You shall not steal. (Ex 20:15)

There are few of us who would shoplift or rob a bank or be involved in taking someone else’s money through cyber-crime. One definition of stealing is ’to claim as yours what in fact belongs to someone else’. Do I use company supplies for personal use? Do I claim someone else’s idea as mine? I don’t think we should lose any sleep over one staple or one paper clip – neither should we be blasé.

A former principal of mine once said, ‘if you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves’. In this case, young people need to be reminded that even if it’s 50 cents, it’s the principle behind it, not the amount, that is important. Plagiarism is a related issue. Taking someone else’s ideas as your own is cheating yourself out of learning as much as it is cheating the true author.

Have a great week…and term!
Patrick