The Watchtower and White Lies (Quotes)(The Do As I Say Not As I Do Society)
*** w92 12/15 22 Why Is It So Easy to Lie? ***
Reasons for Lying
People lie for many reasons. Some think they are obligated to lie about their abilities in order to get ahead in this competitive world. Others try to cover up errors or guilt with lies. Still others falsify reports to give the impression that they have done work they have not done. Then there are those who lie to damage anothers reputation, to avoid embarrassment, to justify previous lies, or to defraud people of their money.
A common justification for a lie is that it protects another person. Some consider this to be a white lie because they think it does not injure anyone. But do these so-called white lies really leave no bad effects?
Consider
the EffectsWhite lies can set a pattern that can lead to a practice of lying that may involve more serious matters. Sissela Bok comments: "All lies defended as white cannot be so easily dismissed. In the first place, the harmlessness of lies is notoriously disputable. What the liar perceives as harmless or even beneficial may not be so in the eyes of the deceived."
Lies, no matter how innocent they may seem to be, are destructive to good human relationships.
The credibility of the liar is shattered, and there may well be a permanent breakdown of trust. Famous essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society."It is easy for a liar to make a false statement about another person. Although he presents no proof, his lie creates doubt, and many believe him without investigating his claim. Thus the reputation of the innocent person is damaged, and he carries the burden of proving his innocence. It is, therefore, frustrating when people believe the liar rather than the innocent person, and it destroys the innocent ones relationship with the liar.
A liar can easily develop the practice of lying. One lie usually leads to another. Thomas Jefferson, an early American statesman, observed: "There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible; and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual." It is the road to moral collapse.
*** w82 1/15 3 Why So Much Dishonesty? ***
In an interview a man in So Paulo, Brazil, blamed the influence of such religious practices as easy forgiveness, through confession, for many wrongs done. One woman admitted that her world of honesty collapsed when "Father Christmas" turned out to be a relative. From the stork that is said to bring babies, to politicians with empty promisesin all areas of life we are surrounded by powerful influences that tend to condition the mind to dishonesty.
Some persons cannot see the harm in what they call "little white lies," but the founder of Christianity said: "Whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones." He also identified the Devil as the father of lies and as the one to whom mankind in general submits as ruler. That is surely food for thought, and it helps us to understand why dishonesty is so widespread.Luke 16:10, Todays English Version; see also John 8:44; 14:30.
*** w75 5/15 293 Applying Bible Principles in Business-Does It Pay? ***
An instance of this occurred in a West African country. An official in the government invited an efficient young man under his employ to work as his private secretary. The job carried with it a big pay raise and other benefits. The young man explained that he would be happy to take the position, but there was one thing he could not do. When the countrys president phoned at a time when the official should be working in his office but was absent, he explained, he could not conscientiously give the customary answer that the official was in the mens room. The official argued that others in the office, even religious persons, did not mind telling such "white lies." The young man replied that a good name with God was more important than position or money, saying: "I would not like to do anything that would displease God." The official was favorably impressed and said that the country needed trustworthy men like him.
*** g88 1/22 30 Watching the World ***
Unwanted Honesty
The following appeared in The Times of London: "Warning to all business executives who occasionally tell little white liesbefore you employ a new secretary, check her religion. A prominent City figure, called to the telephone to speak to someone he was trying to avoid, told his temporary secretary: Tell him Im busy and that Ill call him back later. He couldnt believe his ears when she replied, in all seriousness: I cant tell liesIm a Jehovahs Witness."
*** g87 10/8 19-20 Is Lying All That Bad? ***Donald told his mother that he had cleaned his room when, in reality, he had thrown everything under the bed. Along similar lines, Richard told his parents that he got a failing grade, not because he did not study, but because he did not get along with his teacher. Most unconvincing.Still, you might feel that because these were not malicious lies, no harm was done. Whats the harm in a white lie? you may say. And since dictionaries define a white lie as a "polite or harmless lie," telling a white lie may not seem so bad.
In the book The Importance of Lying, H. L. Mencken is quoted as giving yet another reason why some resort to the lie: "What ails the truth is that it is mainly uncomfortable, and often dull. The human mind seeks something more amusing and caressing." Not surprisingly, then, people often do not really want to hear the truth, preferring instead "to have their ears tickled." (2 Timothy 4:3) The greatest teacher who ever lived, Jesus Christ, found this to be true. "If I speak truth," he said to the people of his day, "why is it you do not believe me?" (John 8:46) How tempting it is at times to tell pleasing lies instead of unpopular truths!
But does the fact that a lie may be attractive or over a trivial matter or even well meant mean that it is right?
Gods View of LyingThe tendency of humans to lie was noted back in Bible times. Said the psalmist: "Untruth they keep speaking one to the other; with a smooth lip they keep speaking even with a double heart." Self-interest lurked behind their lies. They said: "With our tongue we shall prevail. Our [lying] lips are with us. Who will be a master to us?" Note, though, how God felt about their lying ways: "Jehovah will cut off all smooth lips, the tongue speaking great things."Psalm 12:2-4.
Yes, "a false tongue" was and is one of the things that "Jehovah does hate." (Proverbs 6:16, 17) After all, it is Satan the Devil himself who is "the father of the lie." (John 8:44) Interestingly, though, the Bible makes no distinction between lies and white lies. It simply says, "No lie originates with the truth." (1 John 2:21) That is why a "devious person is a detestable thing to Jehovah, but His intimacy is with the upright ones." (Proverbs 3:32) Yes, Jehovah simply will not have a close relationship with someone who is dishonest.
The God-fearing youth thus cannot view any kind of lying as acceptable. As a youngster named Tyrone puts it: "It is like a true-or-false test. Something is either right or wrong."
*** yp 215 27 Honesty-Is It Really the Best Policy? ***Gods View of Lying
"A false tongue" was and is one of the things that "Jehovah does hate." (Proverbs 6:16, 17) After all, it is Satan the Devil himself who is "the father of the lie." (John 8:44) And the Bible makes no distinction between lies and so-called white lies. "No lie originates with the truth."1 John 2:21.
Blondie