APP: How far would you go to win? A high school football coach was suspended because he moved a marker on the field so his team could win the game. A friend asks you to text answers to a test. Is it ever okay to cheat and be dishonest?
The popular thinking of today makes it acceptable to do whatever you think is right to get the results you desire. The problem is, the more we cheat and don’t get caught, the more temptation there is to keep on deceiving. But sooner or later it’s gonna catch up to us. It all starts in the little things that gradually evolve into big ger schemes. Cheating not only affects whomever we’re deceiving; it affects our relationships with others. Friends and family begin wondering if they can trust us. We end up living a lie and deceiving ourselves. Cheating is a hard habit to break, but it can be done. It starts by a willingness to want to live honestly and then recognizing that we need God’s help to change.
Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.
PROVERBS 11:1 NKJV
What shall I say about the homes of the wicked filled with treasures gained by cheating? What about the disgusting practice of measuring out grain with dishonest measures? How can I tolerate your merchants who use dishonest scales and weights?
MICAH 6:10–11 NLT
Doomed is the one who builds his house by injustice and enlarges it by dishonesty; who makes his people work for nothing and does not pay their wages.
JEREMIAH 22:13 GNT
Bread gained by deceit is sweet, but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.
PROVERBS 20:17 NRSV
“Don’t exploit your friend or rob him. Don’t hold back the wages of a hired hand overnight.”
LEVITICUS 19:13 MSG