One junior high school boy confided in another his love for a certain girl. The first boy asked the second one to keep his secret. By the end of the school day, the rumor was all around about the boy and girl. The first boy was mortified as others mocked him and teased the girl he liked. In shame, the boy ran home, and in the weeks ahead he avoided both his friend and the girl of his affections. Through a thoughtless and cruel act, one person was able to shame another and build walls that blocked a relationship from ever starting. Gossip is one of the most sinful and selfish acts we can engage in. It robs others of their honor, and places them in positions of mockery. Gossip can never build up, but only destroy. It casts doubts, and puts others down. God (my higher power as I understand him) favors the woman or man who keeps silence when a friend confides in them. Trust is one of the most powerful forces on earth. Every good relationship has trust as its cornerstone, even our relatonship to God. When we learn to trust God, we have the weight of the world lifted from our shoulders. We can live in faith, knowing that God works all things for good, and that He will be with us always.
When a friend speaks to me in confidence, let me be trustworthy and devoted. Seal my lips from ever saying anything which brings another person shame or grief. May the words of my mouth be a blessing.
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You only live once; but if you work it right, once is enough. There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
I know when I first got sober, trust was a huge issue for me.
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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguements and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation."
~Herbert Spencer
Yeah? Well wait 'till I post the dirt on YOU, sweetie!!
O.K. Just kidding. And I agree with that posting 100 percent. I cannot count the number of times I have been hurt in that way. Someone, someone you feel so close to and share some of your private and inmost thoughts and feelings with, turns them public. A what-you-thought-was-close-friendship dissolves (probably for the better) and at a great loss to both persons involved. And it hurts. It's the breach of trust more than whatever the issue is/was, and there cannot exist a TRUE friendship/relationship without that vital component in my opinion.
It is by that pain that long ago I realised the value of that virtue and became so very trustworthy myself. But boy, have I got some stuff I could tell you about my neighbor.
Thank you for the post Jeannie...Tim
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"We posess the eyes through which the universe gazes with wonder upon its own majesty."
For me, this one is hard to follow when it's work gossip and it's regarding someone (or some people) that have been insanely rude to me or have attempted to sabatoge me there. I'm actually pretty good at walking away from gossip and not wanting to hear it (we all have much better things to do with our time, right?), but I've never worked somewhere before that is so full of hypocrites -even my dentist was trying to pry gossip regarding my superiors out of me, but I did not say a thing!--so the temptation to find validation by listening to it and getting satisfaction out of it is there. Even if I don't pass it on, it's just not healthy to even give it my attention.
