photo #9145162

Our Daily Bread Ministries April 16 Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 30-31; Luke 13:23-35 Hollow Willow A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. Proverbs 11:13 READ Proverbs 11:11-13 When explaining how valuable he found time with an older advisor who regularly listened to his concerns, Tomáš said, “He is my hollow willow.” When I looked at him blankly, Tomáš explained that the phrase is a Slovak expression signifying someone who keeps your secrets. In essence, the person is like a willow tree holding confidential information safely within its trunk. It’s a treasure to have someone to whom we can confide our deepest fears and longings. Perhaps speaking from his own experience, in a section of Proverbs highlighting the power of our words, King Solomon commended the individual who displays discretion or can “[hold] their tongue” (Proverbs 11:12). He also contrasted two people: “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret” (v. 13). The comparison is a helpful reminder to carefully steward private conversations, though we shouldn’t remain silent if we’re genuinely concerned for someone’s safety. In our digital world where we can quickly spread information, it can be tempting (and easy) to share juicy details that might generate reactions. But gossip not only hurts the individual who trusted you enough to share, it also causes significant damage to relationships when confidences are broken. We can all aspire to be “hollow willows,” people of integrity who can be trusted to keep a confidence. By Lisa M. Samra REFLECT & PRAY Who’s someone you know that embodies the ideal of a “hollow willow?” How might you hold others’ words well? Dear God, please help me steward others’ words responsibly. Amen.