Here is a story that is thought provoking. A baker bought a pound of butter from a farmer everyday. One day, he weighed it and found it fell short of a pound.
This so angered him that he took the farmer to Court. The judge asked the farmer whether he used any measure. 'Your Honour,' replied the farmer, 'I am poor and do not possess any measures, but I do have a scale. Much before the baker started buying butter, I used to buy a pound-loaf of bread from him. So when he started buying butter from me, I took to putting the bread on one side of the scale and matching it with butter on the other. If anyone is to be blamed, it is he.'
Whenever this story has been related, a great number of people remark, 'Serves the dishonest baker right. However, the way of lies is the way of the world.'
As surprising as this conclusion is, scientific studies demonstrate that this to a large extent is true. They point out that on an average, a person lies between 20 and 200 times each day. People lie for three main reasons --- the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good ones are the white lies. They are small and harmless and told in order to avoid hurting another. For instance, you may declare that a meal was superb, when it really was not. Bad lies are those designed to project oneself in a better light or to denigrate somebody else. The ugly ones are those used by downright cheats.
Whatever one's motives may be, lying demands effort and causes stress. Notice that when the truth is spoken, it is easily remembered and recalled when necessary. With lying though, one has to consider what one is trying to hide and then give a convincing performance of the opposite. Besides, the content too has to be remembered for all time so that it can be repeated in order to avoid exposure. The consequent stress can lead to several illnesses. Those who are truthful, on the other hand, enjoy perfect peace of mind.
Reasons to lie may exist but there are far more reasons to be truthful. Honesty is without doubt the best policy.
