“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.”  Dr. Frank Crane

How would life be different if people were more willing to trust one another?

The trustworthy will get a rich reward. But the person who wants to get rich quick will only get into trouble.  (Prov. 28:20; NLT)

Have you ever heard someone say, “I will never trust anyone ever again?”  Perhaps you yourself have felt that way after being let down by someone you trusted who broke that trust.  In today’s culture, it’s virtually impossible to not extend some level of trust over and over again.

For example, when you give your credit card to the wait person in a restaurant, you are trusting that person (whom you likely never saw before nor will ever see again) to not record your card number and use it for their own gain.  If you purchase groceries in a store, you are trusting the store owners to provide edible food at a fair price.  If you contract with the electric company to provide electricity to your home, you are trusting them to do so in return for the monies you give them.  Trust is virtually impossible to escape.

On the other hand, Brian Klemmer lists five important benefits to trust in his latest book The Compassionate Samurai.  First, the synergistic power of teamwork is only accessible through trust.  It is well understood that a tightly-knit team can accomplish far more working as a team than the total of each of the individuals performing individually.  That kind of teamwork requires trust–trust that each member will do their part as planned.

Secondly, trust builds relationship and intimacy.  Ask anyone who achieves a personal goal by paying the price of breaking trust with others just how lonely they are with their prize.  There is no one left to celebrate with nor to help them as they move on to the next goal.  The short-term gain of the gold ring never outweighs the long-term loss of relationship.

Thirdly, trust releases time and efficiency.  Delegation is impossible without trust.  One person can only do so much in a single 24-hour period.  Having to do things which could more easily be delegated is a terrible waste of time and talent.  For talent and skill to be maximized, there must be delegation, aka trust.

Klemmer’s fourth reason for trusting is that it is the “primary tool for making a difference….When you trust people, you empower them.  They play at a higher level trying to live up to the trust you’ve placed in them.”  I’m sure we can all relate to the increase in ability that seems to come to us when someone else is counting on us to do something.  What would happen to our growth if no one (including ourselves) trusted us to do better?

Finally, trust gives you a feeling of exhilaration.  Recall the feelings you experienced when you trusted your child to do something and they did it…when you trusted someone else to do something and they did it.  How about the time you trusted yourself to do something…and you did it?  This is a good feeling that in itself inspires even greater levels of achievement.

By this time it should be evident that the ability to accomplish one’s life purpose is virtually impossible without the trust and interdependence of other people.  The ability to trust others and the ability to be trusted are vitally important character traits that must be carefully nurtured and protected.  Like a great building, trust takes a significant amount of time to build, but can be destroyed in a few seconds.

Prayer Power
Lord, help us to see the importance of trust and grant us the strength to protect our trustworthiness from the many temptations to compromise that inevitably come our way.

Link of the Day
America’s Trust Fall

Blessings on you as you prayerfully increase your level of trust in someone this week.

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