Is it OK to do it if it doesn’t hurt others?

I have struggled with writing about lying. I know I’ll sound judgmental if I do write something and that’s because I have the ‘J-gene’. What’s the’ J-gene’ you ask?

It occurred to me a few weeks ago when I was preparing for a talk I was giving on grace and I realized that in order for me to get to grace(simply explained as forgiving someone when they don’t deserve it) I first have to work through the ‘judgments’ I have. And in order to do that I have to remember what God has done for me and ask God how He wants me to understand this situation and the people involved.

Lying is on my mind now because of politics and the prevalence of ads, speeches, interviews, opinions and analyses that appear daily. I am not saying I haven’t lied but watching what is going on in society I notice an overabundance of lying.

Lying hurts people. It deceives people. It coerces people to do things they wouldn’t do if they had the truth. I think liars disrespect the people they lie to because they think their audience is stupid and will believe whatever lie they tell them.

Why is lying so prevalent in society? FYI, lying has occurred since Biblical times and is not a new phenomenon.

I have wondered for some time if you support someone who lies, let’s say a politician, does that make you a liar also? Or does that make you susceptible to lying?

That might be a bit of a stretch but I don’t think it is too far off the mark.

Why would I come to this conclusion? Here are some reasons. You may believe in the view that the end justifies any means that are used (so you can say or do whatever you want just so the result you want is achieved); or you occasionally lie about different things so you don’t see a problem with the lie; or you are a political ideologue so you justify the need to lie and all that matters is that your party beats the other party.

Lying is a character defect and I think ultimately that liars are weak people. When no one challenges their lies they appear strong and confident. And in politics others, like politicians from the same party, supportive members of the media, those depending on that party’s success, will support and defend the lies and shout down or ridicule those who question or challenge the lie. Liars and those who can’t defend their arguments or their record will attack their opponents or critics when they are questioned or challenged and many times their weapon is a lie.

Liars learned somewhere that lies can make them look good or help them get what they want. They probably started with a small lie maybe as a child, got the result they wanted and gradually adjusted the magnitude of the lie to the situation. There is a view that the bigger the lie, the more it will be believed.

If you are hanging out with liars you should reassess your relationship because if it hasn’t it will impact you and or your family and friends. Lying can be contagious and peer pressure can cause you to lie or expand your lying. Some people have said they can compartmentalize their lying (only lie about certain things or in certain areas) but I can’t see how someone who is successful lying in one area of their life won’t lie in other areas.

As Christians we are called to love others, even those who lie. I still struggle with that because of my tendency to judge but I’m working at it and can only forgive with God’s help.