Honest AND Trustworthy?
I had an interesting conversation with a coworker of mine today. He was thinking aloud about a specific situation in the office and said, "There's a difference between being honest and being trustworthy, isn't there?" He was referencing a situation where he had been honest but he had not been trustworthy because he had broken a promise not to share. He was bothered by the fact until we discussed that someone else had shared the information prior to his confirmation of the facts.
It relieved his mind to know he hadn't been the one to initially break confidence, but I wonder if he really thinks it excuses him from the promise if the other party already knows?
What are your thoughts? Is he really trustworthy? Does it excuse him?
It relieved his mind to know he hadn't been the one to initially break confidence, but I wonder if he really thinks it excuses him from the promise if the other party already knows?
What are your thoughts? Is he really trustworthy? Does it excuse him?
Not cleared of being untrustworthy. Merely cleared of culpability in this situation.
ReplyDeleteI think we all coddle our conscience with this type of reasoning though - "I told but people were going to find out by this weekend", "I wasn't specific so it's not my fault if they draw conclusions from my vague descriptions", etc.
I think a broader context should perhaps be considered though. Was he conscious of breaking his word as it happened or was the desire to be honest the overwhelming urge and so it (and perhaps intimidation in the situation - could he have faced repercussions for saying "I can't tell you that"?) came out though he never intended to break that promise.