lies

To lie is to give a false statement which is deliberately been presented as true, a lie is to deceive others – or give the wrong impression.

Lying is bad. It gets us into trouble. That’s what we were taught as children, when we still naïve enough to see the world as a good place - when our lives consisted of playgroup, coloured blocks and apple slices.

As we grew up, some of that naivety and innocence left us. No longer could we simply play all day long in the sandpit, without a care in the world. Before we knew it, that carefree childhood was gone forever. We were taken out of our protective bubbles into a world that judged anything and everything. The way we spoke, the way we dressed, the way we acted and the way we thought.

Childhood was simple. Things were either right or wrong. If we broke a vase, peed on the floor, ate toothpaste or lied about breaking the vase, peeing on the floor and eating toothpaste – we were punished accordingly.

What comes after childhood isn’t so simple. Lines became blurred and unclear.

We began to lie.

Lie, in order to evade punishment.
Lie to protect our friends.
Lie to make ourselves feel less guilty.
Lie to get something we didn’t deserve.
Lie to ridicule another.
Lie to avoid being ridiculed.
Lie to escape knowing the truth.

We lie.

Most of the time, we can get away with the occasional small, insignificant white lies.
But sometimes, things go too far. The lies become more than small and insignificant, they snowball into manipulation and cold, hard deceit.

We are often unaware of the other person’s intensions when being lied to. That is, after all, the whole reason behind lying in the first place. If a student lied to the teacher in order to protect the friend that stole the pencil, they are protecting another out of friendship. If a parent lies to their child about the running over/immediate death of the family pet, they are trying to spare that child grief. But when one person lies to another for purely selfish, despicable, thoughtless reasons – one cannot help but be disgusted.

These are the lies that ruin lives.

We lie. It’s a part of being human. We’re imperfect, flawed.

So the next time you lie to someone, at least think about the consequences. Think about how much your lies could hurt that person and everyone around them. Think about how you would feel if someone you trusted manipulated you intentionally. Think about how much you could lose when those lies are eventually uncovered because one way or another, the truth always prevails. Whether we like it or not.

mens regnum bona possidet
coconut.