Why is it important to be honest?

Honesty refers to the quality of being honest, truthful and sincere. But, we don’t always have to be honest.  At times I don’t want to be honest, so I lie.  Sometimes it is to not seem different from other people, and at times it is because the truth hurts.  Sometimes, you can lie a little.   Sometimes it is very important to tell the truth.  Times when you can lie a little is when you feel as if it will “save you”, meaning that if you tell the truth, you can be in a lot of trouble.  Of course, if you got caught lying you may be in more trouble.  But I lie a lot and rarely do I get caught doing so.  Though, there are times when it is very important to tell the truth.  There is no “guideline” as to when to tell the truth.  This is a gut feeling.  For me at least, I just KNOW when I have to tell the truth.  I get that gut instinct or a guilty conscious if I know the truth must be told.  Of course I have lied to get what I really wanted.  Pretty sure I do that every day.  I don’t lie to friends that much, I can’t exactly recall a time that I have.  Do I lie to teachers…?  To be honest, I have.  But those teachers won’t know who they are or when I lied.  I haven’t lied to teachers that much though, just when I feel I need to.  I lie to my parents all the time.  I feel that teenagers lie to their parents more than they lie to anyone else.  So I’m not the only bad one here.  It isn’t always important to be honest, though it is technically it is morally correct.  Everyone lies in life, as do I.