In the clouds where God was the ultimate authority, the epitome of sinless ventures, the judge was looking pale, his hands clammy from the nervousness of what was yet to come. His life,as he remembered, had been full of truth and morally sound, to this day. The judgment day, the day on which he would be considered a sinner or a virtuous individual. He trembled as he heard the deep rumble of God's voice. God began his discourse.
I am certain you must have heard the popular folk tale of ‘The boy who cried wolf’, right judge? Unlike the shepherd, rational humans mostly tend to lie for a reason. Some lies can be cast aside as ‘good lies’ due to the reason for which they are said, but they are still lies, are they not? Let me jog your memory through an incident in your life, in which this dilemma is readily apparent. The year was 1997, you were the judge of a criminal court in Mumbai. On the 7th of June, you were handed a case of petty theft. A man had broken into the home of a family, threatened them and stolen their valuables. The family was enduring hard times and these valuables were all they had which could rescue them. During the trial, there was not enough evidence against the man and you had to let him go, due to the incompetence on your part and the prosecutors part, a child was subjected to starvation. It was an error of judgment made by you for which the poor family suffered through poverty and were barely able to survive. However, in light of the cases you announced the correct verdict for, I am willing to give you a second chance. I will ask you a question, if you answer this question correctly, you will be regarded as a virtuous man and will be welcomed to my heaven. My question to you, my candid judge, is this; Is the withholding of information considered lying in everyday circumstances? Being a judge, you know that the withholding of information in a court is known as perjury and consists of severe consequences, however, is it not liable for punishment in real life?
The judge was ready to attempt God's question. He began answering. Everyone deserves to hear the full story, not some half cooked version shadowed by the influence of a person's point of view. Our world is full of diverse people who believe and accept various ideas. However, due to the variety of ideas, it is difficult for some people to accept the ideas which do not join with theirs. Thus, many try to enforce people into believing their views by influencing facts and using physical power. The myriad of philosophies are what makes every human special and we learn to accept and take pride in it. Many have attempted to do this, by creating laws of free speech, journalism and secularism. However, these ideas still continue to evoke violence and cause destruction. Many do not receive the full story of ideas and only absorb the bad parts leading to form a bad image. This is like basing a person's entire personality on one incident. I personally believe that the hiding of information should not be a punishable offense in daily circumstances due to the error of judgment that a person can make while delivering information. However, it is our duty to go out and find the complete truth by gathering facts not fiction.
Satisfied with the judges answer, God let him walk through the golden gates of heaven.
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