The Ninth Commandment

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Don't lie. It is such a simple statement, yet many times we feel cornered or pressured into twisting the truth or not telling the entire story. Some argue that twists and loopholes are not "truly" lying, yet if a person walks away from you with an untruth you intended them to receive, you are lying. For example:
Bob asks his best friend, "Do you know why I wasn't invited to her party?"
Fred answers by shrugging, then saying, "Maybe she just forgot." But Fred knows that she didn't invite him because she did not like him, and wanted to avoid talking to him.
Obviously, in the situation above, Fred felt pressured to give the wrong impression. Though he had good intentions, Fred lied because he made it seem like he had no idea why Bob was not invited. A better response could have been:
"Yes, but I think you should talk to her about it."
"I do, but I don't agree with what she thinks."
"I think it would be best if you asked her."
All of these responses do not lie, but also spare his friend's feelings. But why bother being careful when it is so easy to lie? Well, there are multiple reasons: if Bob finds out Fred DID know what she thought, then he may feel insulted or angry for not being told. Also, what may seem like little lies can snowball easily into big lies or multiple lies to support the original lie.
But why should we not lie? To lie is to invite someone not to trust you. Even if you lie to protect their feelings, your feelings, or something else, nothing changes the fact that you do not respect that person enough to tell them the truth. Also, if you do not lie with little things people will learn to trust you and go to you for big things, because they know you'll be truthful. Even a lie as simple as:
"Of course you look lovely in that dress."
Can be hurtful- such as if the person is gossiped about because the clothing did not fit her. If a person just tries to please everyone and sacrifices the truth, people will pick up on it and disregard that person's opinion- even if later their opinion is true and important.