Have you ever been in a situation where you just knew you would be better off to lie or cover up what you had done wrong? No one would most likely find out, so what would be the point of confessing a mistake. In fact, if you told someone the truth, you might even have to suffer an unpleasant consequence. What would be the point in that? I think that is a pretty easy lie to buy into. If we don’t have to tell the truth why should we?
Stephen Lim wrote in his article, “Telling the Truth - Does it Pay?”[1] wrote the following…
“We are a nation of liars. In a national survey 91 percent of Americans admitted to lying regularly. Thirty-six percent confessed to telling serious lies which hurt others, are totally self-serving or break the law. Does it pay to tell the truth? If others lie, aren't we putting ourselves at a disadvantage if we don't? Working my way through school, I delivered special delivery mail for the U.S. Postal Service. Each morning the dispatcher handed drivers a pile of letters and packages. Before starting our route, we recorded the number of stops we had to make. While the other drivers padded their figures, I didn't. This made me look bad in comparison, lowering the supervisor's opinion of my performance. This consequence was minor, however, compared to those (consequences) suffered by (the) many who choose honesty. Consider a few: Because they do not cheat on assignments and tests to boost their grades, some fail to get into the college of their choice. Others don't succeed in getting a coveted job because they refuse to puff their resume. ‘It's harder and harder to be an honest person,’ laments Michael Josephson. ‘You feel like a jerk in a world where other people are getting ahead by taking shortcuts.’”
He concludes his article by sharing why we should tell the truth.
“Why should we tell the truth? The Bible commands: ‘You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor’ (Exodus 20:16), and ‘Speak the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15). While we may simply follow this standard in a dutiful way, we obey with greater conviction when we grasp the reasons behind it. God gave us his commandments in order ‘that we might always prosper’ (Deuteronomy 6:24). In what ways does telling the truth benefit us? He listed four reasons.
- Healthy relationships require trust.
- Society deteriorates when falsehood multiplies.
- Lies also create stress.
- Most importantly, we tell the truth because God wants us to reflect his nature and spirit. The Bible says, "God...does not lie" (Titus 1:2), and "it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).
We need to be led by “the Spirit of truth” John 14:17, instead of the spirit of deception. While lying seems less serious than many offenses, it reflects a direction of life, moving us away from the God of truth. For this reason we should avoid even white lies. Many lies seem of little consequence, but the cumulative effect erodes the character of truth in us.
[1] Originally published in Plain Truth, May/June 2001 http://www.agts.edu/faculty/faculty_publications/articles/lim_telling_the_truth.pdf
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