I think once before, like a really long time ago, I touched on the importance of honesty. But let's have a little come to Jesus talk: when is lying okay, or more specifically, is lying okay?

The most common answer from a place of innocence is: No.

The most common answer among the best of liars is: No.

When I was in high school, we had to read this ridiculous thing about lying and the types of lies we make throughout our day to day lives. At the time, I didn't really care because we were supposed to analyze the text. Now, I kind of really care.

I guess this has come up more recently with me because it isn't as much blatant dishonesty that has made me a victim as it is the blatant disregard to have respect for someone by instituting a lie.

A lie is overall a political gain. It includes twisting the truth, leading on, and fronting a facade.

Maybe it's because I've gotten older, or maybe it's just "our generation." But I think I have become more sensitive to the avenue of lying. I once had a teacher who told me that it was just easier to tell the truth.

And that's the gospel truth of lying.

But I think that the root of lying is probably being afraid.

It's the fear of not knowing something or looking a certain way. Or the fear of confrontation.

The fear of losing our perfection or being stripped of our imposter's syndrome is utterly embarrassing on our part.

It's okay to say, "I don't know," and more importantly, it's okay to confront things instead of dancing around them.

I can say this confidently because anytime I've said a little white lie it has come back to bite me tenfold.

We lie to the people we love, we lie to ourselves, and we lie to each other because simply put, it's just easier.

It's easier to do that than confront the mountain of conflict in front of us. And it's scary to tell the truth because it's vulnerable to eat something bitter without a spoonful of sugar.

So for us, maybe that's our gospel truth.

And likewise, maybe that's our bitter truth.

Because we need it.