Am I the only person in the world who feels that a “lie of omission” is still a lie?
I was recently asked to do something without telling another party about it. This happens all the time, to all of us…. keeping secrets, right? We’ve been doing it since kindergarten. But this fact of omission directly involved the person who I couldn’t discuss it with. But, that’s still a secret, right?
At what point does a “secret” become a “lie?” At what point is it okay for us to keep a “harmless” fact to ourselves and not divulge it? In my opinion, if I came into a large sum of money and didn’t tell Brandon about it, I’d be lying to him. But at the same time, me not telling a friend about her upcoming surprise party is just a secret.
So where’s the line?
I’m with you on this one. Not telling something that is important is equal to a lie. I think the secret goes from harmless to harmful if:
a) the person could potentially make an important decision based upon the unknown information.
b) the person would be upset not knowing said information and said person is a relative or very close friend.
You see, it’s all about the seriousness of the secret and your relationship to the person.
I think you have to determine how the other person would feel. If you threw me a surprise party, I’m not going to be mad that you kept that from me. I would be happy, excited etc. However, if you won the lottery and didn’t tell Brandon, when he ever does find out, he’s going to be ticked. You have to take in account the welfare of the person and their feelings. I’m sure you did the right thing, whatever the circumstances.