Is it OK to Lie?

Shakib Momen
English 1100
2/1/2016
Prof. Young


        Everyone lies, it's no secret. I would applaud anyone who hasn't told a lie in their life. Most people associate lying with ill-intent and that it's wrongful of someone to do so; that's not the case all the time though. I personally feel that it's okay to lie provided it's so small that you're not hurting anyone in the process for the long run. A good example is actually concerning myself. See, my family is Muslim and most of them are religious, some more than others. My parents have been getting myself and my brothers to become more religious by having us pray with them and what not, but I honestly don't feel the same way about religion as they do. I really don't think it's for me, and after discussing it with some friends, it's pretty safe to say that I'm pretty Agnostic with the way I view God. I'd like to come out my family but they're pretty adamant about Islam, and I fear that they would either push me out or shove Islam down my throat even more, and with myself being adamant about being Agnostic, I'm always telling them little white lies. If they asked if I prayed that day, I would tell them "yes" even though I didn't, and there is also this little thing where you have to cleanse yourself before praying which is required or else your prayers won't go through, if they asked me if I cleansed myself properly, I would tell them yes, just because I really don't care to do it properly. As you can see, I am lying, but no one's getting hurt here, it also saves myself lectures about religion, which I really don't need, and no one in my family needs to get upset about it. I strongly believe in the phrase "what they don't know won't hurt them."