You Shall Not Steal: Digital Piracy, Christian Stewardship, and the Importance of Physical Ownership

Over the past several months, I have been setting up my own Jellyfin media server. It has been both a technical project and a personal shift in how I view media ownership. Every DVD, Blu-ray, and CD I have purchased over the years now has a secure backup copy preserved on a hard drive. Disc rot is real. Scratches happen. Even media files have to be migrated every now and again. But with my media properly archived, I can freely enjoy what I already own on my television and throughout my home — without paying a monthly fee for permission to watch something that sits on my shelf.

This project began with a simple thought: why am I paying to “access” content that I could already possess in physical form? Streaming once offered ease and affordability. Today, it offers rising prices, shrinking libraries, and the looming threat that something you love may be removed without warning. Convenience has replaced ownership — and for Christians, that shift raises moral questions worth examining carefully.

As Confessional Lutherans, we believe God’s Word speaks to all areas of life, including how we handle the property of others and the property God has granted to us. If we are going to talk about digital media and piracy, we must begin not with corporate marketing campaigns or threatening legal warnings, but with God’s commandment:

“You shall not steal.”
—Exodus 20:15

Stealing, Defined by God — Not Corporations

Luther explains the Seventh Commandment in the Small Catechism:

“We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or property nor get it by dishonest dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.”

This includes two duties:

1. We must not take what belongs to another.
2. We must actively help others keep what is rightly theirs.

Stealing is not limited to physical burglary or shoplifting. It includes any act that deprives someone of property they have a right to hold.

And that right to property does not vanish when data is involved instead of wood or stone. Property includes:

• The money someone has earned
• The possessions they have lawfully purchased
• The goods they have received as legitimate gifts

Therefore, when we buy a physical DVD, Blu-ray, CD, or game disc, ownership is not theoretical. We have actual stewardship over:

• The physical item itself
• The content stored on that item
• The ability to preserve and access that content

Backing up and streaming our own media for personal use does not take anything from anyone. It is not stealing, because it is wise preservation.

But some powerful media corporations insist otherwise — not because Scripture or civil law supports their claim, but because they profit when ownership disappears.

The Corporate Redefinition of Theft

Some companies publicly assert that making a backup copy of your own legally purchased software or media is “piracy.” One well-known video game company (which has lost high-profile lawsuits on this very point) boldly states that any copying — even archival copies — is illegal and immoral. I would say who they are but they are very sue-happy and I don’t want to risk anything. Perhaps the plumber they have on staff could give you a clue. Mama MIA!

But, as to this company’s claims: they are not ignorant…they are just lying.

If enough consumers can be convinced that their legitimate rights are criminal, a corporation gains control over how, when, and whether you may use the items you bought.

The goal is not to protect creators. The goal is to ensure perpetual dependence on licensing systems:

• You may watch only through our service.
• You may listen only through our app.
• You may play only through our servers.
• And if we take it away… too bad.

It sounds like a minor inconvenience until something you love disappears from your library without restitution. Then the reality becomes obvious: you were never allowed to own it — only rent it indefinitely.

Such practices are not neutral business decisions. According to the Seventh Commandment, they are acts of theft against consumers.

When Companies Break the Commandment

Amazon has quietly removed purchased films and books from customers’ libraries. Entire media storefronts have shut down and taken users’ purchased titles with them. These companies took money without fulfilling their obligation to protect the buyer’s property.

When the Small Catechism teaches us to help our neighbor protect and improve his property, it condemns actions that undermine that protection.

• Charging full price for a digital movie, then revoking it, is theft.
• Locking access behind servers that may one day shut down is theft.
• Preventing lawful backups so consumers must re-buy content is theft.

Christians should be able to name these sins for what they are.

And for anyone wishing to bludgeon customers with the “Terms and Services” agreements, let’s remember the part of the explanation that says we are not to “…get it by dishonest dealing.” Fine prints, therefore, are violations of the commandment as well.

What About True Piracy?

Downloadable copies of media we have not purchased remain outside the bounds of Christian ethics. If someone acquires content without paying the rightful owner, it is a violation of the Seventh Commandment. Scripture does not give exceptions based on convenience, annoyance with corporations, or feelings of entitlement to entertainment.

We must examine our hearts honestly:

• Do we want what we have not paid for?
• Do we justify wrongdoing because “big companies already have enough money”?

Stealing is sin whether the victim is a neighbor or a multinational corporation.

A Better Model: Steam and the Respect of Ownership

Not every digital company operates with hostility toward consumer rights. Steam — a digital platform for PC gaming — demonstrates that respecting ownership reduces piracy rather than increasing it.

Valve, Steam’s parent company, allows users to:

• Download and access the game files directly on their computer
• Copy or move those files for their own archival needs
• Play games they own even when bought outside of Steam
• Install games offline without persistent DRM checks (though this could be on a case-by-case basis, depending on the publisher of the game)

Gabe Newell, Valve’s founder, has said in public interviews that supporting legitimate ownership removes the incentive for piracy. If a customer can use the thing they have purchased freely and reliably, they have no reason to seek illegal alternatives.

Steam is far from perfect, but this principle matters:

Piracy decreases when ownership is respected.

That reality contradicts the narrative that freedom must be restricted for creators to thrive.

Why Christians Should Preserve Physical Media

Owning something physically — not merely licensing access to it — is a way of honoring God’s gifts. It provides:

✔ Security against digital erasure
✔ Freedom from fluctuating licensing terms
✔ Preservation of art and culture for the future
✔ The ability to enjoy property without corporate permission

God gives earthly goods that we might receive them with thanksgiving and care for them responsibly. When we preserve our media, we act as faithful stewards.

When we allow the redefinition ownership, we participate in our own exploitation.

Conclusion: Upholding the Seventh Commandment in a Digital Age

Christians must hold fast to what God defines as theft and reject any attempt to rewrite the moral law for financial gain.

Wrong:
✔ Downloading what we do not own
✔ Distributing copyrighted works unlawfully

Right:
✔ Owning physical media
✔ Preserving what we legally purchased
✔ Protecting our property from unjust seizure or loss

Christ did not give the Seventh Commandment to preserve the power of commie-corpos. He gave it to protect His people and the gifts He has entrusted to them.

As the digital world continues pushing toward a future where everything is rented and nothing is owned, the Church must speak clearly:

Ownership is not theft. Stewardship is not sin. And the Seventh Commandment protects consumers every bit as much as it protects creators.