WHO CAN WE REALLY TRUST?

Can the folks I trust with the deepest parts of my life be trusted to keep my anonymity?

What if I share something in a meeting that is of a personal nature?  Can I trust the group to keep it in the meeting room?  What if someone finds my 4^th Step can I trust them to give it back to me without showing it to someone?  In short, whom can I really trust?

This is a question many of us have asked ourselves in the past and probably will again.  The fact is people are fallible and make mistakes never really meaning too.

We all have talked out of school now and then and some of us just don’t have much wisdom when it comes to opening our mouths.

The Holy Bible is very clear about the nature of our tongues.

James 3:5-12

⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Folks, the fact is we all say and share things about each other that we ought

not.

It is a wise to pick our human sounding boards with care.  It’s something that unfortunately we learn by getting hurt.  But remember most folks never intend to hurt us; it’s just the nature of the beast.  It is rare indeed that a man fines another that he can trust without reservation.

If we open up our lives to one another it really comes back to us if someone slips and speaks out of school.  We are the ones who shared the information.  If we are going to take the risk of opening up then we need to count the cost.  The things we share may get out and so what if they do.  We are only as sick as our secrets.  Of course there are people that we would much rather not know all about us, but if they do find out is that a reason to stop opening up to people?  I say “No.”  Because it’s going to happen and in order to grow we cannot hide from life.

Now here is the solution.  You and I were never asked by God to trust anyone but Him.  We are commanded to Trust God and Love People.  It’s simple really.  Before we share anything personal with anyone we should stop to pray for guidance in choosing that individual.  Then when we feel comfortable with our choice we ask our friend or sponsor to pray a little prayer with us concerning anonymity.  Our prayer may go something like this:

God, we come before you now to ask your guidance in how we communicate with each other.  Show us what to share and what suggestions to give.  Be our wisdom and help us to honor each other’s anonymity.  Amen.

When we understand that we should place our trust in the creator and not in man we become more comfortable in opening up to each other.  We must take this risk in order to heal for “…it is confession one to another that we are set free.”

Meditorial: