News Article Thoughts

     I came across this article this morning on MSN and was floored by the title and the thought behind it? Is this really what is considered “news”?

” Should You Teach Your Kids to Cheat at Sports? And is It really cheating if your team expects you to do it?”

     So here are my takes on this. Short answer: NO! You should not teach your kids to cheat at sports or any other event in life.  My initial thoughts are if we teach our kids dishonesty in one area of life, why would we be surprised if they are dishonest on other areas. This seems like a slippery slope to me. If it is okay to “cheat” a little at a sports game, then later it should be okay to cheat in college to get good grades to continue playing. Or thoughts of “what’s a little cheating on my taxes.?, can plague an adult.

     I believe we should try to be as honest as possible in all things. Is it hard? yes. Are we going to fail? yes. Can we be forgiven? YES. As I was reading this two of the ten commandments that apply to this article on cheating situation came to mind.

• The Seventh Commandment says: You shall not steal. In Luther’s Small Catechism the explanation says:  What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

     In my opinion, if we teach our children to cheat at sports we are “stealing” from the other team. We are getting points in a dishonest way.

• The Eighth Commandment says: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

     Cheating at sports is giving false testimony against our neighbor. We are betraying and slandering the other team.

     I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that I come across articles like this. Our nation is struggling with this very same question in the political realm. Where is the line? And When is it crossed?  The author does not even give a definitive answer, but asks for comments with other’s opinions. I read a few pages of the comments and was happy to read that most people agree teaching cheating is wrong.