Is lying bad if you are protecting someone?

I don’t like to lie, but there are instances where it’s necessary. To protect someone is an excellent example.

I have found that the lie may soothe things over and protect someone at the time, but later it comes back to haunt you. Usually it will get discovered and whom ever you lied to is no longer “protected”, but now they don’t trust you any longer, either.
(now, I am talking about bigger lies than if you tell someone you like their new haircut and you really don’t.)

be true to yourself. If you lie it can become a burden to you. Is that a weight your willing to carry for someone else. Do you want to tarnish your reputation to protect others is this situation worth it. Good luck

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Lying about anything is a bad idea all the way around for the most part. If you find yourself in a position where you have to lie for someone to protect them, you might want to consider why you have to do it in the first place and why they need protecting.

One lie leads to another and leads to another and it ends up being an upleasant and distressing situation for everyone involved. One shouldn’t compromise their principles and forgo their ethics by resorting to lying of any sort, in my opinion.

It may depend on who you are protecting, and why. What if it’s really big, like you know your friend has a plot to assassinate a world leader, but you don’t want them to get in trouble? So you lie. Well, you can see where this is going. And if you go on the witness stand at your friend’s trial and lie, that’s perjury, which is pretty bad. (Clinton’s impeachment was because he lied while giving testimony.)

This is an extreme example, but reality is like that. It’s all about the circumstances, the potential risk/reward, and your own moral code.

it may not seem so now, but it WILL shoot you in the foot later.

Another extreme example, on the flip side: If I had to lie to protect someone’s life, (telling a murderer we hadn’t seen his face for instance) I would do it in a heartbeat.

See, there are extenuating circumstances. I didn’t mean to imply that I go around lying all the time, because I don’t. But certain situations call for it. For instance, I have two friends on here who aren’t getting along right now. One tells me one thing & the other tells me their version. Who’s telling the truth? Who’s right? I don’t know. But they’ve asked me what I know about the other & I’m not about to be two-faced to either of them. So I just keep my mouth shut & tell both of them that I know nothing. Not the truth, no. But I’m not going to hurt either one of them or betray what I’ve been told.