He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matter. (Proverbs 11:13)

Can you keep a secret?

Are you a trustworthy person? What I mean is this: can you keep a secret?

I like to think that most of us know when to speak and know when to keep a matter quiet.  Unfortunately, we often don’t because although good news travels far, bad news travels much farther. And there is so much bad news about people being shared that it seems many folks enjoy being caught up in it.

Secrets Revealed

If you’ve been following the news over the past few weeks, then you have witnessed first hand what gossip, idle talk, and broken secrets can do to a person. Yes, I’m talking about Tiger Woods, the best known golfer in the world who is, apparently, a serial adulterer.

Woods has discovered recently that very few secrets can ever be hidden especially those that are lurid. It doesn’t matter what I think of the matter as it is a problem he’ll have to handle with his wife and with God.

Woman Scorned

Right now, the punishment from Mrs. Woods is probably worse than what he is feeling from above, but then again how can any of us imagine the anguish of soul someone is going through when their life is being turned upside down?

But this isn’t about Tiger Woods.  Rather, it is about the way that we handle confidences particularly those shared by a close friend or family member including those within our fellowship.

I have served in the church as both a deacon and and as an elder at some point over the past twenty-five years. During those special times I was able to rub shoulders with God’s people and learn a lot about the way people act and think.

Secrets Kept

But even when I wasn’t serving in leadership, there were times when someone shared something with me that was confidential. I knew to keep the matter a secret, occasionally instructing that person to take our conversation a step further by talking directly with a friend, spouse, or other party. But I wasn’t about to do that for them.

You see, there is a fine line that can be crossed when someone shares something with us. Unless we’ve been told by them to ask others to pray or intervene on their behalf, that matter should stay in our own hearts, to be shared only with God.  Intercessory prayer is a powerful weapon at our disposal; meddling gossip is not.

Not our spouses, not our best friends, and certainly nobody else. Just you and God.

Proverbs 26:22 says, “Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.” When we hear news from someone else, that information tends to reshape how we think of that person and rarely does it inspire us to pray for them.

Church United

Satan uses gossip to divide the church. If something is repeated to you ask that person to stop. Most importantly, bring that matter to God as He alone knows the entire story.

Photo Credit: Sanja Gjenero/SXU

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