Lying for my brother's greater good

  • Thread starter Thread starter theCardinalbird
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

theCardinalbird

Guest
If I lie to my brother’s teacher by telling her he’s sick (he’s not) so he has more time to complete a project then is that so bad?
 
Yes. The ends don’t justify the means. Why can’t your brother own up to not having his work done on time? Why does he have to ask you to lie for him? Lying for him doesn’t help him. The point of the project is his betterment in terms of his education. By lying, you’re just enabling him to avoid the goal of education. Tell your brother you can’t lie for him and that he needs to man up and either ask for an extension or accept the consequences of his neglegence.

-Fr ACEGC
 
edward_george1 said:
Yes. The ends don’t justify the means. Why can’t your brother own up to not having his work done on time? Why does he have to ask you to lie for him? Lying for him doesn’t help him. The point of the project is his betterment in terms of his education. By lying, you’re just enabling him to avoid the goal of education. Tell your brother you can’t lie for him and that he needs to man up and either ask for an extension or accept the consequences of his neglegence.

-Fr ACEGC
Click to expand...
Thank you Father for your guidance.

Also great to hear from you again!!! 🙂
 
I like your hat, where did you get it?

Sorry, yes, Fr. knocked this one out of the ballpark already.
 
You should Google “mental reservation”. Not necessarily for this case, but for your edification in catholic moral teaching.)
 
Cypress1359 said:
Saying he is “indisposed” or “sick (of school)” (without saying “of school”) is apparently acceptable according to Jesuit casuistry. They dont call it lying, as lying is always a disorder if directly intended.
Click to expand...
Saying someone is “sick” in order to mislead someone into thinking he is physically sick when he isn’t sick at all (as the term “sick of school” is a metaphorical use of the word sick) can, I believe, hardly be viewed as anything other than lying.
 
Last edited:
The OP was asking about actually lying, not whether his brother has cause to lie. The OP said nothing about his brother being sick with nervous exhaustion or stress.
In asking his brother to lie he has not owned his time management problem. No need to drag his brother into lying for him.
 
Yes, it is.

Don’t lie for your brother. Instead, encourage him to start earlier on his assignments so he can finish them on time.

And encourage him to be honest with his teacher about his lateness with the assignment. He/she may be willing to give him extra time as long as he doesn’t make a habit of turning in his assignments late.
 
Cypress1359 said:
Why did you think it would be lying?
Click to expand...
Because everyone gets stressed at some point. I didn’t know that could be sick. Anyways my mom called the attendance office and told him he was sick so I don’t even know why he needed me
 
Last edited:
Stress can make one physically ill. But when most people think of someone being so sick that they can’t complete their school work, they aren’t thinking of stress. They’re thinking fever, chills, flu, etc.
 
Last edited:
I was almost always “sick” of school through my senior year. 🤔


(okay, okay, I had some great teachers here and there, “I cannot tell a lite.”)
 
Last edited:
It would be best not to say anything, but don’t deceive the teacher. God doesn’t like lies. And it’s a very easy habit to get into once one begins to lie. It’s much easier the next time to lie when you’re in a spot.
 
Last edited:
Wow! Things have certainly changed since I was in school. All we had to do was have a note from our parents or if out for more than 3 days, a dr’s excuse.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top