When I was a kid my mother always told me and my two sisters that ‘honesty is the best policy, but as an adult, I learned that isn’t necessarily the case. There are a few times in life when you just have flat out lie. Some may call them white lies.
Don’t look at me like that! You know you wouldn’t tell some adorable little girl that Santa isn’t real or that there is no Easter bunny, now would you? Of course not!
Relationships have these little issues as well. Sometimes it’s just easier to be polite than to tell the truth. I mean, imagine you just met this great guy and he takes you to his apartment. It’s okay but well, everything is super outdated. The shag carpet looks right out of the 1970s and the avocado green fridge looks like it has been around since the 1950s.
What are you going to do — Tell the guy who otherwise is absolutely wonderful to tell you that his apartment is old fashioned? That’s just downright rude. Would you really want to risk a relationship with a great guy over something like that? Why not just be polite and say nothing or tell him you think his place is great?
Many consider these little white lies socially acceptable and compassionate.
So when is it okay to lie?
I think that it’s okay to like if you could prevent harm to another person without any ill-effects. I know that’s not a straight forward answer, but it’s the best answer I can give. You have to figure out if the lie is in the best interest of the person receiving it.
Then again, that doesn’t give you a free pass to lie about anything and everything and say oh well it’s best they don’t know if I cheated or if I stole something.
While some may choose to stick with honesty as the best and only policy. However, if you do choose to tell a lie or skew the truth in some way, consider if your life is deceptive and malicious. If so, then you have to really need to ask yourself why you are trying to find a justification for a lie.
Even if the lie seems harmless, it’s important to think carefully before trying to figure out if something is better left unsaid. And remember, if you’re honest, it’s easier to keep your story straight and won’t have any negative impact on your mental health. Even small lies can make you feel guilty about your deceit.
Overall, lying is a bad thing to do. but yes, there are some rare exceptions when it’s perfectly acceptable. It’s your job to make sure what you are about to lie about, is one of those exceptions.
Otherwise, my advice is to keep with the truth.
