Offend or lie?

Message / Question

If we don't say exactly what we think, aren't we lying. But if we don't lie, don't we offend some people? So you either lie or offend. Isn't life a bit like that, sometimes whether you do something or not, you're both times sinning?

Response

The old saying was “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. So if someone asks how you are, convention gets you to always say “Well thanks!” even if you are feeling a bit like death warmed up! If complying with convention like that is a sin, then I guess that we all sin quite a lot! Let’s face it, very few people want to know how you REALLY are!

Certainly a Christian should be honest and speak truth rather than lie. If we speak the truth in love and that offends someone, it is truly sad, but honesty is the Biblical standard. No, it’s not a sin to offend someone with the truth, but sometimes it is a difficult choice to make.