by Philip Yancey

About the author: Philip Yancey is a columnist for Christianity Today and a frequent contributor to Books & Culture and other magazines. He is also the author of numerous books, including What’s So Amazing About Grace? and The Jesus I Never Knew.

A representative of Generation X named Sam told me he had been discovering the strategic advantages of truth. As an experiment, he decided to stop lying. “It helps people picture you and relate to you more reliably,” he said. “Truth can be positively beneficial in many ways.”

Iasked what would happen if he found himself in a situation where it would prove more beneficial for him to lie. He said he would have to judge the context, but he was trying to prefer not-lying...