Devotional – Sportsmanship

Devotional

Big picture Cheating is both lying and stealing.

• Q: Why do we lie about stuff, why is lying so easy? (Set up the next question)
• Q: Have you ever thought about this: Cheating is actually a form of lying?
• Some of us lie a lot (I hope you don’t), some of us lie a little, some may never lie (what a good thing).
• But cheating is actually lying. It’s saying something is yours when it is not.
• Let me give you an example of why it’s lying. If you win by cheating, then did you really win fairly? No, you lied to win. In fact, you may have lost without cheating. So, you had to lie to win.
• Another example. You, lie and say you did or didn’t do something when you really did the opposite.
• You didn’t actually make that catch. You didn’t actually make that out. You were actually out not safe.
• You see? These are all lies you are telling. For no good reason.
• Q: Is it really worth it to lie in game or anywhere else? No!
• Q: Have you ever considered this: Cheating is actually a form of stealing?
• Most of you probably have never maliciously stolen anything, but if you cheated you did steal.
• You are actually taking something that is not yours when you cheat. It’s not yours, you are stealing.
• Let me give you an example of why it is stealing. If you win by cheating, you let others think you won, you took credit for something that wasn’t yours (the win).
• Worse still is boasting for having won when you know you cheated. You stole the victory by cheating.
• Cheaters never win. And winners never cheat. Have you ever heard that before? It’s a true saying.
• You are taking credit for something that is not yours. You cheated to win. You stole the win.
• After you cheat, you may lie to yourself and tell yourself everything is ok, no one will know. But who are you talking to inside yourself? Your conscience, the Holy Spirit inside you. The Holy Spirit is Jesus talking to you. So, you are lying to Jesus and yourself. Can you see how bad cheating is?
• Don’t ignore your conscience. Bad things will surely follow if you do. Listen to your conscience. It is a warning sign inside you to not cheat. So, tell someone, you can always apologize and make it right.