When Telling The Truth Becomes Complicated...

Lying is no good thing and we were taught never to lie as kids. In my home, lying came with a severe punishment just like it was in many homes regardless of their culture or religion. It wasn't just my thing and regardless of what the situation was, telling the truth was mandatory for me even if it would still attract punishment. Probably because of my nature of always speaking the truth, I detest lies and barely forgive anyone who lied to me back then.

In mid 2000, I broke a neighbor's water tank while chasing a goat out of the compound and it was just me there, no one saw me. I could have just pretended or lied if asked about it but I didn't want to go to hell so reporting myself was the only option for me.

I did the needful and got one of the unforgettable beating in my entire life. It was a horrible experience and just one lie could have changed the whole event but speaking the truth was mandatory thanks to Bible lessons and family values. Honestly, it was really good because my conscience is always at ease plus I don't have to always remember my lies which I suck at.

As I grew up, I started having different experiences and there were situations where lying could have helped me avoid problems. One of those moments was when some police officers came knocking accusing me of abducting a lady in my environment. I was asked if I knew she was missing and I said yes because I knew which led to the officers insisting that if I was aware, I was involved.

I didn't believe my ears and wished I had said no, probably they would have just let me go. The case went on for months before the police discovered that I had nothing to do with the missing girl. Many other events happened and I didn't hesitate to lie just to push troubles away from me.

Whenever it happened, I would always pray in my heart asking for forgiveness from God because I know it's wrong but I just had to do so. It bothered me a lot so during a bible study in church, I asked the question if there were lies that wouldn't be recorded as sin but the teacher said all lies regardless of the intention was a sin.

I remember him quoting 1 John 5 vs17 which says, all unrighteousness is sin and it answered my question perfectly. But, I eventually saw a Yoruba movie titled White Lie and it changed my perspective about lying. I still understand that it's a sin, God detest it and even I do but it's inevitable especially in the world we live in today.

This reminds me of a podcast I watched where a missionary said he lied denying his religion during a missionary visit to the northern part of the country. He was in a town where a serious fight was on and while trying to escape, he was caught by some men. Just because of his dressing, they had to ask what he was doing in the town and he claimed to come visit his daughter who just put to bed.

The podcast host accused him of lying and he said, committing that sin at that time was necessary, else, he would be dead.

As much as lying is a terrible thing to do, it could be our only option to save an innocent soul or avert danger during tense moments. Lying sometimes can really birth positive changes and just because our intention was good still doesn't make our actions anything short of a sin.

A sin is a sin but it's worth committing when the intentions are pure. We serve a merciful God and I believe that whenever I go on my knees to ask for forgiveness to those harmless sins, he would always forgive me. Afterall, none of us can claim to be righteous but we've been enjoying the grace of God.