1. “I did it, but my family needs me, I need to keep my job.  I can’t afford a lawyer.  Can you help me get out of this mess?”  Family man confesses to his buddy.

2.  “My heart is broken.  My grandson has broken his parole.  If they find out, he will be back in prison.”  Grandmother confides to her friend.

3.  “I am at wit’s end, I know my husband is being unfaithful to me.”  Wife weeps brokenly to her sister.

4.  “I am a shop-lifter.  I need help.  Please pray for me.”  Church member says to her small prayer cluster.

5.  “I’ve been told I have a serious illness, that I must prepare for my death in about four months.”  Friend explains to me about her depression.

SECRETS.  The Bible says to love one another, confess to one another, pray for one another. These kinds of statements are fairly common in the Christian community, and as far as I have observed, secrets remain secrets within that setting.  

Most Bible-conscious people are warned against the sin of gossip, and they feel accountable before God for the precious gift that has been entrusted to them when someone confides in them.   I’m sure other religions have taboos regarding “a loose tongue,” but I’m not familiar with them as I am with the Bible.  There are many of all faiths (or no faith) who take their responsibility seriously. 

Do you have a confidant to whom you can turn?  Are you the kind of person in whom others can put their trust?  Or do your acquaintances have to go to a professional—if they can afford to?  No light burden—that of keeping one’s mouth shut