When Pharaoh gave Joseph the job of managing Egypt's resources, Pharaoh told him "there is none so discreet and wise as thou art" (Genesis 41:39). When I first read that earlier this week, I didn't understand it. I had figured that discreet basically meant being good at keeping secrets and being sly, which didn't really apply here. So I looked it up. According to one definition I found, discreet can mean "Marked by, exercising, or showing prudence and wise self-restraint in speech and behavior; circumspect." Then, I wasn't 100% sure about prudence and circumspect, so I looked them up, too. Evidently, prudent means "Wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense," and circumspect means "Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent." These are all good qualities to have, and none of them specifically involves keeping secrets.
Taken together, these definitions basically mean that Joseph was very wise and practical. He foresaw potential consequences and he exercised good judgment in devising a way to prepare for them. He also likely conducted himself very well in Pharaoh's presence, which was very wise, considering the circumstances.
All in all, discretion is a good quality for a person to have, even if they don't have any secrets to keep from anybody, because discretion, as it turns out, isn't about keeping secrets; it's about being wise.
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