Saturday, September 11, 2010

Who Do You Trust?

As chaos erupts around the world, as the economy teeters on the brink of collapse, as politicians try to win favor with only their words, and as spiritual darkness permeates every sector of society, who can be trusted? How can we know who is deserving of our trust? We'll briefly explore these issues in this blog.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines trust:

"Firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing; faith; reliance."

A starting point for this discussion would be to ask is a person "trustworthy." Applying Webster's definition would indicate that persons are trustworthy when they are honest, have integrity and are reliable. Most of us would agree this means that a person will tell the truth, not just most of the time but all the time. It would mean the person demonstrates integrity by what they say and do. It would mean one could rely on what a person says because they say what they mean and mean what they say! To shorten the thought, we can know whether a person is trustworthy by the demonstration of their character.

If one purchases a bottle of water that is certified to be 99.44% spring water and .56% sewage, would it be considered drinkable? Certainly not! Yet our evaluation of the character of politicians, business leaders and even church leaders doesn't seem to be affected if they "spin" the truth, if what they do is primarily for the purpose of enriching or aggrandizing themselves or if it is primarily for the purpose of accomplishing their political or personal agenda.

One might question at this point whether anyone can be considered trustworthy. No human being is perfect and most of us realize that perfection is not a mark of character. Character emanates from within, i.e., whatever is in our heart. Our personal experiences, desires, motives and beliefs shape our character. Our character usually changes throughout life, for better or for worse!

The Holy Bible, in Proverbs 4:23 and 4:24, says:

"Keep (guard) your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you."

I could interpret this verse as, "Keep honesty, integrity and good character in your heart. Don't deviate from these things, no matter what the cost. Don't speak false, deceitful words or half-truths because they will fill your heart and diminish your character."

1 Timothy 4:1 and 4:2 supports these truths. "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron..."

So, here's the bottom line. The character of man is demonstrated by what he/she does and says. Trust can be earned in this way or the true nature of a person can be revealed. The character of a person should tell us if they are trustworthy. Only a fool would place trust in a person that is not trustworthy! Who do you trust?