Wednesday; July 8

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t trust anyone”?  I am sure that this is a common mantra these days.  I imagine that for some, it is driven by personal experience – they have been let down by too many people to trust anyone. For others, it very well may be the result of conflicting information being presented as truth.  If two people make totally opposite statements with the same forcefulness expecting us to believe one of them, it is easy to convince ourselves we can’t believe (or trust) anyone.  As I got to pondering this issue recently I looked at it as a modern phenomenon, but then I found it goes back centuries.  The wise King Solomon observed, “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? (Proverbs 20:6).
While I would like to blame the non-trusting people for their lack of faith, I wonder how much of it is our problem, not theirs?  If people don’t believe us could it be that we are unbelievable (and not in the good way)?  Could it be that people lack trust in their fellow man because we have not lived up to word or lived lives of integrity?  Maybe the problem isn’t that people are becoming cynical, maybe the issue is that our actions are trustworthy?
There is only one way to restore people’s faith in their fellow man and that is by living up to our word and telling the truth.  We cannot demand that people trust us, our only hope is to be believable and hope that our honesty lays the groundwork for trust and believability.  Regaining trust begins one person, one fact, one interaction at a time.  Sure, it will take time to restore trust, but unless we start today, it will never happen.
          Think About It!

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