the right way
Lance Armstrong was on top of the world. He’d won the coveted Tour de France seven times. He’d beaten cancer and had seen his charity, Livestrong, become an acclaimed source of help for cancer patients. But then the walls came tumbling down. It was revealed that Armstrong had led a doping program on his teams during his career. And, just like that, he was stripped of his Tour de France titles, he severed ties with Livestrong, and his name became synonymous with cheating and duplicity.
clean conscience
According to a 2008 character survey of nearly 30,000 high school students, 64 percent of them said they had cheated on a test in the past year, 30 percent had stolen from a store, 42 percent said they would lie to save money, and 83 percent said they had lied to their parents about something significant. One of the more interesting findings of the survey was that 93 percent of the students surveyed said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character. These students seem to have a clear case of what the Bible calls a “corrupted” conscience (Titus 1:15).
excuses
Cyclist Tyler Hamilton had steadily advanced through the ranks of the US Postal Service team, and now he was on the verge of being included on the squad that would race in the Tour de France. All he had to do was take EPO, an illegal drug that boosted endurance for the grueling mountain climbs. Hamilton told the team doctor…
cheaters
Business professor Richard Quinn was disgusted. By careful analysis, he discovered that many of his students had cheated on their midterm exam. So he did what professors do best—he gave the students a lecture . . . on ethics. His message? Confess that you have cheated, and then the remainder of your classwork will determine your grade. You’ll also need…
principled
Teaching in a Christian preparatory school, I am accustomed to including an “honor code” on each quiz and test that my students take. Because they live in a world of moral relativism, some students are accustomed to signing on the line even when they’ve cheated. Recently I had to turn a student in for cheating, and as I watched the…
let's make a deal
I have a friend who admitted to cheating on her husband. But rather than repent and come clean right away, she grudgingly gave up ground only when it was required. She initially hoped that offering to attend counseling would appease her husband. When that didn’t work, she eventually agreed to quit her job where she had the affair. Then she…
