We're Trying to Run a Society Here...

This week, a professor at the University of Central Florida discovered that nearly 200 of the 600 students in his class cheated on a Mid Term examination. Statistically speaking, if you’re sitting in that class and didn’t cheat, then either the person on your left or your right did. Now, I should be completely honest. When I was a freshman taking Spanish in high school, I cheated. I wasn’t prepared for the vocabulary exam, so I conveniently left my vocab list on the floor where it wasn’t obviously out but was clearly visible to me. Senor Silva walked by and saw what I was doing. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You are cheating. I will fail you if you don’t put this up.” I swallowed hard, shoved the paper into my bag and promptly failed the exam. Lesson learned.

This cheating scandal is on the heels of what may be the biggest story of the college football season. The biggest story should be that TCU and Boise St. are on a crash course to destroy the college bowl system. But instead, the biggest story is whether or not Cam Newton of Auburn University is the SEC version of Boba Fett, mercenary quarterback for hire. Did he take the money and run for several touchdowns and possibly a Heisman Trophy? I’ll say this, I’ve watched him play and he is one of the most exciting football players I’ve seen in a long time. The guy can flat out play. But did he break the rules? And if he did, are we surprised? Time will tell, but I don’t want this to be true. I want to marvel in the ability of this athlete and not have it tainted by the fact that he cheated.

The quote in the article about the cheating scandal at UCF that made wince was from a student. He said, “This is college. Everyone cheats…. They're making a witch hunt out of absolutely nothing, as if they want to teach us some kind of moral lesson.” Did you catch that? “As if they want to teach us some kind of moral lesson". How dare UCF hold their students accountable to some moral standard by declaring they can’t cheat? At least, that’s the sentiment of the student.

The irony is that this is the natural repercussion of a society (largely led by educational institutions) that has abandoned a moral compass. Sure they have honor codes, but in the classroom any foundational basis for ethics is undercut and deconstructed. A student is left to determine for himself what is right in his own eyes.

This is similar to the moral degradation that Ancient Israel found itself in the book of Judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The people were lost. They cried out for help, and God had an answer. God’s answer was to promise them a king. This king would rule and defend them and restrain and conquer all enemies. This king would restore the kingdom to its intended glory. This king was not Saul. It wasn’t even David, but he would come from David. This king is the fullness of God in humility and humanity. He is God with us, Immanuel. This king is Jesus.

We’re trying to run a society here. The problem is that the people are lost. Everyone does what is right in his own eyes and it taints everything. We need the one true King. I have hope that our society will one day be radically and forever changed by the reign of Jesus Christ. This is a hope in which we can trust. This is a hope that will truly marvel those who will believe.