(To lie is a sin.) Is a lie ever appropriate?/When is a lie appropriate?

Question

Some people in the bible who lied : Cain, Abraham, Lot, Isaac,Rebekah , Jacob, Rachel,Judah, Solomon, Rehab,etc check why they lied & what God did about it.

Answer 1

Every Man is a liar, according to scripture.
You deceive yourself if you think you have never lied.
Certainly it is never appropriate to lie for personal gain. Some people could actually argue that SILENCE is a lie in some circumstances. For example if I say, "Everyone who believes black is white, remain silent". So, if I remained silent as I considered that question so ridiculous as to not warrant an answer, would that be lieing? Even tho I may disagree with the statement, my silence could be construed as an agreement. Also, even tho I do not consider lies appropriate, I think the scripture would agree that lack of a lie is not the most important thing in the world. The greatest commandment is to love God and to love one another. So, if you felt that you were loving someone by putting their interest above your interest for truth, then I believe it would be appropriate. The first commandment "trumps" all other cards.

Answer 2

Lie when it profits you more than it costs you.
Just remember that lies require a good memory and if you get caught the consequences can be severe. In the sciences lying is a very strictly enforced negative. A liar scientist is shunned totally.

You see, the social contract with others involves trust and honesty. Lying, cheating and stealing destroy that trust. If you can not trust that others will do as they say then commerce can not exist.
As societies evolved trade they were forced to value honesty, define it and encode it as a moral social good.
Different methods were/are used in combination.
It is a mark of honor to be honest. It is a sin to lie. It is a legal crime to give false witness or commit fraud.

So honesty is actually a moral created so that trading and eventually business could succeed.

Note also that lies which have no hope of success are not regarded with the same severity as those that might be believed. Lies that have no profit motive attached are regarded as much less severe than lies for profit.
Yet in spite of that the professional liars like Priests, Lawyers and Politicians are our most highly valued and respected people in a Nation. The difference is that they lie for our benefit (we hope). When they lie to our enemies and we profit then it is good, contrasted with when we catch them being hired by our enemies to lie to us...

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For those that say lies are not favoured in the Bible read it again and see how often God is more than happy to reward effective liars. The lying starts with Jacob and Essau if not earlier and never ever stops. All of the bible patriarchs lie and most of the minor characters do too.

Answer 3

Lying is a sin, is never appropriate. God doesn't like it. proverbs 6: 16 There are six things that Jehovah does hate; yes, seven are things detestable to his soul: 17 lofty eyes, a false tongue, and hands that are shedding innocent blood, 18 a heart fabricating hurtful schemes, feet that are in a hurry to run to badness, 19 a false witness that launches forth lies, and anyone sending forth contentions among brothers. you see here he clearly saids he hates people that lie.
john 8:44 YOU are from YOUR father the Devil, and YOU wish to do the desires of YOUR father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of [the lie].
You see the devil is the founder of lies, because of him, the world is the way it is now. Jehova God was clear when he told Adam that they would die if they ate from the tree of good and bad. The Devil on the other hand said that they would not die, but they would be like God. He call God a lier. The word "devil" means someone who tells wicked lies about another person. "Satan" means an enemy or an opposer.
Hope this helps

Answer 4

There is something called the hierarchy of moral law. It is where if you did one thing usually considered wrong, you could keep something worse from happening. Like in the holocaust, people hiding Jews and saying they hadn't seen any around. If they told the truth, people would die. If they lied, they could save a life.

Here is an example from the Bible.
In Joshua 2:1-7, it talks about 2 Israelite spies checking out Jericho and they come to the house of Rahab the harlot. She hears people are coming for them, so she hides them on the roof and tells the people that they left and that they should chase after them. So, she lied. But she ends up having her life saved because of this and she ends up in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11 is known as Faith's Hall of Fame, and verse 31 mentions her. So she was blessed and given as an example of great faith due to the fact that she lied to save the lives of the 2 spies.

These days, most people won't have to lie to save a life, but it does still happen some.

Answer 5

Honestly, I feel there are VERY few situations in which lies are appropriate (not to say i've never lied though), even little white lies to spare someones feelings. Unless you honestly kknow for a fact that noone will get hurt, then fine. But the majors lies are of course horrible.

And with me and my friends and family, if someone asks me "do i look (insert negative thing here) in this (insert article of clothing here)?" I t ell them the truth but in the sweetest non-rude way possible. B/c that in the end IS hurting them b/c you have them walking around with clothes that don't do them or their bodies justice.

And is someone is sick and asks, "do i look horrible/ugly/crappy/etc?" I tell them something like:

"Your definitely not ugly, but you probably wouldn't win Miss America right now! But I know you'd steal the crown next year!"

I don't feel it's offensive, and i always get laughs and never any negative comments back, and laughter is the best medicine!

And also, maybe to save someone's life when people who might be against or opposed or unwilling to help are in your way. Situations like that are okay to lie in.

Answer 6

It has been proven by scientists, psychologists, people mind researchers , etc...all people lie. Kids lie, men lie, but most of all women lie. It is a sin. Yes, I have lied, for a long time our nation was forced to live under the opression, in the society , which was based on lies. What I have always done is I try to live in my small community based on trust , confidence, love, understanding , without lies!!

Answer 7

The Bible teaches that it is not always appropriate to share knowledge. It never teaches that instead of keeping silent or telling someone that you don't want to talk about something that you should replace the truth with a lie. A person has to be wise about what comes out of their mouth. If someone asks you a question and you don't want to hurt their feelings or you don't want to share information about your self or another person there are ways to reply without telling them a lie.

Answer 8

I agree that if a life is at stake then that would be an appropriate time. If my grandma cooks dinner and I really can't stand how it turned out; I am going to eat it and smile and say thank you for the wonderful dinner grandma. I don't think God is going to be angry with me for not hurting her feelings.
If I lie about something where someone is hurt as a consequence of my lie, then that is most definitely innappropriate and sinful.

*No Sansfear, I do not believe that the sacrifice of that soldier guarantees him hell, on the contrary I think God will love his love for his fellow soldiers.

Answer 9

I tell white lies a fair bit, little things that most people wouldn't think of as necessary. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong as they're not hurting anyone, it's little things like how much I spent on a present, or an evening out, people enjoy things more when they don't worry about gouging out your wallet.

I'd tell serious lies if it was necessary, if the situation called on it. But when it comes to lying it's not always black and white, there's a large gray area.

Answer 10

Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, ....And it's a sin to kill, or is it ? If I walked up and caught someone in the act of molesting my child, and I killed that person, have I committed a sin ? If YOU were on the jury, what would you do ? Sometimes, things GET appropriate. My friends and I kinda' have a "mom" pact. If we catch anyone hurting any of our children, and something "happens" to that person, we don't know a d**ned thing. We would consider it a "community service" to get rid of a child molester. Macja 5....you go ahead and preach that to a sinner right in front of you trying to cause you or your family harm. I'm sure he's going to wait there and listen to it all !