Wesley Challenge_Day 17

Do I confidentially pass on to others what was told to me in confidence?

TUESDAY — 01.19.21 · Proverbs 11:11-13, Daniel 6:3-4
We know that trust is fundamental to establishing and sustaining strong relationships. So why do we feel the need to break trust by sharing matters told to us in confidence? Usually we feel the urge to relay private information because information is power. Humans love to let others know that we have access to powerful information. But when as Christians we cannot keep secrets or hold confidential matters private, we sabotage the very sense of community Jesus came to create.

⇒ Has anyone ever betrayed your confidence? What happened after you discovered that your trust was broken? How did that experience affect that specific relationship, other relationships (especially if they were touched by the information wrongly shared), and your overall willingness and ability to trust others?
⇒ Have you ever betrayed someone’s confidence? What were the circumstances? If you have ever betrayed someone’s confidence, how did you feel after you shared that person’s confidential information? Are you still in a relationship with that person? Why or why not? If you have never betrayed someone’s confidence, how was this principle of trust instilled in you?

Prayer: Help me, God, to control my desire to reveal information that was told to me in confidence. Guard my tongue, and help me to think before I speak and act.