How much damage can be done by a single lie?

Be wary of anything less than the truth. Lies are like volcanoes; they can remain dormant for a long period of time only to erupt seemingly at random and cause unbelievable damage. 

History shows us that there are many different reasons people do not tell the truth, but know this:  Lies are merely secrets fighting their way to the surface.  Although they sometimes appear to be buried deeply, secrets never die.  

Furthermore, when that secret finally does burst through the surface into public view, it gaudily displays every lie that was ever told to defend it.  Not only does the eruption almost always occur at a most inopportune time, it often gathers many people–even some who are innocent–in its destructive wake. In addition, the devastation is usually much greater than the truth would have caused at the time a lie was told instead.

Lies also have a cumulative effect. One lie, considered trivial at the time, can become a complex web of deceit increasingly more serious and consequential. Lies deteriorate everything–and everyone–they touch.

Today, Your Peace of Wisdom can be found in a commitment to the truth.