Collegiality, Propriety, and Confidentiality.
“What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.”
Brought up in a conversation regarding ministry, I was reminded of the most significant time the confidentiality portion of that oath was broken for me through a confession to a leader who shared my confession with a number of my peers who came to me and warned me he had done so.
The Word says that love covers a multitude of sins and every time I am reminded of this one, I am reminded of my own frailty as a human being, the frailty of the one whom I trusted and how that the whole instance set me completely free of one of my own life challenges.
Though I certainly could have prayed for different circumstances, I could not have prayed for a greater outcome!
“But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:44-45a
You may not know until heaven how much I am grateful for our experience.
“It was not an enemy insulting me. I could stand that.
It was not someone who hated me. I could hide from him.
But it is you, a person like me, my companion and good friend.
We had a good friendship and walked together to God’s Temple.” – Psalm 55:12-14
Thankfully, so much freedom came from that experience that every time I am reminded of it there is an ecstatic, bolt of lightning, confirmation in my spirit to be a man of God.
Love does cover and forgive a multitude of sins.
May we, this leader and I, someday, have a good friendship and walk together to God’s Temple again.
