Can you keep a secret

I have, as I am sure we all have, those in my life that cannot keep a secret. And, I don't really mean some kind of sordid, deep, dark secret; I mean, they cannot help themselves except to tell whatever they know to whomever will listen, even if they have bee told not to tell anyone else.

I have been known to test folks to see if they can be trusted to keep a secret. I'll tell them something that is just too good not to tell and then ask them not to tell ANYONE. If that news gets back to me, and it often does, then, I'll know that the person I shared my fabrication with cannot be trusted with real secrets.

Today's word is Proverbs 11:13, NLT, which reads, "A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence."

Now, there are times that things need to be told. If you have someone telling you that they are being abused or mistreated or something of that nature, then, by all means, you have to get them some help. And, that is not what we are talking about here.

Here, we are discussing things that we don't want told to anyone else and yet there are those that cannot be trusted with those things. The old nautical warning, "Loose lips sink ships," is good advice to follow. One quote I've heard is, "If it's not your story to tell, you don't tell it." There are things to tell and there are things that we are not to tell.

I want to be found trustworthy and creditable. I want others to know that they can confide in me and I will not betray that confidence. We all need others that we can trust, that can be that sounding board, that ear, that confidant. If you find someone needing to talk, listen. Then, don't tell their story to others (and, that goes for me). You'll know you are in one of those moments when the other person asks, "Can you keep a secret?"

Be Blessed,
Mickey T