When Is It Okay To Cheat?

 Recompense to no man evil for evil.  Provide things honest in the sight of all men.  Romans 12:17, KJV

What’s wrong with cheating as long as you don’t get caught?  While most people would publicly decry the practice, the majority of people, two-thirds, practice some form of cheating says a leading authority on human behavior.  It’s the getting caught that becomes embarrassing.  Especially prevalent is the practice of deception by college students according to the world’s largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization.

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) indicates that while about 20% of college students admitted to cheating in high school during the 1940’s, today between 75 and 98 percent of college students surveyed each year report having cheated in high school.

So widespread has become the cheating in some universities, that the student who fails to take advantage of the test questions which are circulated in dorms or frat houses is considered really handicapped.

But then doesn’t everybody do it?  College students cheat on their exams; husbands cheat on their wives; and wives stash money away which their husbands think went for household expenses.  Everybody is doing it but woe to the one who gets caught. It’s getting caught that is sticky.

Bill Snead is an example.  When he was one of a group of men expelled from a military academy in a cheating scandal, he told a reporter, “The other 108 cadets are no more honorable than their fellow man.  I’m reserving judgment on myself…but I’m not sure I wouldn’t do it again.”

I couldn’t help but be reminded of Jack Griffin’s article entitled, IT’S OK, SON, EVERYBODY DOES IT.”  He wrote, “When Johnny was six years old, he was with his father when they were caught speeding.  His father handed the officer a … bill with his driver’s license.  ‘It’s OK, Son,’ his father said as they drove off. ‘Everybody does it.’

“When he was eight, he was permitted at a family council, presided over by Uncle George, on the surest means to shave points off the income tax return.  ‘It’s OK, kid,’ his uncle said, ‘Everybody does it.’

“When he was nine, his mother took him to his first theater production.  The box office man couldn’t find any seats until his mother discover some additional money in her purse.  ‘It’s ok, Son,’ she said, ‘Everybody does it.’

“When he was 12, he broke his glasses on the way to school. His Aunt Francine persuaded the insurance company that they had been stolen and they collected [the money for them].

“When he was 15, he made right guard on the football team.  His coach showed him how to block and at the same time grab the opposing end by the shirt so the official couldn’t see it. ‘It’s OK, kid,’ the manager said.  ‘Everybody does it.’

“When he was 16, he took his first summer job at the big market.  His assignment was to put the over-ripe tomatoes in the bottom of the boxes and the good ones on the top where they would show.  ‘It’s OK, kid,’ the manager said.  ‘Everybody does it.’

“When he was 18, Johnny and a neighbor applied for a college scholarship.  Johnny was a marginal student.  His neighbor was in the upper three percent of his class, but he couldn’t play right guard.  Johnny got the scholarship. ‘It’s OK,’ they told him, ‘Everybody does it.’

When he was 19, he was approached by an upper classman who offered the test answers for [a small amount of money].  ‘It’s OK,’ he said.  Everybody does it.  Johnny was caught and sent home in disgrace.  “How could you do this to your mother and me?” his father said.  “You never learned anything like this at home.”  If there’s one thing the world can’t stand, it’s a kid who cheats.

Resource reading: Proverbs 11:1-31

https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/when-is-it-okay-to-cheat/