When I was in kindergarten, my teacher asked for and received my trust. When I was in grade school my parents asked for and received my trust. So when did I become cynical?
For me it was a long, slow process of having been taken advantage of, lied to, and conned. First I began to mistrust the government with corrupt, elected officials lining their pockets with my money. Then it was salespeople who offered great deals and delivered shoddy merchandise. Along the way, I met my share of people who would promise and not deliver. Self-absorption and self-promotion became the norm. The Internet allows people to misrepresent the truth, lie, and cheat. People everywhere are offered "make-thousands-of-dollars-at-home" schemes. E-mails blitz our in-boxes proclaiming us winners of a multi-million dollar lottery or asking us to launder a million-dollar inheritance.
The freefall of the auto industry, the dismal failure of financial institutions, and the imposed redistribution of wealth have me doubting anyone and everyone who wants to work for "my good" and the future. Even something as innocuous as the wise use of natural resources has me gritting my teeth wondering what agenda is being foisted on me and for whose gain. I do not trust. That is sad.
That being said, however, I must retract, at least on one count, my last words -- for I do trust. I trust in God. In a day when it is not popular or prudent to proclaim a trust or a faith in God, I do and I will. God is the constant, the very help in the day of trouble, the One who is with me always. He is the powerful Creator, the Sustainer of the Universe, and the One who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the power to overcome sin, Satan, and the world's headlong trip to hell. He has saved me and all believers. In Him, do I trust.
I will live my life confidant in His unchanging grace. I will ask no man to trust me, but live my days so all men can. I will beg no man to trust God, but live my life as an example of that trust. When I fail, I trust God and His promises. Jesus Christ can and does forgive, for it is not about me -- but always about Him.
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Well stated, but. How does trusting in the Lord help you to deal with all the corruption you identified in the first part of your essay? The Lord has given us eternal life through His sacrifice. That we can trust. But how do we handle today this world of mistrust. That's the question or issue that the first part of this essay begs.
There are a number of things I can trust, outside of God. The greatest of these is that I can always trust that others will do what they want for themselves first. Even the person that seems so self-deprecating that they frequently defer to others is really getting what they want for themselves--however twisted this seems.
This behavior of always taking care of one's self interest first is so ingrained in mankind that I am often surprised at how little we think about it.
Each time someone steps out beyond their own self interest, it is a huge blessing. I try to recognize this behavior and thank God and the person making the effort.
The second area that I can trust is that someone will look at some aspect of my life and decide I need to change. If I am not a member of a group, they think I should be in a group. If I am a member of a group, they think I need to be a greater contributor. If I give large amounts of my time and talent to a group, they assume I must be paid and therefore don't need the help I am asking for.
From all of this, one might assume that there is no value of being part of a group. Politics are infuriating, acquaintances act against you, friends are selfish... What difference does it make who is in the government? What difference does it make who is managing the church?
There is one group that I truly want to be a member of. This is the family of God. It isn't a community or even, in the common understanding, a communion. It is a family.
My father, a missionary in China, was interned with my mother and oldest brother by the Japanese in Hong Kong. He said, "You will always know when you meet a true Christian. They will act differently than others for they will act out of love. When we were first imprisoned, all of us Americans were held in a hotel without food or water. Things were rather desperate. The previous owner who had just sold the hotel had not moved from the penthouse. Our suffering came to his attention, and he used his own money to go out and provide for us. He had no reason to do this, and it was at great personal risk that he did so. He did it because he loved Christ Jesus."
"When all the world is falling down around you, God is still there. He will be there in the hearts of other Christians. What you need to think about is will you be there for God?"
Trusting in the Lord helps us in this world in that it allows us to never waiver from fiath in th eone who will never waiver. We can endure all kinds of mistrust - done in the name of man - knowing that God will keep His Word - this world goes away - His world is forever!
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