In my opinion, lying is one of the worst things a person can do.  Trust is unattainable when people lie to each other.  A lie between friends can kill the relationship.  Moreover, lying can ruin reputations, and can even break up entire families.

What I will never understand is the desire to deceive in the first place.  It seems to me that guilt would be a powerful deterrent to the person who lies.  But maybe people who can’t seem to tell the truth have been lied to while growing up.  And some people may engage in this deception for personal gain.

One thing is certain.  Lies have the power to do great harm.  Successful personal relationships require trust.  Telling the truth should be a given.  But within our work or school situations and especially the families we belong to, the foundations for truth-telling are learned.  This is where it begins.  Good character traits must be modeled and nurtured.

What a terrible disadvantage it must be, to grow up in a family where one cannot count on the adults to tell the truth.  We learn a value system within our families.  If lying is an acceptable thing to do, a child will often follow the example of the adults around them.

Being raised in this way is, in effect, teaching a child to be wary of others.  If one tells lies, then others may be lying to you. Or perhaps, a particular person can be seen as an ally in the quest to deceive for mutual gain.  Perhaps as partners in crime?

No matter how or why it happens, lying hurts both the perpetrator and the one to whom the lie is being told.  The one who has been lied to, feels betrayal.  The liar is deprived of true relationships with others. That alone is more than enough reason to tell the truth.