Let me tell you a secret …

Just the visual from the picture above will instantly bring back childhood memories to many of my readers.

The photo depicts Maxwell Smart, a.k.a. Agent 86, trying to have a conversation with his boss whom he routinely referred to as Chief.

In the spy genre TV show “Get Smart,” Smart was paranoid about the possibility the enemy organization, KAOS, may have bugged CONTROL’s headquarters. Even though they sat in the Chief’s office, they still couldn’t comfortably trust who might be listening, so Smart insisted top secret conversations be conducted under the “cone of silence.” The problem with that was the “cone of silence” never worked right and, after frustrating attempts to hear each other under the bubble, they finally would relent and have their conversation in the open.

Spies may have reason to be concerned about someone overhearing their conversations, their mission and their lives could be endangered. But if you’re not a spy (most of my readers aren’t), you should be trusted if you happen to overhear a conversation.

Right?

Can you be trusted with information about others? Or do you turn what you’ve heard into gossip? Do you endanger the character of others by broadcasting what you’ve heard about them or from them; or is information shared with you (purposely or otherwise) secure? Scripture speaks directly to being a person who is reliable rather than a gossip:

“A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends,” Proverbs 16:28.

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence,” Proverbs 11:13.

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers,” Proverbs 20:19.

Do people who know you need a “cone of silence” to talk around you? Or can you be relied upon to keep a confidence?

Scotty