ASK ANYONE IN PRISON OR JAIL
Wrongdoing can appear to work.
That is what makes it dangerous.
The gain comes first.
The bill usually comes later.
A word to the wise…
or perhaps to the not-so-wise for that matter.
This subject has been around for a very long time.
Human beings have always been tempted to take shortcuts.
To take what is not theirs.
To lie when the truth is inconvenient.
To cheat when the honest road seems slower.
To manipulate.
To deceive.
To grab.
And yes…
sometimes the dishonest act appears to WORK.
That is exactly why temptation can be so persuasive.
STEALING, LYING AND CHEATING CAN APPEAR TO WORK
There is a dangerous truth here.
A person may lie…
and temporarily avoid consequences.
A person may cheat…
and temporarily gain an advantage.
A person may steal…
and temporarily possess something that was never theirs.
A person may deceive someone…
and temporarily walk away with the benefit.
That temporary success is what makes the behavior seductive.
The wrongdoer may begin thinking:
“See? Nothing happened.”
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
Something already happened.
You practiced becoming the kind of person willing to do it.
That is not nothing.
WORKS…UNTIL IT DOESN’T
This is where the illusion begins to collapse.
Dishonest behavior has a strange appetite.
One successful lie often needs another lie to support it.
One dishonest gain can make the next dishonest opportunity easier to justify.
One shortcut begins forming a road.
And now the person is no longer simply dealing with one event.
They are developing a PATTERN.
The danger is not merely getting caught.
The danger is becoming comfortable with being dishonest.
THE DAY OF RECKONING
Getting caught certainly changes everything.
Now come consequences.
Loss of reputation.
Loss of trust.
Loss of employment.
Legal trouble.
Financial loss.
Broken relationships.
Embarrassment.
And sometimes incarceration.
But here is something even more important:
You do not have to wait until a courtroom appears before wrongdoing begins charging interest.
The person who knows what they did carries that knowledge.
The conscience keeps the receipt.
FREE FOR THE TAKING…UNTIL IT TAKES YOU
That is the great deception.
Something looked free.
Easy.
Available.
No immediate price.
But eventually the question becomes:
WHO TOOK WHOM?
You thought you took the object.
Then the act took your peace.
You thought you took the money.
Then the deception took your credibility.
You thought you gained an advantage.
Then the conduct took your reputation.
You thought you fooled another person.
Then you discovered you were slowly training yourself to become someone you did not originally intend to be.
That is a very expensive purchase.
THE FIVE-FINGER DISCOUNT HAS A HIDDEN PRICE TAG
People sometimes joke about taking something without paying for it.
But there is no genuine discount when the price is character.
The item may be worth:
twenty dollars,
two hundred dollars,
two thousand dollars,
or much more.
It does not matter.
If obtaining it costs your integrity…
you overpaid.
Whatever was gained incorrectly often pales in comparison with what can be lost.
A VERY BAD BUSINESS PLAN
Look at dishonesty as a business model.
Terrible investment.
You risk:
your freedom,
your name,
your relationships,
your career,
your peace,
your future,
for temporary gain.
That is not smart arithmetic.
Even when someone escapes immediate consequences, they have still introduced risk and instability into their life.
And repeated misconduct usually increases that risk.
Sooner or later…
the numbers stop working.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
If you have to become smaller inside to gain something outside…
leave it there.
Another:
The easiest money can become the most expensive money you ever touched.
And one more:
Do not confuse getting away with something…
with winning.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“What is gained dishonestly carries a cost that may not appear on the original receipt.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“Conduct shapes the person performing it long before consequences become visible.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“The best time to end a destructive pattern is before the pattern begins owning you.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Dishonesty can seem rewarding because the benefit is often immediate while the consequences may be delayed.
That timing creates the illusion that the behavior was successful.
But lying, cheating and stealing can damage trust, reputation, relationships, employment, finances, freedom and self-respect.
Repeated behavior also makes repetition easier.
The better strategy is simple:
do not judge an action only by what it gives you immediately.
Judge it by what it may eventually cost you.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with SOMEONE CHEATED ME SECOND…THE CHEATER WAS FIRST.
Before the victim loses something…
the dishonest person has already placed their own integrity at risk.
It also connects with MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD…A PERSON’S WORD.
Trust is a form of wealth.
Once damaged, rebuilding it may take far longer than acquiring whatever was gained dishonestly.
And CREDIBILITY…THE CROWN JEWEL OF BELIEVABILITY reminds us that credibility can take years to build and moments to injure.
FINAL SAY
Yes…
wrongdoing can appear to work.
That is the trap.
The first chapter may look profitable.
Do not stop reading there.
Ask what happens next.
What happens to your name?
Your peace?
Your freedom?
Your credibility?
Your future?
Your relationships?
The item you wanted may look valuable.
The shortcut may look attractive.
The dishonest opportunity may whisper:
“Nobody will know.”
Maybe.
Maybe not.
But YOU will know.
And whatever you came into incorrectly can become very small compared with what you risk losing.
So here is the real bargain:
KEEP YOUR CHARACTER.
Leave the rest on the shelf.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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