Life's a Toss-Up

I was ten years old in the Las Vegas airport with my family. We were on our way to the plane when we went through a giant room with hundreds of slot machines. It was in the afternoon so there weren't any people around. My dad took the opportunity to teach my sisters and I a lesson about gambling, so he gave my mom a nickel and told her to put into the slot machine.

Why is it our parents teach us to stay away from gambling? It seems silly to want to give away our hard earned money without the guarantee that we will get something in return. If we do win money, it is only by chance. It's not very ethical to gamble; the money we lose was money that was honorably earned, and the money we win is money given by dumb luck. It becomes an addiction as soon as we win anything more than the amount we initially put into the machine. The whole idea of gambling is made to look so glamorous: a Vegas casino with show girls, men and women dressed as "high rollers," a band playing, drinks all around; it feels like a James Bond movie.

The money we earn by honest hard work is the money we want to hold on to; this is the money that isn't worth getting rid of. It is hard to learn this lesson, because sometimes you might just get lucky. My mom put the nickel into the machine, and pulled the handle. She won five dollars in return. We all looked up at dad, "bad example" he said. But we learned our lesson.  

Thou Shalt Honor the Honor Code

It's difficult isn't it. Sitting there with your unopened text book in front of you. You're timing yourself, and you're in the middle of your take-home exam. But number seven is just really hard, and you remember where the answer is in the book, but you can't look. But you knew the answer at one point, so why is it bad if you just...take...a little...peak? You slam the book shut, and you can't believe you almost looked up the answer. You put the text book back on the shelf, appalled at yourself for almost cheating. CHEATING? That word...everyone warns us about that word. In second grade it's one of the more evil words we learn. We can't even fathom the idea. You thank God for saving you from temptation. 

How hard is it to upkeep the honor code? How many students at Sweet Briar struggle with themselves every time their professor sends them home with an exam? What is it that helps the students obey the code? It is either because they are paranoid that they will get caught, they will feel guilty afterwards, they're tarnishing the school's good name, or because they feel they are letting God down. 

Even if nobody is in your room with you, and you never feel guilt, God is watching. He is always there. He sees our every move, and he doesn't want you to cheat. So, uphold the honor code, and don't pretend there will never be any consequences.