Why Be Truthful?

AT 18 years of age, Manfred was an office trainee.a The company he worked for arranged for him and several other trainees to attend a vocational college two days each week. One day the class was dismissed earlier than scheduled. According to company rules, the trainees were to go back to work for the rest of the day. Instead, they all went off to have a good time, except Manfred, who returned to the workplace. By coincidence, the company executive in charge of the trainees came by. When he saw Manfred, he asked: “Why are you not in class today? And where are the other trainees?” How should Manfred respond?

Manfred’s predicament is typical. Should he tell the truth, or should he cover up for his classmates? To give a truthful answer would mean trouble for the others and make him unpopular. Is it all right to tell a lie under those circumstances? What would you have done?

Loyalty to the God of Truth

What did Manfred say when the company executive asked him for an explanation? Manfred told the truth. He said: “The teacher dismissed us early for the day, so I came to work. As for the others, I cannot speak for them. Perhaps you could ask them personally.”

Manfred could have given a clever, misleading answer, thus making himself popular with the other trainees. But he had good reasons for sticking loyally to the truth. Manfred is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. His honesty preserved his clean conscience. It also won him the trust of his employer. As part of his training, Manfred was assigned to the jewelry department, where trainees were not normally allowed to work. Some 15 years later when Manfred was promoted to a position of responsibility in the company, the same executive phoned to congratulate him and to recount this incident of integrity to the truth.

Moreover, we need to consider whether the person asking for information is entitled to a comprehensive answer. For instance, suppose Manfred had been asked the same questions by an executive of another company. Would Manfred have been obliged to tell him everything? Not really. Since that executive had no right to such information, Manfred would have had no obligation to provide it. Of course, even in this case, it would have been wrong for him to tell a lie.