Ever had a really, really big secret? Peter Parker did, and it all started with a teeny, weeny spider bite. As Christians, is it OK to have secrets? What does God say about secrets?

On November 9th, The Amazing Spiderman comes out on DVD, and, as promised, this is your ScreenSmart preview and review... 

Before we move on to the topic of secrets, here is a quick overview:

1. It's only been 10 years since the last Spiderman movie...but as far as technology and storyline go, the new movie is an improved version. Having said that...

2. This movie contains the same issues with violence, language, possibly scary images (think creepy huge lizard), and kissy-faced activities. No surprise there, right? When compared with the "old" version, the negative elements are similar. 

3. This movie contains some of the same positive elements, as well. The transformation of Peter Parker into selfless superhero, the fight against evil in all forms, the importance of family (unfortunately, that realization sometimes takes place when it's too late), etc. 

Thus, I'd like to focus on one specific aspect of the movie: secrets. 

When Peter realizes he is now endowed (via spider bite) some strange senses and abilities, he also realizes that to be the hero he needs to be, his "condition" has to be kept secret. Complicating things, however, Peter Parker's Aunt May says something to him that provides the viewers with a foreshadowing of coming events: "Secrets have a cost," she says, "They're not free. Not now, not ever." 

Are secrets OK? If so, what defines an "OK" secret? The Bible talks about some interesting situations that involve secrets:

Remember Queen Esther's secret? She was married to King Xerxes, who had no idea that she was actually a Jew... when she finally did reveal her secret at the pivotal moment, she saved the Jewish people from total annihilation. (You can read the story in the book of Esther in the Bible.)

Remember when Jesus healed the leper, and He told him to keep it a secret? The leper didn't keep the secret, however, and news spread so fast that Jesus could no longer go out in public, and His ministry was stunted. (You can read the story in Mark 1:4--45.)

Those are biblical examples of secrets that were supposed to be kept. Kind of like Peter Parker's secret, the mission depended on people keep their traps sealed! However, the Bible also says in Romans 2:16 that God will judge our secrets (and of course, we can't hide anything from God). 

So here's my question for you: 

What qualifies as a secret that should be kept? What qualifies as a secret that should NOT be kept? Was Aunt May (in the movie) correct in saying that secrets have a cost?