Devotional
Faye
34
People tell white lies claiming that it is tactful and polite to do. For instance, when I was much younger and someone asked me out, if I was not attracted to them, I would say that I have plans when I really did not. It seemed like it was a better option than saying, “I do not like you.” But now I know that there are nice ways of turning people down without telling white lies.
Many people lie when we ask them how they are doing and they say they are fine when they are really feeling sick and are quite ill. They lie when they say they are OK when they are really feeling sad and depressed. They tell these white lies because they do not want people meddling in their personal lives. Unfortunately, they may lose out on some great opportunities for help by telling white lies.
Every now and then, I run into people who tell bold-faced lies. They lie in the face of all the evidence against them. For instance, I am working in the meth capital of the US, and one tell-tale sign of meth addiction is the “meth mouth.” Part of our medical history taking includes asking folks about any drug addiction they may have – past or present.
Sometimes people swear up and down that they never touch the stuff even though it is present in their urine drug screen, and their mouths are full of carious teeth. Everyone knows they are lying, and the facts speak against them. But these people insist on belittling our time and intelligence with their bold-face lies.
When I was in college, I had one of my early exposures to deception. Some of my colleagues would tell me that they did not study, but then they aced the test. They joked around and clowned around and created the impression that they were not studying, but they were really hitting the books in their private moments.
Fortunately, by then I had realized that what people do is their business, and for me to do well in anything, I had to study very intensely. I knew that I was just average (OK well maybe a little above average), and not even near genius level, and for me to be successful, I had to put every ounce of energy into whatever I do. If I were to follow their deception that studying hard was not necessary, I would have been a failure.
Devotionals by Faye