Member-only story
Is Lying Ever OK?
Sometimes …yes.
It’s Ok to lie when telling the truth is of no tangible benefit to anyone in the scenario. The best way I’ve ever seen this captured is in a writing prompt on Reddit:
This answer was given by Reddit user: Wercwercwerc on this post.
If you haven’t read this very short story about a liar named Joe, I really recommend it. It captures the essence of an answer to the question in a way that I can’t and it deserves to be shared:
He was a real good guy, through and through. Never met anyone quite like him since never really expect I will either.
People like Joe don’t come around often. Once in a lifetime maybe, if you’re lucky.
Almost everyone I’ve ever met had the tiny silvered papercuts of white-lies on their fingers. It’s a price of formalities, a camouflage of sorts- as everyone has a few, some deeper cut than others over the years; opened and reopened time after time. And not just that, but the larger cuts, silvery things on forearms and shins, necks or backs. People lie, it’s just the way of things.
Sometimes the pain it worth the deception, the balancing scale plays out mentally before a person’s mouth opens.
Joining the force was what I wanted. There was a lie I told myself: A Lie I scratched in deep, over and…
