Not Ours to Give Away
Audio / Produced by The High CallingTranscript
Connie Cameron was eight years old when she overheard Mrs. Burch confide a personal crisis to her mother. When Connie’s mother realized that little ears had picked up private words, she said to Connie, “If Mrs. Burch had left her wallet here today, would we give it to anyone else?”
Connie answered no.
Her mother said, “Today Mrs. Burch left something more valuable than money—she left a story that could hurt many people. But though she left it with us, it belongs to her. And we cannot give it to anyone else.”
This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Connie’s lesson that day was discretion. A person may freely give us personal information, but it will never be ours to give away . . . in the high calling of our daily work.
A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.