--- title: Cheating at games and sport — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Cheating at games and sport», a lesson of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A game is fun because everyone tries to win inside the same rules; cheating takes away the very thing that makes it a game. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/) / Cheating at games and sport # Cheating at games and sport Lesson 93 of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school: 18 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/0/) — A game is fun because everyone tries to win inside the same rules; cheating takes away the very thing that makes it a game. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/1/) — At sports day Kieran starts before the whistle and his egg is stuck to the spoon with Blu Tack; he may get the ribbon, but not the real win, because the skill and the joy were never his. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/2/) — Rules agreed before a game are a kind of promise between players, so changing them when you're losing, peeking at cards or using hacks breaks that promise. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/3/) — Paul wrote that an athlete does not receive "the victor's crown except by competing according to the rules" (2 Timothy 2:5), and fair play awards go to players who tell the referee the truth. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/4/) — You can call out cheating kindly, and with little children, games are where they learn fairness, so gently remind them of the rules. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/5/) — Cheating at a family game "for a laugh" spoils what makes the game fun; Proverbs 26:18-19 warns against the one who deceives a neighbour and says, "I was only joking!" - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/6/) — "Anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor's crown except by competing according to the rules" (2 Timothy 2:5). - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/7/) — Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in 1986 went in off his hand and is still argued about; fair play awards go to players who correct a referee. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/8/) — Game hacks like aimbots are cheating real people out of a fair game, so game companies ban them; "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Mark 12:31). - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/9/) — "Start children off on the way they should go" (Proverbs 22:6): young children learn fair play by being gently reminded of the rules. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/10/) — "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked" (Galatians 6:7); a cheat can get the medal but never the joy of the real skill. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/11/) — Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times and lost all seven titles in 2012 for doping (taking banned drugs to race faster); "You may be sure that your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/12/) — Call out cheating calmly and privately: "Go and point out their fault, just between the two of you" (Matthew 18:15). - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/13/) — In cricket "walking" means a batter who knows he's out leaves without waiting for the umpire; not every player walks, and people argue about it. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/14/) — "Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity" (Leviticus 19:35): changing the rules mid-game to win is cheating. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/15/) — Letting little ones win sometimes keeps them keen; older children usually want real wins, and can ask to play properly. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/16/) — "Ye might fool the ref, but ye'll no fool yersel": the cheat loses skill, pride and trust; "In humility value others above yourselves" (Philippians 2:3). - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/93-cheating-at-games-and-sport/17/) — Slang check: "yaar" (India) means mate; "fuming" means very angry; "ye'll no fool yersel" (Scotland) means you won't fool yourself. - ← previous: [Cheating at school: copying and peeking](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/92-cheating-at-school-copying-and-peeking/) - next →: [Why cheating hurts the cheat](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/94-why-cheating-hurts-the-cheat/) - ↑ back to [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/)