Lies

If I know that someone lies or deceives, that instantly puts them on the "do not associate" list. Even white lies are wrong and dishonorable.

Now, there may be cases where a person is so bad with language and with limited skill and maybe intelligence, that they lie because they cannot figure out the appropriate response. Kids do this all the time, through no particularly malign spirit, just because they are bad at language or want to avoid making you mad at them or others. They have not yet developed the character to be principled truth-tellers, and that's not really their fault. Other adult people, because of not being good with words or being of limited intelligence, might be in the same boat. Just as violence may be more common with people with low verbal skills who cannot voice their feelings well, lying may also be more common because they literally can't figure out what the right thing to say would be. So they lie.

More commonly, people lie because they are bad at processing interpersonal conflict or have a problem accepting blame or responsibility.

"Where's your homework Billy?" "The dog ate it."

This can indeed be a moral failing, but at least Billy didn't start his day intending to lie to his teacher. He was confronted with a shortcoming of his, and he lied in reaction to that. It was a reactive lie, not a proactive lie.

But if you lie when you truly don't have to, because lying has become just another tool in the toolkit, or you lie for personal advantage, then you have started walking down a dark road that leads to spiritual destruction. Just as bad is deception, even when it is not a technical lie but intended to mislead. We see both lies and deception constantly in advertising, business brochures, news, other media, and sales pitches of all kinds. Intentional lying and deception has become normalized, deception even more so because if you lie in a business deal, you could get sued. If you deceive cleverly, you can be safe even though you twisted reality all around. The functional problem with lying is that you can be caught in a lie. If you just deceive, you cover your ass better.

Our society just in general has zero cultural commitment to not lying or deceiving. "Everyone does it." If people were taught how to respond morally to difficult situations in childhood, even people who are not that bright with language could respond correctly to the temptation to lie. In addition, lying is a sign of bad character. It means you aren't adult enough and your coping skills are too poor to handle truth-telling. You are socially and morally retarded, a child not a man or woman.

Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. We hardly ever lie for the benefit of others, almost always for the benefit of ourselves at the expense of others. A lie is an assault, against the person lied to, and also against G-d.

G-d hates lies.