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A person who intends to steal is not technically yet a "thief" if he hasn't taken anything yet. But it could be argued that this person needs educated about boundaries, "what's yours is yours-mine is mine", and personal ethics that keep most people from acting on the urge to steal. Some religious leaders might say that a person who intends to steal is one who "covets" -- meaning, they want what someone else has so much that they are willing to steal to get it. Coveting often comes from feelings of jealousy, or from feeling entitled to have things even if you haven't worked for them. So, a person like this could be called a person who jealously covets other people's property and who may become a future thief.

Psychologists would say that this kind of person needs to work on impulse control -- controlling ones impulses to do wrongful or immature actions that seem to fill a temporary need.

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14y ago

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