Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

                                                                                                                   Luke 19:8-10 

Jesus changes everything! Our hearts, our attitudes, and our hopes and dreams are all transformed when we come to know Jesus Christ in a saving way. And that was the case with a first century tax collector. His name was Zaccheus and when Jesus came to his home, everything changed.

It is important for us to understand what perception was often attached to the term “tax collector.” It was not uncommon, in that day, for someone in this position to exploit others by charging a larger sum than was required by law thus giving this government official the ability to pad his own pocket while collecting the taxes. These individuals were often viewed by the public as nothing more than glorified thieves.

As Zaccheus conversed with Jesus, he made a remarkable statement, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” A man who had most likely acted against his neighbors out of greed now had a much different outlook on money and the idea of taking what does not belong to him.

His first declaration was that he would become more generous. He would give to the poor but not in the way most of us would give, he was willing to give half of his possessions to charity. That is quite a leap for a man who had recently looked for ways to defraud others. But then he moves to the idea of making right any wrong that he might have done to another. He tells Christ that he will pay back those in whom he had cheated. But again, he doesn’t repay the way we might repay. Zaccheus was willing to pay back four times as much as he had taken.

The question has to be asked? What was it that changed this tax collectors heart and drove him to take such charitable actions? I believe it was the presence of Jesus not only in his home, but in his heart as well. Being in the presence of Jesus changed everything for Zaccheus and it should for us as well.

Jesus’ pronouncement was, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.” Jesus tells us that salvation had come into Zaccheus’ life and it was this spiritual transformation that changed his outlook and his actions.

When we consider the eighth commandment of respecting the material possessions of others, we should go a step further and ask ourselves, “How charitable am I with my possessions and resources?” I believe that adherence to the eighth commandment, just like the sixth and seventh, goes well beyond what we might think. In addition to not stealing, we need to consider how we might use our material wealth to bless others. A biblical view of wealth is that it all belongs to God in the first place therefore we should not be greedy or tight-fisted with our giving rather we should trust God to supply everything that we need and out of that trust, give.

Consider the goodness of God in your life today and the spiritual and material blessings that He has provided just for you and then determine in your heart what might be the best use of those possessions.