What constitutes a lie? (Part 1)

As I think hard on this topic, I realize that the tile is almost a misnomer. It should rather be "What does NOT constitute a lie?"

The most obvious component of a lie is a falsehood. This could be of commission OR omission. Keeping the truth withheld can often be the most devastating portion of a lie. Though commission requires a fraud of the mind, omission is often a fraud of both mind and heart.
One might ask how the knife that does not leave the sheath can draw blood? This is true. It would not. The lie of omission, however, does not leave the blade covered. Rather, it forces the victim to draw it himself, forces him to drag it across his own flesh and score his own body. In this way, the lie of omission is the most destructive once uncovered.

Lies of commission are probably the most common today. Kids lie to their parents about where they were. Boyfriends lie to their girlfriends about what they did. Friends lie to friends about how they feel. They fabricate information to deceive. Granted, this is the generally accepted definition of a lie. Overall, however, a lie is told to PROTECT! Yes, that's right. A falsehood that can cause pain and suffering is told to defend from such pain and suffering.
Think about it. In high school, you come home after curfew. Your parents are waiting up, preparing to berate you for breaking curfew, readying the gauntlet of questions everyone still living at home has an overwhelming irrational fear of. And what does the kid say? We got caught in traffic. We had a flat tire. We stopped by McDonalds to grab a bite. And though parents more often than not do not believe these excuses (even when they might just happen to be truthful), they allow it to pass. Thus, the lie is excused, and the kid is protected from unfortunate circumstances.
Consider a different example. Two friends, a guy and a girl, have been friends for a long time. They have an excellent relationship, they always have fun together, and they are there for each other in times of need. BUT the guy has always harbored a secret crush on his friend, that perhaps someday they could be more than friends. Yet, when he finally makes his move, she tells him regretfully that they have a special friendship, that she doesn't see him as anything more than a friend. She says she's sorry, but the guy brushes it off. No big deal. Hey, I'm fine. It was just an idle thought. That kind of thing. He waits until he's alone to let the devastating disappointment hit him in the gut, where he can collapse without fear of damaging what he DOES have with her. In this case, the protection was not self-defense, but rather the protection of something the guy felt more important than himself.

In the end, a lie seeks to protect: oneself, one's friends, one's enterprises, etc. Yet lies are frowned upon in society, truth is held up as the standard of virtue, simply because lies, IF uncovered, and that's a very big if in many many cases, can cause untold harm. Even Socrates questioned the derogatory stance humanity takes to lies!

Anyone reading this might think I condone lying. In certain circumstances, I do. Lying to the Nazis about the Jews hiding in your attic, for example (and this just reinforces my protection theory of lies). In my own life, I try to be as honest as possible, just on the off chance that a lie MAY come back to bite me in the ass. But as I recently discovered, in multiple senses of the word, it is not my lies that hurt me the most.