Day 16 - The Foundation is TRUST
Management literature tells us (or sadly me at least) that trust is vital for business sustainability in the long term, i.e it is important for business firms to be able to trust their suppliers, for consumers to have complete trust in the company's products etc for the firm to be able to survive in its environment. Ok, enough said about dry management theories before you and i fall asleep, my point is this: that just as business firms require an element of trust in order for business sustainability, we too, as human beings, need that element of trust for relationship sustainability.
So let's forget what management literature says for now (Amen to that), and let's look at 'bible literature', for as Jlim says, 'The word of God is sole source of faith and my absolute rule of conduct. This is my reality' And what does the word of God tells us about relationships?Through His word and 40 days of love so far, we've learnt two relationship principles:
1) Place the highest value on Relationships
2) Love as Jesus Loves You
Indeed, we're called to model our lives after the master of relationships - Jesus Christ. This means modeling the relationships we have after Jesus as well. We know we ought to LOVE, but what does it entail? i believe that there is a positive relationship between love and trust; if there's love, there should be trust as well. Dictionary.com defines trust as ' reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.'
Simply put, love and trust go hand in hand. Can you love God if you do not trust Him? If you don't trust God to be your personal Lord and saviour, if you don't trust that He died on the cross for you (and your neighbour), if you don't trust that He loves you and has already forgive you, then maybe the relationship you have with God is not based on God's kind of love. If we do not trust that the God we serve is a good God and has plans to prosper us, that it creates a barrier between us and God. In other words, the lack (or absence) of trust in God causes us to have a myopic and maybe warped view of God, in turn causing a strain on the relationship. It is imperative that our relationship with God is made right first before we can have the relationship God desires us to have with others.
We are made for relationships, we were made for Him and we were made to have meaningful relationships with others as well. The relationship that we have with our family, friends, spouse etc is also based on God's kind of love, so it encompasses trust as well. Holladay says we cannot have the high quality relationship that God desires us to experience if we do not have a high level of trust. It's true, but I say, we cannot have the relationship God desires us to have without the HIGHEST level of trust. People, we are called to place the HIGHEST value on relationship, and to love as Jesus loves; this means we ought to have the highest level of trust in our relationships!
Obviously trust cannot be attained overnight, but the good news is we as zone can all work at it together, step at a time. One practical way is to start protecting our relationships from lies. I like how it was mentioned in the book that once a lie is introduced into a relationship, trust is eroded. One lie is all that is needed. One. It may seem trivial but it's not. Once we compromise the little things in life, we may grow to compromise the 'bigger' things in life. Shammah, one of David's mighty men, did not compromise but instead risked his life to defend a land of lentils (beans!) He did it because King David commissioned him to, but also probably because he knew that if he gave up defending the lentils, he would be tempted to compromise more than just lentils. Remember, it starts with the little things.
Now that we know we're called and commissioned to place the highest value on relationships and love as jesus loves, shouldn't we make an effort to honour God and honour the relationships that He has blessed us with by building trust in these relationships? Are we going to com--promise (To reduce the quality, value or degree of something) on His standards? Let's make a collective effort to build trust, not erode it. Speak truths, not lies. The truth is, He died on the cross for us. The truth is, we're made for relationships. The truth is, we're called to trust.
Chances are, you're probably like me in that we struggle. We struggle with events in life, we struggle with relationships etc. But let's trust in the power of the almighty God, let's believe that His grace is more than enough for us to transform our relationship with him and our neighbours. If you're willing to take this step of commitment, say this prayer along with me, 'Father, I know that you are a good and loving God and I thank you for sending us Your only Son here on earth so that we may model our lives after Jesus as well. I choose to commit my earthly relationships to you this day, and it is my prayer that you come and reign in all the kingdoms of my heart. Help me to love as you have loved, and help me to build trust in my relationships, not erode it. Let me not compromise on my relationships and give me strength to say no to lying. I ask for your strength and grace, that I may be able to work on my relationships and experience relationships the way you desire me to have. In Jesus name I pray, amen.'
Go and lie no more :)
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