Liars, we all know someone who finds it necessary to lie. Whether it be about the most mundane issue or when it’s something as important as testifying for the grand jury, some people feel the need to lie. The question I would like to raise is why. Lying is, more often than not, pointless, or so many whom are lied to would like to believe. Some doctors believe people lie because of various forms of chemical imbalances. I believe lying serves one overall purpose and it is to protect.

Natural human instinct tells us to survive, to protect ourselves at nearly all costs. Ultimately a person who lies feels in some way threatened. The subject being discussed can be of the most mundane in nature, but if someone feels threatened in any way, shape, or form, they are going to lie in response so that they feel as if they are maintaining a certain amount of control. Think about it. Your boss asks you what your plans are for the weekend and you know he’s only asking because he wants someone to run errands for him. Suddenly your weekend flashes before your eyes and you feel it slipping away and you realize that your two days of relaxation are at risk, what do you do? You paint the most pitiful expression on your face and say you’re visiting your sick grandmother. You felt that the weekend you waited so long for was at risk, so you lied to save it.

Some people tell small lies to protect what helps them survive in our competitive world, such as their long awaited weekend of relaxation, while others lie to protect a piece of themselves. A persons past can impact them in tremendous life-altering ways. It can leave a person bitter and insecure thus giving them all the more reason to lie when confronted by an issue they feel threatened by. If asked how one feels on a particular day, they may be feeling angry, frustrated, or depressed, yet they’ll say “fine” and be on their merry way. It’s so that they don’t have to face the parts of their past that made them feel that way, If faced, the past may tear them apart and take whatever composure they feel they are maintaining, and that’s what scares them the most.

Survival, it’s what lying is all about. It can be a child lying about putting those crayon marks on the wall because the know that if the truth is discovered, there will be consequences. The same goes for adults. We try to protect what we have at all costs and if lying serves our purpose then we are merely doing what we were designed to do…protect ourselves.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 5:50 am.