I know we are not supposed to lie but!!!! I have an older Aunt with a son in the hospital with Prostate Cancer and in order to prevent her worring she was told he had a mole on his back removed. Is this lie a sin?

chrisl

Here are some scriptural principles (from the NKJV) to consider.

Proverbs 12:22
Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

John 8:44
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Ephesians 4:25
Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.

fredg

Hi,
If one is a Christian, any lie is a sin.
Some "stretch" the truth in order to possibly keep others from worrying too much.
fredg

senator

The Christian references against lying are in reference to what is done to intentionally hurt another. There are many facets to Christianity that some forget, such as mercy. There are people who are not able to deal with the truth when it involves a loved one and I would like to believe that Christ would advise mercy in such cases.

If told the truth, it could very well greatly harm the older woman and since proper Christian behavior should be that of love, preventing harm would be at the top of the list. In this case, it is not so much a lie, as an untruth told to preserve the health and/or sanity of another.

My humble opinion

Starman

The Bible does condemn lying, but not lying per say, but lying in the service of injustice or with the intention of sinning. It seems that in your aunt's case the lying is being done with noble intentions, to prevent worry. However, motives alone don't make an action right. Since I'm not familiar with the mental or physical condition of your aunt I can't really say whether it's wrong to withhold such information from her. If she is finds out later that she was lied to, she might feel greatly offended that she wasn't deemed able to handle the information. So it's not an easy decision to make.

BTW
I agree with the opinion that we should not follow rules inflexibly.
Doing so can turn us unthinking entities which go about sanctimoniously hurting and destroying others via rule-following while we happily retain a perfectly clear conscience.

Fr_Chuck

It is a yes and no answer, a lie into itself is a sin, yet when it is done for a good purpose.

But, lets take this to a bad end, let us say the person turns out not to be cured and dies. The Aunt will then find out that everyone else knew all along, it is going to cause some real family conflict.

Or perhaps she hears this from someone at the grocrey who just happen to be in the hall at the hospital.

I have found that if people worry, let them worry, it is thier right to do so, we are not really protecting anyone with lies, since the truth is still happening.

31pumpkin

This is a good answer imo.

If the "untruth" is told to seriously prevent the loved one from health consequences (ie: heart attack, nervous breakdown,) then I think it would be merciful and or wise to not tell the truth.

1Peter4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Starman

I read a novel once many years ago which told the story of some people who were hiding from the Nazis in a cellar beneath the kitchen. The hatch leading to their hiding place had been covered with a rug and the dining table placed over it. Among those present who were aiding this family was a young lady who claimed to be Christian and who believed that all lying was a sin. Well, the Gestapo came in, asked every person one by one whether they were hiding anyone in the house. When the young lady was asked she immediately avoided the supposed sin of lying by pointing to the hiding place beneath the table. This resulted in not only those hiding going to a concentration camp, but the young woman herself as well as her family. All perished there. I can't remember the title of the book. It is an autobiography of a woman who was holocaust survivor.