The Comparison Game

Bible Reading: Exodus 20:12-15; Ephesians 4:25-32

Will walked into the kitchen where his sister Stasia sat at the table doing homework. “Jase got in trouble again,” said Will. “I can’t believe he’s going to flunk math over this!”

Stasia put down her textbook and looked up in surprise. “Over what?” she asked. “What did he do?”

“Mr. Hoover caught him looking at somebody’s paper during a test,” Will replied. “Jase said he was just checking one or two answers. That’s all. I think Mr. Hoover just hates Jase, so he’s making a big deal out of nothing.”

“Well, if Jase was caught cheating, what did he expect?” Stasia asked as she turned back to her book.

“It’s not like he was robbing someone in the hallway or stealing somebody’s wallet during gym class,” said Will, trying to make his sister understand. “Other kids in school do a lot worse stuff than what Jase did.”

Will turned to Mom, who was washing dishes. “Can you hand me a glass, Mom?” he asked. “I’d like some juice.”

“Sure,” said Mom, and she handed him a dirty glass.

Will grimaced. “Yuck! I can’t drink out of this. There’s still dried milk in the bottom of it.”

“But it’s cleaner than these others still waiting to be washed,” Mom said.

Will didn’t say anything right away. He was pretty sure this had something to do with what they were just talking about, and he was trying to figure out what it was.

“After all,” Mom continued, “if cheating is no big deal because it doesn’t seem as bad as what somebody else did, then a little dried milk in a glass shouldn’t be a big deal either, as long as it’s not as dirty as the other glasses.”

“Oh, well, I…um…” Will didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t excuse wrongdoing just because someone else did something that seems worse,” Mom said. “It’s all sin in God’s eyes. After all, cheating is stealing too—it’s stealing the work someone else did and claiming it as your own, and it hurts them just as much as if you were stealing their money.”

Will nodded. “Sorry, Mom.” He looked at the glass in his hand. “And I guess I’ll wait to have some juice, since all the glasses are dirty.” – Mike A. Dize

How About You?

Do you think it’s okay to do some things because they don’t seem as bad as other things people do? Do you overlook cheating or lying because it’s not as bad as robbery or murder? God says all wrongdoing is sin. No matter what other people think about it, it’s bad, and anyone who does it will have to face the consequences.

Today’s Key Verse:
1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin.

Today’s Key Thought:

All wrongdoing is sin