As I finish up my grading this semester, I’ve spotted more than my fair share of plagiarism. It’s disheartening, not just because it involves deceit but because it makes a mockery of the golden rule. This is true not just because plagiarism represents a failure to love one’s neighbor but because it shows a person unwilling to love yourself. Namely, plagiarists lie to themselves as much as they do others. It is bad enough to be deceived by someone else. The road to self-deception is a dark one indeed.
I pray for the ability to see myself truly: through the eyes of God and my neighbors. One way to do this is to cultivate humility by acknowledging my own indebtedness to the thoughts and feelings and others and consistently thanking God for what I’ve learned.