Is honesty the best policy?
If we probably have to answer this question, we will say “yes” immediately, but are we being really honest? or are we only fooling ourselves? There is a very big difference between believing that honesty is the best policy and being really honest. What will happen if we change the question to: are you always honest? We will probably get answers like: depending on the situation, most of the time, I lie only when I do not want to hurt someone. But by saying this; we are not going to change the truth; a lie is always going to be a lie. So, do we do it because it is necessary or because it is an easy exit for us? Sometimes it is very easy to say that we hate liars; we also tell the kids that lying is bad, but are we a good example of honesty?
We have to be honest with ourselves. Saying the truth is not an easy thing, especially when the action can hurt another person or bring negative consequences to us. For example, you tell a person, “I love you”, but it is not true. So, you do it only because he or she is your friend, and you do not want to hurt him/her. Yet, when that person discovers the truth; it is going to be more painful for him/her. Another example is when you arrive late to work; you are going to think that saying a lie is necessary, but think twice the consequences that this can bring to you. If your boss discovers that you told him a lie, he will be more disappointed at you because you are a liar, and you are going to lose his confidence only because saying a lie was the easy way to resolve a problem.
Sometimes when we feel that there is no way out and saying a lie is the only one, we have to think about it a little bit more. Saying a lie is going to “help you” in that moment, but in a long-term, it is going to bring you only problems. Most of the time a lie needs another lie to cover the first one, so at the end of the day; you discover that everything is a lie and finding a solution is more difficult now. Answering the first question, “yes”, “of course” honesty is the best policy. Being an honest person is going to help us to avoid a lot of problems and to be someone whom people can trust. We already know that it is difficult, but it is more difficult to live in a world of lies, where nobody takes the responsibility of his/her actions. If everyone were more honest; the world would be a totally different place to live.
