I was wondering how people felt about lying. Is it ever ok to lie? I am talking more about white and gray lies.
An example of a white lie would be someone is throwing your friend a surprise party and its your job to get the friend somewhere or throw them off the trail. You tell that friend you are going somewhere or doing something in order to get them to a certain place for the party. Or you have a friend who is trying to look good for a date and they are in an outfit that they really like. They ask you if they look ok and you are faced with sharing your opinion honestly or telling them that the outfit isn't flattering.
Gray lies are like self protection lies. You are having a bad depression day and are supposed to meet a friend for lunch. You do not think you can go without losing it so you call the friend and tell them you forgot about a prior obligation because you do not want them to know what is happening with your mental health. Or you are a newly sober alcoholic and a friend who isn't your best friend but is a good friend wants you to go to a bar to see a band. You do not want to tell them you are not ready to go to a bar due to the alcoholism so you say you have plans or are sick.
Or you have to get an abusive BF/GF/toxic friend to leave you alone. You tell them you have an uncle who is a cop and they will be looking into things or protecting you. These may not be the best examples and more examples are welcome.
It is very important for me to be honest but at the same time I do not want to hurt anyone's feelings. And in certain cases saying "no" to something isnt enough and it requires a different answer but out of self preservation it has to be a lie- is that ok?
Is it ok to lie sometimes but not others? Do you think most people lie at least a little?