Mark Katrick faith column: White lies, half-truths and outright falsehoods this election season

White lie (noun): something which is untrue, that is often said to protect someone or to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, according to collinsdictionary.com.

White lies are often referred to as “little lies.” As a child, I was taught by my parents and the sisters in parochial school to not tell lies, big or small, for whatever the reason. The guilt and regret I felt in doing so was palpable.

Back in the early 1990s, when I was the associate pastor at St. John’s United Church of Christ, in Genoa, one of my responsibilities was to be in charge of the media center. And one of the videotapes we made available to be borrowed was “Jimmy and the White Lie.”

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In the book version by Bartholomew, Jimmy said he didn’t throw his baseball through a neighbor’s window. Subsequently, every time he denied doing it, the little lie, in the form of a blob, grew and grew until there was no place to hide the truth.

This time of year, when the first few days of school were gleefully interrupted by a holiday weekend, takes me back to my first jobs as a sports reporter for the Lorain Journal and the Elyria Chronicle Telegram. My sports editors (who made Lou Grant look like a soft touch) taught me to stick to the facts, always tell the truth and to never misquote anyone, be it a coach or a player.

All alternate facts, half-truths and outright falsehoods — anything under the umbrella of what has come to be known as “fake news” — came with fair warning: “Always report the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God” if you expect to make a career of this.

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Labor Day is also the officially unofficial kickoff for the upcoming election campaign, even though it’s been going on lots longer than that. My mother, reliably independent as a voter, taught me to turn off the television (even the always reliable and trustworthy Walter Cronkite) and do the research. She even took me on field trips to the voting booth on Election Day.

“Read the newspaper, gather facts and opinions; then we’ll sit down at the kitchen table to debate and discuss them,” she’d say. Then this dedicated Presbyterian Sunday School teacher handed out a very important piece of advice: Consult your most important resource, the Christ within.

Then “prayerfully cast your ballot,” remembering Jesus’s own words written down in the BIG RED LETTERS: “I am the way the TRUTH and the life.” John 14:6.

Mark Katrick is a pastor and spiritual guide.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mark Katrick faith column: White lies, half-truths this election season