Trust is a very important quality in a friend. We often will tell friends things that are important to us but that we do not want others to know. It is good to have friends with which you can share fears, hopes, and dreams. However, we must be careful of some secrets that others want us to keep. There are some secrets that we must not keep.
If a person says they are going to harm other people or themselves, we must try to stop the violence. You may need to tell a teacher, principal, or parent depending on the situation. I had a friend tell me that he took too much medicine one time when he was trying to hurt himself. I told someone in charge at our school and they were able to make sure that the medicine would not hurt him and try to help him not hurt himself in the future.
An important secret that you must not keep is any secret that an adult wants you to keep from your parents. It does not matter if that adult is a relative (like an uncle, aunt, cousin, or grandparent), an elder, preacher, church teacher, school teacher, principal, or any other adult.
Please listen to me: a responsible adult will never say or do anything to you that they would not want your parents to know about. A caring and concerned adult would never say that they will hurt you, your parents, or a brother or sister if you tell your parents something you saw, heard, or something that happened to you. You do need to tell your parents. An adult who would say such things is likely trying to cover up something they are doing wrong; in fact, they are scared of your parents finding out. If you tell your parents—and you should—they will protect you, your brothers and sisters, and themselves and will be able to handle the problem. Please trust your parents, not the person who would try to scare you. Talk to your parents about this and you will see that what I am saying is true. You will not be a tattle-tale if you tell your parents; you will be doing the right thing.
Godly Youth 