Honesty is a Double Edged Sword

_{Photo by Photos_frompasttofuture}

The world is so full of pretenders and that is why sometimes, I just shake my head when I see people criticising someone for doing something in public that they themselves do in private. They act like what that person did is an abomination and probably something they would never do, but the moment they get behind closed doors, they do the exact same thing, if not worse.

Earlier today I was having one of those crazy conversations with myself and the topic for today was honesty. A lot of people will tell you about how you should always speak the truth and would criticise you whenever you lie, but the truth is no one can be one hundred percent honest, no one. Now you can try, but then that would mean that you should get ready to live a very short life here on earth because there are certain things that we see in our lives that we just can't admit to seeing them, because the moment we do, there would be people out there gunning for our lives. So the safe thing to do is lie and keep on living your life.

Before I go any further, let me put it out there that today's post isn't about encouraging people to lie, but it's about being realistic. And if we're being realistic, then we should know that we can't always tell the truth, life doesn't work that way.

Let me give you an example. This isn't going to be one of those life or death scenarios so that it doesn't look like I'm not giving you guys the opportunity to want to tell the truth.

So let's say you've been looking for a job for about three years now and throughout the time you've spent going to companies to submit your CV and various applications, you've been staying at a friend's place. Now this friend of yours doesn't respect you, he treats you in a way that you wouldn't even treat your enemies but then you say nothing because the moment you do, you would be out in the street with no job and no roof over your head.

On one faithful day, you get a call from one of the many companies you've once submitted your CV to and they had given you some good news. According to the company, you've been offered a job but have to be at the company in two days time to begin work immediately. Failure to be there and they would offer the position to someone else.

Now this new job comes with an accommodation and the pay is really good but the company is located at a different state from where you live with your friend, so you quickly rush to the bus station to get a ticket for tomorrow, so that you can arrive at the state maybe in the evening of the next day and then go to work the upper day.

It was a well thought out plan, so you happily go to the bus station. But on getting there, a crime happens. Let's say someone robs someone else, and while the robber was struggling to run away with the bag he had stolen, the owner of the bag had held on to the bag, so the armed robber had no choice but to shoot the man on the leg before running away from the scene.

This was what happened and you witnessed the whole thing, you had even seen the robber's face before he took off because it happened right in front of you, and then the police arrives. Still holding your bus ticket in your hand, an officer walks up to you and ask you if you maybe saw the criminal who shot that man, and if you did, he would need you to come down to the station for the next three days to help them identify the criminal, what would you say?

Would you tell the officer that you did see the criminal's face and then spend the next three days helping them out with the investigation which automatically would mean you forfeiting your new job and going back to live with your disrespectful friend, or would you lie and tell them you saw nothing, so that they could let you leave and catch your tomorrow bus for your new job.

What would you do?