PRACTITIONERS OF CONFIDENTIALITY

 

One of the problems this world has and Christianity has that can be remedied immediately is the lack of Confidentiality. Anybody can observe this issue in relationships of friends, family, the government, but dare I say - The Church.

I would like to strongly recommend to Christians who regularly pray that you NOT mention another person in prayer concerning a Confidential matter. Some churches and Christians use prayer groups and "Prayer Requests" as a Gossip Line within the community. This has potential for emotional and relational damage, especially if someone uses private information as a personal advantage. 

Many times the stigma of just having a "Major Concern" can return to the person with the problem because a believer shared an "unspoken need" of another. Again, I would strongly encourage you NOT to do this because this is just as bad, at least in my book, as violating an agreed upon Keep of Confidentiality. 

Stop the potential damage to relationship and damage to the person with the issue, by not sharing personal, private, confidential or what would probably be deemed confidential information. Keep it to yourself and God. Allow the person with the issue to share if they see fit.

My personal rule that I have lived by since youth and suggest to you today is - unless told otherwise, keep every public or private  conversation and their information - Confidential. This avoids a lot of headaches, stress, strife and trouble.

Scripture has the following to say about it - 

• Proverbs 11:13 - "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret."
• Proverbs 25:9 - "If you take your neighbor to court, do not betray another's confidence."
• Proverbs 17:9 - "Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends."

The lesson we should learn is how to be better Trustworthy people. To the persons who have the issue, they need somebody to Confide, hence the word Confidentiality. Their hunt is for that trustworthy person in their life they can entrust with the burden of their issue and no one else. 

The alleged trustworthy individual(s) must then be mature enough to grasp what is being asked of him/her. They have to do an excellent job of not forgetting, slipping-up or purposely violating that trust as Practitioners of Confidentiality.