As far as we know, if we take into account the Mahabharata and the Bhagawat, Sri Krishna never lied. Nor did he try to manipulate others to take advantage for himself or place his own or his family’s selfish interests. Otherwise he would have easily ensured that Yudhishthira ascended the throne through all kinds of pressure including his own army’s. Instead he tried to push the war to the last limit assuring that the they would be happy with five villages. He himself did not ascend the throne of Kansa after defeating him nor take over as the king of Dwarka though being completely instrumental in bringing it into existence. When he saw that his own people have deviated from dharma then he did not stop their self destruction and even went on to chastise his own son, Samba, for his adharmic behavior.
What he did to perfection, and what people misread as manipulation, is that he counseled the Pandavas to have proper war strategies to ensure their victory. This was important for Sri Krishna to ensure that the reign of Dharma was established in Aryavarta. He devised useful strategies once the war broke out since such was his role in the war. Strategies and diplomacies are part of the Dharma of politics and warcraft since the days of Lord Rama until modern times. Here the rules are different because lives and the destiny of people and nations depends upon it.
As to the rest of the stories of Sri Krishna during his childhood, they are clearly symbolic and have to be understood as that and not as some prankster is playing tricks for its own sake.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
