Lie*, noun, verb, lied, lying
noun
1. a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood
2. something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture: His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one
3. an inaccurate or false statement
verb
1. to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive
2. to express what is false, to convey a false impression
*definition courtesy of dictionary.com
Living in Error
To Lie is truly to ‘Live In Error’, when deceit of one’s fellow human beings becomes more important than the virtue of truth. People lie for many reasons, most if not all of them exclusively self-serving. When someone asks a superior such as a government official, teacher, boss, parent, and even a partner or spouse a question; does the person asking the question do so in order to be lied to?
Most likely, the answer is no. Rather, if someone thought they were going to be given purposefully false information from someone else, reason serves to believe that person would look elsewhere for the answer they seek. After all, as human beings, we rely on our fellows to convey their thoughts, intentions and knowledge with us sans false representation–whether maliciously or benignly.
In the end, all we really have to rely on that matters is our words as our bonds, and actions supporting those words in a real world sense. Therefore, when and if we choose to tell lies to one another , we are consciously breaking this bond, and should expect nothing more from others than to effectively reap what it is we are sowing. This even relates to our physical states–as clinical research now indicates those who live free of lies do so physiologically and mentally healthier than those who don’t.
The Nobility of Phoniness
What is worse even than consciously lying to someone is when the person perpetrating the lie justifies it to themselves by claiming the nobility principle. This is seen in relationships quite often. Such is the case when someone feels a certain way, like the dress a partner is wearing seems unflattering to their figure, but says the opposite when asked. Or for that matter, when a man is caught staring at another woman’s cleavage, and then lies to save face and a cold shoulder from his company.
Men especially employ a self-serving justification in these situations, saying their lies were undertaken in order to save the feelings of their partner or company–when in reality, the only person being saved is the liar themselves.
If I asked my partner if the clothes I was wearing were flattering on my person or not, why would I want them lying to me, so I can go out in public with a false sense of security? And for that matter, if someone wants to feel comfortable with themselves and their company, the surest way to rattle said comfort is to be constantly paranoid their company’s intentions or attention lie elsewhere.
In reality, the person lying to the other person; and despite using prefixes including ‘little’ and ‘white’ in front of the lie, is simply choosing dishonesty in order to avoid confrontation or discomfort for themselves. There exists no nobility whatsoever in this mindset or practice, and that is the truth.
We Attract What We Put Out
Many times in life, we are nothing more or less than who we associate with and how we associate. Along these lines, reaping what we sow is an ongoing phenomenon resulting from the lives we lead; itself the result of each and every decision we make, affecting ourselves and those either attracted to us or repelled away.
This is apparent in our choices of relationships, both professionally and personally speaking. As an adult survivor of child sexual abuse and neglect; I know until I was able to proactively deal with my own internal issues resulting from years of abuse, or be honest with myself, my relationships and life situations mimicked the lies and general unhealthiness I lived with for many years. Or reaping what I was sowing with every belief, thought and action, regarding everyone I interacted with.
No matter the reason, those who choose to lie, whether to delude themselves or others they associate with, make a decision to sow seeds of dishonesty. They then have no excuse but themselves when other people lie to them, and superficial relationships are all they are capable of participating in. After all, if our words are the bonds between faith and works, then lying is the broken link in the chain–preventing any meaningful and long-lasting connections from ever fundamentally taking place.
