Is there such a thing as being “too honest”?

[Michie]

Too honest or not honest enough, it's all part of the same problem ...

“I’m keeping it real” and “I’m just being honest” are perhaps my least favorite phrases of all time. Ironically, both phrases are less than truthful.


For instance, if I manage to utter that phrase to you with a straight face, what it really means is that I’ve just gossiped with you, said something rude, or mistakenly phrased something in an insensitive manner. To cover my tracks, I claim I was “just being honest,” so you shouldn’t be offended. You should thank me for my candor, admire my bravery in telling it like it is. Really, though, all I’ve done is spoken out of turn and used “being honest” as an excuse.

Honesty, like all virtues, needs to be tempered by prudence, which means that it’s always exercised wisely according to the situation. This, to be clear, doesn’t mean that sometimes it’s better to lie.

But is it ever okay to lie?

Continued below.
Is there such a thing as being "too honest"?

 

[WarriorAngel]

Too honest or not honest enough, it's all part of the same problem ...

“I’m keeping it real” and “I’m just being honest” are perhaps my least favorite phrases of all time. Ironically, both phrases are less than truthful.


For instance, if I manage to utter that phrase to you with a straight face, what it really means is that I’ve just gossiped with you, said something rude, or mistakenly phrased something in an insensitive manner. To cover my tracks, I claim I was “just being honest,” so you shouldn’t be offended. You should thank me for my candor, admire my bravery in telling it like it is. Really, though, all I’ve done is spoken out of turn and used “being honest” as an excuse.

Honesty, like all virtues, needs to be tempered by prudence, which means that it’s always exercised wisely according to the situation. This, to be clear, doesn’t mean that sometimes it’s better to lie.

But is it ever okay to lie?

Continued below.
Is there such a thing as being "too honest"?

Cruel people say cruel things and say it's just honesty.
To spare a hurt mind or heart, yes we can assuage our own opinion to comfort another.
Because technically it is not lying to avoid our own opinion which is not necessarily truth but preference.

'Do I look fat?' 'Do I look awful?' are more about a troubled mind than an opinion.
Is it really lying to lift another? I dont think so.
Honesty imho has more to do with facts and figures vs opinions and ideas based on self created stores of 'facts' based on stories. As an example an atheist professing the Lord cannot exist because...
It's not factual and will remain unproven in their mind. But it's all based on their theory in their head.

There are only a few facts in life.
1. The Lord and what He stated historically and albeit an anomaly in a world that wanders frequently.
2. Math [and other scholastics based on reading comprehension and grammar etc]

The rest is a mix of opinions.

 

[WarriorAngel]

Oh the exception is deliberately doing things wrong and deliberately lying. Adultery, theft, etc
Oops I wasn't even thinking of that stuff.

 

[Skye1300]

Too honest or not honest enough, it's all part of the same problem ...

“I’m keeping it real” and “I’m just being honest” are perhaps my least favorite phrases of all time. Ironically, both phrases are less than truthful.


For instance, if I manage to utter that phrase to you with a straight face, what it really means is that I’ve just gossiped with you, said something rude, or mistakenly phrased something in an insensitive manner. To cover my tracks, I claim I was “just being honest,” so you shouldn’t be offended. You should thank me for my candor, admire my bravery in telling it like it is. Really, though, all I’ve done is spoken out of turn and used “being honest” as an excuse.

Honesty, like all virtues, needs to be tempered by prudence, which means that it’s always exercised wisely according to the situation. This, to be clear, doesn’t mean that sometimes it’s better to lie.

But is it ever okay to lie?

Continued below.
Is there such a thing as being "too honest"?

Amen! I've always felt the same way! Those phrases are just coverups for when someone says something they know they shouldn't have. There's a time and place for everything and there's a kind way to say everything. They just choose to be rude then try to cover it up with saying they are just being honest. You can be honest and kind at the same time. If someone asks you if they are fat, you don't have to lie or be rude and say yes you're big as a house! No you can say something like it doesn't matter what I think it's how YOU feel about yourself that matters the most. If you feel like you're fat you can change your way of eating and do more exercises. And if it's a spouse you can say I love you no matter how you look. Something along those lines. You didn't lie and you weren't rude.