Why Do People Cheat?

Why do people cheat is the type of question that immediately draws a reaction from whoever is being asked. Some people respond out of the depths of their own experiences. Others respond based on what they know to be true from observations of family or friends. Everyone has at least one readily accessible explanation for why men cheat or why women cheat, but my question was why do people cheat? It may seem like I'm just splitting hairs, however if we focus on why people cheat our answers will change.

For example, we say that men cheat because they are dogs and women cheat because the man cheated first. We might add a story or some small antidote to bolster what we are saying, but fundamentally we believe the behavior of cheating is dependent on someone else's actions. If women weren't loose, men wouldn't be dogs who are prone to cheat. If men weren't cheating dogs, their significant others would have no reason to cheat. I think you get the picture.

The truth is that cheating is an individual decision that involves another person, but is not dependent on that person's actions. What I mean is people decide to cheat because of what they want not because of what someone else has to offer or what someone else has already done. Scripture explains this in James 1:14

"but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their OWN evil desire and enticed."

It may be easier to to say I cheated and give a reason that is based on someone else, but it would not be truthful. We each must reach a point of maturity that allows us to look inward instead of outward. We must reach the point where we are accountable for our choices. We must reach the point where we can look at why people cheat (why we individually cheat) as the sum of our own actions and not an external equation that we are forced to live by. 

Adayinthelife :-)