With the 2016 census data bubbling out it’s time to come clean – did you lie on your census form? Even a tiny bit? Your income? Ethnicity? Religion? Are you really a Jedi?

Honesty is an interesting thing. We really would prefer others be honest with us. We’re less certain it’s in our best interest when the shoe is on the other foot though. How many of us have given a vague, half-truth excuse about why we “couldn’t” attend some function or other?

Recently, my health insurance company sent me a long letter explaining why insurance premiums “change”. Note, they didn’t explain why premiums “increase”. Hands up if you had a decreased premium? Yeah, I thought so. This is endemic in both the business world and the world of personal relationships. When Samsung phones had their catastrophic failures recently they put out a television ad praising their quality control processes!

Blame-shifting, bending the truth, spinning it, and just telling lies don’t strike me as a good way to live. A wise person I know once said “let your yes be yes, and your no be no”.

What if the truth turns out to be ugly? So help me God.

St Paul’s Anglican Church meets on Sundays at 9am with kids church. All welcome.