Faith Meets Life: Truth, lies and consequences

Someone once said that in war the first casualty is truth. However, even in times of peace truth can take a hit. This is perhaps why truth telling shows up in the Ten Commandments. To paraphrase: “Don't falsely testify against your neighbour.”

Recently a high school student I know from my church has been tempted to lie. He wanted to transfer to a different school district from the one in which he lives. The reason: his friends are going to that school.

Their parents want those friends to attend a school that has a better academic reputation and has fewer incidents of crime and disruption. So they told the “white lie” to the school administration that they do live within the boundaries of the desired school district, using the addresses of cooperative friends. It worked.

Typically, in times of modern warfare, governments tell lies. They use propaganda to demonize the enemy and incite their citizens to act. They hide atrocities and high casualty figures (or reluctantly make them known) while exaggerating their successes on the battlefield.

However, it isn't just governments that lie. We are all faced with opportunities (my euphemism of the moment for “temptations”) to lie, as were the parents and students I have just mentioned. I've had some myself and sometimes did the wrong thing. We may have forgotten an important appointment or due date and, rather than confess and apologize, we offer an excuse. We desperately want a job and exaggerate our qualifications on our résumés. “Opportunities” abound to purchase false IDs, plagiarize and fake our way into the good graces of potential dates and friends.

Telling a lie may not be fatal. It may not result in the complete collapse of the FSU, your career, your marriage, or Western civilization. However, lying is almost always not a good idea. It has the ripple effect of breaking trust. An obvious example is the loss of trust in former President George W. Bush and other leaders. The reason they gave for invading Iraq some years ago was the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction. Those weapons were never found and now we understand that the evidence for their existence was exaggerated.

We need environments where truth telling is a given - environments such as the world of politics, your circle of friends, the classroom and the college administration.

The parents of the high school student I mentioned approached the sought -after high school. They made an “Out of Area Application.” The risk was that it could be turned down. The student knew this. Happily, the application was accepted — on condition that the student enter the school's more demanding “International Baccalaureate Program.”

The student and his parents breathed a sigh of relief. “Now,” his mother said, “at least you know that we will never lie to you.”

Michael Veenema is a former chaplain of Fanshawe. He currently lives in Nova Scotia.

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
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