December 4, 2022 Sunday
I thought I would write today about why people lie, and the different types of lying. I’m sure there are more kinds than I am putting down here, but will just put these down here for now. You can add to it if you want to.
As we look around just in our own country it is extremely difficult to find anyone who tells the truth nowadays. Why is that? Why can’t people just be honest, do the right thing, and just stop lying? Let’s discuss this subject.
The list is below but let’s name here a few of them: bluffing, exaggeration, jesting, polite lies, perjury, white lie, noble lie, fabrication, a virtuous lie, a lie-to-children, and the list goes on.
I’d venture to say that even the liar knows that lying is wrong. It is morally wrong in the sight of God, and people hate to be lied to. These people who lie don’t want someone to lie to them, yet they will lie to others. To many people it just seems to come naturally ,doesn’t it? They can be talking to you and there it is: out pops a lie or two. Why do they do that? Why do they think it is all right to lie to you?
As much as people lie it sure seems that they don’t (yet) see the consequences of their actions or the brunt of the people they hurt by all their lies. One worth mentioning here is some people lie so they won’t get caught and they do that out of fear most times. The “what if” will happen to them if they tell the truth. The thing is when someone lies and no one thinks anyone knows or saw it…God did! I’d rather face the consequences here than stand before God for this. If you somehow want to right now say that you have never lied…you are lying. Read on!
Take a kid for a moment (child if kid somehow offends you). Kids lie so they won’t get punished. Somehow they think their parents are morons and that they can get away with lying. It only works so long. Parents do wise up eventually at the lies they are being told by their kids. Kids don’t want to be punished and neither does anyone else for that matter. People think if they get out of the lie that somehow they are “home free”.
Don’t people also lie to somehow do it to save face? After all, if what they did or said was found out their image would be tarnished, and they surely don’t want that now do they? Some people are such great liars that their lies are quite believable (to a point). The person smiles is polite and looks good so people just believe them. (Con artists, politicians, educators (yes, I said that) frauds, cheats, spouses that cheat and try to cover it up, and so on and so forth. Don’t people want to have people think highly of them, if they knew they were lying…that would change!
I love people, I love my family, I love the friends I have, yet even those I dearly love I don’t believe all of them all the time. I wish I did, and I base relationships on trust, being truthful, and that people would actually keep the confidence you shared with them, but in life, I have found out that even those that can be the closest to someone can be the one who lies about them, betrays them, and deeply hurts and offends them. This happens to people all the time and we wonder why someone we love (or loved) and cared about could do that to us.
We base our love and friendships on trust, and we seldom think that those closest to us would go about hurting us by lying even right to our faces. Some people promise to keep your trust and confidence/secrets you felt you could share with them (family, spouse, friend, co-worker, etc), and then if they get upset with you for just about any reason…there they go blabbing their chops. Makes trusting people, even your own family (at times) difficult, doesn’t it? Take your spouse for a moment. You are married, you share things with them, you trust them with your innermost thoughts and life happens and you break up for whatever reason. Breaking up seems to stop the trust one has even to the point in some going around and bad mouth someone they claimed to love. It happens a lot when people break up and it can destroy a lot of people. Most times it is done out of meanness, but most times they lie and exaggerate what was said just to hurt someone.
People have a way of misleading someone they want to impress as well. Many exaggerate things just to get close to someone, or they lie and say they like the things the person does when in reality they might even hate what you hate. Many will lie just to get close to someone. (Yes, it happens a lot) People lie in relationships a lot. Do they think someone can’t just care for them if they were to tell the truth?
Some people think that lying to someone is no more than a joke. They think they are just messing with the person and no foul. Passing on information without complete knowledge is known as gossiping; but, it is also a form of lying. Some just make up stuff to keep up with others even though they know nothing truthful about the person or the situation.
On this subject, I look around at all the fake news, the liars, the cheats, the politicians who can’t seem to ever utter a truthful word. Social media platforms love to censor the truth and keep the lies up because they want you to believe the lies they tell. They want you to believe them even though they know they are lying through their teeth. In fact, they lie so much they believe their own lies. Hitler said something once that if you tell a lie long enough and enough times people will believe you. He was right on this. I see people all around the place swearing things are true because they just accepted the statements as truth and seldom did real research to find out what was true or not true. They just keep the lies going no matter whom it hurts, and whom they blame, and their hatred is pretty much beyond words. Sometimes, people do not want to accept the fact that they do not know the truth, and hence, they lie. This is known as ‘fabrication’.
This one happens every day in America and elsewhere. People lie to look agreeable, to maintain good relations, and to avoid disagreement with others. They just go along with the lies because they want to “fit it”, and heavens if they were to stand up and say something. This woke society hates everyone who doesn’t agree with them or has a different opinion. This woke society has broken up thousands of homes, marriages, jobs, and so on. People don’t want to offend anyone so they go along with the lies. Also, when they hang out with others they know that are lying…they don’t want to go against these people because they could be banished and shunned.
Some people will lie to protect themselves and others even though they know something is wrong and they should not do it. Lying is not considered harmful to many people nor is it considered deceptive if someone lies to cease from hurting others’ feelings.
What about lying by omission? People just won’t tell you something important (like a car salesman or any salesman to name two here). They want to make a deal, so they lie. They misquote, they leave things out, and you don’t get all the facts to make a wise decision for yourself. This type of lying has become so commonplace in businesses just to sell something. It is still a lie.
How many people do, or have you known, that were just compulsive liars? Didn’t seem to matter what they said it somehow turned into a lie. A better word might be chronic liars. They just have a habit of out-and-out lying. It is also said that they lie so much that to them it just might not be intentional. However, their lying can cause grief to a lot of people.
What about the people who have so little confidence in themselves that to build themselves up they lie to make themselves sound better? They want to impress and make people think they have a good image.
Reasons people lie: Found this and wanted to share it with you
- Defensive: The most common reason for lying is to self-protect. There might be a real consequence or a perceived one that a person is trying to defend themselves against.
- Vindictive: Some people lie intentionally to cause harm to others because they feel harmed by that person. It is a way of getting back at another person.
- Disappointment: In order to avoid disappointing another person or even themselves, a lie might be told. The uncomfortable feeling of disappointment justifies the deception.
- Manipulate: An abusive person constantly lies in order to continue their manipulation. If the truth came out, the abused might leave.
- Intimidated: Sometimes a lie is done because the person feels intimidated by others. Again, this feeling of inferiority is so uncomfortable that they lie to cover it up.
- Attention-seeking: Unfortunately, there are people who lie just to get the attention of other people. The irony is that most of them don’t know what to do with the attention when they do get it.
- Curiosity: This is a very childlike behavior that some adults don’t grow out of. Instead, they lie just to see what will happen regardless of the harm it might cause others.
- Superior: For those with a larger-than-life ego and in order to maintain their superiority, they lie to make themselves look better than others.
- Avoid: Some lies are done to get out of trouble or avoid any consequences. This is especially true with children.
- Cover: Some people wear a mask and pretend to be something they are not. To maintain their appearances, they lie to cover up any attempt at revealing the real person.
- Control: Sadly, sometimes it all comes down to control. In an effort to control another person’s behavior, a lie is told.
- Procrastinate: Passive-aggressively avoiding responsibilities is procrastination. This lie is more subtle in that the person knows they should be doing something but is intentionally putting it off.
- Bored: Some people like drama in their lives. So they lie to stir it up and watch the reactions of other people.
- Protect: There are some lies that are done to protect others. In some cases, a lie is told to take on responsibility for things they are not responsible for in an effort to help someone else.
- Habit: After a period of time and done constantly enough, bad habits can form. This is true for some lies that are said over and over.
- Fun: Some people lie as their form of private entertainment. For them, lying is fun because they like to watch how others respond.
- Desire: A person who wants a lie to be the truth has a deep desire to believe their misperception.
- Harm: People who want to harm others undecided, lie about who they are and what they are doing. This is a common tactic during the abduction of others.
- Sympathy: Similar to attention-seeking, a person is trying to get empathy from others by lying about a past or current event.
- Lazy: On occasion, a lie boils down to a person being lazy and not wanting to do the work, so they lie about it.
- Indifference: If a point or issue doesn’t matter to a person, they might lie about it and not see anything wrong with their deception.
- Perception: Some people believe their own lie. Their perception of reality is not accurate so in their eyes, it’s not a lie.
- Elevate: A person might want to elevate themselves to another person’s level high morality, strong work ethic, or perfectionistic standards, so they lie to lift themselves up.
- Impress: As a way of trying to impress others and cause a better impression, a person might lie about who they are, what they have done, or where they are going.
- Covet: When a person wants what other have, they covet the item or person and lie about their jealousy.
- Minimize: As a way of reducing the damage, harm, or consequences that might otherwise occur, a person minimizes the truth in their lie.
- Maximize: On the opposite end, a person might exaggerate their lie and make things worse than what it really is.
- Suppress: In an effort to cover up a problem, a person might suppress the truth. This lie is intentional.
- Deny: Not every person who doesn’t want something to exist by denying the reality, is lying intentionally. Sometimes this is unintentional.
- Hide: A person might hide themselves, others, or things and lie about doing so as a way to avoid accountability. This is commonly done in conjunction with addictive behavior.
There are so many reasons that people lie for and about in life. This list is not complete and I doubt ever would or will be complete for as the world goes nowadays the world is full of evil and hate. Because it is people who will find other ways in which to lie. We need to look around at what people do, what people say, how people treat each other. You will be lied to in this world. In fact, if you are honest you have lied as well. We all need to stop doing this for God hates us to lie…PERIOD! So you will face consequences for your actions…and? The point being face the consequences now while on this earth, confess your sins to God, repent/change your ways and grow daily in the Lord. Just pay attention for, as I said, people will lie to you. Beware! Learn from them, and don’t fall for as many/or any for that matter. Truth is a wonderful thing and we need to all strive to live in the truth of God’s word and treat others as we want to be treated.
Now, may the Lord Bless you, keep you, teach you, protect you, and provide for all your needs and not greed’s, may you find peace in Him, and if you are the person who is lying may you stop, if you are being lied to then may the God of heaven give you wisdom to know it so you can deal with it. May God bless you greatly.
God bless you