Mother of All Sins: The Deceptive Trap of Lies

The best childhood lesson from six decades ago that keeps flashing in my mind like a beacon light, ingrained by parents and teachers, is the saying, “A lie is the mother of all sins”. With such good grooming, it was learned that ‘speaking truth is difficult only for the first time; whereas lying is easy for the first time, but then it gets you in an intractable trap of sins. Because “In the web of lies, even the spider gets trapped.” It was understood at an impressionable age that ‘if you can’t lie, you can’t commit a sin’; therefore, to admit a fault by simply saying ‘sorry’, ‘it won’t happen again’ was instinctive. To err is human, but repeating it again without seeking forgiveness is a sin.

A lie may offer temporary relief, but in the end, it brings lasting grief. It is said that “a lie may take care of the present, but it has no future”. Some people try to diminish the seriousness of a lie by describing it with names like ‘small’ lie, ‘white’ lie, ‘innocent’ lie and the like. But the truth is that a decorated donkey is still a donkey. And every lie told is a seed sown. So it’s only a matter of time before that lie grows to produce the fruits of destruction. Every liar is a weakling. They may not admit it, but the truth is that anyone who tells lies is afraid to face up to the truth or its consequences. To run away from the truth is an act of cowardice. Only the brave can embrace the truth even accepting personal worldly losses. Lies of all forms are destructive. “Every lie is two lies—the lie we tell others and the lie we tell ourselves to justify it.” And if you know the truth and still hold on to lies, you are not only deceiving yourself, you are also fooling yourself. “There is no better definition of stupidity than knowing the truth, seeing the truth, but still believing the lies”. It goes without saying that to be up-front is the right way!

‘Lying’ is considered sinful in all faiths and even in societies and states not known for following any specific religion. One of the ‘Ten Commandments’ is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour”. The Quranic verse 61 Surah Al-Imran, means “Curse of Allah is on those who tell lies”. Allah the Almighty says,“Only they forge the lie who do not believe in Allah’s communications, and these are the liars.” (Surah an-Nahl 16:105). There are also numerous sayings of the Prophet (PBUH), which denounce telling lies in the strongest terms. The philosopher Emmanuel Kant said that lying was always morally wrong. He argued that all persons are born with an “intrinsic worth” that he called human dignity.

With my personal experience of living in Japan and subsequently having lived and travelled to many other parts of the world, I can opine that one of the most truthful, and therefore the most honest and courteous masses on Earth are the Japanese people. Perhaps rightly said that culture is older and stronger than religions. The magic for Japanese reemergence from rubble after the 1945 nuclear attacks as the leading global economy with quality as a brand is the institution of mothers and teachers, which makes a 4-year-old child a truthful and responsible member of society; something that Pakistan needs to invest maximum in.

Most unfortunately, we are compelled to live in a society suffering from overall decay, where people in the helm of affairs put their belief in the Satanic saying that ‘A lie told often enough becomes the truth’. Sadly, it is demonstrated through 24/7 play-script on electronic, social and print media, indulgence in widespread rhetoric and slander in every walk of life, unholy dealing in government offices, in business places and deceitful dealings in public and private lives.

In such a debauched environment, the public at large feels highly disoriented, frustrated and compelled to follow the same evil practices of dupery and falsification unashamedly. It is so discouraging to witness that focus on cosmetic religious display notwithstanding, the numerous sins committed like moral and material corruption, i.e., bribery, adultery, cruelty, hypocrisy, nepotism, cheating, rape, arson, promotion of incompetence by killing the merit, sycophancy, usury, perjury, forgery, poor writ of the law, weak judiciary, human rights violations and gross disregard to higher moral and societal values have become a way of life for a majority of people around the world. All such evil practices stem from only one factor, i.e. the habit to tell lies. Needless to say that without putting the foundation right, i.e. giving highest priority to the revival of the “Dwindling Institutions of Mothers and Teachers” (published January 2022).

The writer is a retired senior army officer with experience in international relations, military diplomacy and analysis of geo-political and strategic security issues.