Is Trust Necessary?

I TRUST the mailman to deliver my mail. No questions asked.

I TRUST the grocer to have produce. No questions asked.

I TRUST Walmart to open at the hour stated on their door.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE CLOSEST TO US?

I CAN’T force anyone to be trustworthy.

TELLING someone, “I trust you,” is spoken in faith, a declaration of confidence in their character.

HOW OFTEN do I trust a boss, a sibling, a parent, a spouse in thought, or out of habit or expectation? No questions asked.

WHAT HAPPENS when they don’t meet my expectation or match the confidence I’ve placed in their character?

TRUST is lost.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE (at least for me). I’m presently processing this concept, which I’m planning to express in one of my books down the road. But I can’t wait that long to process it “out loud” with you. So feel free to offer feedback in the comment section.

TRUST has always been accepted as one pillar of a healthy relationship. Any relationship, really, but marriage in particular. (In case you can’t tell, I’m presently taking a marriage class)

But THINK ABOUT IT. When you trust someone, you’re making a lot of assumptions. If I trust my spouse, I end up not asking the types of questions that lend themselves to trust. I forge ahead in blissful ignorance.

No. TRUST has legs

 OPENNESS & HONESTY

WHY is being open and honest more important than trust?

HOW DARE I not trust my spouse!

WHAT KIND OF manipulative beast am I that I feel the need to PRY and JUDGE?

I USED TO think the same way; I’ve learned my lesson. A better way exists, a way that leads to intimacy that we’ve been missing.

FALLEN CREATURES. That’s all of us. Unable to walk uprightly without God’s grace. Unable to overcome without God’s power. Unable to meet other’s needs until we receive life from our Creator.

IT IS NECESSARY to accept each other despite our imperfect state without judgment.

IT’S ALSO NECESSARY to act responsibly.

TEMPTATIONS surround us. A temptation to steal is not sin, but succumbing to the temptation is.

WE LIVE surrounded by evil. Our greedy culture is obsessed with a lust for sex, riches, and fame. We cannot escape this, so we must confront it head on. None of us are immune to its effects.

The RIGHT question can EXPOSE darkness.

ASK QUESTIONS! Questioning your spouse (or a person you hold dear) is not only an act of love, but it should happen regularly. Do we not want to help our brother stay on the narrow path that leads to life?

Then don’t assume that any fallen man/woman is immune to the sway of evil.

AN OPEN and honest answer builds intimacy. I know it’s cliché, but it applies here: Into Me You See. To see into my spouse I have to ask, “What temptations did you deal with today?” And he should ask me the same.

SHINING A LIGHT on temptation can kill its attractiveness.

If, IN THE NAME OF TRUST, we don’t take time to ask the tough-love questions, we are depriving both of us a chance to grow intimately. We also carelessly expose ourselves to the prowling lion who seeks to steal, kill and destroy.

PLAN aggressively against evil, making no provision for it.

“The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.” Rom 13:12

ONLY IN GOD can we place complete trust, without question

For the rest of us, commit to asking questions

Expose darkness

and perhaps save a life

The Way of the Embattled Spirit

Transparency (open and honest) is such a God thing!

“…to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 26:18

“But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them.” Eph 5:13 nlt