Resources/Articles
It Doesn't Belong To You
One day when I was about eight, I was playing beside an open window while Mrs. Brown confided to my mother as serious problem concerning her son. When Mrs. Brown was gone, my mother, realizing I had heard everything, said, “If Mrs. Brown had left her purse here today, would we give it to someone else?”
“Of course not,” I replied.
Then Mother continued, “Mrs. Brown left something far more precious to her than her pocketbook today. She left a story that could make many people unhappy. That story is not ours to give to anyone. It is still hers, even though she left it. So, we shall not give it to anyone. Do you understand??
I did, and I have understood ever since that confidence or a bit of careless gossip which a friend has left at my house is his — not mine — to give to anyone.
He who goes about as a talebearer revealeath secrets,
but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth a matter.
Proverbs 11.13
