John Ortberg on Lying

I've been reading John Ortberg's book "When the Game is Over it all Goes Back in the Box". I thought these thoughts on lying were funny and poignant.

Some time ago, we had a moment of conflict in the car. I was quite sure one of my kids had crossed a line, but they denied it. I didn't have a smoking gun, but the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming. I was doing cross examination, trying to get the child to break down, but this child was pretty savvy. At one point they looked up with deeply hurt, misty eyes and said with a quivering voice: "Daddy, you don't think I'd lie to you, do you?"

I started to say, "Oh,Child, no the thought never crossed my mind."

Then I stopped to think. What I said was, "Do I think you'd lie? Of course I do."

"I lie. Your mom lies, that's for sure. Everybody I've ever known has lied. The most famous story about lying in American History is the story of George Washington cutting down a cherry tree. His father asked him who did it. George is supposed to have said, 'I cannot tell a lie; it was me.' That was in a biography by Parson Weems in the nineteenth century - he made the story up. The most famous story about not lying in America was a lie."

One of my recommended books - you should take a read.