Trust

I don’t trust anyone, and I think that’s a good thing.

The definition of trust seems solid enough. But though the word may be simple and easy to understand, where to place our trust is more difficult to determine.

For a while I was stuggling over what trust meant as a christian. Whom I should trust, and whom should I suspect? Finally a few months ago, I looked up the word “trust” in the Bible. It occurs in 134 verses, so I read them all. The Bible never (with only one exception) encourages trusting anyone or anything except The Lord. The verses are split rather evenly between condemning those who trust in military strength, money, other people, etc. and praising those who trust God. The one exception is Proverbs 31:11, and is apparently a special case. (One could even make the argument that trusting a Godly wife is an extension of trusting God)

So don’t trust anyone (except maybe your wife). Don’t trust me (look up the verses yourself). Don’t trust your parents or your professors or your closest friends. Don’t trust yourself, your possessions, your memories, or your experiences.

Trust God.

About Ziggy

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6 Responses to Trust

  1. JStankis says:

    *chuckles* Yes… let’s hear it for the Body that is highly suspicious of itself and all the other parts. Me thinks you misinterprited something along the way…

  2. Toad says:

    I don’t think he misinterpreted much. It is clear in the epistles that Paul applauds churches who don’t “take his word for it,” and look up the truth in the Scriptures for themselves (the classic example is that of the Bereans). Also, I think that Ziggy would admit to differing levels of trust. The level he’s talking about is trusting people to know what is best for you, or what is true, and in that I completely agree with him. I may trust my pastor to give a good sermon, but if I really care about knowing the truth, I will check his words against THE word.

    Ziggy would admit that he trusts people in lesser degrees. He trusts me not to kill him driving across town. He trusts fast-food employees not to poison his food. In fact, he trusts countless people with his life. His point is, he trusts no man with his salvation.

  3. Ziggy says:

    Jim, consider a transplant (a real body part right?). Without powerful drugs, our bodys will reject (read “attack and kill”) it under suspicion of intrusion, even though it will work just fine. Sounds pretty distrustful to me. I suspect that God knew this when he specified this particular metaphor.

    Toad, true, I am talking about diferent levels of trust, and reserve the highest for God alone. The thing is, I’m not really counting on others for the lesser levels either. I do trust that God will kill me at the right time, but it could be by your hands or mine as easily as by any other method. I hope that I wouldn’t be all that surprised if I died from food poisoning or a car wreck, and I hope I’d give God the credit and take the blame myself.

  4. Toad says:

    Really, I think that from a practical standpoint this concept could do wonders for helping most people “grow up” in today’s world.

    I gave a devotion in a class a year or so ago wherein I encouraged students to think for a minute about what they should really be focusing on in their lives. College-aged kids have a lot of people telling them how to live: parents, professors, RAs, RDs, and who knows who else. At the end of the day, odds are all of the above have a lot of good ideas, but the decision needs to be between you and God. These people have experience and training, but they aren’t you, and they aren’t God. Don’t trust them to live your life for you.

  5. Leah and Charlette says:

    It’s about trusting God and not anyone else.

  6. Charlette says:

    Trust God!

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