What is TRUST Worth to You?

I am having a hard time coming up with a value or a price tag. Trust is priceless to me!  It is invaluable!  It is the core of a friendship.  It is the foundation of all my loving relationships.  It is the basis of a comfortable friendship where you can let your hair down and be yourself and laugh and cry..................all out loud if you feel like it!! 

I feel "at home" with people I trust.  I feel "at love" and "in love" with people I trust.  I feel respect with people I trust.  I feel respected with people I trust.  I feel freedom with people I trust......freedom to be me.  I feel real.  I feel relaxed.  I feel honesty and sincerity.  I feel safe and secure.   I feel productive.  I feel welcomed.  I feel truth.  I feel integrity.  I feel vulnerable and open with people I trust......................and I feel the exact opposite with people I don't trust.  And over the years, maybe I have trusted too many people or the wrong people................."wise as serpents and harmless as doves".  Or maybe, I haven't trusted enough people??  Perhaps I have been too suspicious?

Which group do you think I like to hang with??  But, unfortunately, you can't always hang with the people you trust.  You have to go to work and pay bills and sit on airplanes and participate in groups and meetings and problem solve and ........ you fill in the blank.

But how do we know who to trust?  What are the characteristics or attributes of a trustworthy person??  I have given this lecture and asked these questions to my daughters many times.  Are all people on this planet worthy of our trust?  Should all people be treated equally when it comes to trust?  Should trust be earned and granted immediately?  I believe Some people are not worthy of our trust.  But how do you know who they are?  What do they look like?  Where do they come from?  What political party do they represent?  What religion are they?  Does skin color matter or nationality?  You have probably heard comments like these in the past....... ie.  Muslims are never to be trusted again!!!  Or..."I got offended by a Baptist Preacher once in 1978 and I will never trust Baptist Preachers again."  I certainly don't have the answers!

Have you ever been manipulated and hurt by someone you trusted?  Have YOU ever hurt or manipulated someone who trusted you?  If you are honest, you will probably say YES to both questions.  This planet is full of Manipulators, Pathological Liars, Gain Seekers, Cheaters, Swindlers........self-absorbed, self-centered folks who will hurt almost anyone, anytime, anywhere, to reach their selfish objectives and protect themselves  And of course I am humbled by the words..............."Such were some of you."  (1 Cor 6:11)

So Trust is tricky.  You become vulnerable and open to be hurt and manipulated.  It is scary to trust someone you don't know well but very comforting to trust someone you have no doubt has your very best interest in mind.  Maybe it is your wife or your mother or father or best friend??  Whoever it is, you feel the love and the committment.   You feel safe and secure in that love and there is nothing like it.  How many people do you really trust??  If you are like me, it is the same answer to the question of how many real friends do I have.  It is fewer than we realize.   But when they come into your life or prove themselves over time that they are trustworthy, it is sweet and priceless.  Trust is priceless and people in your life who are trustworthy are more precious than silver or gold................and when you find them, you'd better hold on tight!!!

Looking back over the years, I recall people who have trusted me with their money, their love, their secrets, their sins, weaknesses, faults, shame, embarassments, guilt and disappointments.  What an awesome responsibility to know that I have gained someone's trust and they are counting on me not to break it.  I wish I could say that I have always been trustworthy but I haven't.  But over the years I have learned how valuable trust is to me causing me to realize how valuable it is to others.  But as we fail each other time and time again on this planet, I am reminded of an old song praising the most trustworthy person in the universe...............

Trust and obey,

For there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.

Jesus has never let me down.  He has never lied to me.  He has never betrayed me.  He has never swindled or cheated me...................and He has never manipulated me.  But so often, I fail and refuse to trust and obey Him.  Why not Trust the One who is truly worthy of our Trust?  God help me to trust and be trustworthy!