WHY CHEAT?


I love to watch professional women's tennis--though I must admit the past few years my watching dwindled to almost none.  Imagine my shock when I ran across a headline recently concerning the American trained Russian Maria Sharapova returning to the court after being exiled to the sidelines for cheating.  I admit I am prejudice--she has never been my favorite--by a long shot, but I also admit she has great talent.  A superb athlete and tennis technician, she was a force to be reckoned with.  She has beaten the best of the best and stood at the top of the heap for a long time.  Then she was caught cheating---WHY?  


This is the fourth year I have mentored/tutored my student through Kids Hope.  After the first two years, I began to realize the most important things I could teach her were not necessarily academic subjects.  We have spent a great deal of time the past two years talking over life lessons while playing games, reading books, and working on projects.  I realized one day in the middle of a game--she was cheating.  She would do anything to win---including cheating.  We talked a great deal about wanting good things for our friends---there was no harm in not winning as long as you did your best---and still she was not a good loser.  In fact she would throw the cards down--grab my dominoes--turn over the game board, just about anything to prevent a loss. 

What is the difference in a world class professional athlete and a fifth grade student cheating and getting caught?  There is no difference in the act of cheating itself.  The urge to win--the need to be on top--the desire to claim the prize is so great--that we lose sight of the diminished glory which comes with cheating.  A win by cheating is really a shallow victory at best.


The huge difference in the two cheating is my student was always remorseful--apologetic.  She knows---her heart tells her--and at times when she realizes what she is doing she stops and corrects herself.  NOW---we are not scoring 100% on the never cheating, but it is getting better.  Mario Sharapova conversely has shown no remorse--no apology--no regret.  It is business as usual with a point to prove.  She seems to be thumping her nose at the world and her professional peers.  NOW---I do not know her motive--perhaps in her heart she is embarrassed.  All we have to go on is her overt actions and those lead us to believe she is only sorry she got caught.  

When we sin, we are to confess our sin,  repent of that sin, and turn from it.  Most of us have no problem confessing it, and even repenting is doable, but the turning from it when in the eyes of the world we will lose status---that is heavy.  We forget God's laws are for our good--not a random set of rules to make life difficult.  We knowingly and defiantly ignore or out right break those laws for a good life.  And then we wonder why life is hard--why things don't go our way--why we seem to have made enemies?  Why cheat--when the cost is so high?  The glory of the gold medal glares in our eyes and blocks the view of what is truly important the eternal prize.  Why cheat--because we think we are losing and lose sight that there is no greater prize than the mantle of integrity. A prize for all eternity.

3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
 but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
Proverbs 11:3

5 comments

  1. Oh oh...I say oh oh...cause I sure was using the internet yesterday to help me with Stats homework...lol. I guess it was cheating...I just don't get how folks can sit at a desk all day long and play with numbers---its just not my thing. (and I know you use to do that as a living, lololol)---on the other hand, there are folks who say to me, "Linda, how can you be stuck in a library all day? History is so boring!" yada, yada.

    ANYWAYS, great post...and thank you for the smiles and fits of giggles, however unintended. smiles

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    1. That's not cheating ~ that's getting help!! My number thing fits nicely into my OCD thing-LOL!
      Blessings, My Friend!

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  2. Why do people cheat? Quite simply, because they do not see it as a sin. It's part of being clever. Although, the Ten Commandments say you will not lie and steal. Cheating, ultimately, is lying and stealing. Stealing someone else's place on the winning podium, for instance.

    As for Linda. Researching on the internet is not cheating. It's researching as you would do in a library; only faster. Copying verbatim though is cheating. It is plagiarism.

    I long for a world without plagiarism. You may say I'm a dreamer; but I'm not the only one. I hope one day you'll join us; and the world will be totally devoid of plagiarism.

    God bless.

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    1. Well...I might have or not, wink, been trying to find an answer. LOLOL---Thanks Victor, smiles

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    2. Gosh Victor, wish I could say something clever enough that someone would copy it!! And Linda, I defended your actions as well- but as usual Victor gets all the attention. STILL the middle child struggling for attention- even in my d age!! LOL!!
      Bless you both for commenting!

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!