Persuasive Essay
[1] I think that lying is sometimes good if it’s to save a life. [2] Some people might think
that lying is the easy way out but I don’t think so because Corrie ten Boom lied to the Nazis and
all the Jews they were hiding were safe. I think that human life is precious and we shouldn’t take
it for granted. Sometimes you get tortured when you tell a lie because they want to find out
where you are hiding the people.
If the Nazis tortured you and you didn’t tell them where you are hiding Jews. You would
be laying down your life for others. Laying down your life for others is a good thing. Then they
would live and if they weren’t already a Christian they might become a Christian since you saved
them from getting killed. I know this because it says in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one
than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”and 1 John 3:16 it says “By this we
know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
In John 15:12-13 it says “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Second, my argument is true because it would be better to live with a lie than to know that you
got someone in trouble with the government. In the Bible it says it’s wrong to murder. It’s cruel
to murder somebody for no cause at all. I know this because in Exodus 20:13 it says “You shall
not murder.”
Third, my argument is true because you probably wouldn’t want the people hiding you to
tattle on you so you shouldn’t do it to them. You should keep your promises to people. I know
this because in Matthew 7:12 it says “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also
to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Some people believe that lying to save a life is always bad. First they believe that lying
is wrong. They say this because in Exodus 20:16 it says “You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.” Second they believe that liars go to hell. They say this because in Revelation
21:8 it says “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire
and sulfur, which is the second death.”
In conclusion, some people believe that lying is wrong even if it would be to save
someone’s life. [2] However, my three reasons state that it’s okay to lie to save a life. Lives
matter so you should try to save them. I wouldn’t want someone to betray me so I wouldn’t
betray them. If you promise to keep them safe then you would be breaking that promise if you
tell the truth to the authorities.
I think that it isn’t wrong to lie if it’s to save life. I would rather live with the fact that I
lied to save someone’s life than have to live with the fact that I was told the truth and live with
the guilt that I someone got in trouble with the government. It’s just cruel to murder somebody if
they didn’t do anything wrong. If someone would betray me by telling the truth I wouldn’t
appreciate it very much. Most people would want to have friends that wouldn’t betray them. It’s
a traitorous act to tattle on people who you told you that you would help them. You're not
keeping your promises if you tell the people who are questioning you where you are hiding the
people that you are trying to save from the people who want to get them.
I changed my mind about this topic when I did a little more research. In the Bible it has
more verses about how lying is wrong. I think that lying is wrong no matter what. You’re doing
the wrong thing for the right reason. The people who you are hiding might think lying is okay if
you tell a lie. An untrusting world is also bad for liars - lying isn't much use if everyone is doing
it.
I know this because in Exodus 20:16 it says “You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.” and in Proverbs 26:28 it says “A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth
works ruin.” In 1 Peter 3:10-11 it says “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him
keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do
good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” In Proverbs 12:22 it says “Lying lips are an
abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”
In Proverbs 19:9 it says“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out
lies will perish.” In Psalm 101:7 it says “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.” In Proverbs 12:19 it says “Truthful lips
endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” In Colossians 3:9-10 it says “Do not lie
to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the
new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” In Luke 8:17 it
says “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be
known and come to light.”
In Revelation 21:8 It says “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for
murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” In Proverbs 19:5 it says “A false
witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.” In Proverbs 24:28
it says “Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your
lips.” Matthew 15:18-20 “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this
defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does
not defile anyone.”
In Proverbs 21:6 it says “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and
a snare of death.” In Proverbs 14:5 it says “A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness
breathes out lies.” In Psalm 1:1-6 it says “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the
law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams
of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he
prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the
wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” In
Psalm 44:21 it says “Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.” In
Ezekiel 13:19 it says “You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for
pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should
not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.”
In Psalm 55:23 it says “But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.” In
Leviticus 6:1-7 it says “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “If anyone sins and commits a breach
of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through
robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it,
swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— if he has sinned and
has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or
the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he
has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom
it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.” In Micah 6:12 it says “Your rich men are full of
violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.” In Matthew
7:15 it says “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves.” In Revelation 2:2 it says“I know your works, your toil and your patient
endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call
themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”
In Matthew 5:37 it says “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than
this comes from evil.In Proverbs 17:4 it says “An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives
ear to a mischievous tongue.”In 1 Corinthians 6:9 it says “Or do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,” In Leviticus
19:11-12 it says “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”
In Proverbs 25:18 it says “A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club,
or a sword, or a sharp arrow.” In Proverbs 10:18 it says “The one who conceals hatred has lying
lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.” In Revelation 21:8 it says “But as for the cowardly,
the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all
liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
In Proverbs 13:5 it says “The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and
disgrace.”
Ten Boom,Corrie, et al. The Hiding Place: Young Readers Edition. Edited by Lonnie Hull
DuPont, Minneappolis, Minnesota, Chosen books, 2015.