What Is Trust? — Morning Devotions

In the list of 30, politicians come 29 followed by telemarketers at No. 30. It was quite a surprise to read that hairdressers (at 12th position) are more trusted than ministers of religion at 17th. It’s quite fascinating to ask the question, What is trust? The Macquarie Dictionary defines it as reliance on the integrity…of a person and a confident expectation of something; hope.

Little children instinctively trust their parents, and doctors tell us that if a child doesn’t bond with a parent or guardian in the early months of their life, they will have trouble trusting others as he/she grows older. Those who know have studied this, and it’s obvious there can be serious emotional problems if this doesn’t happen, and a fracture may occur in the child’s spirit and personality. Because we need to mix with others, we have to trust people, or at least learn to trust them, and believe in something beyond ourselves.

As Social Beings We Have to Trust People

People will trust a person who has a reputation of being honest, reliable and responsible. Dishonesty, on the other hand, can easily tarnish that reputation and as a result others will consider you to be untrustworthy. One of the big selling points in advertising is that the company says, You can trust us—whether that’s correct or not is another issue. But people generally know if they are being treated fairly.

If someone says of you, He’s a trustworthy person, they mean you can be counted on at all times and will not shirk your duty. I think it’s a great compliment to be called a reliable person. If you have a close friend, you’ll probably feel you can trust them. If they share information with you, you accept what they say as truthful, and you feel confident.

When Sir Edmund Hillary made his historic climb of Mt Everest, he had a faithful guide named Tensing. Coming down off the peak one day, Hillary suddenly lost his footing and Tensing held the line very tightly which kept them both from falling, as he dug his axe into the ice. In fact he saved Hillary’s life, but he refused any kind of credit. It was just part of his job, he said. And he then said, “Mountain climbers always help each other”. It was a simple statement, but I realised it was a good illustration of reliability and trustworthiness, especially in life-threatening situations.

I like the unusual story of a farmer in India who used to sell milk. But he had to do it the hard way, even in the heat of Indian summer. He had to take his cow with him, door to door, as he sold his milk. Why? Because one time he was caught by some of the housewives watering down the milk to his customers. So, they insisted he milk his cow in front of them. He could not be trusted—his life of dishonesty doomed him to drudgery.

Trust Is Important in Everyday Life

When you think about it, there is practically no area of life in which trust doesn’t play an important part. In everyday life we trust the tap has clean running water, and won’t poison us. We trust the manufacturer of the breakfast serial we eat each morning that it won’t harm us—and on it goes. In hundreds of situations each day we exercise trust. In our personal relationships, trust is essential also. In marriage, it’s so important that we can trust our partner not to cheat on us.

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Unfortunately, there is a lack of trust in our world. We live in a fallen world, and things are not always as they seem. That’s why the Bible says in Psalm 146:3: “Do not put your trust in mortal men”. It’s far better to trust in a God who never changes, who can be trusted in every way. The Bible says, “God is faithful”. What a relief to know that we can turn to the trustworthy character of our Creator God. A God who keeps faith with us, who is present with us, and an eternal God who will stand by what he has said, and do what he has promised.

Christians should be known as trustworthy people—we should not be people who take advantage of others, or rip them off. Let’s do our best to be reliable, dependable, not willing to exaggerate or bend the truth.

By: Dick Innes