Speaking the truth in love.
EPHESIANS 4:15 KJV
“You know that what you did was wrong, don’t you?”
The words echoed in Sandra’s mind as she went home from school that evening. She was a good student who had never cheated in her life. Yet, this last assignment had been more than she could do. In a moment of desperation, she copied the work of another student.
Her teacher, Mrs. Wallace, had asked her to wait after class, and Sandra knew what was coming. Still, it was a shock when Mrs. Wallace asked her if it was really her work.
“Yes,” she squeaked out, then wondered why she had lied.
Looking her straight in the eye, Mrs. Wallace carefully said, “You know that what you did was wrong, don’t you? Take tonight to think about your answer, and I will ask you again in the morning if this is your work.”
It was a long night for Sandra. She was a junior in high school with a well-deserved reputation for honesty and kindness. She had never cheated before, and now she had compounded her mistake by deliberately lying—and to someone she admired and loved. The next morning she was at Mrs. Wallace’s classroom door long before school officially started, and she quietly confessed her misdeed. She received the appropriate consequences, a zero on the assignment and detention (her first and only detention).
Years later, Sandra often thought of that experience and felt gratitude for loving correction from someone she respected. Mrs. Wallace was willing to help Sandra make honest choices—even on the heels of making a dishonest one. For Sandra, this was a life lesson about taking responsibility for past mistakes and choosing honesty no matter what the consequences.