Is it ever all right to cheat? To lie?

Most parents teach their children that lying is always wrong and that it causes problems. Nevertheless, when a person becomes a teenager, he or she realizes that telling the truth is not always the best option. Although in most situations it is better to tell the truth than to lie, telling the truth all the time is almost impossible. There are a few situations when telling lies leads to more good than bad.

It is good to tell lies when a person is not safe and scape danger that way. For example, in El Salvador, a small country of Central America, many people tell lies when an unknown person calls at home asking for personal information. By giving fake names, phone numbers, addresses and so on, people can protect themselves from kidnaps and extortions.

Sometimes it is better to lie to protect other´s people health. In some cases, people not tell the truth to their relatives about an illness they may be facing so that they feel healthy emotionally. For example, a friend of mine decided not to tell his father about the cancer he had. As a result, her father did not get depressed and this helped him to improve his health a lot.

Telling lies is good when a person cares for other´s people feelings. For instance, parents lie when telling their children that Santa Claus brought the presents under the Christmas tree. In this situation, parents worry that eventually they will have to break the news to their children. However, in most cases children realize by themselves that Santa does not exist. That is why lying about Santa is good for protecting the children´s feelings.

To conclude, lying is something that has to be done depending on the situation. There are some exceptions in which lying has more good than bad, sometimes because a person is escaping danger, or maybe a person is protecting other´s people feelings or health. However, in most cases telling the truth will be the best option.

Sites:

http://www.psychicsuniverse.com/articles/home-family/family/3-situations-when-its-okay-lie-and-not