I don't think there is a single answer. Lies can certainly be hurtful but I would never make a blanket statement such as 'never lie'.

For example, if your best friend's estranged husband showed up at your door with a gun after they've had a huge brawl and she was sobbing on your couch, would you admit that she's at your house? In that case, I'd lie to protect my friend. That reason to lie is pretty clear.

If I cheated on my husband (which I would not do, but still), and I lied to him about it, I would be lying to protect both of us.

When anyone asks me how much I weigh, I often lie - definitely to protect myself (but from WHAT, I'm not sure...)

Once I thought about lying to him when he was in a major depressive episode, and he received a rejection letter from a job interview that he had been scared to go to but braved it anyway. I held onto it for a couple of days, thinking about lying to say I never saw it, but in the end, I gave it to him anyway. I was going to lie to protect him (not to protect myself, obviously) but in the end, it wasn't really protection so I figured it was best to treat him as a strong adult rather than as a fragile one.

There is no one answer to this question, although it's a good one to chew on.