We live in a climate of distrust in our culture that affects us all, and while trust is vital, it is fragile, easily lost, and costly when broken. We either trust others until that trust is violated, or we withhold it altogether. Scripture reminds us in Psalm 20:7 that while some people trust in visible things like horses and chariots for safety, true trust must be placed in the Lord, who never fails. Ultimately, trust is a choice—one that can be wisely or dangerously placed, earned or lost—and today’s culture suffers deeply because authority figures and institutions have eroded the foundation necessary for a healthy environment of trust.
Sometimes we think trust is a part of our lives that comes and visits us for a while, and then we move on. But really, trust is much deeper than that. We have to remember that our own salvation in Christ is based on faith and faith alone. And if you look closely at the constructs of what faith is, you see a beating heart, and at the heart of faith is trust.
To define trust, we need to turn to Scripture, and we must remember how our Scriptures work. Scripture typically gives us a baseline of reality, some kind of truth that is true no matter what. In Ephesians 5, it discusses Christ and His relationship to the church. And we’re supposed to infer from that relationship something about our marriages. And so, without a truth baseline from Scripture, any concept is going to become arbitrary to us.
Our baseline for trust is found in Proverbs 3:5, which reads, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” And the next verse says, “in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Therefore, trusting in the Lord with all our heart is actually the baseline of truth. The rest of the verse is telling the way we are to do that. The way we are to “trust in the Lord” is by leaning on His understanding, not our understanding.
If leaning on God’s understanding is the way we trust Him, then one way we could describe trust in our world is that trust is characterized by leaning on another’s understanding and finding wisdom in someone else’s eyes. And so, the ability to “lean on” or believe in another person’s understanding, as opposed to our own understanding, is what we call “trust.”
Satan is cunning in his work to erode the trust in our society. He does not have to erase the term trust. All he has to do is redefine it. Trust is the glue of a society because anyone can see how society begins to fall apart as distrust becomes the norm in relation to the government, institutions, and even each other.
Trust in a society like we live in today tends to no longer be defined in terms of being able to lean on someone else’s understanding and wisdom. Trust has become about supporting someone else who can advance my own understanding. In other words, trust becomes an act of self-benefit while continuing to lean on my own understanding. What is “right” becomes personal. It’s no longer based upon an authority, but it becomes my personal right. And so, inevitably, what is “right” eventually becomes arbitrary.
People in a society like this will not lean on another’s understanding or seek wisdom from outside their own experiences. Authority will become more and more distrusted, and people will seek sources that do not “trigger” them and will “affirm” their experiences. Who might those kinds of sources be?
A Pew Research Center poll surveyed people between the ages of 18 and 29 regarding trust and distrust in America. The poll found that 46% of this section of people trusted elected officials. That’s a pretty high number when thinking about the maturity differences between 18- and 29-year-olds. An even higher number, 54%, trusted business leaders. This isn’t too shocking as many people respect money and moneymakers. The most interesting finding was that a whopping 72% of this group trusted not their parents, not their pastors, but rather trusted their secular college professors. In their classrooms, they found a kind of “safety” and affirmation for their personal experiences and feelings. They did not have to endure or submit to an authority that proclaimed immutable truths.
Trust cannot be arbitrary. It must be directly related to truth. Truth must be the cornerstone of trust. Yet, truth has become so foreign to our culture’s thinking that now “how I feel” has become the cornerstone of whether I can trust you or not. Do you relate to my feelings? Do you relate to my experience? If you relate to my experience, I can trust you. If you affirm my feelings, I can trust you.
When we consider how this thinking affects the church, we see that Hebrews 13:17 tells us to obey our church leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over our souls. James 3:1 tells us, “Be not many masters [teachers], knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” On one side, leadership in the church should be submitted to. On the other side, the judgment of God is stricter for the leaders of the church.
Many people have experienced church hurt or have had an experience that has made them leave the church. Those experiences and the hurt many have felt are tragic. But we must never believe the answer to being hurt in a church is to walk away from church altogether. That would be leaning on our own understanding. God doesn’t merely tell us to go to church (Heb. 10:25). He also tells us to submit to her leaders (Heb. 13:17). Yes, there are bad (even evil) church leaders out there, and we should get away from those people. But we must also find a solid church with godly men who will challenge us.
Trusting in God is not blind obedience. It is submitting to His knowledge and not our own. This means merely attending a church is not enough. The only way to formally submit to your church leadership is to become a member. Our children are watching us. They will mimic us whether we notice it or not. If the next generation is going to rise up and know the Lord, it must do so through trusting Christ and His bride.