MAY 29, Exodus 20:15

When Beng Teck arrived home from school, he proudly showed his mother the result of his history test. All the questions were answered correctly. “Wow!” exclaimed Mom. “That’s wonderful. I must admit that I’m surprised - I know you didn’t study very much.” She looked over the paper. “I used to know a lot of this material myself,” she said. “Let’s play a game. I’ll ask you some questions, and then you can ask me some. We’ll see who can do better.”

“Aw, Mom,” objected Beng Teck. “I want to go out to play.” Mom, however, insisted that they play the game she suggested, and it was soon apparent that Beng Teck knew little or nothing about the content covered in the test.

“Son, have you been cheating?” asked Mom. “Well …n-not exactly,” stammered Beng Teck. “I mean, lots of kids exchange answers. That’s normal.”

“Perhaps they do, but that doesn’t make it right,” Mom answered sternly. “Besides, you say that you’ve accepted Jesus as your Saviour, so don’t you think you should be different from the rest of the non-believing kids?”

“Yeah . . . well, I suppose, but I am human,” Beng Teck defended himself, “and it’s not really so bad. It’s …it’s just kind of like …like getting a little help, that’s all.”

“Beng Teck, would you steal?” Mom asked. “Of course not!” he replied. “It’s wrong to steal. That’s one of the commandments.”

“Exactly,” agreed Mom. “And what is stealing?”

“Well, it’s taking something that doesn’t belong to you,” Beng Teck answered. “Correct again.” Mom nodded as she held up his paper. “And you took these answers that did not belong to you. You stole them, Beng Teck.”

“I… I…” Beng Teck didn’t know what to say. “I didn’t mean to steal,” he said finally. Mom shook her head. “No,” she said, “perhaps not, but you did. You’ll have to take this paper to your teacher tomorrow and tell her about it and about any other times you’ve cheated. She’ll decide what you must do about it. Right now, you might want to confess it to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. And then, instead of playing after school, you’ll have to stay in every day and study until you know this material.”

Thought: Have you ever cheated? Cheating is stealing.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for your reminder that stealing is a sin. Help me obey You always. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.