A person may choose to deceive other people for a while.. like in one election after another. Hey, God sees.
They can manipulate circumstances a bit, conceal evidence, or escape earthly consequences sometimes, but no one can deceive the God who sees it all, He who is the Judge of all judges.
NO CHEATER WILL ESCAPE GOD'S ACCOUNTABILITY.
Live with integrity -- it matters. Walk in Truth and Love -- this still matters. Walk in the Spirit and in Victory over Sin. Real Repentance is still possible, Cheater.
You may fool people, manipulate a situation, or escape the consequences of dishonesty for a season. But you will never fool God.
Pray for the cheaters and deceivers. Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies in this way. He prayed for his enemies and those who killed him physically.
It's okay to feel some pity for them. Many deceived people don't know they're deceived, It's like that for many of those who do the deceiving as well (ever watch Benny Shinn on TBN?). Those with their heads full of liberal ideas helped along by the Legacy media. Really don't know why the red state they moved to is becoming like the one that sunk.
BFTGGGI - But for the grace of God going I.
Whether the deception happens in a marriage, a classroom, a business, a government office, or an election, dishonesty remains dishonesty. Changing the setting does not change God's standard. Cheating does not become acceptable because someone benefits from it, because others do it, or because the person believes he can get away with it.
God is not impressed by appearances, titles, popularity, political influence, wealth, or carefully managed reputations. He looks beyond the public performance and examines the heart.
"A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight." Proverbs 11:1 KJV
"Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." Proverbs 12:22 KJV
What does God have to say about cheating.. anything?Sadly, many men and women cheat today. Stop that!
Why do people cheat? Sometimes it is greed. Sometimes ambition, insecurity, fear, pride, jealousy, or an unhealthy desire to win at any cost. Sometimes people convince themselves that the end justifies the means. Others simply want an advantage without earning it.
Whatever the motivation, the underlying problem is a heart willing to exchange what is right for what is advantageous.
An election, for example, should be decided by honest participation, truthful procedures, and lawful counting, not deception or manipulation. The same principle applies to every area of life. A dishonest victory is not an honorable victory. Getting ahead by doing wrong is not genuine success.
Proverbs 20:10, Micah 6:11, Leviticus 19:11, and 2 Corinthians 4:2 all address God's opposition to dishonest dealings, deception, and corrupt practices.
Integrity is doing what is right even when dishonesty would be easier, more profitable, or less likely to be discovered.
1. God sees what people conceal.
One of the most dangerous mistakes a person can make is assuming that whatever remains hidden from human observation is somehow beyond accountability.
It isn't.
People may conceal evidence, rewrite their personal history, shift blame, or persuade others to accept a false account. But God does not judge by appearances. He knows the truth completely.
Galatians 6:7–8 warns that God cannot be mocked and that people reap what they sow. Proverbs 10:9 teaches that the person who walks in integrity walks securely, whereas the one who takes crooked paths will eventually be exposed.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7 KJV
This is not a promise that every dishonest person will be exposed publicly during his lifetime. Some wrongdoing remains undiscovered by human authorities. Nor does every consequence arrive immediately. But no injustice escapes God's knowledge, and every person will ultimately answer to Him.
Hebrews 4:13 reminds us that nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight. Ecclesiastes 12:14 teaches that God will bring every work into judgment, including what is hidden.
That should sober us.
A reputation can be manufactured. Character cannot be manufactured before God.
2. Why integrity matters more than winning.
The world often celebrates the winner without asking how the victory was obtained. Scripture asks a much more important question: Was it right?
A person can gain money and lose his character. He can gain influence and forfeit trust. He can win an argument while losing a relationship. He can achieve an outward victory while suffering an inward defeat.
Proverbs 19:1 and Proverbs 28:6 teach that a person of limited means who walks honestly is better off than someone who possesses more but lives crookedly.
Luke 16:10–12 makes another important point: faithfulness in little things reveals whether someone can be trusted with greater responsibilities.
This applies to private life just as much as public leadership. The person who cheats on a small matter is not demonstrating a harmless shortcut. He is cultivating a disposition that can eventually affect much larger matters.
Proverbs 29:4 warns that bribery undermines the stability of a nation. Proverbs 28:20 cautions against hastening to become rich at the expense of faithfulness.
The question is not simply, "Did I get what I really wanted.. and for how long? Did I gain some pay for what I did wrong?"
It is, "Did I honor God in the way I pursued it?"
3. All sin must be confessed, and not explained away.
Here is the encouraging part: If you have cheated, lied, deceived someone, manipulated a situation, or acted dishonestly in the past, your story does not have to end there.
You can still confess. You can repent. You can turn around.
The Bible does not teach that a person's past wrongdoing makes genuine repentance impossible. It teaches that we must stop concealing our sin and bring it honestly before God.
Consider Joseph. When tempted to commit adultery with Potiphar's wife, he recognized that the proposed wrongdoing was ultimately an offense against God.
"How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Genesis 39:9 KJV
David understood this after his terrible sins involving Bathsheba and Uriah. When confronted with his wrongdoing, he eventually acknowledged the seriousness of his offense before God.
"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." Psalm 51:4 KJV
David was not claiming that Bathsheba and Uriah had suffered no harm. They certainly had. His point was that his sin was ultimately against the holy God whose commandments he had violated.
Sin is never merely a mistake in public relations. It is rebellion against God's righteous standard.
And God calls us to something better.
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13 KJV
Notice those two important actions: confessing and forsaking.
Confession acknowledges the wrong. Repentance involves a change of mind and direction. Genuine repentance does not merely regret the embarrassment, the lost opportunity, or the possibility of being caught. It recognizes that the behavior itself was wrong before God.
First John 1:9 assures believers that God is faithful and just to forgive those who confess their sins. Forgiveness rests upon Christ's finished work, not our ability to repair every consequence of our wrongdoing.
4. Genuine repentance is willing to make things right.
Confessing sin to God is essential. But when our wrongdoing has injured another person, biblical repentance also takes seriously the harm we have caused.
Consider the Old Testament requirement in Leviticus 6:4–5. When someone committed certain forms of dishonesty, including theft or fraud, restitution was required. The offender was not simply to express regret and move on. He was to restore what had been wrongfully taken, with the prescribed additional compensation.
Then consider Zacchaeus.
He was a chief tax collector, a man whose profession and personal conduct had made him wealthy at the expense of others. But when Jesus entered his life, something changed.
Zacchaeus did not merely announce that he felt differently. He committed himself to concrete action.
"And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." Luke 19:8 KJV
Jesus responded by declaring that salvation had come to Zacchaeus's house (Luke 19:9).
His willingness to make restitution provided visible evidence of a changed heart.
This does not mean every repentant person must give away half his possessions or pay four times the amount involved. Zacchaeus's particular promise was his response. The broader biblical principle is that genuine repentance takes responsibility and seeks to repair harm where reasonably possible.
If someone cheated years ago and another person is still suffering because of it, the passage of time does not automatically erase the responsibility to address that harm.
If restitution is possible, pursue it. If an apology is appropriate, offer it. If a false account needs correcting, correct it. If someone was deprived of an opportunity through deception, consider what can honestly be done to address the injustice.
Repentance does not rewrite history. It changes the direction of the person who must now face it.
5. Confessing to God and confessing to people.
There is an important distinction between confessing sin to God and acknowledging wrongdoing to the people we have harmed.
God calls us to confess our sins to Him (1 John 1:9). We should not wait until someone discovers our wrongdoing or confronts us before becoming honest.
Whether we should also approach another person depends on the circumstances.
If the wrongdoing is recent, the person has been harmed, and a truthful confession can help bring accountability or reconciliation, approaching that person may be the right thing to do.
If the wrongdoing happened many years ago, the effects have completely passed, the person is no longer accessible, or an unexpected confession would create additional harm without serving a constructive purpose, wisdom is needed. Scripture does not give a universal instruction to disclose every past sin to every person who might have been indirectly affected.
But discomfort, embarrassment, or fear of losing one's reputation should not become convenient excuses for avoiding a necessary confession.
Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). He also taught us to treat others as we would want them to treat us (Luke 6:31).
That means we should care about the people our decisions affect, not simply about getting our own conscience off the hook.
6. Integrity in private life and public life.
God's standard of honesty does not change according to our circumstances.
It applies to marriage. It applies to business. It applies to money. It applies to elections. It applies to our words, promises, relationships, and responsibilities.
Marriage, for example, is not a private arrangement in which faithfulness matters only when someone might discover an affair.
Hebrews 13:4 calls believers to honor marriage and keep the marriage bed undefiled. Matthew 5:27–28 teaches that sexual sin begins in the heart, not merely in outward behavior. Proverbs 6:32 warns of the destructive consequences of adultery.
Likewise, a person who lies about money, manipulates an election, cheats in business, or misrepresents the truth is violating the same basic principle: God calls His people to honesty.
Other passages reinforce this standard:
Proverbs 10:9 — Walk in integrity rather than crookedness.
Proverbs 20:10 — God detests dishonest weights and measures.
Proverbs 29:4 — Justice strengthens a nation; bribery undermines it.
2 Corinthians 4:2 — Reject deception and shameful practices.
James 4:17 — Knowing the right thing and refusing to do it is sin.
James 1:26 — Religious appearances mean little when the tongue is uncontrolled.
Colossians 3:9 — Put away lying as part of putting off the old self.
Ephesians 5:5 — Sexual immorality and covetousness are incompatible with inheriting God's kingdom.
Romans 12:2 — Allow God to transform your thinking rather than conforming to this world.
The Christian is not called to adopt the world's standards and then attach God's name to them. We are called to live differently because we belong to Christ.
7. Do not become part of the wrongs that you oppose. Become a part of the solution, not apart of the nation's problem.
There is another important biblical warning here.
When someone cheats, lies, or acts unjustly against us, we may feel justified in retaliating. We may want to expose, embarrass, punish, or repay that person in the same way.
But personal vengeance is not our calling.
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Romans 12:19 KJV
Romans 12:17–21 teaches us to pursue what is honorable, live peaceably as far as possible, and overcome evil with good.
Proverbs 20:22 similarly warns against taking revenge.
This does not mean ignoring injustice, excusing wrongdoing, abandoning lawful accountability, or refusing to protect those who are vulnerable. It means we must pursue justice without allowing bitterness and revenge to corrupt our own character.
We should never become dishonest in the name of opposing dishonesty.
8. The greatest motivation for honesty is our love for God. You don't want to hurt or keep hurting the One who can permanently take you out. He can do that... sooner rather than later.
On television crime programs, investigators sometimes question a suspect until the pressure becomes overwhelming and a confession finally comes.
But Christian confession is meant to arise from something far better than pressure or fear of exposure.
We confess because we recognize God's holiness, love His truth, and desire to walk in fellowship with Him.
Jesus taught that loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36–38).
When we confess our sin, we stop defending what God condemns. When we repent, we turn away from the behavior that dishonors Him. When we seek reconciliation, we demonstrate that other people's welfare matters to us.
And when we receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, we have a reason to live differently.
Romans 12:17 calls us to consider what is honorable in the sight of all. Our Christian testimony is not established by claiming perfection. It is demonstrated by how we respond when we recognize that we have been wrong.
A believer who admits wrongdoing rather than protecting an image, accepts responsibility rather than shifting blame, and makes restitution rather than offering empty apologies gives people a meaningful picture of the transforming grace of God.
The gospel does not teach us to pretend we have never sinned. It teaches us to bring our sin to Christ, receive His forgiveness, and walk in newness of life.
NEED A GOOD WARNING OR AN UPLIFTING WORD TO TAKE WITH YA?
• Proverbs 11:1 – "The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight."• Proverbs 20:10 – "Differing weights and differing measures—the Lord detests them both."• Micah 6:11 – "Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?"• Proverbs 10:9 – "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out."• Proverbs 29:4 – "By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who demand bribes tear it down."• 2 Corinthians 4:2 – "Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God."• Leviticus 19:11 – "Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another."• Psalm 5:6 – "You destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest."• Galatians 6:7 – "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
There is no lasting victory in dishonesty (that is in Christ). There's no genuine peace in a concealed or repeated sin, and no real and honorable success built upon deception. That is in knowing and following Jesus Christ of the Bible.
A person may escape an earthly investigation, but not God's perfect knowledge. A person may preserve a public reputation while privately knowing the truth. But the Lord sees the heart, and every person will ultimately answer to Him.
So, if you have done wrong, do not spend the rest of your life defending it. Confess it. Forsake it. Make things right where possible. Receive God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and begin walking in truth.
And if someone has wronged you, resist the temptation to become like the person who hurt you. Pursue what is right, leave vengeance to God, and guard your own integrity.
It is better to lose an advantage than to lose your integrity. Better to admit a wrong and repent than to spend years defending a lie. Better to walk humbly with God than to stand proudly before people while living dishonestly. Believe in the living Word of God.
The world may reward appearances. God desires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6).
Let us therefore be people whose private lives agree with our public professions, whose words can be trusted, whose dealings are honest, and whose consciences are governed by the Word of God.
When all is said and done, the greatest victory is not getting ahead of other people. It is finishing our course faithfully while knowing and following (obeying) the Lord.
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." Hebrews 9:27-28.
Be ready for that moment. Get ready.
Walk in truth.. a daily choice. Tell on yourself, turn yourself in. Go wisely tell the right authorities about other cheaters hurting innocent people. Practice integrity. Love your neighbor. Repent when you fall. And remember: the One before whom we will all stand is also the Savior who graciously calls sinners to come to Him.
Repentance is NOT merely feeling sorry or sad (like Judas did) about being exposed to Authority or 'bout getting caught.
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." James 4:17
Did you see the cheating that hurts others here? Go report it. Remember, 47 promised to then give you one million dollars!
"Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." James 4:17 nlt
It's far better to lose here living honest in the Lord, doing the right thing (that's biblical) in His will and be able to win on the Day of Judgment. You've got to keep that heavenly perspective. American citizens, and those of other nations in the West and East have been ripped off way too many times!
Do you tend to commit sins of omission or of commission? God can help you stop that -- come to Christ today as you are.
Here are some more verses on this...
Proverbs 12:22
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Matthew 5:27-28
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Proverbs 10:9
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
Proverbs 19:1
Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
Proverbs 6:32
He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
Galatians 6:7-8
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
Luke 6:31
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
Proverbs 28:6
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Luke 16:10-12
One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
James 1:26
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.
Colossians 3:9
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Mark 11:25
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:17-21
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Ephesians 5:5
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Proverbs 16:28
A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.
Proverbs 28:20
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
