Here’s another ethical issue and Jewish source response:

Case

For the first time ever, Carol went shopping with her mother’s credit card.  She got to pick out the clothes she wanted. She came home with a lime-green plastic skirt, silver platform sandals, a yellow top, and an orange angora sweater. She went upstairs and got all dressed up – makeup and the works.  She put music on and paraded like a model down the stairs. She asked everyone what they thought. Mom put a smile on her face and said, “You must have worked very hard to put this outfit together. It is lovely, dear.” Dad said, “It is interesting.”  Carol ran upstairs crying. She shouted, “If you didn’t like it, you could have lied.” Mother turned to Dad and said, “You should have lied.” Dad answered, “I try to never lie.”

Answer

[a] In Judaism truth is really important.  EMET is the Hebrew word for truth. Resh Lakish said: “Tav is the end of the seal of the Holy One.”  Rabbi Hanina said: “The seal of the Holy One is EMET.’ Rabbi Samuel ben Nachman said: “The EMET stands for people who fulfilled the Torah from ALEF to TAV.”  ALEF is the first letter in the Hebrew Alef-Bet. TAV is the last letter. EMET is made up of ALEF, MEM, and TAV. MEM is the middle letter in the Hebrew Alef-Bet (Shabbat 55a).

[b] Yet there are models for lying.  At the school of Rabbi Ishmael it was taught: Great is the cause of peace, seeing that for its sake even the Holy One told a half-truth.  We are told that Sarah said, “How can I have a child with an old husband?” (Genesis 18:12). When God retold her words to Abraham, God said that Sarah said, “How can I have a child when I am so old?” (18:13).

[c] But this is the text that is most directly to the point.  In the Talmud, Ketubot 16a, Hillel and Shammai have the same argument.  They discuss telling a bride she is beautiful. Hillel says, “Every bride is beautiful.”  Shammai asks, “How can you tell a lame bride she is beautiful?” Hillel says, “Look at it this way.  If a man spends a lot of time and money picking out and buying something, it is precious to him. One says to him, ‘You have picked perfectly.’  So it is with a bride.” Hillel wins.  

Dad should say something believably nice about the outfit.  

Joel Grishaver, “You Be the Judge”, pgs. 95-96

Used with permission from Joel Grishaver