"Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out."
Proverbs 10:9
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Philippians 4:8
A Disturbing Reality
Recently, I caught a record number of students cheating in one of my online adjunct college History courses. Catching students each semester is unfortunately normal, and they find out the hard way, they will be held accountable. This has been a growing trend in higher education and K-12 education, where many have learned how to be better at cheating.
Students cheat for a variety of reasons:
Procrastination
Undisciplined study habits
No margin between work and extracurricular activities
It was easy for them in high school to do so.
Personal circumstances such as a death in the family or an extra shift at work prevented them from having time to prepare. This group typically fails to ask for an extension.
Lack of integrity
Ease of AI, online searching, and even websites where students can pay someone to write their paper. They even guarantee it won’t get flagged by plagiarism detection software.
The Root Cause
Many students developed poor habits along the way in their education and personal lives. They are deprived of margin due to their commitments. They lack personal discipline to say no to numerous entertainment options and intentionally prepare for an exam or write a college paper.
I often see students say in their course evaluations that they cannot watch longer than a couple of minutes on a video I made because it is too long (they are less than ten minutes). The Tick-Tock generation has a short attention span. They developed small and poor habits over time, which led them to this point. Like the Casting Crowns song, “It’s a slow fade,” small decisions led to big consequences over time.
Are We Guilty?
It is easy to lament about the upcoming generation and the lowering of expectations for students in education across the board. But are we, as men, any different? We may spend too much time on our cell phones watching videos, viewing social media, binge-watching shows till late in the evening, etc., as adults. How many of us will say on our deathbeds: “I wish I would have spent more time on my cell phone scrolling social media!”? We all know the answer to that question. How many of us stay up too late watching entertainment to “veg out” rather than getting a good night’s sleep so we can get up early in the morning to read God’s word and pray?
Being intentional about putting our phones down is a challenge, but nearly every man’s life plan has something regarding this. Getting up each morning to read the Bible and pray is nearly a given in every man’s life plan. If you have fallen off the New Year’s resolution bus in this area or have recently developed bad habits, Saturday morning is a great day to start fresh on this vital and spiritually healthy habit.
A Real Struggle
We all need healthy reminders to preserve and create margin in our lives. Filling our schedules with kids' activities, work functions, volunteer activities, church service, entertainment consumption, etc, is easy. Intentionally fighting for and successfully carving out margin is a struggle for most men.
Just like crops are planted in a field in rows, spaced out to grow more effectively, we need margin in our lives to grow spiritually and in the other F’s.
What do you need to say No to?
What good thing might you need to say “No” so that you can say “Yes” to something greater?
Begin With the End in Mind
Recently, our new cohort completed their MD5, Real-Life Discipleship, and Spiritual gifts assessments. My co-leader and I exhorted them not to be discouraged where they are starting out now but to picture themselves five, ten, and twenty years from now. How do they bridge the gap from the men they are now to the men God has called them to be in that eulogy? Small incremental steps daily, weekly, and yearly in each of the five “F’s” and Margin is the solution.
Don't throw in the towel if you have fallen off track since your MD5 year. Review your life plan this weekend and get back to doing the small, intentional steps to being the man God wants you to be.
John Gore
MD5 Facilitator
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