Which of the two options do you believe put the usage of the truck at a disadvantage, lifting or lowering it?

People lift or lower their trucks for different reasons, but which causes the utility of the truck to suffer more, adding a really high lift kit, or lowering it? Lowering it makes the bed lower also, but unless you stiffen up the shocks greatly you may not have the ability to carry very much and certainly off road is a no go. If you lift the truck with a high lift kit and big tires, the bed could be as high as 18–25in, it will mean you can carry a lot and not bottom out, but getting heavy stuff like sod, refrigerators, sacks of concrete, lumber, etc. would be a bear to load and unload, not to mention getting in and out of the vehicle. Overall, of the two options which do you feel would hinder the usage of the truck more if used in a general way?