Never Lie

The bible says: “The truth shall set you free.” As a medical doctor, I consider telling the truth, and being honest for that matter, as healthy. Time and again, I am reminded of Dr. Mayo, the founder of Mayo Clinic, who always told his children about honesty, that he even placed a poster inside his children’s room with the slogan: “Honesty is the best policy.”

Before leaving my office in San Beda College, Manila last night, I asked my good friend, confidant, and chess opponent, Fr. Odilo Ma. Reyes, OSB, to translate into Latin two big phrases that I encountered during last Sunday’s mass at the Sto. Domingo Parish in Quezon City: Servitudo et humilitas (Service and Humility) and Honestas optima virtus est (Honesty is the best policy). I personally would like to be reminded of these big words. To never forget, I wrote them in my new 2016 diary; the first one, on the date of my birthday and the other one in another important date – my wedding anniversary.

I am writing about the second one on honesty. This article is as timely as it has always been: “Why do people lie?” Getting hold of the book “The Rules of Work” by Richard Templar, I found Rule 48, Never Lie. The two-page rule was informative but all skin and bones. I tried to jazz-up the topic a bit to make it more interesting.

Reasons why people lie

1. To get benefit. People lie to protect themselves in one or the other way. Political candidates can be seen lying about their intention of reforms, in order to get votes. Children lie to avoid being punished or in the hope of getting a reward.

2. To avoid uncomfortable/personal questions. When people find uncomfortable answers to uncomfortable questions, they take the route of lying. You can also find people lying to manipulate or control others.

3. To avoid problems in relationships. People avoid problems within the relationship through lying. Telling one lie leads to another lie, resulting in a chain of lies.

4. To protect others’ feelings. One example would be appreciating the host of a party about the food being good, when it was actually terrible. This implies that people do not always lie out of malice. They protect others who might get hurt on learning the truth.

Types of lie

White lies are often harmless and insignificant. They are told by people to hide a secret, for example, a surprise party.

Bold-faced lies are outright denials of the truth, despite evidence proving otherwise. This can be disastrous because it can result to lawsuit and arrest.

Lies of omission occur when one avoids confessing that he did something when someone else is taking the blame.

According to Templar, “Never lie is really the simplest, cleanest, most honest approach to your working life and career.”