The first time I heard about the possibility of a good lie was during a Philosophy class in my second year in the university. The lecturer was trying to explain the phenomenon of True or False statements as best as he could and he used a peculiar example that got stuck in my brain ever since.
According to him, a bunch of assassins were hired to kill a priest. That event happened some decades back at a time when photographs weren't common. Due to this, the only information the assassins had on the man they were sent to kill was just the name and his parish. The man to be murdered was a Catholic priest.
On this fateful day, the assassins stormed the church with one intent: to kill the priest and get on their way. They weren't interested in killing anyone else or shedding innocent blood. That was the pact they agreed to with the heartless fellow who sent them on the killing errand.
When they got to the church, they met a regular looking man cleaning one of the chairs in the church. The menacing looking leader of the gang stood akimbo - with guns in hands - stared at the frail-looking man for about 10 seconds and then thundered, "Where is the priest? I have a lovely message for him."
The very scared, frail-looking man pointed fearfully towards the direction of the priest's residence. Luckily for him, he was allowed to go as the assailants made their way towards the direction pointed to them. They made jubilant noises as they staggered towards the residence. To them, another day's job was about to be completed.
As we sat in anticipation, engrossed in our lecturer's plot, he stunned us all when he declared that the Catholic priest the assassins were looking for was the frail-looking man that pointed them in a direction. Funnily enough, they allowed him to go after he pointed them towards a direction. He took to his heels after exiting the church, thanking God while he searched for cover in a nearest safe place to hide before plotting his next move.
After the illustration, the lecturer now asked: has the priest done the right thing? As a man of God, shouldn't he be bold enough to face the assassins in the name of God while expecting to convert them using the word of God?
Immediately the priest escaped, he was thanking God for protecting him. Was he saved by God or saved by his lies?
My opinion that day was simple: wisdom is profitable to direct. Though we were taught to always tell the truth, there are some situations we find ourselves where our emotional intelligence and instinct comes into play to save the day.
Have I found myself in a situation where I have to tell lies to save the day?
Yes, I've done that a couple times. I recently quelled an impending fracas between two of my relatives by telling some lies to diffuse a potentially touchy situation.
Will I do it again?
Well, all I can say is I'll do whatever I have to do to avert disagreements that may tamper with the stability of my family. In some cases, a good lie can save the day. Afterall, you don't come across a positive adjective qualifying a negative verb on a regular basis. It's called a "good" lie for a reason.
