From a very young age we are taught that lying is never okay. We know that lying hurts others and only gets us into more trouble. We even learn about lying in the bible when Peter denies three times that he knows Jesus. But what about little white lies? You know the white lies our parents told us like about the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus? Or what about lying to a friend to keep his or her feelings from being hurt? Are little white lies okay if we know the truth will hurt someone? What do you think?
-Jungle Meerkat
Advertisement
I think that it is okay to tell white lies when necessary. If telling the complete truth isn’t going to help anything, or is just going to hurt someones feelings over something unimportant then a white lie is okay. If it is something major or the person deserves to know the whole truth then it’s not okay. White lies can be harmless as long as you know when to stop them and when it is your responsibility to be completely truthful.
I think that it truely depends on the situation. I think you should always try to be completely open and honest, especially about something big or important. Honesty is a key in my book. However, if it’s something that isn’t a huge deal and you would be telling a little white lie in order to make someone feel better or encourage someone to do something, I don’t really see any harm in that. For example, if your friend is asking advice on if the guy she likes seems genuine, you should be honest. If you’ve seen him hanging out with other girls behind her back, you should tell her, although it may hurt her feelings. If your friend asks you if you think she will fail her physics test, it’s not bad to assure her everything will go fine and give her confidence, even if you may not think that.
I think telling white lies depends on what the situation is. I think honesty is definitely the best policy, but if you are trying to save someone from getting their feelings hurt I feel like it’s okay to lie to them now and then. For example if she asks if she looks fat in a dress I think that in order to not make her feel bad you should lie and say no even if she might. Unless the situatuation is a little more serious then I think a little white lie won’t hurt anything. Although lying is never the right answer, sometimes it is justified if it saves someone from being hurt.
I think that sometimes it is okay to tell a little white lie, depending on the situation. Sometimes we tell white lies because it’s easier to give a short and quick answer than go into a big long story or maybe we don’t want to hurt another’s feelings, or maybe we just don’t feel like talking. Telling white lies does become an issue, though, when it becomes a habit or it ends up damaging a relationship in the long run. It is important to be honest when the situation calls for the full truth. If you start to believe the lies that you tell to other people because you do it so often, the lies become a big problem. I think a little white lie is okay here and there but if telling them is really easy or frequent for you, you should make a conscious effort to cut back.
-Chartruese Chimpanzee