I formerly talked about cheating and deceit in life as there are many sorts of them: Misleading ideas, emotional deceit or rather dishonest acts and behaviors. Second, I said that success achieved by cheating is temporary and must be discovered one day and turns to loss. Then I discussed the most serious sorts of deceit when man deceives himself. Today, I will proceed with our talk. Trickery is a refused behavior humanly and forbidden religiously and it includes cheating at buying and selling or working and studying in a dishonest manner.
First, cheating at buying and selling:
Cheating at trade is unacceptable and forbidden according to all religions. In the Bible God warns us from cheating at buying or selling and that He- Glory be to His Name- hates scams: “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.”
Solomon the wise says “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.”
Qur’an also says ” O you who have believed, do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.”.Thus, selling bad goods or using frauds and cheating at trade are considered consuming other’s wealth unjustly. Also the Hadith mentioned that “A person came to the Prophet and told him that he was always betrayed in purchasing. The Prophet told him to say at the time of buying, “No cheating”. Human behavior and public laws refuse deceit and cheating at all kinds of trade and law holds the cheater liable.
It is considered really abnormal that the cheater thinks he is smarter than others and that he will get more benefits by his cheating, but he doesn’t recognize that he will lose people’s confidence through days and all what he earns will be like hay that goes by the wind.
Second : dishonesty at work:
Honesty is a virtue that all religions assure its importance. A dishonest person is a man who has lot of vices. It is honest not to deceive people or cheat on them at your work. I here mean all work activities. Students must not cheat at exams, laborers must not cheat at their work and the employers must not deceive their employees. It is a cycle that should be prevailed by honesty as the final result will be according the degree of that honesty. It reminds me of a phrase said by my friend in his conversation with someone else. He once called a home-maintenance company to fix some breakdowns at the house. His friend asked him why he didn’t resort to a fix man instead of paying a lot of money to the company. My friend answered “It is honesty, my friend.”I tried many fix men, but they weren’t honest in doing their work, while the company, though getting expensive fees, is offering honest and excellent service. I have never needed to fix anything for years. Thus, the persons who cheat and deceive others won’t get to anywhere but to the brink of loss and failure. To be continued….
Anba Ermia,
General Bishop & President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
