Black Or White?

Wisdom Nugget: "Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind."
                                                                                                      - Austin O'Malley

It's amazing the length society goes today in order to detect liars. Lie-detecting machines are now used to detect whether or not a suspect is lying. The encyclopedia Britannica also refers to these "Lie detectors also known as polygraphs... is an instrument for recording physiological phenomena such as blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration of a human subject as he answers questions put to him by an operator. These data are then used as the basis for making a judgment as to whether or not the person is lying."

The lie detector has been used since 1924 for investigations but is still controversial and not admissible in court. Even with this equipment, we still cannot really determine if someone is really telling the truth or not.  Plainly put, it is difficult to find an  acceptable way of always knowing if someone is telling the truth or a lie. This confuses and complicates daily living. We use every kind of moral and physical device to get the truth out of people and half of the time we do not succeed. Think for a moment how easy and simple it'll be to catch and prosecute criminals, if everyone was truthful. Would there even be need for a court of law? All the police have to do is ask "did you burglarize the office, Yes or No?" If the suspect says yes, the sentence is passed. If no, the real criminal is searched for. Wouldn't that be awesome to not have to go through the stress and expenses of a trial? Governments can be set straight if everyone just told the truth. "Are you in office for the people or for yourself, Yes or No?"

The story is told of four high school boys who couldn't resist the temptation to skip morning classes. Each had been smitten with a bad case of spring fever (A feeling of restlessness, excitement, or laziness brought on by the coming of spring). After lunch, they showed up at school and reported to the teacher that their car had had a flat tire. Much to their relief, she smiled and said, "Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper." Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions. Then she said, "First question - which tire was flat?" Try to imagine what the boys will write. Do you think one of them would be bold enough to tell the truth? Your best guess is "No" right? Well, so is mine. Do you know why, because we're so used to people lying to us first thing and you know what happens when you tell a lie, you cover it up with another lie.

Austin O'Malley said "A lie has no legs. It requires other lies to support it"
Tell one lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up. Stretching the truth won't make it last any longer.

We really don't realize how prevalent lying has become in our society. We try to cover up by calling it a white lie. It's easy to tell a white lie because, after all, it's for the best of ourselves or for someone we're trying to protect, right? Just to stretch the truth a little bit. To exaggerate, maybe, a bit. You see, lying in our society is very widespread and goes deep into everything everybody does. It's not just about telling about an outright lie, it's also saying one word that may have two meanings so as to mislead somebody. It's also stretching the truth beyond what is.

Always remember that "a righteous man hates lying..." Righteousness is simply living a good moral life. This goes to say that whoever lies is unrighteous; the person lives an immoral life. Examine your life today, do you live morally or immorally?

Photo credit: foundationsofmorality.com