A group of us were talking about lying. We were going on merrily about how we need to stop and someone even said he’s condition was chronic, he has to be making resolutions to (stop) reduce lying. Then someone dropped a bomb: ‘I don’t know how to lie. I don’t have the capacity to lie”. Ugh?? He says it’s not that he doesn’t know how to tell a good lie, it’s that he CANNOT, DOES NOT, tell lies, and he can’t remember the last time he told one!
This guy is a serious Christian (or at least he gives the impression that he is, these days you can only vouch for yourself), so I guess I can understand why he would make such a statement. But all of us just took on him, and the conversation got that much more interesting.
Now, I think (even though it may make me look less ‘Christiany’) that although lies are bad, they are sometimes necessary. Not good, but necessary. The trick here though, is to know when you have to lie, and when to put on the Holy Cap. For example, you can lie to save a life- example? Look at Rahab in the Bible (see Joshua 2: 3-7) who hid God’s prophets and told and outright lie that she was not hoarding them. God blessed her for this lie right?
Another example, the grandmother of a friend of mine had a heart attack and died when she was unceremoniously told that her son was dead. It would probably be more prudent to lie ‘no mama, he’s fine oh’ and then break the news when the time, and place, is right. Right? Another example- my little cousin is learning how to cook. She made some downright horrible spring rolls last week, but I told her “dearie, these are great! Just add some salt next time kay”. I lied. They were NOT great. But if I told her my true feelings she would probably never open an oven again.
I admit though, some may say that God plainly said “NO LIES”! Jesus NEVER lied, and God and His Word never lie. So, as Christians we should never lie. It’s like saying ‘lie when necessary is the same thing as steal when necessary- the end justifies the means’. But I’m saying, this is where wisdom comes in. If someone comes to your home and says, where is your husband/wife, I’m supposed to kill him/her, are you going to say “Oh my God, I can’t lie, he’s/she’s in the bathroom”? But then, you should never lie for selfish reasons. There you go.
But all this is just me. What do YOU think? Are there times when lies are necessary? Even required? Should we opt to never ever tell a lie, no matter how ‘white’ it is? And is it possible for a human being to not remember when last he told a lie?
Photo Credit: Heartache
Adiya.At.U 