Chiang Mai Orality Network

A university professor in Thailand decided to reduce cheating in her class by requiring all students to wear “anti-cheating hats”, affectionately called “blinkers”. An engineering professor in the Philippines saw what Thailand had instigated and allowed her students to design their own hats and as engineering students their results turned out to be very creative. Their hats went viral on social media and produced quite a few chuckles by viewers. However, such behavior is not just found in the East but is all too prevalent in the West as well.  One of the first commandments that every Christian should be taught comes from the Ten Commandments:  “Do not steal” (Ex. 20:15). In Thailand  there are five main precepts in Buddhism, the second of which is “No stealing”.  I once asked a Thai merchant that I was trying to bargain with about how well she followed the five precepts. She was very honest and said, “I do fine with four of them, but there is one that I just can’t seem to follow.” I asked her, “Which one would that be?”  She replied with a grin,  “Well, my occupation is to be good at lying.”  We both laughed, but the sad reality is that “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Rom. 3:23).  Cheating on an exam or fudging on the price of a souvenir are merely a couple of examples of the sin problem that affects the whole of mankind.  Pray that God’s Holy Spirit will do its special work of “…convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8) and that the Thai would acknowledge that they have fallen short of God’s standard and seek out the only sin bearer – Jesus.