Better a bitter truth than a sweet lie: proverb. Which is better: a bitter truth or a sweet lie?

If everything that was true or false was simple and understandable, there would be no expression in the people "a bitter truth is better than a sweet lie."

Nevertheless, this statement is in almost all the languages of the world. We'll figure out what's best and whether there really is the best of these two evils.

Better means "more profitable"

Alas, most often, when people talk about a choice, the council is directed solely at achieving its own benefits. Agree, it's ridiculous to somehow follow the advice that will leave you in the "fools". Is not an exception and saying "better the bitter truth than the sweet lie." This is not the moral side of the issue, but its own interests. After all, it is certainly understandable - after telling the truth, you will remain "clean", not messed yourself up with mud of lies. So what if someone such truth can cause pain and suffering? "I'm clean," the ego will say, "Yes, it's unpleasant, but it was true!". It turns out that if you move away from the principle known since childhood, nothing terrible will happen? Moreover, lies can be salutary, while the truth can harm and destroy? We'll figure out!

Fools and children speak the truth always

Children do not tend to lie. Toddlers are so truthful and natural in their rightness that they shamelessly poke their fingers at strangers, exposing the space with "unpleasant" questions: "Mom, why is my uncle so fat?", "Why is this aunt dressed like a parrot?".

It's not difficult to guess who is the first to teach a child to lie - of course, parents. It can be "Tssss!", And maybe a gift in the form of a slap. And the kid realizes that the truth, such as it is, can be very unpleasant and even painful. Growing up, the child notices more lies around him and joins himself in this mutually beneficial game. After all, the world is not a holiday, I do not want to go to school, I do not want to do my homework, I do not want my parents to blame me for the bad evaluation. We ask ourselves: "What is better - the bitter truth, than the sweet lie?" In early childhood. However, the question of truth and honesty only becomes more acute with age.

True one

Perhaps you have heard the expression: "The truth is she is alone." This is a very often used utterance when it comes to morality, good and evil, the things "right" and "wrong." Meanwhile, it is worth digging deeper, and it turns out that everything is not so simple.
For one person, evil is abstract, for another - specifically. Someone believes in justice, but someone believes that everything is bought and everyone in the world for himself. Imagine that there is a war between the two nations. Ask a representative of one people - who is right in this war? Of course, he will answer that his side is right, but the opponents are evil and treacherous. But his opponent will also stand on his own, claiming that the truth is on their side. If such a mental experiment does not seem convincing to you, then spend your own, real.

Ask a few people (their parents, friends). Ask them such questions: "What is the truth?", "What does it mean to act honestly?", "What is untrue?". You will see that everyone will give their answer, connected with his own life experience and the baggage of experiences. Finally, ask: "Which is better, a bitter truth or a sweet lie?" And you will hear different answers again. It's simple - a person judges only from his past. Someone ran into a lie, suffered from it and now does not accept it. And someone became a victim of the truth, naked and merciless, and prefers to close his eyes now to the facts, to hear lies, but without pain. It turns out that the question: "Which is better, a bitter truth or a sweet lie?" Is doomed to remain unrequited?

Everyone has his own truth

Sometimes it's not easy to come to the truth. As they say: "How many people, so many opinions", which means that everyone has their own truth. Meanwhile, deep down, everyone knows the right answer to a question. And this, despite all the accumulated experience, the trauma of the past and the wounds of the present. Everyone can deny something out loud, disagree with something in the mind, but deep down we all know the only true answer.

It does not matter in what you believe God and what religion you profess. You can be a convinced atheist and deny the existence of the Supreme. And you can have any position in life. But agree: in any situation, you always feel that it would be the right decision. Whatever happens, you at every moment of time can clearly tell what to do would be necessary. But we act more often as it would be more profitable for us or as circumstances dictate.

What's this for? To the fact that every person always knows what is best. How to do it right, so that everyone will be happy. Moreover, the inner voice sometimes puts the interests of others above their own.

To answer the inner voice

Every time, when faced with a situation called "a better bitter truth than a sweet lie," we also hear an inner voice. We have been told many times that the truth is always better.

We have heard that the most bitter truth is better than sweet lies, and sometimes blindly followed this rule. And tell me honestly - did this always lead to good results? Have people always been happy to hear the truth, or would it have been better to lie? It turns out that in half the case you can lie - and it will be for good.

Do not follow stereotypes

Forget about the so-called rules, if you want to live happily ever after on this planet! Who told us that a bitter truth is better than a sweet lie? Parents who themselves have told us lies and taught. Teachers who are not examples to follow. Other people who tend to err. All the rules are invented by people, and what they invented, almost half the time it does not work. Do not ask the question: "Better is the bitter truth than the sweet lie - is it so?". Remember your life situations when you followed this rule. Did this lead to a good result? Did the truth really hurt you and the people? Truth does not exist! There are a million circumstances and situations, and there are many ways out of them.

The only truth is not to harm yourself and others. If harm is the so-called "truth", sometimes a sweet lie is better than a bitter truth.

When can I lie

You yourself know the answer to the question about the ethics of lies. You can lie when the truth can destroy and cause pain. It's not about blissful ignorance. But the fact is that sometimes the truth can completely turn the course of human life, make it worse. A person may be so unprepared for the truth that she can literally kill him. In this case, the dilemma of "better the bitter truth than the sweet lie" should not even arise.

Focus on the inner voice

Even if brought up in certain traditions, we still always know the best version of our behavior or reaction. A person is not a machine, not a robot or an animal.

Yes, sometimes we are guided by instincts, sometimes by education, but the voice of the soul and heart can not drown out anything. People who live in harmony with their inner flair are the most relaxed - they always act "in truth." Of course, not all actions in this case will be conditioned by their own benefit, and, nevertheless, they will be the best choice.

Forget about stereotypes. Do not ask yourself the question of choosing something - these are mental traps created by people for fun. Live according to what your heart tells you. This is the best compass in life's vicissitudes.