Wedding Showers and Gameshow Ethics 101
A few weekends ago we went to a wedding shower hosted by Becky, at which we had some real Southern iced tea (soo good!), had some good laughs, met some great people, and played a game which I have recently decided caused me to sin.
The game was "Two Truths and A Lie". You tell two truths and a lie about yourself and then everyone has to guess which is the lie. I had two goes of it. I went first, so by the time everyone else had their turns, I had thought of better ones for me.
Here, you guess, which is the lie in each of the lists (if you know me -- like you're related to me, or were at the party, maybe don't answer). Now, in the game you can ask 5 questions or something to help you guess, but you guys are smart. You can figure them out:
First list:
1. I had a boy tie my shoes for me everyday in kindergarten.
2. I've seen every episode of Seinfeld.
3. I have a slight obsession for blonde 60 year old women.
Second list:
1. When I was 3, I slapped my babysitter.
2. When I was 6, I punched my best friend in the throat.
3. When I was 14, I slapped a carnie.
Anyway, this game was really fun. But then I started to think... lying is a sin. You shouldn't lie. We're told that from the moment we first begin to bend the truth as children. So why was it okay to lie in this game? Well... that's just a part of the game, right? It's what makes it a game. You wouldn't have much of a game if it were called 3 Truths, now would you?
Then it made me think about Survivor where everyone always gets mad if they find out that somebody lied to them. Isn't that just "part of the game"? I guess, there is a difference because lying is not a condition in the game, it's not necessary, the game can still be played (though not always successfully) without lying. I guess in the Two Truths game you know everyone is telling a lie, but you could say the same thing about survivor, basically. What do you think? If lying is okay in the wedding shower game, is it okay in Survivor? Or is lying wrong even in the wedding shower game? If lying is wrong is it wrong in all circumstances?
posted by Dixie Vandersluys @ 3:44 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
My question is, Is it really "lying" in a moral sense when everyone involved is expecting it and everyone else will be lying as well?
Also, for argument's sake, where in the Bible does it tell us not to lie? I believe the commandment is to not bear false witness against your neighbour, which is a specific context of truth-telling.
Besides, what if its the guy two doors down, not your neighbor. How come the bible always talked about the neighbors?
Here's a scenerio to make you wonder if lying might be necessary at times.....
Say your grandmother bought you for your birthday the most hidious pajamas you ever did see, orange (the material they used to use for toilet covers and bath mats - you know the long stuff) anyway and she thought they were fabulous. Once you opened the present up she looks at you (obviously the woman must have horrible cataracts to buy this) with a loving gaze and says, well do you love it? C'mon. These types of situations force us into some sort of conveluded lie. You aren't going to look back at her and blurt out how horribly ugly your new orange pjs are and how they look like her orange tabby cat just vomitted in a box and now she expects you to wear it. You'd lie......wouldn't you?
Well, I think by "neighbour" the Bible is referring to the people that we encounter. I always take neighbour to mean just everybody. I wouldn't treat someone differently just because they didn't live right next door to me. And certainly we should strive to treat ALL people the same, whether they live next door, in the next town or across the globe.
Anyway, in the granny situation I would probably say something like "they're sure something!"... you know one of those answers that doesn't answer the question, but isn't a lie. I'm really good at those. That's why I need to take over my dad's law practice! :)
I'm not saying that lying in the game is wrong. It just made me think of how there are certain situations in which certain actions are alright, where in other instances they aren't. And this was a simple little way to give an example of that.
I was being a smart-ass about the neighbor thing (sorry).
Good answer about the granny thing though!
It's funny how we can miss the sentiment behind what people are saying over the internet. It's hard to tell if people are joking, offended, etc. That's why the guy who came up with emoticons needs to be kissed.
Ditto Marc's comment.
Post a Comment
<< Home