Copy Cat!

Have you ever been taking a test at school, when someone asked you, "Hey, what's the answer to number six?" What did you do? Did you tell him the answer, ignore him, or tell the teacher? Two of these solutions are right. You should either ignore him, or tell the teacher. It is wrong to cheat on tests—whether you are copying someone else's work, or letting someone copy your work. If you are copying someone else's work, you are stealing. And if you are letting someone copy your work, you are letting someone else break the teacher's rules.

Stealing is a sin. In 1 Peter 4:15, Peter said: "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters." If you are writing a report, and you get on the Internet and copy some other person's work to put in your paper, you have just done something called plagiarizing. Plagiarizing is taking someone else's work and calling it your own. It also can be called stealing, which is forbidden in the Old Testament and the New Testament (Exodus 20:15; Ephesians 4:28).

Sure, it may start with plagiarizing a little test or essay, but it could grow into other kinds of thievery, which can lead to prison. A person who cheats on tests will likely also be tempted to lie in order not to get in trouble for cheating.

Always remember that you should never cheat, and you should never let others cheat off of you. Think about Jesus. If He were tempted to cheat, or to let someone else copy His work, what would He do?

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