The Truth is Always Better Than The Lie

“To be honest is to be real, genuine, authentic, and bona fide. To be dishonest is to be partly feigned, fake, or fictitious. Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect for others. Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others. Honesty imbues lives with openness, reliability, and candor; it expresses a disposition to live in the light. Dishonesty seeks shade, cover, or concealment. It is a disposition to live partly in the dark.” – William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues

One thing I can always remember growing up was that I had a knack for telling the truth when it counted the most. Some of my friends tell me that I am too honest at times. But when is it okay to not tell the truth? When it’s the kind of truth that will hurt more than it can help? That’s where honesty and integrity come into play. They are two very important aspects in developing trust in others. And isn’t trust one of the key elements in establishing a person’s credibility? That can be said true in organizations where credibility is a characteristic of good leadership. So when it comes down to it, telling the truth is always better than telling an untruth.

I remember a softball game where any team had the chance of winning and losing was not an option for anyone due to the fact that both teams hated each other. My team was on defense, with one out and the tying runner at second base. The batter hits a ground ball right to me at short stop, giving me the opportunity to tag the runner and hit first base for a double play and win the game. I end up barely missing the runner, but get the call out anyways. I tell the umpire and he reverses the call. To make this story short, we ended up losing the game and my teammates blame me for losing the game. Three games later, we end up with the same umpire from that same game. On a play where I did tag out a runner, the umpire called him safe anyways. I was a bit angered but bit my tongue since I didn’t want to be ejected from the game. The umpire came up to me and asked if I tagged him, so I told him the truth and he ended up reversing the call, angering the other team’s coach. At the end of the game the umpire came up to me, shook my hand and said, “Son, your honesty is an admirable trait that will benefit you in the future.” I still hold true to that remark today.

I can truthfully say that I consider honesty and integrity an important value to me as a person and future leader. Jim Clemmer said in one of his book, “One of the hazards of lying is not just that people wouldn’t believe us, it’s also that we can’t believe anyone else.” Which is why in my opinion, the truth is always better than the lie.