Can lying be nice?

[Matisyahu8898]

So, long story short, I know someone who really wanted the Passion, 'Worthy of Your Name' CD. Not the digital copy, they really wanted the hard copy, and they have been wanting it since it came out in early 2017. Anyways, when I went to Passion 2018 earlier this month, I noticed that they had it for sale for only $10 (don't worry if you don't know what the Passion Conference is, it's just an awesome Christian conference/concert). I brought a copy home for her. I knew that she would want to pay me back for it, but I didn't want her money. It was a favor. She wasn't able to make it to the conference this year, even though she really wanted to go, so this was basically the least I could do. I thought to myself, "If I tell her it was free, then she won't feel obligated to pay me back." I didn't want to lie. In fact, I had good intentions, and I wanted to do something nice for her. I didn't end up lying, because I knew I would feel guilty for it, but would it be a sin to lie in that instance? I've told similar lies before, and I've felt guilty at times, but ultimately, I have good intentions. I just don't know how God would view that. I don't want to sin, but I also want to be as kind as I can to whoever it is, I'm contemplating lying to. Any advice/biblical references would be helpful.
In Christ, Matt

 

[mathinspiration]

It depends on what you are saying to whom. I love you when you don't might not depending on your motive?

 

[Cat Loaf You]

Lie is Lie , i'd rather tell that person truth . I know that this is not the answer you wanted to read because you came here to find somebody who would agree with you because you alredy planned that you going to lie to her , well too bad not gonna stop you

But no there are no refferences in Bible about good intentions , moreover all our effort is like garbage anyways , quite demotivating but God said that so can't really argue it .

In my country person who can't afford something will say "God bless you for that" and it's true , if you give to poor you lend to a LORD maybe it will help .

Proverbs 19:17

 

[Matisyahu8898]

Lie is Lie , i'd rather tell that person truth . I know that this is not the answer you wanted to read because you came here to find somebody who would agree with you because you alredy planned that you going to lie to her , well too bad not gonna stop you

But no there are no refferences in Bible about good intentions , moreover all our effort is like garbage anyways , quite demotivating but God said that so can't really argue it .

In my country person who can't afford something will say "God bless you for that" and it's true , if you give to poor you lend to a LORD maybe it will help .

Proverbs 19:17

I don't mind to hear that I was wrong to think that. I never ended up lying to her, I just said something along the lines of, "Don't worry about it, it was nothing. No need to pay me back." Intention, seems like it can be a factor sometimes. Specifically how God commands us not to murder, but orders the slaughtering of multiple tribes, and thousands of people. Murder is wrong, but killing--not always. I'm not saying to go around killing people, obviously, just saying that there are exceptions. Exodus 20:16 says, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." NIV I understand that this is speaking of lies, but the word here that stands out to me, is the word 'against'. I'm not lying against this person, I'm lying for them. I only lie so that they don't feel burdened.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

So, long story short, I know someone who really wanted the Passion, 'Worthy of Your Name' CD. Not the digital copy, they really wanted the hard copy, and they have been wanting it since it came out in early 2017. Anyways, when I went to Passion 2018 earlier this month, I noticed that they had it for sale for only $10 (don't worry if you don't know what the Passion Conference is, it's just an awesome Christian conference/concert). I brought a copy home for her. I knew that she would want to pay me back for it, but I didn't want her money. It was a favor. She wasn't able to make it to the conference this year, even though she really wanted to go, so this was basically the least I could do. I thought to myself, "If I tell her it was free, then she won't feel obligated to pay me back." I didn't want to lie. In fact, I had good intentions, and I wanted to do something nice for her. I didn't end up lying, because I knew I would feel guilty for it, but would it be a sin to lie in that instance? I've told similar lies before, and I've felt guilty at times, but ultimately, I have good intentions. I just don't know how God would view that. I don't want to sin, but I also want to be as kind as I can to whoever it is, I'm contemplating lying to. Any advice/biblical references would be helpful.
In Christ, Matt

Don't need to lie...if you want to bless someone with a gift, do it anonymously.
ref: Matthew 6:3-4.

 

[Cat Loaf You]

22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

I would not worry so much about trying to not sin , if you are born again your sins are washed away by Christ Blood you can not keep law even if you wanted to because you would have to be God yourself to keep at level of self control like God .

Just try to not sin for pleasure , fun and intentionally , you probably do hundreds of sins every day which you are not aware of so don't focus on that lying dylema but if something like that ever happen just confess to Christ and more on it's best solution i found .

 

[tdidymas]

So, long story short, I know someone who really wanted the Passion, 'Worthy of Your Name' CD. Not the digital copy, they really wanted the hard copy, and they have been wanting it since it came out in early 2017. Anyways, when I went to Passion 2018 earlier this month, I noticed that they had it for sale for only $10 (don't worry if you don't know what the Passion Conference is, it's just an awesome Christian conference/concert). I brought a copy home for her. I knew that she would want to pay me back for it, but I didn't want her money. It was a favor. She wasn't able to make it to the conference this year, even though she really wanted to go, so this was basically the least I could do. I thought to myself, "If I tell her it was free, then she won't feel obligated to pay me back." I didn't want to lie. In fact, I had good intentions, and I wanted to do something nice for her. I didn't end up lying, because I knew I would feel guilty for it, but would it be a sin to lie in that instance? I've told similar lies before, and I've felt guilty at times, but ultimately, I have good intentions. I just don't know how God would view that. I don't want to sin, but I also want to be as kind as I can to whoever it is, I'm contemplating lying to. Any advice/biblical references would be helpful.
In Christ, Matt

The only righteous lies are those that actually help others, for example:
"When you fast, wash your face, comb your hair, put on a happy face..."
When going through a tribulation, and someone asks "How are you?" you reply "Doing great, thank God!"
If an enemy asks you where is your family (to kill them), tell him they went to the police station.

The point is, it's no good to lie to someone if you're trying to help that person. Parents often lie to their children in order to "save them from the awful truth." But when the children find out the truth, their view of the parents is severely damaged. You planned to lie to the girl because you wanted to "save her" from a feeling of obligation. Not a good plan. In fact, when you give a gift to someone, they will value it more if they know that the gift cost you. If you told her it was free, and then she found out it wasn't, she would not trust you, and might suspect you had an agenda.

At best, you could say "it's a free gift." IOW you're giving it to her as a free gift. It may be she will leave it at that. But if she presses for how much it cost you, you should not lie to her. It may be she is trying to pay for it herself in order to value it more. If you lie and say it didn't cost you anything, you are taking away her opportunity to sacrifice her own hard-earned money for it.

Col 3:9 "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices"
TD

 

[Greg J.]

Lying changes your character every time you do it. The Lord's command that we not lie is for our benefit (as well as possibly for the hearers). Speak the truth with love, or remain silent. The many situations where it is easier or more comfortable to lie is because of other issues that could potentially be addressed separately. e.g., you don't want to experience the pain of rejection, or the pain of causing someone else pain. The real issue would be why those things cause you pain.

 

[Sketcher]

Don't make a habit of lying, it will come back to bite you in the rear. If you're a known liar, that can sabotage your marriage, even if you don't lie to your spouse. I've seen it happen to people I know.

If you lie with the motive of helping others, perhaps to protect them from unsavory truths, that won't necessarily help them.