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Truth May Not Always Be What You Want to Hear
One can be truthful without being cruel but that may not always be the case. The most
important responsibility of an honest friend is to be truthful. Some people, in order to
avoid confronting painful truths, select friends who tell them what they want to hear. They
kid themselves despite the fact that deep down they know they are not being truthful.
Honest criticism can be painful. If you have many acquaintances and few friends, it is
time to step back and explore the depth of your relationships.
A lack of honesty is sometimes labeled as tact, public relations or politics. But is it really
so?
The problem with lying is that one has to remember one's lies.
Honesty requires firmness and commitment. How many times have we all been guilty of
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little white lies?
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flattery?

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omitting facts or giving half-truths?
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telling the greatest lies by remaining silent?
Make yourself an honest man and then you may be sure there is one rascal less in the
world.
--Thomas Carlyle
Credibility
We all know the story of the shepherd boy who cried wolf. The boy decided to have some
fun at the expense of the villagers. He shouted, "Help, help, the wolf is here." The
villagers heard him and came to his rescue. But when they got there, they saw no wolf
and the boy laughed at them. They went away. The next day, the boy played the same
trick and the same thing happened.
Then one day, while the boy was taking care of his sheep he actually saw a wolf and
shouted for help. The people in the village heard him but this time nobody came to his
rescue. They thought it was another trick and didn't trust him anymore. He lost his sheep
to the wolf. What is the moral of the story?
The moral of the story is
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When people tell lies, they lose credibility.
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Once they have lost credibility, even when they tell the truth, no one believes them.