"Truthfulness...the ultimate super-glue of community."
About a year ago, Newsweek told of a sting operation in New York City to uncover graft and corruption among public officials. The sting involved one hundred and six officials, and in each case, bribes were offered to each person. On one hundred and five occasions, the public official accepted the bribe and lied to his boss. Finally, on the one hundred and sixth offer, a man turned down the bribe--not, unfortunately, because it was illegal or immoral, but because the public official didn't think the amount was large enough.
So they tried it another way. Sting leaders sent out one official, a building inspector wired for sound, on fifteen inspection calls. On each and every case, all fifteen people he called on offered him a bribe to cover up and lie about their construction problems....
Last week I began a two-week miniseries on "Lying," based on a series of lectures on Ethics and Business I gave during a recent trip to a couple of national business conventions.
In my first sermon we defined and explored the basis and extent of lying in our society. Taking a lead from a U.S. News & World Report article which asks us the hard question, "Are We a Nation of Liars?" we continue this week under the title, "Why Lying Doesn't Work." Why lying (in any form) doesn't work.
First and foremost, lying breaks down community. Whether at the national, business, social or family level, most communities cannot survive for long without trust and truth as the basic fabric of life. One of the great tragedies of affairs like Watergate and Irangate is loss of faith and confidence in government, not because of stupid break-ins or secret arms sales, but because our leaders lied about the issue when it was exposed. And if they lie about that, what else are they lying about?
This is true in families as well. We can stand almost any kind of pain, bad behavior, and even tragedy, but when a family member begins to lie, to cover up, to intentionally deceive by falsehoods or silence...trust disappears and the fabric of the family quickly disintegates and we are thrown into a swamp of disillusionment and distrust. The effects of lying on all social structures is devastating as one writer says so well:
"When people twist language to serve their own needs, they pollute the very spring of human social existence. Language is the basis of culture, of human community. When language can no longer be trusted, when words do not express their normal currency but are used for the purpose of deception, the whole community is in gravest danger."
I think all public officials might post that quote on their refrigerator doors.
The second reason lying doesn't work is that, it breaks down central values and absolutes along with community. Lying drives us into a value system where everything seems relative and there is no core belief on which to stand. Whether in politics, in the office, or at home, we all need a core of honesty, a center of truth, and a sense of trust on which we can stand. As one person said, "If you cannot stand on something, or for something, you might fall for anything."
A third reason your lying doesn't work is that it takes away the other person's freedom. If I lie to you about your terminal disease, that lie takes away your freedom (along with your dignity) to act freely knowing the truth. If you lie to me about your love, it takes away my freedom to act and respond truthfully and responsibly. Lying always demeans the person lied to and diminishes their freedom to live rightly and truthfully.
Fourth, lying erodes your character and corrodes your integrity. The corollary to this is, the more you lie, the easier it is to lie. The archetype example of this fact is Pinocchio, the puppet. Remember how every time Pinocchio told a fib his nose would grow just a bit larger until, finally, his nose was long enough and sturdy enough to hold a nest of birds on it? That's the way it is with continued lying. But in reality the corrosion happens inside us, and is not so cute and innocent as Pinocchio's nose. Amongst other things, lying produces inside us and all around us cynicism, distance, distrust.
Lying, says one ancient Hebrew proverb, is like vinegar to the teeth and smoke in the eyes.
Live, says Will Rogers, so that you would not be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.
Finally, lying is for us Christians wrong. It is a sin against God's clear and distinct Commandments--in particular, Number 9, which says:
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor."
Or, very simply, "No lying!" period. It's interesting to note that this Commandment is very short and clear. There are no qualifiers. It doesn't say what will happen if you lie or don't lie. It doesn't say anything about levels of lying, big ones or little ones, or compare outrageous untruths against those small, daily, unimportant white lies. All it says is, don't lie!
Well, there is much more to be said about lying and honesty and we will in the near future with an upcoming series on The Ten Commandments.
Let us complete this portion with a clear statement and admonition that life in community (national, business or family) must always have a positive bias towards truth telling and a prejudice against lying. Indeed, I believe that truthfulness, like love, is one invisible fiber which holds--indeed binds--people together. It is the ultimate super-glue of community. If you are struggling with lying, take a stand today, take a chance on telling the truth.
A closing story about how hard it is to take a chance in life:
A tourist, stepping too close to the edge of a cliff in the park, lost his footing and plunged over the side, clawing and scratching to save himself. After he went out of sight and just before he fell into space, he saw a shrubby bush which he grabbed with both hands, breaking his fall. In desperation, he called, "Is there anyone up there?"
"Yes, there is," said a calm voice.
"Can you help me? Can you please help me?" the tourist pleaded.
"Yes, I probably can," the calm voice replied. "What is your problem?"
"I fell over the cliff and am dangling in space holding to a bush that is about to uproot. Please help me."
"I'll try," said the voice from the top of the cliff. "Do you believe?"
"Yes, yes, I believe."
"Do you have faith?"
"Yes, yes. I have strong faith."
"Well, in that case," the strong voice replied, "simply let loose of the bush and everything will turn out fine."
There was a long, tense pause, then the tourist yelled, "Is there anyone else up there?"
If you are holding onto the bush of lying, let go. Take a chance this day on telling the truth. Amen.
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