No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to us all. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13
Yeah, but Paul was never tempted to cheat while playing Words with Friends.
Words with Friends is a game for iPhones and Android phones. It’s like Scrabble without the tiles, the physical setup and the actual human interaction. Words with Friends is a great game but it also provides more temptation than Bathsheba bathing on the roof.
You can’t play Scrabble with the dictionary open; it’d be like Roger Clemens (allegedly) injecting steroids on the mound. When playing Scrabble with an actual person, it’s impossible to cheat; there is no temptation because giving into the temptation is impossible. Even if I was tempted to kill every dodo bird on the planet, that temptation would carry no weight because a bunch of sailors already took care of that for me. If I want to cheat at Words with Friends, though, there are no such restrictions.
When I play Word with Friends the only thing standing between me and cheating is my conscience. Unfortunately, when it comes to winning, my conscience has a hard time standing up under the old adage, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.” I like playing games because I like winning and using a dictionary when playing Words with Friends helps me win. I don’t even have to use a dictionary; I have an app in which I can place all my letters and it will give me every possible word.
How do I stand up underneath that kind of temptation?
To be honest, I don’t. I play Words with Friends with people who also cheat. When everyone is using the same apps and websites to find words, then it’s like nobody’s cheating. If Roger Clemens (allegedly) pitches to Mark McGwire then nobody is cheating. When everyone cheats it evens the playing field. I actually like playing Words with Friends that way; the game becomes less about vocabulary and more about strategy.
At this point, though, my conscience has strengthened and I don’t always cheat at Words with Friends. I only cheat if I’m playing with someone who I know also cheats. Even now though, when I’m not cheating, I still get the benefits. There are a lot of words that I didn’t know until my app told me they existed. Now when I play I still get to use those words and dominate my competition. So even though I’m not cheating, I’m still prospering.
Paul would be ashamed of this post.
How do you feel about cheating at games?
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