I remember one year going to the public health clinic when I was in elementary school to get my immunization shots. A couple of my older brothers were with me. I couldn’t wait for my mother to pick us up. I had something to tell. As soon as she arrived I said, “Mother, when we got our shots, Darrell cried, Jerry cried, but I didn’t cry!” One of my brothers yelled, “You are nothing but a tape recorder. You tell Momma everything.”
His pronouncement did not embarrass me. I was just reporting the facts. Now I know better. Just because it’s the “truth,” does not mean I need to shout it from the moutaintop. We live in a culture that prizes getting out the information as quickly as possible. But do we really need to know or does our sharing say more about us than the victim?
If I share someone’s secrets or mishaps, am I motivated by jealousy, pride, unresolved conflict? I ask because I Peter 4:8 says: Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” Proverbs 17:9 says “Disregarding another person’s faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends.” These verses are very direct and sobering. If I really love someone, why would I be so quick to expose their deepest secrets and shame?
I have to question the depth of my love when I can’t wait to “tell the truth” about someone and it would cause the hearer to think less of that person.
I’m so glad that God is not a tattletale. He covers all my faults and sins and does not take pleasure in exposing them for all to know. In fact, He places all of our sins in a net and casts them away as far as the east is from the west. That’s a true friend.
Yes, the “truth” may come out. But I don’t have to be the one to tell it.
