Porky Pies - God & Honesty

Rob was unable to write a blog this month due to work commitments. But in the spirit of all the best newspaper columns a guest writer was found. Step up to the mark Dr. Billiam Sudsworthy and let's hear what you have to say.



So just in case you haven’t worked it out by now, it’s actually Will’s Blog this month. That’s right, I’m stepping into Rob’s shoes this month, and I can honestly say that they are very smelly!

Hmm. I’ve never done a blog before. How would Rob approach this Blog?

He’d probably start by trying to work out why people lie. Let me check on Google. Okay…I see. There seem to be three different views.

The 1st set of experts say that we are bred to lie. It starts with our parents. We soon find out that we are not allowed to say “Grandma, why do you smell of cabbages?” or “Grandad, why do you smell of wee?” It carries on with boyfriends or girlfriends. How do you respond to “Does my bum look big in this?” or “Do you love football more than me?”

The 2nd set of experts say that humans have evolved to be liars. This is the “survival of the fittest” view. They say that honest humans didn’t last long in their caves. They say that humans are just like the rest of nature, and nature tells some incredible lies in order to survive. Just think of the Venus Flytrap. Or big brother. Under this definition, putting on make up or wearing a wig might be considered a lie.

The 3rd set of experts say that we should stop using our upbringing or nature as an excuse for the simple fact that it is our free choice whether to lie or not, and that we lie to make life easier for ourselves. It is the quickest way to avoid embarrassment or get the thing we want.

So if lying is so ingrained in us humans, why did God make “Do not lie” one of the Ten Commandments? Why did Jesus re-state how important this is?

Is it because when you tell a lie, you often end up having to tell yet another lie to cover up the first one? And then another lie to cover up that one. And then another lie to cover up that one, and another, and another, another…and where does it end?

Is it because lying can become a habit that is hard to break out of? The police often find the biggest criminals through spotting the small habitual little lies that they cannot stop themselves from telling.

Is it because the only way that humans can get on with other humans is through some sort of trust of each other?

I mean, you only have to look at Barings Bank or Enron or even the causes of the Credit Crunch to see how our habit of lying damages the entire world.

I wonder. What would happen if we decided to be different?
What if we decided to live our lives so that “honesty is the best policy”?

Psychologists say that you have to practice something 27 times before it becomes a habit.

27 times. 27 times of catching a lie just before it escapes from our lips.

The question is whether we are willing to rise above our upbringing, mother nature and the culture of our society.

Here’s to the dream of a world that has a truthful answer.