So Monday night we talked about how lying, cheating, and stealing affects all of our lives. I want to share a scenario with you to get your thoughts.

Have you ever told a white lie? I know I have. When I was growing up, I thought that it was important to stand up for my friends. It was after Homecoming my freshman year, and everyone was going back to my friend's house to hang out. There wasn't anything really bad going on and we had all planned on spending the night. Unfortunately, it was at a girl's house and my buddy wasn't allowed to spend the night at girls' houses. Being a good friend, I told him that he could tell his dad that he was spending the night at my house so that he could stay over with us and that I would cover for him if I needed to. Since his dad knew me pretty well and trusted me, he said yes. His dad never called to check if he was at my house and nothing bad happened that night at with our friends. At first I felt good for covering for my friend, but then as I thought about it I started to wonder. Looking back at it, I had sacrificed my good reputation with his dad for a chance for him to hang out all night with our friends. Even though I didn't get caught, I had lost my trust with his parents and felt terrible. Even worse, we both had to create a story the next day when his parents asked us what we did all night. I guess through the whole thing I learned that trust is a big thing that only takes seconds to lose and that even white lies have consequences. My decision to lie wasn't a huge one that involved drinking or drugs or anything terrible, but it was still a lie. It compromised who I was and put me into the place where I had to tell more lies to cover it up.

So...what would you have done? Did they do the right thing?

In an age of corrupt politicians and lies told to us every day on television, I think this situation should cause us to consider that above all else, integrity is a rare, and very valuable quality. It is hard to maintain, and easy to compromise, but those who are able to keep it have found something truly valuable.