JANUARY 8, Galatians 6:2

Paul sighed in relief as he answered the last question on his test paper. He thought he had done well, and it made him feel good to know his studying had paid off. Just then, he noticed a movement in the next row. His friend Jeff was sliding a small paper out of sight before jotting down some figures. Then Jeff took another secret glance at the paper, finished the test, and handed it in to Mr. Lim. Paul’s heart sank. “Oh, no!” he thought. “Jeff cheated!” All afternoon Paul wondered what he should do. Should he tell Mr. Lim? Accuse Jeff ? Forget he had ever seen anything?

Walking home from the bus-stop, Paul remembered what his Sunday school teacher had told the class last week. “The Christian walk is not an easy one. It is also not a short one. That is why God gives us friends so we can help each other. Sometimes, helping each other means pointing out mistakes in a loving way to help the other not repeat the mistake,” his Sunday school teacher had said.

As Paul remembered those words, he thought of Jeff. He knew Jeff was a Christian, and that in a moment of weakness he had given in to the temptation to cheat. Jeff needed a friend to encourage him to be strong in his Christian life – a friend to talk to him about what he had done. Paul sighed. He really didn’t want to be the one to talk to Jeff. He might get mad about it, thought Paul. “Maybe my Sunday school teacher could talk to Jeff,” thought Paul. But Paul was the one who had seen what had happened, and he knew what he needed to do.

When Paul reached home, he rang Jeff up. “Hi, Jeff,” Paul greeted his friend. “I need to talk to you because I saw what happened during the test today.” Jeff sounded stunned, and Paul rushed on. “I really think you need to tell Mr. Lim what happened, and that you are sorry,” he said. “I will go with you if you want. Maybe he will let you take another test. If he does, I will help you study so you can pass because you understand it, not because you cheated.”

Thought: When someone does something wrong, do you get angry and accuse him or tattle on him? Or do you take the easy way and pretend nothing happened?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please give me the courage to lovingly help someone overcome sin and get back on track. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.