WHO DO YOU TRUST?
By Richard Burkard
It should have been an easy example of a Christian brother reaching out to other Christian brothers in love. Several years ago, two single men in my congregation came to me requesting places to stay. One said he needed housing for "a couple of weeks." The other said it would be for "about a month."
The trouble was that the men didn't stand by their words. They lingered well past their time limits. They had trouble holding on to jobs. And since neither of them had cars, they often turned to me for transportation on errands large and small. It took one man nine months to leave, and the other close to two years - and in the process of it all, they ran up substantial debts.
This happened during a time when the old Worldwide Church of God was restrictive in who could attend its services - or at least that's what I thought. I assumed (a word which always asks for trouble) the two men were walking upright Christian lives. After all, otherwise the Pastor wouldn't let them in - or even kick them out, right?
One lesson I had to learn from this involved a word which I suspect challenges many people from WCG backgrounds - trust. Church members often were taught NOT to trust people outside the fellowship. Their teaching might be twisted or inspired by Satan, to lure you away from "the truth" - and getting pulled away could leave you out of the Kingdom of God, perhaps even to face the lake of fire.
Yet WCG history contains several cases of high-ranking ministers not trusting each other. Herbert Armstrong wrote about the Systematic Theology Project being introduced behind his back, while he traveled around the world. And the doctrinal changes of the 1990s brought accusations of ministerial conspiracies, or even outright lying by top leaders in Pasadena.
So is trust something for a Christian to avoid or embrace? Is it even a Biblical principle? After my two roommates left, I spent several months doing an in-depth Bible study on that word - to get a firm answer to the question in our title. (If that question looks familiar, it was first used by Johnny Carson in a TV game show in the 1960s.)
What is Trust?
It might be best to start by defining our terms. The American Heritage Dictionary describes trust as a "firm reliance.... confident belief, faith, hope.... Such feeling.... may not always be supported by proof." (1974 edition)
Several theological key words come forward here. There's faith, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). And there's hope, which Romans 8:24 also describes as something we cannot see. Paul noted in Ephesians 3:12 it is in Jesus Christ our Lord "and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."
Trusting God
Since Paul brought it up, let's consider the top-level relationship of all. "For you are my hope, O Lord God," says Psalm 71:5 in the King James Version; "you are my trust from my youth." (The New International Version uses a closely-related word, confidence.)
Believers in God are expected to trust Him - whether they're ministers (I Tim. 4:10) or widows (I Tim. 5:5, Jer. 49:11). That also extends to rulers of governments (Psm. 21:7; II Kng. 18:1, 5). And Romans 15:12 even urges the Gentiles to trust in Jesus, the "root of Jesse" (Isa. 11:10).
Are there areas of your life where you're not sure about trusting in God? The Bible urges you to do it, even in difficult moments....
* Fearful moments. "When I am afraid, I will trust in you," David writes in some form three different times in Psalm 56.
* Dark moments. "Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." (Isaiah 50:10)
* Moments of weakness. Look to "my God, my strength, in whom I will trust...." (Psalm 18:2)
* Moments of persecution and danger. "O Lord my God, in you do I put my trust; save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me." (Psalm 7:1, KJV; see also II Sam. 22:3)
* Moments of battle and combat. I Chronicles 5:18-20 says an army of Israelites succeeded in warfare because God "answered their prayers, because they trusted in him." (See also Jer. 39:15-18)
Believers also need to trust God, as the One who controls the future. Paul did this in terms of upcoming travels (Phil. 2:24, Phlm. 22) - but the ultimate trust comes at the end of this life, for what the Bible promises beyond it.
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him," are the amazing words of Job 13:15 (KJV). Hebrews 3:14 promises you'll share in Christ "if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."
But, but....
Those words of Job may be difficult, if you don't believe in God or have a relationship with Him. You might be asking, "Why should I trust God at all? Especially if He might choose to keep me in my current condition, and even die in it?"
The answer is that trust in God brings benefits and blessings (Psm. 2:12) -- and they go beyond the battlefield success we mentioned above. By trusting in Christ, Paul says "you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit" (Eph. 1:12-13). The Spirit of God can develop a cycle of trust, where you are "always confident" in God (II Cor. 5:5-6) -- and trusting spiritual fruit of faith can grow (Gal. 5:22).
"He that puts his trust in the Lord shall be made fat," promises Proverbs 28:25 in the King James. This goes far beyond church dinners, as the NIV says you'll prosper. "None of them that trust in him shall be desolate," adds Psalm 34:22 (KJV) - and Nahum 1:7 adds, "The Lord is good.... He cares for those who trust in him...."
In Me I Trust?
Before we get to the idea of putting God's ministers on pedestals, the first human we need to distrust is the one in our own mirror. We should not even trust ourselves -- for we are as vulnerable to mistakes and sins as anyone else.
Paul wrote the Philippians should be a people "who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh -- though I myself have reasons for such confidence" (Phil. 3:3-4). The apostle goes on to list several reasons why he might want to trust himself, from his ethnic heritage and theological perspective to "legalistic righteousness." Yet he concluded those personal self-promotional points are "loss for the sake of Christ" (verse 7).
Putting this idea into practice admittedly can puzzle people. Before seat belt wearing became mandatory across the U.S., I buckled up as a habit. Passengers who didn't normally do that (including a relative or two) suggested I was a wimp - but I said: "If I don't trust myself behind the wheel, why should you?"
Hosea 10:13 warns if you "trust in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men...." you ask for trouble: "You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity...." (KJV) Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us God's ways are higher than ours. His ways should be our focus (see also Proverbs 3:5).
Trusting Others
The popular Church of God hymn Hallelujah, Praise God has these words in the first verse: "Put your trust not in mortals, for in them is no help." Herbert Armstrong offered himself as a personal example - often saying during broadcasts, "Don't believe me, believe your Bible!"
If you shouldn't trust yourself, it should follow that you should avoid trusting other "selves." For example....
* Rulers: "Do not put your trust in princes," warns Psalm 146:3. They are also "mortal men, who cannot save." (Psalm 118:8-9 says it's better to seek God.)
* Servants. While Job's friends may have been off in their diagnosis of his plight, one of them observed, "God places no trust in his servants.... he charges his angels with error...." (Job 4:18) Eliphaz may have understood what happened when Lucifer led a rebellion against God's throne -- perhaps the earliest recorded moment in Scripture of trust being broken (Rev. 12:9).
* Friends and church brethren. This admittedly is a point where the Biblical advice can turn personal, and even a bit painful. "Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers," declares Jeremiah 9:4-5 -- and the context shows it's really God's declaration. "For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth."
Is God painting the human race with a broad brush here? Or is He merely describing reality - and the potential to deceive that's in all of us?
It's something David faced personally, as he wrote in Psalm 41:9. "Even my close friend, whom I trusted.... has lifted up his heel against me." Some Bible commentaries indicate this refers to King David's counselor Ahithophel joining in a conspiracy against the throne, described in II Samuel 15.
I Trust My Wife - I Think
The prophet Micah agreed with Jeremiah about this, and went even farther. "Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace be careful of your words." (Micah 7:5) Wow - you're not even supposed to trust your spouse?!
Dr. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible explains this verse is not anti-friendship at all. It rather reflects "the sad degeneracy of the then present age, that men, who pretended to be friends, were so universally false and faithless, that there was no dependence to be had on them.... in political matters, in civil affairs...." (vol. 4, p. 343)
Yet as we search the Scriptures, this is where we begin to see exceptions to those all-inclusive statements. The famous "Proverbs 31 wife" seems to be different. "The heart of her husband does safely trust in her...." (31:11, KJV) The NIV says he can have "full confidence." You can also search the New Testament and find cases where Paul expresses trust in other people - even in the church at Corinth, which he scolded in his first epistle (II Cor. 2:3, 7:16)
What makes the difference in this? We find a clue in the short letter of Philemon. Verse 21 says, "Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask."
When Peter Jennings was the main anchor at ABC News, the network had this slogan: "Trust is earned." In God's sight, that seems to be accurate - and it's earned by obeying. How else could we explain Paul's statements that he was "approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel"? (I Thes. 2:4; see also I Tim 1:11) God certainly would not have done that when Paul was Saul, persecuting believers.
Zephaniah in the Old Testament declared an oppressing city "filthy and polluted" because "she obeyed not the voice.... she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God." (Zeph. 3:1-2, KJV; see also Job 8:13-14)
I John 3:21 suggests hidden sins can erode our confidence in God. They even can erode your standing with God. Paul warned believers who were confident they could lead others in the right way that lawbreaking can provoke others to blaspheme God's name (Romans 2:19-20, 23-24).
Trust To the End....
We mentioned earlier the importance of trusting God all the way to the end of your life. God promises eventually to set up a Kingdom where people will "dwell safely.... yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them...." (Ezek. 28:26, KJV)
How do we do this? At its core, the answer lies in doing what God has shown you to do: "....continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know from whom you have learned it." (II Tim. 3:14) In a word, that goes back to being obedient. This can be expressed in several ways....
* Approaching God confidently in prayer (I John 5:14).
* Proper handling of God's blessings. "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Jesus asks in Luke 16:11.
* Submitting to a spouse (I Pet. 3:5).
* Laboring as a minister (I Tim. 4:10).
* Rejoicing before God (Psm. 33:21).
But trust is not always shown in the outward way we might expect. The scoffers said of Jesus at Golgotha, "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him...." (Mt. 27:43) Yet with only a few spoken words, our Savior fulfilled His mission of becoming our sacrifice for sins.
....And Beyond
"Trust in the Lord forever," is a line from a song quoted in Isaiah 26:4. The only way that really can be done is for people to have a life beyond this one.
Believers trust that God will "judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed...." a man Paul identifies as Jesus, by the Father "raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:31)
Jeremiah 32:40-41 offers a promise that God "will make an everlasting covenant" with His people, "never stop doing good to them.... and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." Do you trust God to do that, in a coming Kingdom? Do you trust Him to "bring you to Zion" (3:14) - from which God's law will go out, and wars someday will cease (Isa. 2:3-4)?
Conclusion
Trust in God and Stand in Awe is the title of another Church of God hymn -- and if you consistently do that, some people are likely to notice. A field owner named Boaz once did, and he told a woman named Ruth personally about it. "It has been fully showed me, all that you have done.... The Lord recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you are come to trust." (Ruth 2:11-12, KJV) As best we can tell, Ruth and Boaz wound up living happily ever after.
One other familiar hymn comes to mind along these lines. A verse from O God, We Have Heard begins: "No trust will I place in my bow to defend, nor yet on my sword for my safety depend." That line comes from Psalm 44:6-7, in which the writer realizes God truly gives victories.
Trust in man-made things, and they'll eventually wear out. Trust in money, and events could make them run out (Prv. 11:28). Trust in people as I did, and things may not always work out. But trust obediently in God, and He can provide a way out. "Whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe," Proverbs 29:25 promises - eventually to fulfill Psalm 52:8, and be "like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever."
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© 2009, Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.