Is A Lie Ever Permissible?

 

 

A lie is an intentional falsehood

that violates someone’s right to know the truth.

But there are cases in which people forfeit their right

To know the truth.

 

I came across the above

Only today,

Compared to the following,

What would you say?

 

You hear lie?

That is lie!

Meaning it sounded so incredible

It had to be a lie.

 

If I know that you know

That something is not true,

Then I am not deceived

And neither are you.

 

 

As in the case of a joke

Just to make someone laugh,

Once lewdness is absent

That’s a wholesome craft.

 

A lie can be implied

Or it can be withholding truth,

Once the motive is awry

There’s the burden of proof.

 

You may even be silent

When you should speak up,

By your silence you are lying,

You are still out of luck.

 

Lies of every form and fashion

Rolling off our tongues,

White lies, smart lies

All seemingly wrong.

 

But is there ever a time

When it is better to lie

Such as some cases in the Bible

I will attempt to describe?

 

In Exodus 1 verses 17 to 21

The midwives defied Pharaoh’s will

And a convenient lie was all it took

To overturn Pharaoh’s death drill.

God appeared to sanction it

For the male babies were saved,

Motive seemed important

To vindicate how they behaved.

 

Rahab was a prostitute

But is better known for her lie

When she deceived the Canaanites

And rescued the Hebrew spies.

 

It effected their deliverance

And later her own

Along with her entire family

That were to safety borne.

 

 

Rahab was justified by works

Of which that lie was a part

So clearly, this kind of lie

Is not a poison dart.

 

Abraham had lied too

But this was a different affair,

This man known for his faith

Had been overcome with fear.

 

His lie almost caused trouble

For the then Pharaoh

That was moved by Sarah’s beauty

As the Bible showed.

 

 

Ananias and Saphira

Is another classic case

Of a lie that went wrong

And was in poor taste.

 

They attempted to deceive

The apostle Peter

But the Holy Spirit exposed them

Whereupon their life expired.

 

It appears to me, then,

That they are certain occasions

When a lie is permissible

As in an ethical obligation.

 

It mustn’t be habit though

And the motive is critical,

Very unlike the everyday practice

Of so many people.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2020