Lying

Q: How can you tell if someone is lying? Is it okay to lie? Why do the ten commandments talk about bearing false witness, but not lying?

-Fibber McGee


A: Dear Mr. McGee,

It depends on the person. If someone's lying, they usually talk a little different. They may sound as if they're adding something to what they said or they word things too carefully. Sometimes people bring their hands up to their face when they're lying. A lot of people think that people don't make eye contact when they're lying, but usually it's the exact opposite. People usually look slightly upwards when they're telling the truth because they're thinking or remembering it, but when they lie, people look either in a different direction or they try to keep eye contact to make you think they're being honest.

It's not good to lie ever. Even if you're telling a lie to expose a lie, it's bad. There are a few reasons why the scriptures say "bearing false witness" instead of "lying". Basically, lying is just one aspect of bearing false witness. You can bear false witness without ever actually saying a word. It does say in the scriptures that you shouldn't lie, but bearing false witness is much broader. Think about it. Write back if you still can't figure it out.

-The Chief


Dear Fibber,

Someone's lying if they're in a horizontal position. It is not only okay to lie, but it's occasionally necessary. The reason the scriptures talk about bearing false witness and not lying is, obviously, that it's evil to bear false witness, but it's very uncomfortable to sleep without lying down.

-Apathetic


Dear Fool,

Someone is lying if they're disagreeing with me. It's bad for other people to lie.

-Liar