"Good Lies"

Sitting around my Mother’s kitchen table we were just talking about this and that, and looking at the newest crochet patterns she had just received.  Gem had not had a nap and she was pretty…sensitive?  Yes, that’s a good word to describe it.  One minute she was all smiles and the next she was a whining little Gem.  She stood up in her chair, which is not allowed, and acted like she was going to sit on Nana’s lap, but instead she sat on the table, which is also not allowed.  Nana looked at her and asked her if she was sitting on the table with an undertone of you know you’re not supposed to be up there.  Gem looked at her and said, “No.”  Seeing an opportunity for me to point out that she had just told a lie I said something.  “Gem, you just told Nana a lie because you ARE sitting on the table.  Lies are bad, and we don’t want to tell lies to people.”    She got off the table and turned to me.  With a grin she looked at me and said, “We only tell good lies.”  Imagine a deer in the headlights...that was the look on my face. 

“We only tell good lies.” Has echoed in my head ever since she said that.  Good lies or little white lies, like we can make it clean by putting the color white on it and all of a sudden it’s okay.  My goodness, I can’t even count how many “little white lies” I’ve told in my life.  Some days I tell them right in church when someone asks me how I’m doing.  My little white lie I tell, “I’m great!”  When there are just some Sunday mornings when I’m not great.  I want to just be left alone.  I’m annoyed, I’m angry, I’m…whatever it is.  Maybe it doesn’t help that I’m not a morning person, but still.  What about when I’m at work.  I answer the phone sometimes and have to “screen” calls for the higher ups.  If the higher up doesn’t want to talk to someone who called for them what do I do?  I lie, “I’m sorry he’s on the other line right now, may I take a message?” or “He’s in a meeting.”  I’ve never told them they just flat out don’t want to talk to them.  What kind of customer service person would I be if I did that?!?!  What kind of a Christian am I when I’m not telling the truth?!?!  What about the line, “They’re not available.”  When in fact they are.  What do you say in that situation?

 

From this web site I found a statistic that said the on average men tell 6 lies in a day to their partner, boss, or colleagues, and women on average tell 3 lies in a day to their partner, boss, or colleagues.  Are you starting to think?  Have I told a lie today?  Have you?  That web site also said that 80% of women admit to “occasionally telling harmless half-truths” or “Good lies” as Gem called them.  I don’t know about you, but that bothers me.  My prayer for myself is that the Lord will point out to me when I do this, and that he will give me the RIGHT words to say.  No more “Good lies”.    

 

 

Peace, Love, and God Bless.