My Answer: Cheating is a form of theft
Question: I cheated my way through school, and now it’s catching up with me because I’m supposed to know what I’m doing at work, but often I don’t. I feel so guilty. A friend of mine said I’d feel better if I told someone like you about it. I wish I could live those years over again. It was stupid to cheat. — J.K.
Answer: I appreciate your honesty about your past — and I hope your experience will be a warning to someone who may be tempted to go down the same road you did. As you’ve discovered, we only cheat ourselves when we do something like this; eventually it catches up with us.
Why is it wrong to cheat, whether it’s on a test or in a business deal? The main reason is because cheating is actually a form of stealing. When you cheat on a test, you’re stealing from someone who worked to learn the material; when you cheat someone in business, you’re robbing them of something that is rightfully theirs. The Bible says, “Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another” (Leviticus 19:11).
My prayer is that you will turn to Jesus Christ, and by a simple prayer of faith confess your sins to Him. Then ask Him to come into your heart and take control of your life. He alone can take away your guilt, and He alone can help you build your life on a solid moral and spiritual foundation. God’s promise is for you: “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).
Then ask God to help you overcome your deficiencies. For example, He may open the way for you to take courses to help you sharpen your skills (perhaps at night or over the Internet).
Q: We’ve always tried to put God first, yet both my husband and I now have multiple health problems, while our neighbors (who have no use for God) are both healthy and have good jobs. I admit I’m upset about this. How do you explain it? — Mrs. N.S.
A: God knows what you’re going through — and to be honest, we don’t always know why He allows hard things to happen to us. But remember, God never promised that our lives would be free from trouble or sickness, even if we love and serve Him.
After all, no one was closer to God than Jesus, yet God permitted Him to go through the worst possible suffering by dying a cruel death on a cross. Nor was His suffering only physical; it was also mental, emotional and spiritual. And yet Christ did not shrink back from the path set before Him — because He knew it was part of God’s plan. The Bible says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isaiah 53:3).
Why do I mention this? I mention it because it points us to an important truth: No matter what we’re going through, Jesus has already been there, and He knows what we’re experiencing. But Jesus’ example reminds us also of another important truth: Even in our darkest moments Christ is with us, and we can trust our lives into His hands.
Pray for your neighbors, and ask God to help you be an example to them of Christ’s love. And may your lives also be a demonstration to them of Christ’s strength and grace. Remember Jesus’ words: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
THE REV. BILLY GRAHAM, one of the world’s best-known Christian leaders, for 30 years has addressed reader concerns and dispensed spiritual advice in this non-denominational Q&A column.