You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16, NIV)
The essence of lying is saying what will achieve the desired result, irrespective of whether it is the truth.
Flattery. Flattery is saying to someone’s face what you would never say behind their back! You want a person to like you, so you tell them how wonderful they are, even though it bears little relation to reality.
There was a guest speaker who was introduced in rather glowing terms. The emcee said he was the owner of an oil company that had turned in a $100 million profit in his first month. But when the man got up to speak, he blushed and said, “I don’t own the company, my father does; and the first month was not a $100 million profit, it was a $100 million loss!”
Exaggeration. You want to impress, and so you overstate what you said or did, taking credit that belongs to someone else. Or, you’re looking for sympathy, so you overstate the wrong that was done to you, because you want the other person to feel sorry for you. Lying is saying whatever will achieve the desired result, irrespective of whether it is the truth.
Gossip. This is passing on news about another person that may or not be true. Someone has likened gossip to ripping open a feather pillow on a windy day. The feathers fly in the wind, and once they’re out, there is no way you can ever gather them back in.
[tweet_box design=”default”]The reason we lie is that we’re more deeply committed to ourselves than to the truth. [/tweet_box]
The reason we’re so prone to lying is that we’re more deeply committed to ourselves than to the truth. It’s not easy to handle the truth. That’s why we spend so much time deceiving ourselves.
Which of these forms of lying are you most prone to?
