape one choice at work today?

Carry thisHonest work leaves room for the needs of others.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

I want to learn to love better in this relationship.

The movement in this verse is from taking to working and giving. It addresses theft rather than relationships directly, but its direction offers something concrete for your desire to love better. You can notice where you take another person's time, attention, or effort for granted, without assuming that having needs makes you selfish. The passage joins honest work with awareness of someone else's need. Love, viewed through that lens, includes both responsibility for your own actions and a willingness to share what you have. Giving need not mean making yourself endlessly available. Where could you move from expecting care to offering something thoughtful and freely given?

Carry thisLove makes room for honest responsibility and freely offered care.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

What do I need to let go of in the coming weeks?

Here, letting go has a concrete shape: stop taking what belongs to another, and turn toward honest work that makes sharing possible. The passage moves beyond simply keeping your hands clean. It imagines your effort becoming something another person can receive. You need not assume every desire for security is selfish, but you can notice where getting and keeping have crowded out concern for someone else's need. In the coming weeks, this may invite an honest look at what you take, what you earn, and what you hold. Where might you loosen your grip so that another person's need has room to matter?

Carry thisHonest work can make room for another person's need.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

How can I find stillness in a busy life?

Working with your hands has a purpose here: doing good and having something to share with someone in need. The passage does not directly teach stillness, but it invites you to consider what your busyness serves. Work can become an endless effort to accumulate, compete, or feel secure. These words turn attention toward honest labor and generosity instead. You do not have to make every task feel meaningful to notice this distinction. A quiet pause might simply make room to name what is good in your work, and where the urge for more has taken over. When would you have enough, if sharing mattered more than accumulating?

Carry thisGood work makes room for generosity, not only accumulation.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

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Ephesians 4 — in context

22that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;

23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

24and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

25Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.

26“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,

27neither give place to the devil.

28Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.

29Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.

30Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice.

32And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.

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Work and Calling

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