H
HNA444
Guest
If someone finds money on the ground or at the mall/store, and takes it, is that considered stealing? or if it’s not stealing, is it a sin to take it/
- Status
M
Mel_Stones
Guest
It isn’t stealing to keep found money. Depending on the amount there may be a law that addresses turning it in for possible recovery. If it’s clear who the money belongs to (such as finding it in a bank bag or wallet with identification) and it isn’t returned, that is illegal and immoral.
For any amount, the moral thing to do would be to try to find the rightful owner. It there is no way to find the rightful owner, there is nothing immoral about keeping it. If there is a possibility, well, think how you would feel if you lost it. The majority of the time, there is really no way to determine who the rightful owner is unless you saw them drop it. There are times where it is possible though. One of my R.E. students told me she lost her lunch money ($60) and someone found it and turned it into the school office.
I once walked past a 50 dollar bill thinking it was colorful litter (money should not be that colorful
). My Dad saw it and kept it because there was no way to find who it belonged to.
Love thy neighbor as thyself - do what you would want others to do for you - as some famous guy once said
.
For any amount, the moral thing to do would be to try to find the rightful owner. It there is no way to find the rightful owner, there is nothing immoral about keeping it. If there is a possibility, well, think how you would feel if you lost it. The majority of the time, there is really no way to determine who the rightful owner is unless you saw them drop it. There are times where it is possible though. One of my R.E. students told me she lost her lunch money ($60) and someone found it and turned it into the school office.
I once walked past a 50 dollar bill thinking it was colorful litter (money should not be that colorful
). My Dad saw it and kept it because there was no way to find who it belonged to.Love thy neighbor as thyself - do what you would want others to do for you - as some famous guy once said
.
C
Celtic_Catholic
Guest
*Don’t ask if anyone lost it! Everyone will say it’s theirs then you’ll really have a problem. 
It’s fine to keep loose money if there is no identification with it. My son and a boy across the street found $100 blowing around the neighborhood last October. It was obviously together at one point but they found it by $10’s and $20’s floating around separately. It was a windy day and there was no one in sight. I held it for about three hours waiting on my porch while they played to see if someone came by looking for it. Nobody did so they split it. *
It’s fine to keep loose money if there is no identification with it. My son and a boy across the street found $100 blowing around the neighborhood last October. It was obviously together at one point but they found it by $10’s and $20’s floating around separately. It was a windy day and there was no one in sight. I held it for about three hours waiting on my porch while they played to see if someone came by looking for it. Nobody did so they split it. *
R
Reuben_J
Guest
Make an effort to find the owner, though that may be impractical and unrealistic. Failing that you may want to donate the money to charity or any agency that can channel it to better use for the needy. Or maybe to poor old Harry who use to beg at the street corner; the money may become handy for him for his next meal. Keeping it for yourself should be the last resort.
Just last month, I lost my cell phone at the bank. It was a busy day and I was filling some debit forms with details which I stored in my phone. In my haste to submit them to the teller I forgot to pick up my phone at the form booth. It was only after I about to leave the bank about forty minute later that I realize my phone was not in my pocket. Imagine my anxiety. Trying my luck I asked the security and the counter nearby if they saw the phone. To my relief someone (a customer) saw it and had handed it over to the floor manager. And imagine my pleasure as I got my phone back!
The moral is - what’s not ours is not ours. Maybe it is not stealing per se but we also have the responsibility not to take advantage of another’s misfortune, even if inadvertently.
God bless
- Status