Americans on Lies

According to a new AP poll, Americans are conflicted about the appropriateness of telling lies.

...65 percent said it is sometimes OK to lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings, though 52 percent said lying, overall, is never justified.

Four in 10 people in the June 23-24 poll of 1,000 adults said it is OK sometimes to exaggerate a story to make it more interesting. About a third said it is acceptable to lie about one's age.

One-third of respondents approved of sometimes lying about being sick to take a day off work. Few admitted to thinking it is OK to lie on a resume, cheat on taxes or lie to a spouse about an extramarital affair.

Among the groups more likely to say lying is sometimes OK: People 18-29, college graduates and those with higher household incomes.

The Bible is pretty absolute on the subject of lies, condemning lying in general (Prov. 6:17; 26:28; Eph. 4:25), false testimony (Ex. 20:16; Prov. 6:19), false teaching (Mt. 7:15; 1 Tim. 4:2; 1 Jn. 4:1), white lies (1 Jn. 2:21; cf. Jn. 4:16-18) and even flattery (Prov. 6:24; 20:19). John's picture of hell is a lake of fire populated with cowards, unbelievers, detestable fiends, murderers, fornicators, idolaters...and liars (Rev. 21:8).

Of course, truth has often been wielded as a weapon to inflict pain on others. Those who abuse it in this manner need to check their motives. Truth is to be spoken in love (Eph. 4:15).