It’s a rare day in the neighborhood when we don’t hear about cheaters. Politicians, corporate executives, unfaithful spouses and sports figures usually head the list. But cheating even rears its ugly head on the playground. I still remember how we chided cheaters with the sarcastic taunt of the infamous phrase “cheaters never win”.

So, what is the solution to cheating? “Easy”, you say, “just don’t do it”. I would agree, but I heard another opinion last week. A sports radio talk show host offered his solution to the ongoing “black eye” that cheaters have given college football. In order to save these young, dedicated athletes the embarrasment of getting caught accepting incentives to play for some big-name university, he said, “the rules need to be changed. Make it legal to pay college athletes.”

What a novel idea. Instead of changing behavior, just change the rules. I wonder if he thinks that’s original? It’s not; Satan came up with that solution to God’s restrictions on Adam and Eve in the garden. Instead of, “don’t eat” he said, “eat it”. They may have thought, “A little tweaking of the law won’t be ‘a big deal’.” It was!

When you stop and think about it, we (people) have a recurring tendency to convince ourselves that a little “cheat’n” is okay. Oh yes, there may be no harm in snitching a tiny tasty treat when we “cheat” on our diet. But if we aren’t careful, we can become so desensitized that we have no twinge of conscious when we “fudge a little” on our income tax or rob our employer by doing personal things on company time. Apparently, this is a huge problem in this modern age of the internet and the variety of personal communication devices. Maybe it would be good for all of us to be reminded of this charge: Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work.

Colossians 3:22-25 (MSG):