Why You Should Never Lie

Lying is basically like a drug. Once you get started, it’s hard to stop. You might start with just an innocent white lie, but eventually you will need more and more lies in order to cover up the original one.

Lies are toxic for your relationships with others, and the wrong lie told at the wrong time could destroy your life.

In this blog post we’ll explore 7 reasons why lying should never be your go-to response, and why telling the truth is usually your best option.

1. Lying is a bad habit that can be hard to break

We all know how difficult it is to stop smoking cigarettes, and just like this addiction, the urge for another lie will only get stronger as time goes by.

It’s easy enough at first because you’re not used to lying yet – your conscience is still, for the most part, intact. But it won’t take long for this to change. You’ll realize how easily the lie slips off your tongue, and before you know it, you’ll be lying about everything.

This is not the kind of thing you want to get used to doing.

2. Too much to remember

You’ll always have to keep track of what lies you’ve told in the past and how they contradict with your new ones.

Every lie creates more chances for contradictions; and the more you tell, the more likely you’ll be to walk smack-bang into one of your older lies and contradict yourself.

3. People believe honest people

If you tell a lie and someone catches you, they’ll remember that one instance for the rest of their lives, and this will color the way they see you.

But if your honesty is always on display, people will believe in what you say because it’s how they’ve come to know you.

4. People won’t know when to trust you

Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? Well, that’s what you’ll be if you keep lying to people. Lying will make it so people can’t tell when you’re telling the truth, and eventually your words will become meaningless. This can get you into real hot water, especially when you genuinely need their help. Who will believe you’re telling the truth and come to your rescue?

The more lies you tell, the less trustworthy you’ll be seen as.

5. Sometimes the lie is worse than the truth

Lies can often make a situation worse, not better. Lying about having lots of money, for example, could get you into trouble if, say, a gang of thieves got wind of this information and targeted you.

There are other lies that might seem minor but can cause distress to others. An example of this would be telling someone they look good in a particular outfit. Your lie might cause them to be ridiculed if they leave the house wearing it.

6. Getting caught could ruin your life

You never know when people will find out about your lie and when it will come back to haunt you. If you’re not careful, it could be the lie that ruins your life.

Let’s say your spouse suspects you of cheating. Instead of admitting it, apologizing, and promising to stay far away from your lover, you deny it, but then your spouse finds out from someone else. This could spell the end of your marriage, not because you had the affair, but because you lied about it when confronted.

Lies can add insult to injury in cases like this.

7) You won’t feel good about it

No matter how warranted you think your lie is, provided you’re not a sociopath that feels nothing, your lies will start to play on your conscience.

Is it ever okay to lie?

There are instances when you might be justified in lying, but those are usually very rare. They include:

• when it’s a matter of life and death – if you’re captured behind enemy lines and you lie to save your butt, then it’s fair to say this is acceptable

• when telling the truth would be devastating to someone

• if you’re a spy – lying to keep your identity secret is acceptable and necessary

• when someone asks “Do I look fat?” – you should always tell them what they want to hear, even if this involves lying!

Conclusion

You should always aim to tell the truth whenever you can, and lie only when you have no other choice. A better approach to life would be to avoid doing anything that you’d be tempted to lie about.