Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.  Ephesians 4:25, KJV

Three individuals were talking about a mutual friend.  One related how the friend had been struck by a car and had been killed.  The second said, “No, you are wrong.  That’s not the way it happened at all.”  Explaining, he told how that the individual had been riding in a taxi, and the taxi had been involved in an accident.  As the result the individual was injured and lost his life.

“No,” said the third.  “You are both wrong.  The truth is our friend died at our local hospital.  I know that for a fact because his wife called me from the hospital and told me herself.”

Each was convinced that the others were wrong.  Could all three be telling the truth? You judge for yourself.

Here is what happened: a certain man was riding a bus, and as he got off the bus, he was struck by an automobile and was quite badly injured.  Not waiting for an ambulance, passers-by flagged down a taxi, and the injured man was shoved into the back seat and sent to the hospital.  But the taxi driver, going much too fast for safety, struck another car and the already injured man in the back seat was hurt even more.  He arrived at the hospital and soon died.

In this situation, no one was actually trying to bend the truth.  All of them had only some of the facts which made the others appear to be lying. Such a situation is totally different from bending the truth or presenting it in such a way that you lead the other person to believe something which you know is not true. There are times when individuals are completely honest in giving their perception of a situation.  Neither individual is purposely deceiving the others or lying, yet their stories contradict each other.  While situations such as I’ve just described do, on occasion, happen, far more frequently individuals contradict each other because one is telling the truth and the other is lying, and the more persuasive individual usually is considered to be the one telling the truth.

We have toned down the rhetoric and prefer to call a lie “misinformation” or “misstatement.”  Even a generation ago telling the truth was considered extremely important, and when an employee was caught lying, he was usually discharged, or, at least, dishonesty was considered a flaw in a person’s character.

Years ago I got into a heated discussion with my father about two politicians who were in sharp disagreement.  “Dad,” I said, “both cannot be telling the truth. One of them has to be lying.”  After thinking for a moment, he said, “You are right, but so and so [mentioning his favorite] is a better liar!”

With some things practice makes perfect, and individuals who feel no compunction to tell the truth eventually become very adept at lying.  The line between truth and fantasy or dishonesty becomes so tenuous and thin that the person doesn’t actually know when he is telling the truth or lying.  “Psychopathic” is the term that psychiatrists use.

“Honesty is the best policy,” we used to say, and whether or not it always gets you ahead, honesty should be the only policy.  God places a premium on truth, and even if there were no God, no heaven or hell, and no judgment hereafter, honesty is the only way that a society, a family, or a marriage can survive.  When we begin to live and practice deceit and falsehood, relationships cannot survive.  When deceit becomes common, you never know who is telling the truth and who is lying, though a person may be looking you squarely in the eye.  A person who lies is rending the very fabric of his soul, and eventually there is nothing left of any value.  It’s something to think about. Make honesty the only policy. And believe me, your life will be better because of it.

 

Resource reading: Revelation 22:1-17