Proverbs 11:13. "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing hidden."

I love how the Bible is so many different things - sometimes an epic narrative showing us the outlines of salvation history; sometimes poetry; sometimes the very revelation of God Himself and His sacrificial love for us; and sometimes, as here, practical good advice and guidance for a good life! 

Here we learn something we should already know - it is better not to reveal others' secrets than to go around telling others. In fact, even if we are not sure something is to be kept secret, it is always better to not speak of the things we know of others unless there is good reason to. This discretion not only leads us to being more trustworthy people, but it makes society better in general.

I think loss of this discretion is one of the problems social media has fostered. Social media encourages us to give away too much information about ourselves and others. It makes public what should be private, and blurs the line between what can and should be spoken of in conversation and what should be kept to oneself.

We should have this discretion for ourselves, too, not just for others. Not everyone needs to know everything about us, it is perfectly okay, and even virtuous, to keep some things hidden.