Given a choice between lies and the truth, almost everyone will say they want the truth. Reality is quite different however. To quote Jack Nicholson in the movie ''A Few Good Men'' most people can't handle the truth. Honesty, they say, is the best policy....but all too often lying is more lucrative.
Years ago I worked with an African gentleman from the Congo, (back then it was stilled called Zaire, yes I am old) who related to me an old African parable that I will share with you now.
Two brothers, Truth and Lies, had been walking for many days when they came upon a small village. Truth said to his brother: ''We both know people prefer the truth to lies so let me do the talking''.
They come upon a woman tending a garden outside of a hut and Truth speaks to her saying: ''My brother and I have traveled many days without food or rest. Could we stay here a while and have something to eat and to rest up before we continue our journey''?
The woman says she can't make a decision, that she'll have to wait for her husband to come home from hunting. When the husband returns the wife tells him that if he lets these two strangers stay that she will leave him: ''I have enough work to do cooking and cleaning for you, I won't do it for these strangers as well". The husband apologizes to Truth and Lies, but says if his wife leaves him that he'll have nobody to look after him.
They travel on and the next day they come to another village where a big feast is taking place. Truth is horrified to see that the elderly in this village are hardly being given anything to eat, they are left to pick over the scraps and bones of what is thrown away. Truth admonishes the villagers for their behavior, saying that the old villagers should be honored and given first choice of the bounty. The villagers drive Truth and his brothers out of their village.
When they come upon a third village the following day Lies says to his brother: ''You have done the talking twice now, and we still haven't had rest or food. Now I will speak for us''!!!
When they get to the third village they learn that the chief is in mourning over the death of his wife. Lies tells the villagers: ''I am a great shaman, I can bring your chief's wife back to life''. Lies and his brother Truth are quickly brought before the chief who exhorts Lies to perform his magic and restore the life of his wife. ''This is a difficult task'', Lies tells the chief, ''It will take all my power and energy and my brother and I are weary and hungry for we have traveled many days now without food or rest''.
The chief sets them up in a comfortable hut and provides them with all the food they can eat. The following morning the chief sends for Lies and asks him to perform his magic. Lies tells the chief that he is still too tired and that he will need one more day of rest and nourishment.
The next day Lies asks to be taken to the hut where the chief's wife is lying in state. He has everyone leave and then starts speaking in strange unknown words, chanting and singing. Finally Lies lets out a loud cry and the chief comes running in, expecting to see that his dead wife has been brought back to life.
Lies explains to him that as he was performing his magic that the ghost of the chief's father appeared before him. Recognizing the magic and skill that Lies possessed, the spirit of the chief's fatehr asked Lies to restore his life instead of the chief's wife, saying he would give Lies and his brother one quarter of the village to rule over as a reward. The chief is mortified, if his father comes back to life then he would no longer be chief and would lose his wealth and power. He offers Lies the same 25% of the village to restore his dead wife's life instead.
Lies begins as before and again lets out a loud cry. This time he explains that the chief's grandfather had come to him from the spirit world asking that his life be restored instead, offering fully half of the village in return. The chief sees where things are going and tells Lies that he can have half the village to rule over with his brother in return for stopping all efforts to restore his wife's life.
The moral is quite obvious. Most people will take a lie over the truth any day of the week, and lying is often far more profitable.
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