integrity for sale (2 of 4)

Lying

I’ve heard it said that lying is a person’s way of attempting to keep a balance. It’s their way of keeping up a certain, “image,” that they want others to believe. They determine the picture of who they are that they want others to see, and then they lie when necessary to order to protect that picture. Sometimes they lie a lot, sometimes a little, depending on how far-fetched that picture is from who they really are.

Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money. Being that I was a child, I really don’t know how bad off we were, I just knew that there were 4 kids and 2 adults and my mom worked like crazy to provide for us, which she did. It was just a very tight existence and there were times when we ate a lot of Ramen Noodles.

At some point, I realized that not being well off wasn’t the picture that I wanted others to see, and so I started lying. I started lying a lot. I started making up random stories, attempting to keep up the image of what I wanted others to see. I don’t know that it worked very well, but I got really good at it.

Now, that temptation is still very real. There are times when I am tempted to lie in order to maintain a certain picture of what I want others to see when they look at me. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like it when people might get a glimpse of who I am that I don’t want them to see.

When I am faced with this temptation, the question comes to my mind: “How much is your integrity worth?” Is it really worth selling out your integrity to keep up a false image of yourself?

I can’t remember the last time that I’ve lied, but this question causes me to fight to stay honest and stay vulnerable and open with people, even about my weaknesses.

Can anyone relate with me on this?