White lies

A little white lie. What’s the harm?

That’s what I told myself the other day.

I mean, nobody is going to get hurt, right?

Wrong.

A lie is a lie. No matter how big or little. Black and white, there is no gray area.

A lie is like tossing a pebble into a still body of water. It has a ripple effect. Impacting others on the receiving end.

Ever lie?

No? Well, then you’re a liar. Welcome to the liar’s club.

We lie to others or ourselves every day. Most of the time without even realizing it.

It’s like a seesaw smothered in butter.

Up and down. Up and down. And eventually, our lies are slippery enough, and we fall off. The lie is exposed. Not only are we hurting from the fall, but hurting others we lied to along the way.

I got caught in a lie. Told a little one. Thought it was the right thing to do because I didn’t want to hurt my daughter’s feelings. Guess what?

I hurt her more. And in the process, told two more lies to my wife.

When tempted to toss that pebble in a pond of lies, keep it in your pocket instead. The ripples aren’t worth it.

Tell the truth, no matter how hard it is. Look down and kick rocks instead.

Kicking rocks might be lonely but a little dusty ego is better than making ripples of hurt.