The Slanderer vs. The Trustworthy: Who Are You? (Proverbs 11:13)
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Proverbs 11:13
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,
but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
This verse presents two types of people: the slanderer and the trustworthy.
The slanderer goes about sharing other people’s business. They reveal secrets, speaking about things with and to people that should have stayed private.
But the ‘trustworthy in spirit keep a thing covered.’ They don’t reveal secrets. They don’t share things that should remain private.
Speaking of secrets, it's no secret who we’d all rather be friends with. But here’s the hard part – this isn’t just about choosing sides, like Team A and Team B, where once you’re in, you stay in. Unfortunately, we all switch teams at times. None of us are perfectly trustworthy. And that’s why so many of us have felt the sting of broken trust – because at one time or another, we’ve confided in someone who didn’t keep our confidence. Maybe we’ve even been that person ourselves.
This is why Proverbs keeps warning us about gossip. Just yesterday, in Proverbs 16:28, we saw that gossip isn’t just careless talk – it actively separates close friends. And here it is again today. God is trying to tell us something.
So what do we do? How do we respond? I feel like there are three takeaways here:
Be careful who you trust. A few weeks ago, we looked at Proverbs 12:26: “The righteous chooses his friends carefully.” That still holds. A red flag is being friends with someone who gossips to you – because if they will gossip to you, they will gossip about you (more on that tomorrow).
Be someone worthy of trust. Integrity is built when we choose to protect what someone shares with us, not spread it. A great friend is a friend we can trust and confide in. We want to be that friend. And that leads me to the perfect friend…
Above all, trust in Jesus. Because here’s the truth – no human being will be perfectly trustworthy. We all fail at this. But Jesus? He never will. He is trustworthy in Spirit to perfection, and He can’t be anything else. If you’ve been hurt by broken trust, He is the friend who will never betray you. If you’ve been the one who’s broken trust, He is the Savior who forgives and transforms you.
So that leads me to ask you:
With your friends, who are you trusting in? Are they proven to be slanderers, or trustworthy?
Who are you? Are you someone others can trust?
And who is Jesus to you? Is He someone you’ve put your trust in?
If not, ain’t no betta day than today to put your trust in Him, the sweetest Friend. Let’s pray.
