Monday, September 05, 2005

Trust Rust

No matter what type of relationship you are in, trust is a big deal. Whether you are in a relationship with friends, a significant other, or you are married, trust has a big impact on how smooth these relationships will go. The sad part is, we live in a world that is filled with lies and it becomes hard sometimes to accept someone's word.

I've been in a couple of situations where I've told someone that I would do something, but they told me that they wanted me to promise, or swear (and sometimes even pinky-promise) that I would do it. I become aggravated when someone doesn't accept my "Yes" as being an honest answer. But, because the world has tricked so many of us into buying its lies, it has become harder and harder to trust others, and to accept someone's word without them adding a "promise" onto it. The only reason why vows are needed is because of the distrust that this world has spread.

Jesus shows us the importance of telling the truth in Matthew 5:33-37 when He says, "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

When we lie to someone, or tell them half-truths (like white lies), our trust gains rust that weakens its structure. The more we lie, the weaker the trust others put in us becomes and the harder it becomes to regain their trust again. If we want to be trustworthy, we must display the attributes of a trustworthy person. When we tell someone that we are going to do something, we should do it!

The coin has two sides though! If you say you trust someone, then you trust them completely, right? Can one really trust just a little? No! Trust is a 100% deal! Having only half-trust is as good as no trust! Plus, worrying about someone's trustworthy ness will decrease the amount of trust you have in them!

As you go throughout your day, remind yourself that God is a trustworthy God, and because we are made in His image, we too should do our best to remain trustworthy. We must remember that trust is gained slowly, but lost quickly. We have to constantly make sure that lies or half-truths don't allow our trust to gain rust that will weaken other's faith in us.

1 comment:

tonymyles said...

Very cool, dude.

"Let your yes be yes and your no be no."